Motor junkies live for motorsport racing, and NASCAR is the type of sport that can make them crazy. The thrill of cars going around the track at speeds that can make your head spin kind of makes a person wonder: “ How fast can a NASCAR go?” we will answer this question in this article.
NASCAR cars can go faster than 200 miles per hour. The fastest recorded time for a Nascar vehicle is 212.809 miles per hour. That speed was clocked at Talladega superspeedway in 1987 during a qualifying round. The driver was Bill Elliot, and he was driving a Ford Thunderbird stock car.
The fastest official speed is still Bill Elliott’s lap at Talladega of 212 miles an hour. It still remains the fastest recorded speed because the previous generation (Gen 6) NASCAR cars had plates installed to limit their speed for safety reasons. It is safe to assume that the current NASCAR cars would go much faster if they were not limited, especially at the superspeedways of Talladega and Daytona.
In this article about Nascar, we will explore the topic of how fast a Nascar has gone on the different tracks.
How Fast Can A Nascar Go?
The fastest recorded time for a NASCAR racecar is 212.809 miles per hour. We will use the historical data and NASCAR speed records in this post section. The best way to get all this information over is with the use of a table. This table includes the circuit, the date of the event, the name of the driver, How fast the NASCAR was going, and the qualifying lap time.
We have included both road and oval race tracks here, and although short tracks encourage less speed, they are quicker to complete a lap due to distance.
| Date (D,M,Y) | Circuit | Driver | Time(sec) | How fast did the NASCAR go? |
| 15/11/1997 | Atlanta Motor Speedway | G.Bodine | 28.074 | 197.478 Miles per hour |
| 16/03/2018 | Auto Club Speedway | K.Harvick | 38.147 | 188.744 Miles per hour |
| 05/04/2019 | Bristol Motor Speedway | R.Blaney | 14.528 | 132.076 Miles per hour |
| 09/10/2014 | Charlotte Motor Speedway | K.Busch | 27.167 | 198.771 Miles per hour |
| 13/09/2013 | Chicagoland Speedway | J.Logano | 28.509 | 189.404 Miles per hour |
| 11/04/2014 | Darlington Raceway | A.Almirola | 26.705 | 184.145 Miles per hour |
| 09/02/1987 | Daytona International Speedway | B.Elliot | 42.783 | 210.364 Miles per hour |
| 03/05/2019 | Dover International Speedway | C.Elliot | 21.692 | 165.960 Miles per hour |
| 14/11/2014 | Homestead-Miami Speedway | B.Keselowski | 29.795 | 181.238 Miles per hour |
| 26/07/2014 | Indianapolis Motor Speedway | K.Harvick | 47.647 | 188.889 Miles per hour |
| 13/11/2015 | ISM Raceway | J.Johnson | 25.147 | 143.158 Miles per hour |
| 03/10/2014 | Kansas Speedway | K.Harvick | 27.304 | 197.773 Miles per hour |
| 07/07/2017 | Kentucky Speedway | K.Busch | 28.379 | 190.282 Miles per hour |
| 04/03/2016 | Las VegasMotor Speedway | K.Busch | 27.498 | 196.378 Miles per hour |
| 28/03/2014 | Martinsville Speedway | J.Logano | 18.898 | 100.201 Miles per hour |
| 15/08/2014 | Michigan International Raceway | J.Gordon | 34.857 | 206.558 Miles per hour |
| 19/09/2014 | New Hampshire Motor Speedway | B.Keselowski | 27.09 | 140.598 Miles per hour |
| 01/08/2014 | Pocono Raceway | K.Larson | 49.063 | 183.438 Miles per hour |
| 06/09/2013 | Richmond Raceway | J.Gordon | 20.674 | 130.599 Miles per hour |
| 22/06/2019 | Sonoma Raceway | K.Larson | 94.598 | 95.901 Miles per hour |
| 30/04/1987 | Talladega Super Speedway | B.Elliot | 44.998 | 212.809 Miles per hour |
| 03/11/2017 | Texas Motor Speedway | K.Busch | 26.877 | 200.915 Miles per hour |
| 09/08/2014 | Watkins Glen International | M.Ambrose | 68.113 | 129.491 Miles per hour |
It is evident from this table that NASCAR cars can reach speeds well over 200 miles per hour. Interestingly, on some circuits, the speed was not as fast, but it makes sense that some circuits would not have as many long straights for the vehicles to go as fast as on other circuits. Cornering reduces speed and the more corners the less speed.
Road course are not also full of corners, they also tend to be longer than most ovals.
Which NASCAR Cars and Drivers have Gone Over 200 miles an Hour.
It has been established so far that NASCAR Cars can go as fast as 212.809 miles per hour, or 228 miles an hour if unrestricted. What needs to be established now is which cars were able to reach these speeds.
In this part of the post, 8 vehicles will be listed that managed to break the 195 miles per hour mark. Whether these lists will expand depends on what happens when the Next Gen NASCAR starts to perform at tracks like Daytona and Talladega.
| Date | Track | Driver | Car | Speed |
| 11/03/2017 | Texas Motor Speedway | K.Busch | Toyota Camry | 200.915 Miles per hour |
| 04/30/1987 | Talladega Super Speedway | B.Elliot | Ford Thunderbird | 212.809 Miles per hour |
| 08/15/2014 | Michigan International | J.Gordon | Chevrolet | 206 Miles an Hour |
| 03/04/2016 | Las Vegas Motor Speedway | K. Busch | Toyota | 196.378 Miles an hour |
| 10/04/2014 | Kansas Speedway | K.Harvick | Chevrolet | 197.3 Miles an hour |
| 02/09/1987 | Daytona Int Speedway | B.Elliott | Ford thunderbird | 210.4 miles an hour |
| 10/09/2014 | Charlotte Motor Speedway | K.Busch | Toyota | 198.7 Miles an hour |
| 11/15/1997 | Atlanta Motor Speedway | G.Bodine | Ford | 197.4 Miles an hour |
This comparison of the 8 fastest cars in NASCAR proves that all manufacturers have managed to break the 195 miles per hour mark more than once. This shows how similar, in performance at least, these cars actually are. There are only currently three OEM in NASCAR, although the hope is that the Next gen car will open up the way for more manufactures to join the sport over the coming years.
| Nascar Brand | Ford | Toyota | Chevrolet |
| How many times did this Nascar go faster than 195 Mph | 3 times | 3 times | 2 times |
Who would have guessed that Ford, Toyota, and Chevrolet were so evenly matched by having two or more records for the fastest qualifying laps? It shows the caliber of drivers and vehicles that this sport has.
The Gen 6 NASCAR and Lap Records
Since the introduction of the Generation 6 iteration of NASCAR racers there has been a steady increase in speed. Where as top speeds may have been tempered at the Superspeedway liek Daytona Tallagega, as was the intention, speeds at other tracks increased.
To the point where 16 of the 23 tracks saw new lap records set my the gen 6 Nascar. You can read more about this in the link.
How Fast is the Next Gen NASCAR?
In testing the next gen car has been shown to be at the very least comparable to the gen 6 NASCAR and although this has been met with mixed opinions it should be remembered this is before teams have got their hands on the car.
Once NASCAR teams start making adjustments ( those they are allowed to) then we can expect speeds to increase over the course of the first full season of use. The first race at the Los Angeles Coliseum can not be used as a benchmark however! Its 0.25 miles long!
Conclusion
The cars that race in NASCAR are well-engineered machines that can reach speeds well over 200 miles per hour. Ford, Toyota, and Chevrolet have cars that produced speeds over 195 miles per hour more than once. Hopefully more manufacturers will be dipping their toe in soon!
NASCAR racing is about much more than just how fast the car can go of course, but speed is certainly one of the factors that draws millions of fans every year to cheer on their favourite drivers.
It is a sport that the whole family can enjoy. It is about the fans, and people appreciate when racing is family-friendly and as safe as possible for everyone involved.
Resources
https://theconversation.com/nascar-may-be-the-fastest-way-to-learn-about-physics-118641
