A non-NASCAR fan's guide to Sunday's Daytona 500

The 2014 NASCAR season starts on Sunday with the 56th running of the Daytona 500. For NASCAR fans, it’s the biggest race on the calendar. For non-fans, it's the NASCAR race you recognize.

While the stereotype of rednecks watching cars go around in circles remains partly true, the sport has come a long way. 

Since the 1930s, Daytona has been paramount to racing.

It's one of two tracks on the schedule known as "superspeedways," meaning it's longer than two miles, and features only left turns. Cars at superspeedways reach speeds upwards of 210 miles per hour. If they go any faster than that, and the speed mixes with aerodynamics, cars begin to go airborne. To reduce cars flipping around all the time, NASCAR has implemented restrictor plates at these tracks, which limit the speed on cars, and make it equal to all drivers.

Daytona International Speedway also features steep banking. Banking is the steepness of the track, allowing cars to go faster without losing grip or traction, especially around corners. Banking was created to help a car’s velocity and downforce through a turn, while minimizing lateral slip. How is that comparable to everyday driving?

Imagine driving on the highway - the banking there is 0 degrees. Now imagine the road tilting 31 degrees, going 210 miles per hour (337 km/h for our Canadian friends), with an inch of space beside your opponents. 

What does the 500 mean in Daytona 500? The track is two-and-a-half miles long, and the races consists of 200 laps, or 500 miles. The race is scheduled to start at 1:20pm ET. R&B singer Aloe Blacc will sing the anthem, US Air Force Thunderbirds will perform the flyover, actor Gary Sinise will wave the green flag to start the race and Captain America himself, Chris Evans will serve as grand marshal. 

One term that you'll hear a lot during the race is "drafting." What does drafting mean? There's a ton that goes into it, but at its most basic level: if you drive behind another driver, the both of you go faster. Two drivers make a draft successful, three drivers usually ruins the draft. If you see a car on track driving with nobody around them, yeah, they're probably in a lot of trouble. Drafting is only done at superspeedways.

FOX Sports is a mix of good and bad. The three people you'll probably be hearing from most during the broadcast are lap-by-lap commentator Mike Joy, and analysts Larry MacReynolds and Darrell Waltrip.

Joy is a respected announcer, MacReynolds and Waltrip, not so much. If you want a decent broadcast, just listen to what Joy has to say, or just mute the broadcast entirely. The other two don't really have a view of their own, as much as they just say whatever NASCAR tells them to say. It's sad.

The two head honchos at NASCAR are Brian France - the CEO and Chairman - and Mike Helton,  - the president of NASCAR.

While there's no official number, it's safe to say that the approval rating is pretty low with these two. Most recently, they changed around the entire format of the season, much to the disapproval of fans of the sport (more on that below).

NASCAR is a privately owned company. They have the power to do as they please.  They rarely ever disclose information to the fans. Most of their fines to drivers and teams will be described as "actions detrimental to stock-car racing," not mentioning specifically what the driver did, leaving everyone confused.

There's a disconnect between them and the fans, and it doesn't look like the relationship is changing anytime soon.

She's not great, but she's not all that bad. Entering her second full-time season, she's an average driver at best right now. She won the pole for the Daytona 500 last year, which means she was the fastest qualifier so she started at the front. She finished the race in 8th, and that was the highlight of her year. But she's good for the sport. She's a marketing machine, and NASCAR is going to do everything they can to hype her up.

Dale Earnhardt Sr. is the closest thing to Jesus Christ himself in NASCAR. He died while racing in the 2001 Daytona 500, and is still a fan favorite to this day. Since his death, his iconic #3 car was removed from racing like a retired number in other sports.

Until recently, that is.

Austin Dillon is a rookie who won championships in both of the two lower tier series. Last year it was announced that Dillon would be driving the No. 3 car and NASCAR fans everywhere lost their mind.

Because Dillon's grandfather, Richard Childress, is the owner of Richard Childress Racing, a lot of fans feel as though Dillon hasn’t paid his dues. He’s worked his way up the series by his grandfather's wallet, as opposed to the traditional way of winning races in less than stellar equipment.

No matter your opinion, Dillon won the pole to this year's Daytona 500, so he'll be starting in the first row on Sunday.

NASCAR hates when you talk bad about them, and Kyle Busch knows firsthand of the wrath of NASCAR head office. 

Fans gravitate toward Kyle because of his outspoken demeanor. Whether he gets fined or not, Kyle is going to tell you a) what's wrong with the way NASCAR or drivers are doing their job and b) how they should fix it. Because of this, Kyle Busch is one of the most polarizing figures in the sport - he's either wholly loved, or severely hated.

Jimmie Johnson is the best driver in NASCAR. He is the reigning Sprint Cup champion, winning titles from 2005-2010, and in 2013. Because he's from California, a lot of NASCAR fans (the majority of which are from the Southern United States), don't give him the respect he deserves.

He’s not a "good ol' boy," and he’s not there to make friends.

Johnson and his team have been caught cheating numerous times, but he gets results. Johnson wins, and wins a lot. He doesn't have that much of a personality, so most refer to him as vanilla. Call him whatever you want. It won’t take away from his six Cup trophies.

It doesn't get more redneck than Clint Bowyer.

Most fans saw Bowyer to be a "good ol' boy," at least until the end of September when he purposefully crashed his car to try and help a teammate. The result of the crash didn’t help anyone.

Several drivers were affected by the wreck, and NASCAR handed down hefty fines to his team. The fines were so bad that they had to reduce their staff by 15%. NASCAR fans turned on him quickly, and he's been laying low ever since, avoiding the media. He's looking to start fresh this season. 

Tony Stewart doesn't care, and people love him for that.

Stewart is one of the most popular drivers on the circuit, as fans feel as though they can relate to him. He's not in shape. He’s rarely clean-shaven. He will fight you, if necessary. And perhaps most importantly, he has a proven track record, winning in INDY, IROC and NASCAR.

Stewart got into a serious accident last season, breaking his leg, and sitting out for 7 months. The race at Daytona will mark his return to NASCAR racing. 

One thing to know about Dale Jr: DO NOT mess with Jr. Nation.

His fanbase is dedicated. Ever since the passing of his father Dale Earnhardt Sr., Dale Jr.’s loyal group of fans have anointed him as the second coming. Unfortunately for them, Jr. is little more than an average driver. Though he doesn't rack up the wins, he's been voted most popular driver for the last eleven years straight. 

To try and reach a younger audience, NASCAR is introducing their biggest rookie class this season. There will be eight drivers in total vying for rookie of the year honors.

There's usually only one or two rookies each season, so this is a big deal. The two biggest drivers are Austin Dillon (who we mentioned above), and Kyle Larson. The 21-year-old Larson has won a championship in the lower-tier series, and there is a ton of hype surrounding this kid heading into this season. 

Yeah, he's still here. There isn’t much to say about him, it's just that anytime someone asks me about NASCAR, they ask if Jeff Gordon still drives. So yes, yes he does.

50 Cent? NASCAR? What? Last year, 50 Cent showed up to the Daytona 500 and embarrassed himself by trying to kiss Erin Andrews of FOX Sports, while she was reporting. See the cringe worthy moment below:

In the offseason, it was announced that 50 Cent's headphone brand SMS Audio would be sponsoring Swan Racing. This means that 50 Cent will return to the Daytona 500 this season, and who knows what he'll do to Erin Andrews this time.

NASCAR is in trouble. Their ratings have been decreasing, sponsors are leaving, attendance numbers are decreasing, fans are getting older and gaining a younger audience is a huge challenge.

Everybody knows it, and NASCAR is trying their best to fix it, but this is a make or break year for a lot of fans. NASCAR recently changed their playoff process, where a win in the regular season ensures a spot in the playoffs. The final race of the season will be between four drivers, and whoever finishes best wins the championship. According to NASCAR CEO Brian France, this is what the fans wanted.

However, 86% of fans we surveyed aren't happy, and didn't want this, and that, perhaps moreso than anything else, is the perfect example of where NASCAR is right now, and why this year is so important.

It all gets started on Sunday, at 1:00pm ET on FOX.