VIN number is a unique identification number that is found in almost every car. But does the same apply for race cars used in NASCAR as well? A recent video by Joe Gibbs Racing provided information on this very question.
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The narration in the video explained that while street cars get a unique 17 digit VIN number, the case for race cars in NASCAR isn’t quite the same. The cars are torn apart after every race and thereafter some of the parts are reused while some are disposed off.
Hence, the exact car only sees the racetrack once, before parts of it are swapped out kind of making it a brand new vehicle. Also, since these cars have no insurance or registration due to it not beings street legal it isn’t possible to issue a VIN number.
That does not mean there isn’t any identification for these cars. There is something known as a chassis number that exists on every frame. Each chassis usually sees the racetrack about six or seven times before being replaced.
What happens to wrecked NASCAR race cars?
While normal race cars get their parts swapped after every race, what happens to a race car after it is involved in a wreck? That depends on how bad the impact is. If the nature of wreck is too severe then most of the car will be considered a write off. But in most cases it is only a section of the car which is damaged. In that case the pristine parts can be taken out to be used again in future builds.
Now those cars are sent over to be scraped there are instances where people have preserved the cars in their final state. One big example would be that of Dale Earnhardt JR, and his NASCAR graveyard. Junior has a property where he specifically keeps old wrecked Cup cars. Over the years this collection has grown to multiple interesting cars with some history associated with it.
