Blaney, Ryan
2024 Pocono Rapid Race Report
The 2024 Pocono rapid race report includes a problematic pit road, an aggressive pit call and an unusual amount of carnage. […]
Physics
Acceleration
NASCAR Crashes and G-Forces
While NASCAR keeps crash details confidential to protect drivers’ privacy, some drivers share the numbers from their crashes. But a single number doesn’t tell you everything about crash in the same way that finishing position doesn’t tell you the story of a driver’s entire race. […]
Engines
Why NASCAR Engines are Not Spec Engines
NASCAR mandates a 750-hp package and a 550-hp package. That’s led a lot of people to suggest that this is really no better than a spec engine. Here’s why that’s far from true. […]
grip
Grip: How NASCAR Decides If There’s Enough
Without grip — aka ‘friction’ — there is no racing. But how do you know how much grip a racetrack has? The primary tool for tuning racing grip is the tire. Goodyear produces different tire […]
Lasers
The Secret to iRacing’s Track Realism? LIDAR
The eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series is a welcome respite from a world transformed by coronavirus. Here’s how iRacing uses science to make the experience as much like real life as possible. If only the […]
Air Titan
The Scientific Secrets of PJ1 Track Bite
NASCAR’s continued struggle to balance cost, safety and competitiveness led to using PJ1 Track Bite in 2017 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Since then it’s been used (mostly successfully) at other tracks. So what is it […]
Centripetal Force
Daytona Banking
You don’t need another countdown to Daytona, but perhaps a little more information about Daytona will help you appreciate it that much more when it does come. A large part of that is the banking. […]
Aerodynamics
The NASCAR Vortex Theory
The NASCAR Vortex Theory says that cars racing around an oval track create a rotational disturbance that repels oncoming storms. Truth? Or Myth? What’s a Vortex? A vortex is a region in a fluid (and […]
Distributions
Does NASCAR Have a Momentum Effect?
Here’s a drinking game for you the next time you tune into any sports broadcast, be it motorsports, golf, rugby, boxing or tennis. Drink every time you hear the word ‘momentum’. You can play the […]
Aerodynamics
NASCAR: Caps, Limits and Level Playing Fields
Every sport faces it: One, or a few, teams pull ahead because they can spend more money than anyone else. Those teams and their fans are fine, but it means the league has failed to […]