Allmendinger, A.J.
Infographic: Energy Drink Label Comparison
With all the talk about phenyalanine being a potential problem in energy drinks, thought I’d point out that fuel in a bottle isn’t the only energy drink that includes it.
Racing
Allmendinger, A.J.
Drug Testing FAQ
Some clarifications to clean up the incorrect information circulating around in the wake of A.J. Allmendinger’s failed drugs test. More questions – send them to admin(at)buildingspeed(dot)org and I’ll add them […]
Aerodynamic Forces
Rules Changes…Again
NASCAR issues rules change on Wednesday – one of which extends an earlier rule change to try to improve aerodynamics at intermediate tracks. The other is designed to cut off an entirely new direction of research before it starts. […]
Michigan International Speedway
Michigan International Speedway Pole Speeds
There’s been a huge increase in Michigan International Speedway pole speeds this year. Is it the biggest increase ever? […]
Aerodynamic Forces
The Myth of the 200-mph “Lift-Off Speed”
The speeds at Pocono were high, but the speeds at newly repaved Michigan are even higher. Nine drivers posted lap times over 200 mph on Thursday, leading to media and driver hysteria about the high speeds. What is the lift-off speed at Michigan? […]
Bristol Motor Speedway
The Reason for Decreasing Cautions
This was the first year that most people noticed a decrease in the number of cautions, but (as I’ve pointed out), 2012 is merely the latest in a six-year trend of decreasing cautions. The same downward trend is evident in the Nationwide Series. This year is perhaps notable for it being so extreme.
The data clearly shows the trend: The question, of course, is why?
Aerodynamic Forces
Aerodynamic Downforce: A Passing Fad?
The question of why it is so difficult for cars to pass each other at 1.5 mile and 2 mile tracks is getting more and more attention. Carl Edwards put it succinctly:
“I firmly believe, and NASCAR hates it when I say this, that we should not be racing with downforce, sideforce and all these aerodynamic devices. We do not need splitters on the race cars and giant spoilers. I have not been around long enough to say something definitely, but it is pretty common sense: if all the cars are very similar and all the drivers are within a tenth of a second of each other but are relying on clean air and downforce, then by definition if the guy in front of you is disturbing the air then your car is not going to be able to go as fast as it could in clean air.” […]
Edwards, Carl
Richmond Redux: Relative Velocity
NOTE: Some clarifications added 1:00 p.m. 4/30/12. Thanks to all the commenters, especially @nateryan! I think Dave Moody did a good job breaking things down. The situation is confounded because there were so many different […]
Richmond
Is More Data Always Better?
Saturday’s race in Richmond was a festival of miscues. Carl Edwards mistakenly thought he was leading, then he jumped the restart, although he wasn’t the one to lead the restart because he wasn’t the leader. One would think we have the data that could prevent incidents like this. We probably do. But do we want to use it? […]
Cautions
Cautions: A Historical Downward Trend Over the Last Six Years
Being the data geek that I am, I was really curious if the decreasing number of cautions was specific to this year. It’s not: Cautions have been decreasing since 2005,as the graph below shows. The squares are the cumulative number of cautions per 100 miles, obtained by adding up all the cautions in a season and dividing by the total number of miles in the races. (This is a more accurate number than total cautions, given rainouts, shortening races and different venues from year to year.) […]