safety

Explosions

Why You Don’t Mess With Fuel Cell Foam

2013-04-26 dr. diandra 3

We’d been hearing rumors of penalties stemming from Kansas and everyone expected them to be announced Tuesday. Since penalties usually have some scientific component, I was sort of hoping for some new material. Tuesday came and went. Nothing. Wednesday, all heck broke loose as penalties were announced for the No 20 JGR car (engine issues) and the No 98 ThorSport truck.
The more interesting — and less discussed — penalty is the ThorSport/Johnny Sauter one. (It was a tough week for Wisconsin drivers). The team was docked 25 points, which is pretty huge for the Truck Series and the crew chief fined $10,000. (I realize that seems small when compared to the Sprint Cup Series penalties, but the Truck Series has correspondingly lower purses and salaries.) […]

Aerodynamic Forces

Why Safety Takes Time

2013-03-01 dr. diandra 3

I suppose it’s really our own fault because of the way we teach science.

We give you labs constructed to get the right answer on the first try. We have you measure things you already know the value of. We tell you that things were invented by a single person on a specific date. […]

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. […]

Concussion

Concussions – What Are They and Why Stop Racing?

2012-10-11 dr. diandra 0

We all know that concussions are caused by hits to the head, but what actually IS a concussion and why is one forcing Dale Earnhardt, Jr. to step out of the car and effectively take himself out of the running for a championship? […]

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 […]