There are many factors that affect a race car in auto racing. The way a car is set up is based on the type of track they are racing at.
Specifically speaking about NASCAR, there are 2 main types: short track and super speedway (they also run a road course at Watkins Glenn). A short track will require a car to slow down (brake) and speed up (accelerate) whereas a super speedway allows a car to run at full throttle most/all of the race.
Of these two main types of tracks the turns can have any amount of banking (incline) in them. A turn with a higher bank will allow the car to go around that turn faster.
In NASCAR, the majority of the tracks are some variation of an oval and only have left turns. If a car only has to turn one way the wheels can be adjusted so that the wheels are no longer perpendicular to the road but rather at an angle; this is called camber. Camber can be positive (the top of the wheel sticks out further than the bottom) or negative (the bottom of the wheel sticks out further than the top).
Tire pressure can affect the handling of the car. Typically, tires are set at a lower pressure initially because during the race the tires heat up and cause the air to expand resulting in a higher pressure. During this process of increasing pressure the driver must be aware of this to adjust and adapt to the handling of the car.
When going around a turn there are a few things that can happen. The car can feel like the back end (rear wheels) is sliding out, this type of handling is called loose. The car can feel like the front end (front wheels) is sliding out, this type of handling is called tight. The car can also go around the turn normal, not loose or tight. Different drivers prefer loose/tight/normal handling.
