Why NASCAR Needs to Update its Race Technology

The drinking word after last night’s Xfinity race on Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Roval was ‘unforced error’. This one sounded a clear call that NASCAR needs to update its race technology.

Because NASCAR made yet another one.

The Battle Between the Yellow and White Flags

As Parker Kligerman battled to stay out front and win his first Xfinity race in his last year racing, Leland Honeyman’s No. 42 car barrelled into the tire barrier so deep that only its spoiler and rear panel were visible.

NASCAR threw the caution and it looked like Kligerman has already taken the white flag when the caution was thrown. That’s critical because once the white flag flies, the next flag ends the race. For a few moments, Kligerman and his team through they had won.

Then NASCAR radioed that Kligerman did not take the white flag before the caution was signaled. Subsequent replays showed that Kligerman was a tantalizing few feet from the line when the yellow came out.

Rewind the whoops of joy, the fist bumps, the celebrating. Re-rack the cars and prepare for a restart to finish the race. Sam Mayer overtook Kligerman and won the race, leaving Kligerman not only trophy-less, but out of the championships.

Technology is the Solution, Not the Problem

I had to shut off SiriusXM Radio on my way to the track this morning because of a prolonged discussion about how technology had caused this problem. Racing, after all, is a fundamentally human enterprise, with people who have to press buttons and key mikes.

The problem isn’t technology: It’s the wrong technology.

Let’s look at everything that contributed to the problem. I do not include in this list the fact that NASCAR waited way too long to throw the caution. That is a human issue.

• The flagperson showed the white before the yellow
• The television announcers proclaimed Kligerman’s victory before it was official.
• The team had no indication from NASCAR that they hadn’t won.
• Fans saw the caution lines come on after Kligerman passed start-finish.

The technology already exists to ensure problems like this don’t happen. NASCAR doesn’t use it.

The sad part is that, even if you somehow want to argue that it’s too expensive to implement such a technology, this technology can also prevent or minimize secondary accidents, as I pointed out in 2017.

What Happens in a Race

Let’s look at the sequence of events that leads to a yellow.

• The race director decides to throw the yellow flag
• Someone pushes the yellow-flag button
• Someone tells the flagperson to display the yellow flag.
• The caution lights around the track activate.
• Someone from race control radios to the teams that the yellow is out.

Look at all the delays in this process. In addition to reaction times, the caution lights around the track are all hardwired. While the end result is light, electrons in the wires do not move anywhere near the speed of light. The longer the wire, the longer it takes for the signal to reach the light.

I learned this morning that tracks have two sets of lights: one set is permanent. NASCAR installs the other set.

Wouldn’t it be great if there were a way to get that information to everyone involved instantly?

In-Car Race Signals

Luckily, there is. A number of companies have developed wireless systems that transmit information directly to the racecar. One could also imagine that the same type of system for pit boxes and on the flagstand.

One of the earliest systems, Race Safe, was developed in the 1980s. The system was mandated for use in ARCA in 2003.

More recently, I learned about a company called Spectra Technology, which produces race management systems for rally and other types of racing where race control may not even have visual contact with the cars, as well as for oval track racing.

The graphic above show the device, which I’ve highlighted in purple. The moment something happens, the driver receives notice in the car without need for the information to go through a crew chief or a spotter.

Some systems also include an audio warning that doesn’t even require the driver to look away from the road to know that there’s a problem.

If NASCAR had Updated It’s Race Technology

Let’s imagine that NASCAR had updated its race technology and mandated a system like the ones described above. Last night, regardless of when the caution waved, Kligerman would know immediately that the race was not over. His team would have known, and everyone else in the race would have known.

And if the same system were available to the television and radio broadcasters, they would also know that the race was not over.

Fans might still be debating whether NASCAR should have called the caution, but they wouldn’t have the roller coaster ride that irritated so many of us last night.

Spread the word. NASCAR needs to update its race technology.