With over forty cars packed onto one track, it's nearly impossible for NASCAR drivers to race without some level of cooperation. The exploration of situations that force cooperation and simultaneously reward individual acheivment is called “game theory”. This social science can help explain drivers’ decisions to either cooperate or compete.
Game Theory
Game theory is the study of decision making in a group situation where individual success depends on the individual and the relative success of the group--when you can't live with 'em and you can't live without 'em. The classic game theory situation is called the “prisoner’s dilemma.” In this example, two suspects are arrested by the police and questioned in separate rooms so they cannot communicate. They are faced with the following three possibilities:
If both confess to the crime, they receive a light sentence.
If both deny the crime, they are released due to lack of evidence.
If one confesses and the other denies, the cooperating prisoner is released and the non-cooperating prisoner receives a severe sentence.In this scenario, each must make a decision based on the decision he expects from the other. Game theory studies when each will remain loyal and when each will rat the other out.
Game Theory and NASCAR
The prisoner’s dilemma case requires decisions similar to those made by NASCAR drivers. A car on a NASCAR track faces tremendous resistance from the air in front of it. Because it pushes the air out of the way, a partial vacuum is created behind the car, which sucks it backwards. Thus, a single car is fighting a two front war against speed reduction.
The game theory decisions enter because of the cooperation potential between cars. If a car pulls close behind another, it can help push the air in front while being drawn forward by the partial vacuum behind the first. Because the second car fills the vacuum, the first car experiences less drag. The same principle explains why birds fly in V-formation: working together they can travel fasater and easier. The higher speed that comes with cooperation is why there are often “draft lines,” or long lines of cars, in NASCAR racing.
So, it can benefit drivers to play nice, but because each wants to win there is still individual competition. Thus, a prisoner’s dilemma arises: a driver must decide when to cooperate and when to defect. The decision must be based on each driver's evaluation of the risks and benefits and his evaluation of the other driver’s potential decision.
For more information, see David Ronfeldt’s paper,
’Social Science at 190 MPH on NASCAR’s Biggest Superspeedways’See also:
The Science of NASCAR
NASCAR History: From Bootlegging to Big Bucks 
