A common misconception: NASCAR machines are powered by the least high-tech engine of any motorsport series on the planet – basically the same motors that they used in the 1960s.
In terms of architecture, the 358 cubic-inch, 90-degree pushrod V8s have been motivating America’s premier stock car series for decades – that much is true – but each engine on the Cup Series grid is actually stacked with Formula 1-level technology in radically designed cylinder heads with insanely tight tolerances that cost tens of thousands of dollars per piece to produce.