nascar

Centripetal Acceleration

NASCAR, Physics and the Cosmos

2014-05-27 dr. diandra 1

Okay. COSMOS was pre-empted Sunday in favor of the Coca Cola 600 and COSMOS host, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, decided to edify us with some NASCAR physics.   I bet 90% of NASCAR fans immediately […]

Goodyear

The Kansas Monozone Tire

2014-05-09 dr. diandra 0

OK, so ‘monozone’ is just a fancy way of saying it’s the old tire.  It’s all in the branding, isn’t it? Goodyear has been experimenting with multi-zone tires since last year.  Multizone tires attempt to […]

Goodyear

Camber Angle and Tire Wear

2014-05-01 dr. diandra 1

We’ve heard a lot, especially this week at Richmond, about tire wear. A lot of right front tires were wearing excessively. As seems to be usual at this point, teams would like Goodyear to use a stronger tire and Goodyear would like teams to dial back their setups, especially their camber. […]

A NASCAR-Splitter-Inspired Kayak?

2014-04-25 dr. diandra 2

The Car of Tomorrow in 2008 marked the first time NASCAR stock cars used a splitter to provide front downforce.  A splitter is simply a shelf that splits the air.  Some air goes over the […]

Andy Randolph

The Risks of Cooling Down

2014-03-14 dr. diandra 0

Engineering is a constant battle of risk versus reward. How much are you willing to challenge your equipment in order to gain speed? […]

Aerodynamic Forces

The Arguments for Slowing Down the Gen-6 Car

2013-12-15 dr. diandra 16

It’s got to be a little frustrating that there are less than 90 days left before the start of the 2014 season and the rules package for the car isn’t set.  Teams hope for a […]

Busch, Kyle

Can You Predict a Driver’s Success from their Rookie Year Stats?

2013-11-22 dr. diandra 4

Now that the season is over, it’s time to look through the statistics from the year.  One big story this year was Danica Patrick’s rookie season in Sprint Cup.  She didn’t set the world on […]

Aerodynamics

The Science of Speed: Week Ending 11/14/13

2013-11-14 dr. diandra 0

Hard to believe it’s winter, but we got our first snow already. Here’s the news of the week. It’s holiday shopping time – great idea for your gearhead: magazine subscriptions. Racecar Enginering has some special […]

Concussion

NASCAR’s Concussion Policy

2013-11-01 dr. diandra 0

Concussions were big news in a week where no one actually got one. NASCAR announced a new policy on concussions :  Starting in 2014, all drivers will be required to have a baseline test at […]

Asphalt

Whose Fault Is It? Tires or Track?

2013-10-11 dr. diandra 3

There were 15 cautions last week at Kansas Speedway and at least 15 drivers complaining that driving on the repaved track surface was like driving on ‘razor blades’.  “The worst racetrack I’ve ever driven on.” […]