A racecar is a vehicle designed and built for speed, performance, and competition. These cars are made for racing and are found at racetracks or racing circuits rather than on the street.
The term racecar is a bit of a catchall, as there are different types of races that have specific requirements for the cars that compete in them. A few popular racecars are open-wheel, stock cars, rally cars, and drag racers.
Formula 1 and Indy 500 racing should come to mind when you think of open-wheel or single-seated racecars. Formula 1 racing is currently the most popular televised motorsport worldwide. The design of open-wheel cars features an exposed cockpit and wheels, a low center of gravity, and an engine and large spoiler in the rear.
As run by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), stock cars are distant cousins of the production versions found in showrooms. They retain some vague resemblance in exterior appearance and engine design but without the amenities you’d expect to find on cars on the dealer’s lot. In the sport’s early days, stock cars were nearly identical to models coming off the production line. These racecars perform a series of laps like Indy cars on an oval track.
Rally cars can race on-road and off-road. They are more compact and often have a hatchback design. Unlike the racecars above, these cars run from a designated starting line to a finish line.
The are two types of racecars at the drag strip: heavily modified production cars and long open-seated cars with bicycle-sized tires in the front and massive engines and tires in the rear. These cars race in a straight line for the fastest time possible. Dragsters travel so fast in such a short space that they often release a parachute at the finish line to decelerate.
