Time is Money in the NASCAR Fast Lane

Sometimes life is lived in milliseconds. Many NASCAR races are decided by fractions of a second, giving new meaning to the term photo-finish. This year, the stars of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, the most competitive racing series in the U.S., will battle under the lights in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 28th. Will the series’ 600 mile marathon race come down to inches? Will drivers set a new MOV (Margin of Victory) record?

There have been ten really tight Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races, with the second-place finisher giving up thousands of dollars. Ricky Craven and Jimmie Johnson have both won by .002 seconds.  In 2007, Kyle Busch lost $95,000 by coming in second to Jamie McMurray by only .005 of a second. Ernie Irvan placed second in 1993 and 1994: losing by a total of 0.13 of a second and losing out on almost $60,000.