As a child, I loved to watch races on TV. The roar of the engines, the speed, and the thrill of the competition was always mesmerizing. But as I grew older, my curiosity about the technical aspects of racing cars increased.
If you enjoy motorsport as much as I do, you will know that races are won by vehicles moving forward at fast speeds. But one question that always stood out in my mind was, „do NASCAR cars can go backward? Do they have reverse?”
NASCAR cars often travel forward rather than backward, especially at high speeds. They’re also only ever traveling forward (usually) while they’re in the pits. As a result, it’s natural to wonder whether NASCAR vehicles have reverse.
NASCAR cars have reverse gears, and they have had them since the first races in 1948. However, their gearbox has evolved in the past, from 3-speed in Gen One to 4-speed from Gen Two to Gen Six, and now to 5-speed sequential in 2022’s Next Gen.
Because the vehicles are moved between different locations, both the old and current generation Nascar vehicles feature reverse gear. When the Nascar cars are unloaded from the trailer, they are reversed. Drivers may also reverse when passing their pit team in the pitlane.
I wanted to find out more about this topic, so I listened to professionals in the motorsports industry and conducted online research. I also found films of Nascar cars being reversed from trailers and drivers using reverse gear after winning a race.
There Was Always Reverse Gear in Nascar Cars
If you want to call yourself a fan of a specific sport, especially Nascar, you must be well-versed with the laws and regulations as well as the cars.
This section of the article will concentrate on the gearbox, particularly the reverse gear of both the old and new generation of Nascar vehicles.
A Nascar vehicle was standard from 1948 to 1966. During this era of Nascar, racing drivers competed in automobiles that could be purchased from the automotive manufacturer.
A three-speed transmission was the most prevalent at the time. The transmissions featured three forward gears and one reverse gear.
The majority of the gearboxes were automatic, while several Nascar teams began to use manual transmissions during this time period. Manual transmissions became popular, particularly in the early 1950s.
Newer generations of NASCAR vehicles
From the 1967 season until the 2021 season of Nascar, the vehicles’ appearance and frames have changed dramatically. However, the transmissions of these vehicles have not altered.
H-shift transmissions have been standard since the 1950s. The H-shift transmissions have four forward speeds and one backward gear.
The H-shift transmission was developed from the four-speed transmission that was standard in Ford automobiles in the 1950s. Surprisingly, this design served as the foundation for so many years and generations of Nascar automobiles.
To change gears without utilizing the clutch, minor alterations and tweaks were made.
The mechanical teams used floating gears without synchronizers to enable the process of not utilizing a clutch.
To avoid overusing the clutch mechanism, drivers shift gears at specific rotations. When selecting first or reverse gear, the clutch would still be used.
Since 2021, the six-speed sequential gearbox has being tested in several Nascar vehicles. This is an automated transmission with five forward speeds and one reverse gear. Nascar’s 2022 season began with all Nascar cars using the same gears.
The 2021 Nascar season marked the end of an era for the four-speed manual transmissions that had been utilized since the 1970s.
The NextGen generation of Nascar vehicles is the seventh generation, and the cars’ bodies are now entirely manufactured of fiberglass. The reverse gear is the only thing that has survived in Nascar.
Looking back through the previous six generations of Nascar vehicles, we can see why the new cars are dubbed the NextGen. When it comes to driver safety, automobiles have advanced. After decades of 4-speed transmissions, a 6-speed sequential gearbox with reverse is a welcome change.
The following section of the post will discuss actual evidence of a Nascar car in reverse. I also found live footage from a Nascar race in May 2021 that shows a driver (Brandon Brown) shifting into reverse and driving over the finish line facing the opposite direction.
When Should NASCAR Drivers Reverse?
NASCAR drivers frequently have to reverse when they drive into their pit stall. Teams must also unload the car from the truck. As a result, whoever is driving the automobile, not necessarily the driver, must move it into backward to allow the unloading procedure to begin.
NASCAR drivers may need to reverse during a caution if they are involved in a crash.
If they are involved in an accident but are able to make it to pit lane, they may use reverse to back up before shifting into first and making the slow drive into the pits.
This is only likely if the car cannot drive ahead after shifting into reverse because a stalled car is blocking it.
How Fast Can NASCAR Cars Go in Reverse?
A NASCAR car can probably go 30-50 mph in reverse, but we’ll never know for sure. This is because the cars are not designed to move quickly in reverse, and there are roof flaps that open if the car is going too fast in the wrong direction to keep it grounded on the ground.
As a result, because putting a car in reverse is rare, and knowing what occurs when these cars do end up traveling backward too quickly, it is safe to claim that NASCAR cars cannot drive very fast when in reverse.
Furthermore, if you view films of NASCAR drivers driving in reverse, such as Brandon Brown, whom we mentioned when he crossed the start/finish line traveling backward in an Xfinity Series race, you will notice that they are doing so relatively slowly and uncontrollably.
Brown’s car was far slower than those passing and approaching him when he crossed the finish line (and not in a straight line).
Do F1 Cars Have Reverse Gear?
Most cars feature reverse gear; it is built into automotive designs to help humans successfully negotiate traffic and get from point A to point B.
Formula 1 cars are also capable of reversing. This equipment is rarely used by Formula One teams. The drivers appear to be unaware of the presence of the gear because they are so concentrated on driving around the course.
To comply with 2014 regulations, all Formula 1 vehicle include reverse gear. All Formula 1 cars are required to contain eight forward gears and one backward gear, but this is rarely used by drivers.
With no rearview mirrors on a Formula 1 car, this may be an extremely dangerous action to perform. When a motorist reverses, he or she is doing so blindly, which can lead to accidents on and off the track as well as hefty fines for the driver.
Most Formula 1 drivers are unlikely to know how to operate the reverse gear, as Honda driver Takuma Sato demonstrated during the Australian Grand Prix.
His pit staff had to explain how to operate the reverse gear to him over the team radio! When Niki Lauda was obliged to utilize his reverse gear, he was amazed that it worked at all.
