A photo showing the location of the new restart zone for the Indy Road Course
Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Indy Restart Zone Moved in Attempt to Prevent Chaos in Turn One

NASCAR moved the restart zone at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course from just before the start-finish line to between turns 13 and 14. They hope that lengthening the distance between the restart zone and the tight Turn 1 right hander will decrease the chaos that has become a track signature. […]

Air Titan

The Scientific Secrets of PJ1 Track Bite

NASCAR’s continued struggle to balance cost, safety and competitiveness led to using PJ1 Track Bite in 2017 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Since then it’s been used (mostly successfully) at other tracks. So what is it […]

Aerodynamics
Data Science

Data Sharing: Fact and Fiction

New for 2018: Data Sharing NASCAR announced (in a somewhat roundabout way) they would share the data collected by each car during races, qualifying and practice with all teams in the 2018 season. This produced […]

Graphs and Charts

How Well Does Daytona Predict A Driver’s Season?

The Meaning of Daytona Ah… the optimism of a new season. Everyone is unbeaten. Everyone is tied for first place. Everyone has a shot at the championship. Then Speedweeks starts. NASCAR doesn’t ease into the […]

A History of Toyota Wins: 2008-2017
Aerodynamics

NASCAR: Did Toyota’s New Car Give them the Advantage in 2017?

Advantage Toyota? NASCAR’s perennial challenge is keeping manufacturers’ cars even so that no one has an unfair advantage. There is no denying that Toyota had a great 2017. Some people would say that’s because Martin […]

Asphalt

How to Make Grippier Racetracks Using Spy Technology

If PJ1 TrackBite isn’t the Solution, What is? Dale Earnhardt, Jr. suggested tracks stop using PJ1 Trackbite because it didn’t work well in Charlotte last weekend. He called for additional research to understand how the […]

Asphalt
Aerodynamics

Composite Race Car Bodies

You Never Forget Your First One My first car was a greenish-brown 1969 Buick LeSabre with a 123-inch wheel base and a 230-horsepower two-barrel V-8. That puppy weighed about 4200 lbs and taught me everything […]

Charlotte Motor Speedway