Sit so close to the steering wheel?
Seems like an un-natural driving position.

They learned to drive that way in their high chair......

Years ago I read that it was either in case the power steering failed or because it had no power steering.

It so they can "get up on that wheel" or however Darrel Waltrip says that when he's announcing a race.

It really is weird looking. They need something more flashy:

They do get more leverage sitting closer, I think these days though they can't drive the cars without powersteering anyways. The cars are too heavy and the suspension geometry works again the driver too much.

It might not be natural for relaxing and cruising, but it definitely is natural for racing. Having the wheel that close puts your arms in a position that gives much better control.

EDIT: It's not just NASCAR drivers, by the way. Most race cars put the wheel that close.

You can definitively see that for rally drivers.

By having the fore arms at 90 degrees, it gives you more control on the steering wheel (faster reactions).

You only need the wheel far away to turn RIGHT...

At speed I don't see the need for PS unless they have a very tight ratio box. As I understand it they steer with power and rear wheel slippage anyway.

Which reminds me,

Why do lowriders have such small steering wheels"?



So they can drive with their handcuffs on.

to match their dinky little 13" tires

I can't say I have seen that in Rally cars.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyWEOEA1NMs&feature=related
Interesting video by the way :-)

Some do sit closer than that (that must be an OLD vid, as all of the modern stuff, save for the U.S., and vintage Brit kit, use paddle shifted sequential gearboxes).

The BTCC/WTCC/DTM drivers tend to sit fairly close to the wheel as well.

The Aussie V-8 Supercar Series definitely steers that way with their spooled rear axles!!

I should have precised my references: I was talking about Sebastien Loeb in WRC.
From what I remember, like dailydriver said, all modern rally drivers drive this way.

But like dOOfOOd said, this is not the most relaxing position.
I tend to sit closer than regular people (my wife is 3-4 inches smaller than me and I usually sit closer to the steering wheel than her), as I feel more in control, in case of an emergency situation occurs. It is not that comfortable (needs to have the seat quite up right as I have long legs), but I can drive a long time like that.
It may be not a good thing in case of a front impact (too close to the wheel), but for now and as long as I can endure the slight back pain I get from the position, I prefer to drive that way. I feel way more in control that having the arms extended all the time.

F1 driver seem to prefer the opposite, Arms almost fully extended!