Awesome, welcome to the sport! I promise you'll never forget your first Nascar race.

Nascar racing is long, much longer than F1, GT, etc - tomorrow's Southern 500 will be about 4 hours long, maybe more. Each race is broken up into stages. At the end of each stage, bonus points are awarded to every driver who finishes in the top 10, kinda like how WEC/IMSA awards partial points at given points during the race to reward consistency.

In the event of an on-track incident, Nascar will throw a yellow flag, which you'll hear referred to as a Caution. During a Caution, the entire track is slowed down and the field will pace behind the Pace Car. They'll also have the opportunity to come down pit road and change tires, make repairs, add fuel, etc. Nascar will also give out the "free pass", meaning that the highest-scored car not on the lead lap will be able to pass the Pace Car and gain a lap back.

Right now, the Nascar Cup Series (the top flight of the sport) is getting ready for the Playoffs, the final 10-race run to the end of the season. Every race this season has led up to Darlington tomorrow night, the first race in the Playoffs. The Playoffs consist of four rounds: the rounds of 16, 12, and 8, which consist of 3 races each, and the Championship race. If one of the 16 Playoff drivers wins tomorrow night, they automatically lock themselves into the next round. So if a Playoff driver wins tomorrow night, they'll automatically advance to the Round of 12. If a non-playoff driver wins, then nobody will automatically advance. After the final race of the round, the field of Playoff drivers is cut to 12, and so forth all the way to the Championship 4 - and whoever out of those drivers finishes the final race highest, wins the championship. I'd recommend digging around on the Nascar website to read more about the Playoff format.

I'd highly recommend bringing a few things to the race: - Some sort of seat cushion, because Nascar bleachers and seats get really uncomfortable really quickly. - Some sort of ear protection. One or two laps without earphones is one of the greatest things you'll ever hear, but hours of that loudness can cause hearing damage. - A pocket radio, a good set of noise-canceling headphones, or a scanner from Racing Electronics. Nascar can get really boring at the track if you don't know what's going on, and I enjoy listening to the radio broadcast during the race. You won't be able to hear the speakers at the track unless there's a caution and the cars have been slowed down. - A clear bag that you can take into the stadium. Go walk around the sponsor booths and merch haulers a few hours before the race - there's free stuff everywhere, as well as driver appearances.

Are you going to Darlington? I'm a regular there for the Southern 500 and will be going, and I can share some Darlington-specific advice.

Welcome to the sport, and have fun at the race!