Safety

Aerodynamic Forces

Brief Thoughts on the Nationwide Accident at Daytona

2013-02-24 dr. diandra 4

We’ve been painting the house. I was straining to hear EPSN’s commentary over the swoosh-swish of the paint roller as the race came to a close – but it was all too easy to hear the change the tone of Allen Bestwick’s voice. We heard it recently from Marty Reid in Vegas. I remember the first-hand feeling sitting about 50 yards from Michael McDowell’s wreck during qualifying at Texas. A track full of race fans – all quiet – is one of the worst sounds in all of sports. […]

Collisions

Safety: It’s not just how fast you go – it’s how fast you stop.

2012-06-22 dr. diandra 1

One of the biggest concerns in motorsports wrecks is peak force – that’s the maximum force experienced by a driver in a collision.  As the diagram to the right shows, the force you experience in […]

Aerodynamic Forces

The Myth of the 200-mph “Lift-Off Speed”

2012-06-15 dr. diandra 6

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? […]

Aerodynamic Forces

Aerodynamic Downforce: A Passing Fad?

2012-05-21 dr. diandra 5

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.” […]

IndyCar

OPINION The Future of Motorsports Safety II: The Center for Motorsports Safety Research

2011-12-15 dr. diandra 2

The official Indycar report on Dan Wheldon’s death was released today. The obvious question is “what do we do now”? […]

IndyCar

The Future of Motorsports Safety I: Catchfences, Open Cockpits, High Banking and High Speeds

2011-11-14 dr. diandra 7

Since Dan Wheldon’s fatal accident at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, I’ve read many words of grief, tribute and, more recently, of thoughts about what happens next. […]

Dean Sicking

What the Media Hasn’t Told You: An Open Letter to Randy LaJoie

2010-06-25 dr. diandra 1

Randy LaJoie was recently suspended by NASCAR for violating the substance abuse policy. Some of the NASCAR media has come down rather hard – I’m not. […]

Dean Sicking

An Open Letter to Randy LaJoie: What the Media Hasn’t Said.

2010-06-22 dr. diandra 19

It was quite a surprise getting into the car Tuesday and turning the radio to my favorite Sirius NASCAR  show.  A very distraught Randy LaJoie was explaining that NASCAR was about to announce that they […]

Acceleration

Vickers, Blood Clots and Sitting Down

2010-05-23 dr. diandra 7

Sometimes, life isn’t content with just kicking you.  It insists on running you over a couple of times and then spitting on you for good measure.  Just in case you had an inkling of getting […]

Aerodynamics

Eight Issues NASCAR Needs to Address in 2010

2009-12-28 dr. diandra 14

Because NASCAR likes nothing better than unsolicited suggestions, right? If I could change just one thing about NASCAR during the off season, it would be banning people from calling into Sirius radio talk shows and […]