The 7 Major Types of Auto Racing and How They Differ

Auto racing has a history that dates back to the invention of the automobile itself in the mid-19th century. Over 150 years later, the sport has evolved to become massively popular throughout the world, with several different variations. While the spirit of racing remains the same in all of these disciplines, the different types of auto racing vary significantly from each other. Here is an overview of the eight main types of modern auto racing. Which is your favorite?

Formula Racing

Also known as open-wheel racing, formula racing is generally considered the elite tier of modern auto racing. It is also massively popular on a global scale. Formula racing attracts the world’s most skilled drivers, who compete in supercars valued at millions of dollars.

Open-wheel racing is divided into two main categories: Formula One (F1) and its related categories, and IndyCar, which is the American version of F1 racing. Vehicles in these categories have open single-driver cockpits, exposed wheels, and mid-engine layouts. However, they differ from class to class.

Sports Car Racing

Sports car racing is the second-most popular variation of modern auto racing. These competitions are held at the Grand Touring (GT) level and racers compete in vehicles that resemble high-performing sports cars, such as the Lamborghini Huracan, Ferrari 488, and Porsche 911. The prototype class uses non-production racecars.

There is a wide variety of races within the sports car series, from relatively short 2.5-hour competitions to staggering 24-hour marathon races, which push both the racers and their vehicles to the limit.

Stock Car Racing

More commonly known as NASCAR, stock car racing has been the most popular racing series in the United States since the late 1940s. The sport began with prohibition bootleggers who modified their vehicles to escape the police while maintaining the appearance of a regular “stock” vehicle.

These moonshiners eventually started to enter national race competitions, sparking the beginning of NASCAR, which became an official organized sport in 1948. NASCAR racers compete on an oval-shaped track, reaching speeds of up to 200 mph in races that can last up to 500 miles.

Drag Racing

A typical drag race involves either two automobiles or two motorcycles following a short, straight-line course to the finish line. Drag racing has been around since the 1940s and many of the first drag racers were World War II veterans who raced cars on the long runaways at decommissioned air bases. It became an organized sport in 1951 when the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) was formed.

This form of racing has evolved quite a bit over the years to become much more technical. Racers need to consider timing, aerodynamics, grip, braking, and stopping power to be successful.

Drag racing is generally one of the most accessible variations of auto racing for amateurs due to its relatively simple format and the fact that you do not need to purchase an expensive supercar to compete.

Production Car Racing

Production car racing is commonly known as showroom stock in the United States. This series is another relatively accessible option for aspiring amateur racers, as it only requires lightly modified or unmodified vehicles. Racers compete against vehicles with similar specifications as their own.

The vehicles used in production racing must abide by restrictions on which types of suspension, tires, wheels, brakes, and aerodynamics they use. These restrictions are intended to ensure that the races are decided based on skill, rather than hardware advantages.

Rallying

Rallying is a form of off-road racing. These races are held on rough, natural terrain, including tracks of dirt, mud, and sand. Rally racing is also a year-long series, which means drivers compete in the snow, rain, and ice. Some tracks have paved sections, which usually serve as connectors between the off-road sections.

Rallying is a team racing sport that involves both a driver and a passenger. Each race has timed sections in which the passenger must act as a co-driver and provide directions to the driver.

The most famous rallying series is the World Rally Championship, which takes place over a full year and consists of 13 separate three-day events. The vehicles that compete in this series are production cars that have been modified with 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engines, all-wheel-drive, sequential manual transmissions, and more.

Touring Car Racing

Touring Car racing is particularly popular in the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, and Australia. The vehicles in these races are heavily modified road-going cars, somewhat similar to the modified stock cars used in NASCAR. However, touring cars are slower than the cars used in formula and sports car races.

Rules vary between nations, but most Touring Car series require competitors to begin with a standard car body. However, these bodies can be modified for racing, with the addition of new engines, wheels, tires, brakes, and suspensions.

The Touring Car series features a variety of types of races, from short-distance sprints to endurance races that can last more than three hours. Some of the most famous Touring Car race series include the Supercars Championship in Australia, the World Touring Car Cup, the British Touring Car Championship, and the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM)