Here are some facts to make your free time even more fun.
On straightaways at 200 mph, NASCAR drivers travel 293 feet in one second, almost the length of a football field.
On turns, NASCAR drivers can experience three g-forces against their bodies, comparable to the gravitational forces pressing down on shuttle astronauts at liftoff.
Research shows that fit drivers are better able to handle g-forces while muscle mass offers more protection in a wreck.
Temperatures in the car often exceed 100 degrees, reaching as much as 170 degrees by the floorboards.
Drivers can loose 5-10 pounds in sweat during a race.
If a driver loses more than 3 percent of his body weight in sweat and dosen't replace those fluids, focus and reflexes start declining.
In a race, a NASCAR driver maintains the same heart rate -- 120 - 150 beats per minute for three-plus hours -- as a serious marathon runner for about the same length of time.
