Remember when Top Gear hosted NASCAR?

Dewey Ward has been coming to Charlotte Motor Speedway for 30 years. He drives his old school bus to the same spot each year and drinks with his buddies, right in the middle of the infield. One year, Dewey was set on fire. Someone disliked the driver pictured on his shirt, so they torched him on the spot. While people cheered and whistled, Dewey tore off his flaming garment, patted his smouldering back hair, and poured a cold beer over himself. Soon afterwards, his mates stumbled off to the brothel bus, leaving our fiery friend to cool off.

Words: Dan Read
Photos: Daniel Byrne

Top Gear US returns this Sunday July 24 10/9c for its second season on History (US-only)

There are thousands of people like Dewey. And today, they're having a party. Why? Because TopGear is having a race. Not one where Jeremy drives something fast and James drives something in sepia. But an actual, live, NASCAR race, with our name on it. It's a muggy, hot Saturday in North Carolina, and, for one day only, the Nationwide Cup Series has a new sponsor. Us. These might not be the heavyweight Sprint Cup machines that race on Sunday, but most top drivers race in both championships, and millions will watch on telly. And as a bonus, today's the day that Kimi Räikkönen has turned up for a scrap, having only raced in the truck series until now. He'll be in the number 83 car, sponsored by Perky Jerky. Another car is sponsored by Jesus.

Top Gear US returns this Sunday July 24 10/9c for its second season on History (US-only)

Fittingly, things kick off with a prayer. "Dear Lord. We thank you for the freedom that allows us to enjoy this race, the TopGear 300. We pray for the safety of the drivers, and the fans. In the name of Jesus, Amen." As the words end, the Star Spangled Banner is blared across the speedway, sung with fists on hearts and hairs on end. The last notes fade out, there's a crack in the sky and two F-18 Rampagers whoosh overhead. There is whooping. There's a crackle of applause. And then there's thunder, as 43 NASCARs fire up in the pits.

Top Gear US returns this Sunday July 24 10/9c for its second season on History (US-only)

While they idle, a white figure emerges from a rusty trailer, smelling of shrimp and grilled cheese. American Stig. He opens the door of the pace car, removes the driver with a stab of a nightstick, and levers into his seat. He'll be setting the pace for the side-by-side rolling start. TopGear US presenter Adam Ferrara is in the starter's gantry, and he waves the flag to set them off. His co-host Rutledge Wood is here too, a good ol' southern boy with a beard you could live in and a brain stuffed with NASCAR nuggets.

Top Gear US returns this Sunday July 24 10/9c for its second season on History (US-only)

"People who've never been to a race make fun of it, and say we just go round in circles," he says. "And that's a valid argument... if you've never been to one. Our drivers are super-skilled. You go from mega grip to no grip in an instant. This track is super-fast - they're running at 190+mph on the straightaways, while their bumpers touch. It takes so much skill to think about doing that."

Top Gear US returns this Sunday July 24 10/9c for its second season on History (US-only)

Like the Sprint cars, these Nationwide cars use 5.8-litre pushrod V8s, making somewhere around 650bhp (Sprint cars have 850-ish). At a standstill, they look a bit wonky - they only have to turn left on the circuit, so the tyres poke out cartoonishly to one side. But like an SR-71 spy plane, which looks a bit droopy on the ground, these things turn into sleek bullets at speed. They're heavier on the right side than the left, to help pin them into the sloped corners on the anti-clockwise oval, which isn't really an oval at all. There are kinks and curves and cambers, which squish the cars like gravity contorting a planet, so by the end of the race, the chassis will have twisted out of shape.

Top Gear US returns this Sunday July 24 10/9c for its second season on History (US-only)

At the foot of the track's outer wall, the air never settles. It's relentlessly whipped up by car after car, until little vortices form beside the concrete. The art of airflow is the key to success here. Drivers slipstream in the pocket of clean air created by the car in front, before pulling out and punching their own way through the atmosphere. They call it drafting, and it makes following place changes harder than memorising a swiftly shuffled deck of cards.

Top Gear US returns this Sunday July 24 10/9c for its second season on History (US-only)

There are just four manufacturers involved - Ford, Chevy, Dodge and Toyota - running largely similar, standardised cars, with stickers to imitate the styling of their road-going equivalents (like the ones we've just driven down here). So how do you pick your favourite? Maybe the driver is from your hometown. Maybe you've always driven Fords and couldn't possibly cheer for that foreign lot at Toyota. Or perhaps you choose the one sponsored by Budweiser because you like the taste of their beer. Take a walk around those old school buses on the campsite, and you'll find a flag for every driver, sometimes living, sometimes not.

Top Gear US returns this Sunday July 24 10/9c for its second season on History (US-only)

You'll also find people like Jim Plott, whose bus is split 50/50 between Old Spice livery because he got it for free, and a US Army paintjob featuring a special thanks to Seal Team Six who recently took out Bin Laden. They love a bit of jingoism around here. "One year they were gonna hide an eff-e-gee of Saddam Hussein somewhere on the infield," Jim tells us. "With a bounty for the fan who found him first."

Top Gear US returns this Sunday July 24 10/9c for its second season on History (US-only)

Around the corner, Linda and Greg Waters have just tied the knot. They met a year ago on this spot, and decided to marry here. "Many different sides of life come together at the track," Rutledge tells us. "You can have a church service going on in one place and naked girls in another. One year, there was a colossal stripper pole out in Texas, and people put spotlights on it. But Talladega has the best shenanigans. There's even an on-site jail." The inmates are the lucky ones - one year, when the staff cleared the campsite, they found three bodies among the debris. They died from partying too hard.

Top Gear US returns this Sunday July 24 10/9c for its second season on History (US-only)

So it would seem that the racing is just the nucleus of something much bigger. Most people we talk to have been here for a week or more, and most have driven big miles to get here. One guy drove from nearby the circuit, all the way to the Canadian border to collect some mates, then all the way back again for the race. In another age, this would be some sort of pilgrimage. And with the party stretched over so many days, the American consumption machine goes into overdrive - the speedway will sell 34,000 slicesof pizza, 9,500 gallons of water, 2.6 miles of hot dogs and 140,162 kilos of ice over the weekend. And that's before you count the thousands of barbecues and coolers full of cheap beer and sour mash whiskey. It might be one big stereotype, but hey, who's judging? This is America at its most comfortable.

Top Gear US returns this Sunday July 24 10/9c for its second season on History (US-only)

As the booze sinks in and the smoke rises, 42 heroes circle like a thunderous halo around their adoring fans. Kyle Busch establishes an early lead in his Toyota, hassled by Carl Edwards in his Roush Ford. Edwards drafts his way past, blowing away the unpopular Busch, who was busted for doing 128mph on public roads a few days ago, bolstering his reputation as the cocky young gun. Edwards is caught by his teammate Matt Kenseth, setting up a killer finale as they squabble for the lead. Räikkönen, who was running as high as 13th, has slipped to 27th. He's cursing his car, his burning ass and lack of water. "We're so ****ing s**t, it's unbelievable," he screams down the radio. Afterwards, a reporter asks if he can improve on his finish. "No. My Finnish is fine, I am from Finland," he replies. "Do you have any water?"

In the pit road, the atmosphere is boiling. If hell were dragged up to the earth's surface, it'd look something like this. It's already 34°C out here, and double that under the belly of a scorching NASCAR. They arrive like hot meteors, followed by the shrill of airguns operated by men with 72-ounce steaks for biceps. Brake fires are slapped out with rags and fuel is poured from a big spout that drips 97-octane bio-ethanol onto the blokes below. When the cars are sent back out, mechanics spit brown globs of chewing tobacco onto the hot tarmac. It immediately sizzles away.

Top Gear US returns this Sunday July 24 10/9c for its second season on History (US-only)

Kenseth eventually takes the win. The crowd is happy. A big cheer goes up when Rutledge presents the TopGear 300 winner's trophy, assisted by a recalcitrant Stig. It's a civilised celebration compared to one a few years ago. That time, someone fired a victory shot into the air. The bullet rushed up, looped over its apex, and accelerated back to earth... straight into a man's head. But that didn't stop him coming back.

Only in America. Only at Nascar.

Top Gear US returns this Sunday July 24 10/9c for its second season on History (US-only)