racing

racing: see horse racing; automobile racing; track and field athletics; dog racing; for boat racing, see motorboating; rowing; and sailing; and for bicycle racing, see under bicycle.

Form of automobile racing. Popular in the U.S., it features cars that conform externally to standard U.S. commercial models and are raced usually on oval, paved tracks. The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), founded in 1947 in Daytona Beach, Fla., gave the sport its first formal organization. The Daytona 500 is the sport's premier race.

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Form of motor racing involving small, two-passenger automobiles. The cars are designed for quick response, easy maneuverability, and high-speed driving. Unlike the cars used in Grand Prix racing, the sports car is usually series-produced, seldom handmade, and the reputation of the car maker (Porsche, Jaguar, etc.) is thus put at stake. The most famous international sports-car race is that at Le Mans, France.

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Sport of racing sleds pulled by dogs over snow-covered cross-country courses. It developed from a traditional Eskimo method of transportation. Modern sleds are usually of wood (ash) construction, with leather lashings and steel- or aluminum-covered runners. Sled dogs are usually Eskimo dogs, Siberian huskies, Samoyeds, or Alaskan malamutes; teams typically consist of 4–10 dogs. The course is usually 12–30 mi (19–48 km) long, though some, including the Iditarod, are considerably longer.

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Racing of quarter horses. It originated among British settlers in Virginia shortly after Jamestown was established in 1607. The course was traditionally a quarter-mile (400 m); today there are 11 officially sanctioned races, ranging from 220 to 870 yd (201 to 796 m). Timing is to the nearest .01 second.

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Sport of running motorcycles on tracks, closed circuits, or natural terrain. The main types are (1) road racing, conducted on a course made up wholly or partly of public roads; (2) trials, conducted both on and off the highway; (3) speedway racing, conducted on a short, flat, oval dirt track; (4) drag racing, conducted on a straight quarter-mile strip of pavement; (5) hill climbs, conducted on a large dirt mound; and (6) motocross. The first international road race took place in Douran, France, in 1905. The most famous race is the Tourist Trophy, established on Britain's Isle of Man in 1907. Motorcycle racing in North America began in 1903; since 1937 the Daytona 200-mi (320-km) race has been the leading U.S. race.

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Sport practiced in a variety of forms on roads, tracks, or closed circuits. It includes Grand Prix racing, speedway racing (including the Indianapolis 500), stock-car racing, sports-car racing, drag racing, midget-car racing, and karting, as well as hill climbs and rally driving. The International Motor Sports Hall of Fame is located in Talladega, Ala., U.S. There is no central governing body for automobile racing in the U.S. as there is in most other countries.

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Sport of running horses at speed. Typically, Thoroughbreds are raced with a rider astride and Standardbreds with the horse pulling a conveyance with a driver. Though racing has an ancient lineage, the first regularly organized national races were established in England under Charles II (r. 1660–85), and the first in North America were held on Long Island in 1665. These early races were match events between two or three horses and were run in heats; a horse had to complete at least two heats to be judged the winner. By the mid-18th century, larger fields of runners and single-race “dash” events were the norm. Handicap racing emerged in the mid-18th century as well, as gambling came to be a standard part of horse racing. Pari-mutuel betting was instituted in the 20th century. Thoroughbred racing, conducted on a flat, elliptical, mile-long track, attracts the largest purses, followed by harness racing and quarter-horse racing. The most important U.S. Thoroughbred races are the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. Seealso steeplechase.

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Horse-racing sport. In harness racing, Standardbred horses are harnessed to lightweight, two-wheeled, bodiless (seat-only) vehicles known as sulkies. The sport's origins date to ancient chariot races. Today two types of horses are used, trotters and pacers. The former employ a gait in which the legs move in diagonal pairs, the latter a gait in which the legs move in lateral pairs. Since the establishment of pari-mutuel racing under lights in the 1940s, the sport has grown tremendously in popularity.

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Form of motor racing in which two contestants race side by side from a standing start over a straight quarter-mile strip of pavement. Winners go on to compete against others in their class until only one is left undefeated. There are three main classes of vehicle: (1) the Top Fuel Eliminator (called a “rail” or “slingshot”), a lightweight, long-chassied vehicle with wide rear tires that is fueled by a special mixture, such as methanol and nitromethane; (2) the “funny car,” a high-performance copy of a late-model production car that uses special fuel; and (3) the standard production car, a modified version of a gasoline-powered production car. The Top Fuel class is the fastest, followed by the funny car. Drag racing is most popular in the U.S.

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Sport of running camels at speed, with a rider astride, over a predetermined course. The sport is generally limited to running the dromedary—whose name is derived from the Greek verb dramein, “to run”—rather than the Bactrian camel. Camel racing on the Arabian Peninsula can be traced to at least the 7th century. Although traditionally overshadowed by horse racing in that region, the racing of camels was long a folk sport practiced at social gatherings and festivals. In the late 20th century it was organized into a formal sport, similar to Thoroughbred horse racing. The sport is popular in India, Australia, parts of East Africa, and especially the Arab countries of the Middle East. A race typically has 25 to 30 entries and covers distances ranging from 2.5 to 6 mi (4 to 10 km).

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Use of the bicycle in competitive sport or in recreation. The classic professional races are held mainly in Europe; the first was held in Paris in 1868. There are basically two types of race: road races and track races. The first U.S. cycling competition, a six-day race, was held in 1891. Six-day racing was reintroduced to Europe as a two-man team event in the 20th century, but it has largely died out in the U.S. The first Tour de France, the premier race, was held in 1903. Cycling has been part of the Olympics since the first modern games in 1896. Events include a variety of open-road and circuit races for both men and women.

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A race is a competition of speed, against an objective criterion, usually a clock. The competitors in a race try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed.

Running a distance is the most basic form of racing, but races are often conducted in vehicles, such as boats, cars and aircraft, or with animals such as horses.

A race may be run continuously from start to finish or may be made of several segments called heats or stages (stages are also known as legs). A heat is usually run over the same course at different times. A stage is a shorter section of a much longer course or a time trial.

Early records of races are evident on pottery from ancient Greece, which depicted running men vying for first place. A chariot race is described in Homer's Iliad.

Types of racing

Unassisted human racing

Using only the human body's own muscles:

• Running:
• Cross country running
• Marathon
• Road running
• Track running in Athletics
• Fell running
• Relay Race
• Amateur Radio Direction Finding
• Orienteering
• Rogaining
• Racewalking
• Swimming

Cycle racing

Bicycle racing:

• Track cycling, such as a Points race
• Road bicycle racing, such as the Tour de France
• Mountain (offroad) cycling
• BMX (Bicycle Motocross)

Ski racing

Skiing with skis, on snow:

• Alpine skiing such as Slalom skiing or Downhill skiing
• Cross-country skiing

Animal racing

Animals alone, or with human riders on the animal's back or in a conveyance:

• Camel racing
• Dog racing
• Greyhound racing
• Dogsled racing, such as the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race
• Horse-racing, see also United Kingdom horse-racing and Equestrianism
• Chariot racing
• Flat racing
• Thoroughbred horse races, such as Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing or a Derby.
• Trotting
• Steeplechase
• Pigeon racing
• Pig racing
• Ostrich racing
• Snail racing

Aircraft racing

• Air racing

Motorized racing (motorsport)

Machines powered by motors, on land:

• Auto racing (also known as automobile racing, motor racing or autosport)
• Board track racing
• Drag racing
• NHRA+
• Powerade Drag Racing Series
• Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series (Sportsman)
• Summit Racing Series (E.T Drag Racing Series)
• Jr Drag Racing League (JDRL)
• NOPI Drag Racing Series
• Sand Drag Racing
• International Hot Rod Association (IHRA)
• Dirt track racing
• Grand Prix motor racing
• Ice racing
• Open wheel racing
• A1 Grand Prix
• Champ Car
• Formula One, Formula Ford, GP2 Series (Replacement for Formula 3000)
• Indy Racing League
• Midget car racing
• Sprint car racing
• Offroad racing
• Motocross
• Supercross
• Beachcross
• Production car racing
• Rally racing
• European Rallycross
• SCCA RallyCross
• Road racing
• Sports car racing
• Stock car racing
• NASCAR
• Arena Racing USA
• Touring car racing
• Truck racing
• NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
• Kart racing
• Lawnmower racing
• Motorcycle racing
• Tarmac (aka Road Racing)
• Grand Prix motorcycle racing
• Pocketbike Racing
• Production Bike Racing
• Superbike racing
• Track Racing
• Flat Track
• Speedway
• Grasstrack (aka Long Track)
• 70% Tarmac 30% Off Road
• Supermoto (aka Supermotard)
• All-terrain vehicle
• Snowmobile racing

Boat racing

Boats on water:

• Drag boat racing
• Dragon boat racing
• Hydroplane racing
• Jet sprint boat racing
• Offshore powerboat racing
• Outrigger Canoe racing
• Rowing
• Sailing or yacht racing also match race such as America's Cup races or team racing.

Other types

Some races involve multiple modes of transport:

• Adventure racing
• Kinetic sculpture racing

Etymology

The word race comes from a Viking word. This Viking word arrived in France during the invading of Normandy and gave the word raz which means "swift water" in Brittany, as in a mill race; it can be found in "Pointe du Raz" (the most western point of France, in Brittany), and "raz-de-marée" (tsunami).

A race and its name are often associated with the place of origin, the means of transport and the distance of the race. As a couple of examples, see the Dakar Rally or the Athens marathon.

External links

• Grandprix-Live.com - Covers all the major Grand Prix motorsport championships, including Formula One, MotoGP, Nascar, IRL, WSBK, WRC Rally and many more.

See also

• Pace race
• Sport
• Gambling
• Totalisator
• Pacemaker
• Nuclear arms race
• Space Race
• Racing game
• Surf lifesaving