Center of Gravity

Treading Lightly: Tires at Indy

Tire problems again, but the issue here was different than the tire problems we saw in Atlanta earlier in the year. At Atlanta, the tire was too hard. The drivers complained that they didn’t have […]

Engines

Is the Tapered Spacer Rule Fair?

Combustion is the chemical reaction that converts gasoline into motion.  If you remember back to balancing equations in high school chemistry, that often tedious exercise is entirely due to the fact that chemical reactions are […]

Peterson, Steve
Aerodynamics

Testing…1…2…

Scene Daily reports that NASCAR has given teams the draft of a new testing policy. At present, there are a limited number of NASCAR-sanctioned tests, plus teams are free to test as much as they […]

Aerodynamics

Is More Horsepower Always Better?

A number of drivers and owners have said that Toyota engines have more horsepower. “I think everybody in the garage is down on horsepower compared to what the Toyotas are.” Kevin Harvick One report of […]

Aerodynamics

Was Patrick’s Pole a Fluke?

Patrick Carpentier is usually smiling, but his smile was special Friday after he won the pole at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Nanoseconds hadn’t elapsed before commentators started attributing his win to the 1 hour, 45-minute […]

The Driver of Tomorrow

Enough about the Car of Tomorrow already. Let’s talk about the Driver of Tomorrow and the Race Team of Tomorrow. Are drivers still important or is the new car really a remote control toy for […]

Carbon monoxide

Is the New Car’s Problem Heat or Something Else?

Some drivers have stumbled out of their cars and asked reporters for a few moments to hydrate and catch their breath before giving interviews the last few weeks. At Pocono, Denny Hamlin and Dale Earnhardt, […]

Hamlin, Denny

Why NASCAR Made a Yaw Rule

Yaw makes the new car easier to drive. So why did NASCAR make a rule limiting the amount of yaw allowed in the car? Initially, NASCAR was steadfast that they weren’t going to make a […]