How did Sunday’s race compare to historical Darlington cautions and accidents? Would the lack of practice and no qualifying mean more accidents or fewer? In this blog, I’ll compare the cautions, accidents and spins in […]
With another season in the record books and everyone making their top ten lists, it’s time to look at what the numbers say about the year that was… Season Overview The requisite 36 points-paying races […]
With Bristol this weekend, thoughts turn naturally to carnage. Short track racing means accidents. Given the greater-than-usual level of aggression among drivers this year, we can expect there to be at least a few collisions.
But does short-track mayhem hold a candle to Daytona and Talladega? Let’s see. […]
NASCAR Cautions are down again in 2018. Is this due to stage racing? The damaged vehicle policy? Or are drivers just getting better and having fewer accidents? […]
Did Toyota Really Just Patent a Cloaking Device? The headlines sure suggest they did. Toyota patent reveals ‘Cloaking Device’ for cars Toyota Just Patented a “Cloaking Device” Other outlets were a little more, ahem, transparent […]
The Evolution of the Stock Car ADDITION: If you are more comfortable with Portuguese, check out this translation by Artur Weber and Adelina Domingos – and thanks to them for being interested enough in my […]
Driving Concussed This week brings the return of Jeff Gordon to the track, but under conditions I’m sure all of us wish were otherwise. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is out again (and will be next week) […]
The introduction of automotive safety innovations is usually accompanied by concern about the side-effects of those innovations. For example, when seat belts were introduced, people worried that the belts would keep them from getting out […]
Track barriers originally were erected to keep cars separated from spectators. In addition to concrete walls to prevent the cars from driving off track, debris-spewing accidents necessitated fencing to contain airborne objects.
Catchfences should have the same properties as walls, but they can’t block the view. Chain link fence is a good compromise: It’s cheap, plentiful, easy to put up and surprisingly strong given its high visibility.
Chain-link fabric is an elastic metal mesh. It can give in two ways: gentle forces cause the mesh to deform. The diamonds stretch out of shape, but when the force is removed, the fabric springs back to its original shape. The fence can also deform by stretching the wires that make up the mesh. A large-enough force will break the wire entirely. […]
Okay, it obviously does if you’re one of the cars that fails to make the race. But beyond that- given the huge amount of attention that’s been given to the ’embarrassment’ that was this year’s […]
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