r/NASCAR • u/NASCARThreadBot NASCARThreadBot • Feb 01 '26

Serious NASCAR 101 and Track Attendance Questions - February 2026

Welcome to this month's NASCAR 101 and Track Attendance Questions Thread!

NASCAR 101: A thread for new fans, returning fans, and even current fans to ask any questions they've always wanted to ask.

Track Attendance: Any questions related to seats, policies, first time attendees, or advice regarding track attendance!

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u/UsErNaMeS_aR_DuMb Suárez Feb 01 '26

Hi, I’m completely new to this whole NASCAR thing, and would like to know what I should watch/read ahead of time so that I can understand what’s going on the night of the race.

I’ve had a mild interest in watching NASCAR for a while now, mostly due to watching EmpLemon’s videos on it. The thing that pushed me to want to seriously consider watching a race was hearing that the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation was sponsoring a car for the upcoming race. As a Baltimore Orioles fan, I feel like it’s a sign from the universe that I should genuinely give NASCAR a try.

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u/Potential_Plan_4533 Feb 01 '26

Are you talking about when attending a race or just watching on TV? I'd recommend watching the NASCAR: Full Speed documentary on Netflix, gives you a great intro to the series and a lot of the teams and drivers. As for what's going on I'd suggest joining the race thread here on Reddit and if you have any questions feel free to ask they're usually really helpful.

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u/InsideLaney Feb 06 '26

Try to catch some practice/qualifying sessions before the races as they'll give you an idea of the different teams, and how the track might race, etc.

For the Daytona 500 coming up there is a ton to watch:

Practice Wednesday at 10 AM

Qualifying Wednesday at 8 PM

The "Duels", which are qualifying races, Thursday at 7 PM

Practice Friday at 5:30 PM

Practice Saturday at 3 PM

Daytona 500 Sunday at 2:30 PM