The National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. is a privately held car racing organization and related activities. Founded by Bill Frans Sr. in 1947-1948 in the United States of America, and is still owned by the Frans family. The association holds a large number of different championships (series). The three largest NASCAR series are NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The series is also being held outside the United States - in Mexico and Canada.

NASCAR dates back to 1949, when Bill France Sr. decided to combine the semi-amateur production car races in the southeastern United States into one championship. No motorsport organization has undertaken to sanction this competition and France founded the sanctioning organization himself. Since 1949, NASCAR has held three championships - Strictly Stock (strictly serial), Modified (modified) and Convertible (open). Initially, Modified was a success, but gradually Strictly Stock came out on the first roles, about which it was said that the same cars participate in it as they drive on the roads, and anyone can take part.

High prizes attracted eminent pilots, low costs allowed newcomers to prove themselves. The good selection of tracks and the prudent policies of the Association have contributed to the rapid growth in popularity. In 1959, the huge Daytona International Speedway, a specially built for NASCAR racing, appeared, and the Daytona 500 race held there became the star of the championship.

Bemorepanda collected some funny memes about NASCAR.

1.We are not so different

2.Girls leaving club

3.My business

4.Left NASCAR

5.Going in circles

Gradually, the championship moved away from its philosophy of participation of purely production cars - high speeds and asymmetric loads required modifications to improve safety. At first, even the riders cut a window in the bottom, through which the most loaded front right wheel could be seen, in order to call in on time to change tires. In 1962, the factory teams entered the championship, which had previously supported their brands behind the scenes, and the arms race and the growth of speeds began. Hiding behind the definition of "production car", the Big Three companies produced small batches (in 1970 a batch of at least 500 cars was needed to participate in races) of cars optimized for racing. In the early 70s, "air war" cars, such as the Plymouth Superbird, entered the track, but the Association took measures to prevent a further technology race and introduced special restrictions for such cars. The 1973 energy crisis that followed soon after forced the car companies to withdraw from the championship altogether.

In parallel with the technological competition, the companies tried to attract eminent racers to their side. Racers became real stars, but their attempts to create their own association of pilots to fight for safety were sharply suppressed by Bill France Sr. - the most active were excommunicated from the races, regardless of their names, including Richard Petty himself.

In 1981, the Association completely changed its technical policy, and now silhouette prototypes with a tubular frame and only superficially resembled serial cars came out at the start. Technical innovations were increasingly limited, and in order to equalize the participants and in matters of aerodynamics, the cars even lost their external resemblance to their road counterparts.

In 1979, NASCAR's Daytona 500 race was first shown live, and popularity began to skyrocket. In addition, the task was made easier by the fact that the main competitor in the American motorsport world - CART - has split since 1996. In 1996, the Daytona 500 ratings surpassed the Indy 500 ratings and NASCAR is now the second most popular competition in the United States, behind only the NFL, and the most popular NASCAR racer, Dale Earnhardt Jr., is also America's most popular athlete.

6.NASCAR fans

7.Tasty

8.Hey Kyle

9.Turn left

Stock cars bear the names of production cars, but they do not even look like them. The vehicles are based on a tubular steel frame. The factories (now Dodge, Ford, Chevrolet and Toyota) only supply the teams with the blocks of cylinders, and some other parts - everything else, including the frame and outer metal cladding, is built by the teams themselves.

All stock cars are equipped with V8s with a displacement of 5.87 liters, the configuration of which has not changed since the 60s of the last century - they use a cast iron cylinder block, a lower camshaft and carburetors. The gearbox has four gears, but on oval routes the gears need only be shifted when entering pit stops and when driving under a peyscar. In 2007, NASCAR's top division began the transition to Car of Tomorrow. In 2007, such machines were used only on short ovals (up to 1.33 miles), since 2008 CoTs have been used at all stages.

The engines on the Car of Tomorrow cars are made to an even tighter specification, with a fixed cylinder spacing, which makes them virtually the same. However, their recoil remains the same - a lower shaft petrol V8 with a volume of 5.87 liters and a capacity of about 770 hp. The body is taller, wider and longer (the base is 110 inches or 2794 mm), an adjustable splitter appeared in front (on "classic" cars, the front bumper should be strictly vertical), and a rear wing appeared instead of a huge spoiler.

This configuration gives participants a wider range of aerodynamic settings, and should compensate for the abandonment of "specialized" cars (now teams are building three types of cars: for fast tracks, slow and European type tracks). In addition, according to the organizers' calculations, the new body shape will increase the number of overtaking in races. Even more attention has been paid to safety, energy-absorbing zones have been increased, and the rider sits even closer to the center. With the introduction of the COT in full in 2008, more opponents of the COT have emerged. Of course, Michael McDowell's crash in Texas on 04/06/08 cleared up any questions about whether the safety level of a rider in the COT had changed. But, at the same time, tire problems on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which led to the association's decision to throw the technical yellow flag every 15-18 laps, are related precisely to the specifics of the COT design. Also, COT was unable to provide one of their main tasks - reducing costs due to the versatility of the chassis.

10.Mario Kart

11.Is something happened

12.Everyone crushes

13.How long

In 2010, NASCAR began to gradually improve the aesthetic appearance of the COT. Starting with the spring round in Martinsville, they began to use a standard spoiler instead of a wing. In 2011, the appearance of the front has changed. For 2013, the front end will undergo even more changes, which will give an individual look for each car brand.

The current NASCAR eyewear system has been operating since 1975 with minor changes. The winner receives 185 points, 175 points are given for the second place, then, from the second to the sixth - in increments of 5 points, from the seventh to the 11th - in increments of 4 points, and from 12th place - in increments of 3 points, to the last, 43rd place, for which 35 points are given. However, in total, 54 participants receive points in the classification of car owners - 11 who did not start, but those who took places from 44th to 54th in qualification receive from 32 to 3 points. In addition, an additional 5 points are given to everyone who was able to promote at least one lap, as well as 5 points to the one who has won the most.

In 2004, the Cup introduced a play-off system - Chasing the Cup. For ten races before the end of the season (i.e. after 26 stages), the top ten drivers of the current moment and the drivers who are no more than 400 points behind the leader of the championship receive points in return for their previous results according to the following system: the leader of the championship receives 5050 points, the next one is 5045 and so on. In the remaining 10 races, all drivers still receive points, but only the first ten drivers can compete for the title.

Since 2007, the 400 points rule has been abolished, and the number of pilots participating in the fight for victory has been increased to 12. All participants in the Chase for the Cup receive 5000 points instead of all previously earned, and an additional 10 points for each victory won in the previous part of the season.

14.Drive-thru

15.Layoff

16.I already told you

17.Math test

18.US army

On January 26, 2011, an event occurred in the history of NASCAR that will undoubtedly affect its future. The racing series management has published a new scoring system designed to make it more understandable for the general viewer, as well as to add an element of unpredictability to the fight for the title in 2011.

Many doubts were expressed about the new points system (much simpler than the previous one, which, as the race management considered, was too difficult to remember and calculate the points). Now the difference in points between the positions at the finish line from 43rd to 2nd place will be only one point. That is, the rider who took the last, 43rd place will receive 1 point, the one who took 42nd place - one point more, that is, 2 points, 41st - 3 points, 40th - 4 points, and so on. The rider who takes 2nd place receives, respectively, 42 points. And only the difference between the second and the first place will be 4 points and, thus, the winner of the race will receive 46 points. The new system retains additional bonuses: for leading at least one lap of the race - 1 point, for leading during most laps in the race - 1 point.

The Chase for the Cup system has also undergone changes: the 12 best riders in the regular part of the championship will continue to compete for the title of champion, but now the last 2 places in the Chase will be given to the riders who took places from 11th to 20th with the highest in the final qualification the number of victories. Thus, the last two places in the Pursuit theoretically provide a chance of getting into the finals for drivers with a more aggressive fighting style, who usually either come first or drop out of the race during the struggle for the lead.

All 12 participants in the Chase receive 2000 points, in addition, those of them who made it to the Chase from the top ten receive 3 points for each victory during the season. Those who passed into the Chase from the second ten do not receive bonus points for victories during the previous part of the season. As before, according to the results of the Chase, the driver who has the maximum number of points after the end of the tenth race gets the Cup.

19.That moment

20.Windows

21.Denny Hamil

22.It’s gonna be May

23. 2020 in one photo

24.Should have stoped

25.Stop and go penalty

26.Another left turn

27.Pointless

28.NASCAR

29.Mike Harmon

30.Haven’t seen you since last year

31.During NASCAR

32.My time has come

33.It’s time to go

34.Christmas tree

35.You see?

36.Same

37.Aric Amirola

38.Hottest video

39.Martin Truex

40.So funny

41.Certanities of life

42.Rob them

43.Sme picture

44.Kevin

45.Zero

46.Something familiar

47.Just arrived

48.Joey Logano

49.Peaceful life

50.The tragedy

New York Knicks, an American professional basketball team based in New York City. The Knicks (which is a shortened version of their official nickname, the Knickerbockers) have won two National Basketball Association (NBA) championships (1970 and 1973) and are among the most profitable franchises in professional basketball.

The team was formed in 1946 as part of the newly formed Basketball Association of America, which became the NBA in 1949. The Knicks had winning records in each of their first nine seasons and made the NBA Finals for three straight years (1951–53), losing each time. For the remainder of the decade and into the early 1960s, the Knicks fielded mediocre teams to the poor, but the team's fortunes began to change with the arrival of center Willis Reed in 1964.

Reid was named NBA Rookie of the Year for the 1964–65 season, and he led the Knicks to regular postseason shutdowns from his third season until his retirement in 1974. Knicks under a coach. Red Holtzman won his first title at the end of the 1969–70 season with a talented roster that included four future Hall of Famers: Reid, Walt Frazier, Bill Bradley and Dave DeBuschere. Their final showdown with the Los Angeles Lakers that year was one of the most dramatic playoff streaks in NBA history.

Games three and four were decided in overtime, and in the seventh, deciding game, an injured Reed, who had not played since tearing a thigh muscle in game five, rushed onto the court before the game to a raucous reception from home. crowd in Madison Square Garden. Reed only scored the Knicks' first two baskets of the game, but he inspired his team to close the door on the Lakers by giving New York the first NBA championship. The Knicks and Lakers would go head to head in the Finals two more times over the next three years, sparking a bitter rivalry that resulted in New York claiming another NBA championship in 1973.

1.Winning one game

2.Overpriced players

3.Good record

4.Scorer

As the Knicks' superstar roster began to age, the team gradually fell out of regular post-season competition, although the Knicks' home court at Madison Square Garden was home to one of the era's biggest scorers in the early and mid-1980s, Bernard King. . The Knicks' fall culminated in the team posting a third-worst league record in the 1984–85 season (due in part to King's career-threatening injury), which—combined with some luck in the NBA draft lottery—allowed the team to select center Patrick Ewing, the first pick for draft in 1985. Behind Ewing, the Knicks had many winning seasons and consistently qualified for postseason play, including two more NBA Finals berths, but the team never won a title in Ewing's 15 seasons in New York. Five of those playoff losses came at the hands of the dominant Michael Jordan. The Chicago Bulls teams from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s, and the two franchises developed a bitter rivalry (often witnessed by the Knicks' most famous fan, the film director Spike Lee).

Ewing was traded in 2000, and the Knicks entered a losing streak shortly thereafter. The Knicks hired former Detroit Pistons All-Star guard Isaiah Thomas as team president in 2003. Under his leadership, the Knicks' payroll has grown to unprecedented levels, but the team has consistently finished its conference position at or near its lowest level. In addition to on-court failures, the Knicks were mired in a string of off-court scandals, leading many observers to brand Thomas's Knicks as the worst franchise in professional sports. Thomas was sacked in 2008 and the Knicks entered recovery mode with a new front office and new coaching staff that soon brought in star players Amar'e Stoudemire (in 2010) and Carmelo Anthony (in 2010–11) in an attempt bring the franchise and its fans to life.

The Knicks' revamped roster paid immediate dividends, as the team made the playoffs every season after Anthony was added, and in the 2012–13 season. The team won their first division title in 19 years. The team's success was short-lived, and in an attempt to start a reorganization, it hired former Nick Phil Jackson as team president during a disastrous 2013–14 campaign that saw the club finish eight games under .500 and miss out on the playoffs in a weak Eastern Conference. Anthony missed the second half of the 2014–15 season with an injury and the Knicks subsequently limped to the worst record in franchise history (17–65). The following year, Anthony returned to full strength, but the Knicks were unable to significantly improve their numbers, resulting in New York losing their star shortly before the start of the 2017–18 season. In the 2018–19 season, the Knicks again recorded 17 wins and had the worst record in the NBA that season.

The Knicks and former Phoenix Suns leader Amar'e Stoudemire, who became a free agent, reached an agreement on July 5, 2010. A five-year, $100 million contract was signed on July 8. Team president Donnie Walsh called Stoudemire's signing a turning point for the future of the Knicks.

5.New banner

6.That moment

7.Competing

Amare Stoudemire to the Knicks

New York continued to drastically change the team, trading David Lee to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Anthony Randolph, Kelenn Azubuke and Ronnie Turiaf. The Knicks also signed Charlotte's Raymond Felton and Russian center Timofey Mozgov. These changes allowed the Knicks to sell all of their season tickets, which had not happened before since 2002.

Carmelo Anthony, new Knicks star

Team D'Antoni, led by Stoudemire and a group of young players made up of Felton, Gallinari, Mozgov, Wilson Chandler and rookie Landry Fields, went 28-26 into the 2011 NBA All-Star break, the first positive margin the Knicks by February starting in 2000. Despite Donnie Walsh's success in building a team during his first three years in office, the Knicks couldn't stop there and tried their best to get Denver Nuggets leader Carmelo Anthony.

After months of negotiations, Anthony was traded to New York on February 21, 2011, along with teammates Chauncey Billups, Shelden Williams, Anthony Carter and former Knicks player Renaldo Balkman. Denver, in turn, received Felton, Gallinari, Chandler, Mozgov, Costa Koufos, a 2014 first-round pick, a 2013 and 2014 second-round pick, and $3 million. After that, the Knicks traded Anthony Randolph and Eddie Curry to the Minnesota, in exchange for Corey Brewer, who was immediately given to Dallas.

On April 3, 2011, the Knicks defeated Cleveland 123-107 for the first time since 2004 to win an NBA playoff berth. On April 10, 2011, after defeating Indiana with the help of Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks guaranteed themselves a positive win-loss difference for the first time since 2000.

8.The moment

9.Update

10.Six games

11.That face

12.Playing time

13.Knicks

14.How fun

15.PG

16.No God

17.Realizing

18.Started from the bottom

19.Agreed

20.Triangle

21.Made it

22.Right

23.Roots

24.Fans be like

25.Good vibe

26.Sad

27.Stomach

28.Top of East

29.My knicks

30.Playing 

31.Changes are here

32.Finals

33.Illegal

34.Players

35.Going to pretend

36.One year deal

37.Shoot your shot

38.Thibs

39.World champions

40.Not sure

41.LeBron

42.NBA fans

43.They said

44.Phone wallpaper

45.Success

46.Losing

47.Adidas

48.Worst record

49.In a row

50.Knicks ranked