Hamlin, Denny

The Science of …Fuel Intake Problems

Drew Donnelli asks: Can you offer any insight into the problems JGR seems to have with fuel supply? Thanks for the question, Drew. As usual, with the help of a couple incredibly patient friends, I […]

Oil

The Science of …Oil Tank Pressures

A slight errata: This doesn’t change anything about the science surrounding the oil tank box cover and how it could provide an aerodynamic advantage, but it does clarify the situation with how the oil system […]

Earnhardt Jr., Dale

The Science of …Tony Stewart vs. Goodyear

WeÂ’ve established in Part I and Part II of this series that there are many factors that go into tire performance, some of which Goodyear has control over and others of which they donÂ’t. Goodyear […]

Goodyear

The Science of… Tires, Part II

Tires: What Goodyear Can’t Control IÂ’ve reproduced the figure from yesterday to reiterate that there are two factors that determine grip: the interaction between the track and the tire, and the force pushing down on […]

Las Vegas Motor Speedway

The Science of …Tires (Part I)

LetÂ’s start by pointing out that tire performance is a really, really complicated issue. There are a lot of variables involved. This post ended up getting way too long, so IÂ’m going to address the […]

Announcements

The Science of …Tires (Coming Soon)

Hey y’all from New Orleans. I’m at the American Physical Society meeting, where I gave a talk today to a bunch of physicists about NASCAR. It was part of a great session that included the […]

Grey Areas

The Science of …Vibration Harmonics

Roush Fenway Racing came out with a statement about the missing oil tank lid on Wednesday that just begs to be deconstructed scientifically. “The bolt holding the lid in place failed in its purpose as […]

Grey Areas

The Science of …Missing Oil Tank Covers

Danny LaDue asks: Can you explain the location of a NASCAR oil tank reservoir and how the lack of one could improve aerodynamics? Thanks for the question, Danny. I can–with a little help from Josh […]

Engines