The Building Speed Blog

Allmendinger, A.J.

More Ragan vs. Allmendinger Statistics: Running at Finish

2011-12-30 dr. diandra 0

Great comment from Robby on my post statistically comparing AJ Allmendinger and David Ragan:

One thing you didn’t really factor which is a big deal to car owners is busted equipment. David Ragan destroys alot of race cars…AJ is one of the least wreck prone drivers in NASCAR. Ragan’s low finished were often a result of a wreck. AJ’s bad finishes were generally the result of bad handling cars or bad luck (Dover, Indy, Texas). […]

Vickers, Brian

Allmendinger vs. Ragan: Moneyball Turning Left

2011-12-26 dr. diandra 7

Before Best Buy took their electrons (and dollars) to RoushFenway last week, everyone assumed David Ragan was a lock for the then-empty Penske 22 seat.  Once A.J. Allmendinger landed the 22 job, there’s been a […]

IndyCar

OPINION The Future of Motorsports Safety II: The Center for Motorsports Safety Research

2011-12-15 dr. diandra 2

The official Indycar report on Dan Wheldon’s death was released today. The obvious question is “what do we do now”? […]

Electronic Fuel Injection

Not Fine with Me!

2011-11-19 dr. diandra 6

C’mon NASCAR – I keep trying to defend you and you keep making it hard for me.

@jeff_gluck reports that @nateryan told Brian France that NASCAR seems like

“…an autocratic regime that doles out punishment in a capricious manner.”

While I agree with those sentiments entirely, a slightly different word comes to my mind: “chicken%$!#” […]

IndyCar

The Future of Motorsports Safety I: Catchfences, Open Cockpits, High Banking and High Speeds

2011-11-14 dr. diandra 7

Since Dan Wheldon’s fatal accident at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, I’ve read many words of grief, tribute and, more recently, of thoughts about what happens next. […]

Edwards, Carl

Ray Evernham on Carbon Monoxide

2011-07-02 dr. diandra 0

Ray Evernham was one of the first people who realized the carbon monoxide (CO) has an effect on driver that could be affecting his performance. “(I could tell immediately) …by the way Jeff answers me […]

math

How Likely are You to Win the TNT Million Dollar Challenge?

2011-06-29 dr. diandra 0

TNT is offering a million dollars to anyone who picks the top ten drivers – in order – at any of the six NASCAR races they broadcast. You have up until 25% of the race has been run to lock in your selections, which means up to mile 100 at Daytona this weekend. How likely are you to win? […]

math

100 Million vs. 78 Million is not the Numbers Question for FOX vs SPEED

2011-06-21 dr. diandra 3

The NASCAR pundits have again simplified a complex situation. Incorrectly.

The NASCAR Net is a-twitter since FOX floated a trial balloon about moving races from ESPN to SPEED. I’ve heard the argument over and over, in print and on radio that this is a bad idea because EPSN is in 100 million homes and SPEED is in “only” 78 million homes. They argue this would be a decline of 22 million potential viewers. The question not being asked how many of those 22 million ESPN watchers are actually potential viewers? […]

Joe Gibbs Racing

When Oil Pans Put On a Little Weight…

2011-06-17 dr. diandra 2

According to @tomjensen100, the oil pans confiscated from the Joe Gibbs Racing cars weighed between 20-30 lbs.  Lee Spencer posted some nice pictures of them.  A normal oil pan weighs about 4-5 lbs.  Why in […]

Busch, Kyle

Why Six Points is About Right for What Used to be a 25-Point Penalty

2011-06-15 dr. diandra 2

I was watching the movie A Clockwork Orange the other night.  There is a scene where Malcolm McDowell, having been “rehabilitated” and returned to society incapable of defending himself, is being beat up by an […]