Tires
When is a Tire Test Not a Tire Test?
Ch…Ch… Ch… Ch….Changes! If you were going to pick an icon for the upcoming race at Kentucky, it would be a giant question mark. It’s almost like coming to a brand new track. This is […]
The Building Speed Blog
Aerodynamic Forces
NASCAR’s Goldilocks Problem: How much Downforce is “Just Right”?
The Problem The current racecar handles badly when its aerodynamics are disturbed by another car. This makes it very difficult to pass. The advantage of having clean air become insurmountable, which makes for less exciting […]
Can You Really “Run Better than you Finish”?
“He ran better than he finished” is one of those things you hear and don’t think too much about. Unless, of course, you’re me. I wondered if it was really possible to tell mathematically (or […]
Can Science Shorten (or Eliminate) Rain Delays?
While we were waiting for the track to dry at Texas last Saturday, I tweeted a link to my post on why track drying takes so long and how high humidity extends drying time — even with […]
Energy
Conservation of Energy in a Crash
Last week on SiriusXM Speedway, we talked about how the kinetic energy of a race car (at 190 mph) is approximately equal to the caloric energy contained in two dark chocolate Easter bunny rabbits. The […]
Energy
Comparing the Kinetic Energy of a NASCAR Race Car to… Candy?
One of the challenges in explaining things is figuring out how to put something very unfamiliar in more familiar terms. You may not know what a Joule per second is, but you know what a […]
Brakes
Tire Management
NASCAR is very clear about what teams can and can not do to the tires. Teams may not use any chemical or physical means of altering the tires, which means no siping (cutting grooves into the tires), no chemical softening, not even heat blankets to pre-warm the tires are allowed. Basically, you can’t do anything to the tires. This means that when a tire blows out, it’s the tire’s fault. Right? […]
NASCAR
Is an iPod more dangerous for your ears than a NASCAR race car?
Anyone who’s ever been to the track knows that racetracks are loud. Quite frankly, it’s one of the things many people (including me) like about actually being at the track as opposed to watching on television. But could that noise be doing your hearing permanent damage? Is it any worse than any of the other sounds we encounter on a daily basis?
Let’s go to the data… […]
Grass
Does Grass Pose a Danger to Racecar Drivers?
Now that most tracks have put SAFER barriers on any possible surface, it might seem like racetrack safety is a done deal. That’s not what we’ve heard this week at Daytona, though. Some of the drivers […]
Bill Nye
NASCAR and Electric Cars: A Response to Bill Nye
Bill Nye is getting a lot of press lately by suggesting NASCAR ought to be racing electric cars. I was rather disappointed with the reaction from NASCAR fans, as many dismissed the suggestion offhand, or offered ad […]