1972 brought so many rule changes, it has prompted many to consider this year as the start of the modern era of NASCAR racing[citation needed]. In addition, R.J. Reynolds (the tobacco conglomerate) took over as the major sponsor of NASCAR racing (changing the name to the “Winston Cup”) and they made a significantly larger financial contribution than previous sponsors. Richard Petty’s personal sponsorship with STP also set new, higher standards for financial rewards to driving teams. The sudden infusion of noticeably larger amounts of money changed the entire nature of the sport.The 1973 oil crisis meant that large displacement special edition homologation cars of all makes were suddenly sitting unsold. From this point forward, stock cars were quickly allowed to differ greatly from anything available to the public. Modern racing “stock” cars are stock in name only, using a body template that is vaguely modeled after currently-available automobiles. The chassis, running gear, and other equipment have almost nothing to do with anything in ordinary automobiles.
Modern stock cars may superficially resemble standard American family sedans, but are in fact purpose-built racing machines built to a strict set of regulations governing the car design ensuring that the chassis, suspension, engine, etc. are architecturally identical on all vehicles. Ironically, these regulations ensure that stock car racers are in many ways technologically less sophisticated than standard cars on the road. For example, NASCAR (the premier stock car organization in the U.S.) requires carbureted engines in all of its racing series, while fuel injection is now universal in standard passenger cars. Also, the majority of production car engines use a double overhead cam (DOHC) and four valves per cylinder, while NASCAR vehicles are restricted to two valves-per-cylinder actuated by pushrods using a single cam-in-block. Modern NASCAR engines are restricted to a maximum displacement of 358 cu. in. (5.8L) even though there are still many production engines available to the public that are noticeably larger. In addition, the Ford Fusion, Dodge Avenger, Chevrolet Impala, and Toyota Camry that competed in the 2007 season were all front-wheel-drive sedans, but the NASCAR versions continue to use rear-wheel-drive.
Engines, while still containing varying components from the various manufacturers who compete in the series, are of fixed displacement, and are generally designed to ensure all entrants have near-equal vehicles. There are several categories of stock car racing, each with slightly different rules, but the key intention of cars that look like production cars, but with near-identical specifications underneath, remains true. The super-speedways continue to require the use of a restrictor plate under each carburetor to limit top speeds, while the shorter tracks do not require them.
The closest European equivalent to stock car racing is probably touring car racing, though these are raced exclusively on road courses rather than ovals.
‘True’ stock car racing, which consists of only street vehicles that can be bought by general public, is sometimes now called showroom stock or U-Car racing. In 1972 (same year as the beginning of modern NASCAR era), SCCA started its first showroom stock racing series, with a price ceiling on the cars of $3,000. Some modern showroom stock racing allow safety modifications done on showroom stock cars.
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