Tracks

Aerodynamic Forces

From the Lab Notebook: Las Vegas and the Mysteriously Missing Oil Tank Cover

2013-03-06 dr. diandra 1

As we head for Las Vegas this weekend, I thought I’d repost on of my most popular posts from stockcarscience.com on 3/5/2008 since the redirects for the old stockcarscience.com site don’t work reliably. The post is about Carl Edwards’ 2008 win at Las Vegas when the team was subsequently fined for having their oil tank cover lid askew at the end of the race. I have edited the post extensively, adding some new information and better graphics. […]

Auto Club Speedway of California

Degrees of Difference: How is Martinsville like Fontana?

2012-10-25 dr. diandra 3

I love getting questions from readers because I always worry that the geeky stuff I find interesting is only interesting to me.  I love it even more when they not only give me a question, […]

Asphalt

Dover: Why Concrete Races Differently than Asphalt

2012-09-28 dr. diandra 18

One of the questions you’ll hear drivers and crew chiefs asked a lot this weekend at Dover is how the concrete track affects the racing. Here’s how: […]

Richmond

Infographic: Does Kasey Kahne Get in the Chase?

2012-09-04 dr. diandra 3

I don’t know if they still make you do flowcharts in programming class, but I was trying to read through the Chase scenarios and I was getting really confused. So I did this. I think it’s much clearer now. To me, at least.
I bet I can get the other scenarios on here… Watch this space! […]

Engines

Why is Michigan so Hard on Engines?

2012-08-23 dr. diandra 3

Four Hendrick Motorsports engines failed at Michigan International Speedway . But Michigan is hard on engines. Let’s see why. […]

Pocono

Lightning Safety at Racetracks

2012-08-08 dr. diandra 1

A little late with this because I have been in New York City at a meeting.  It was an important enough meeting that I missed the race on Sunday.  I was sad to read Monday […]

Pocono

Pocono: Infographics

2012-08-04 dr. diandra 1

If you mouse over the triangle in the upper right-hand side of the Pocono Raceway website, you can see the track dimensions.  Those numbers give you a pretty good idea why this track drives crew […]

Aerodynamic Forces

200-mph Laps at Michigan Are Not Like 200-mph Laps at Superspeedways

2012-06-17 dr. diandra 3

People worry that 200-mph laps at Michigan International Speedway could make cars airborne, as can happen at superspeedways. Should they worry? […]

Michigan International Speedway

Michigan International Speedway Pole Speeds

2012-06-16 dr. diandra 0

There’s been a huge increase in Michigan International Speedway pole speeds this year. Is it the biggest increase ever? […]

Michigan International Speedway

Michigan: Don’t Believe the Speeds

2012-06-15 dr. diandra 2

All the talk at Michigan about high speeds and the hoopla over passing the 200-mph barrier prompts me to offer this caveat: Take the speeds you hear with a grain of salt because the average lap speeds are estimates, not measurements. […]