There are plenty of racetracks where you can't drive at 120 mph in any car. In this instance, though, it is the car that is the limitation. They are probably de-tuned to an acceptable performance level for student race drivers.
Nascar cars are not particularly quick anyway, they have nothing like the performance of Formula 1 or even Indy Cars. For instance, the Nascar lap record at Phoenix's PIR is 26.499 secs (135.84 MPH) Whereas the Indy Cars routinely lap at 20 seconds or below which means they are averaging 180 MPH or more.
I know of an AC Cobra that holds (or held) the production car lap record at Daytona at an average speed of 198 MPH. So, the thrack is not the limitation in this instance, Daytona is a Super Speedway.
>>There are plenty of racetracks where you can’t drive at 120 mph in any car. In this instance, though, it is the car that is the limitation. They are probably de-tuned to an acceptable performance level for student race drivers. <<
Yeah, I worded mine poorly. What I actually was trying to get across was that if he was driving on a track that was meant to be an asphalt race track, 120 isn’t very fast.
Does anybody know how fast the pace car goes around a Nascar track?
You're right. It is basic physics. The open-wheel cars produce more horsepower and are much lighter, so they have better acceleration. Besides the better power, open-wheel cars have much better aerodynamics, both of which contribute to a much higher top end. They are also have a much lower center of gravity so they can corner much harder than the stock cars and thus retain much more speed in the corners. The open-wheel guys wouldn't want to swap paint with the stock cars, however.
Although not directly comparable, each type of car can produce very exciting racing.