Brad Keselowski took the checkered flag at Talladega Speedway Sunday, April 25, in the GEICO 500, one of nine different winners in the first 10 races of the 2021 NASCAR CUP SERIES.

“The whole race, I had a couple of opportunities to take the lead, but I just kept thinking, ‘Man, just keep your car in one piece till the end.’”

And he did keep it together till the end as he took the first position in the final lap.

Victory in NASCAR depends on the skill of the driver, but it also depends on the quality and dependability of the machine that driver is racing. You might say that a NASCAR race puts a year’s worth of wear and tear on a vehicle. Good thing these vehicles are made for that kind of abuse.

Keselowski won the race by taking the lead in the last lap. Imagine if something broke in Keselowski’s No. 2 Ford Mustang halfway through that last lap? It’s infinitely possible. 

The heat is tremendous as a NASCAR racer’s engine spins at around 9,000 rpm. The average rpm on the highway is around 2,200 for that family car you drive. Even if you have a sporty street machine, 9,000 rpm is almost assuredly out of your engine’s range of safe operation.

You can bet the pit crew is all over the idea of having fresh oil in the racecar’s engine. They constantly monitor the engine temperature. If the driver notices anything that is out of sorts with their NASCAR racer, they tell the pit crew chief who makes a determination about whether the driver should pull into the pits to fix the problem or take a closer look.

There is a significant similarity here between the NASCAR racer and your personal car. If …

• the oil is low
• the oil pressure drops
• the coolant is low
• the thermostat isn’t functioning properly
• the engine is misfiring …

Any of these issues could leave you stranded on the side of the road or looking for a figurative pitstop to have a problem looked at closely and fixed. Probably the biggest difference here is that, if the NASCAR engine throws a rod in the engine, they’re on a track and the pit crew knows where to find them. A tow is waiting for just such a situation. 

But if your street machine blows a gasket and won’t run, or simply overheats, who knows where you’ll be found. You’ll have to call for a tow and wait for the truck to get there. You may not have to worry about winning a race, but the operative word is ‘inconvenience,’ that and expense.

NASCAR racing does offer another advantage: fewer potholes and bumps in the pavement. You don’t have that luxury as you head out from your Wonder Lake home. Especially this time of year. 

A NASCAR team works overtime to ensure that their car is ready for the race. You can bet Keselowski’s crew did. Don’t you think you should, too?