Watching car racing, whether it's Formula One, NASCAR or dirt track, is adrenaline pumping and fun. Hopping into your Honda Fit or Toyota Corolla and tearing down the road (safely, of course) keeps the fun going. Oh, you don't think so? Actually, those two little economy cars have more in common with race cars than you might think and we're not talking about tuned or tricked out Fits or Corollas. Right out of the factory, car racing technology has influenced production cars in some surprising ways.

Formula One Image Gallery

Formula One racing
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How does technology from a race car transfer to the car in your driveway? See more Formula One pictures.

Car racing teams have always sought to build the fastest and best-performing cars possible. They've enlisted some of the top car designers and engineers to help with the job. When car racing has a breakthrough, it is almost always applicable in some form to mass-produced cars. As a result, race technology has influenced many of the components of the car sitting in your driveway -- from the basic engine design, to the position of the ignition, and even the rearview mirror.

As it turns out, you don't have to go much further than your own garage to have a race car experience. To find out the top 10 racing technologies that might be in your car, keep reading.

How stock is stock car racing?
NASCAR, the most popular type of car racing in the United States, grew from people racing their everyday cars. So, can you waltz into your local dealership and pick up a track-ready ride? Not really. Though NASCAR cars are based on production cars, the conditions they race under are so extreme, there's not much that's stock in stock car racing.