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The key to winning a NASCAR race is understanding the forces that impact the car—and how to cope with them. Here's a look at the physics of NASCAR's much vaunted Car of Tomorrow, built in an attempt to lessen driver injuries and fatalities. The car has significant design changes from its predecessors, and will be used in more than 25 races this year.
Safety and competitive parity were the goals when NASCAR began considering design changes to its car in early 2000. The new car was developed with a less-aerodynamic, fixed body that only allows racing teams to make only minor engineering adjustments. Roll over the Car of Tomorrow for more on the specific design changes.
Races have always been won or lost in the turns and the new car makes skill off the straight-aways even more important. A higher center of gravity means weight is redistributed more in turns. Here's a look at three forces that come into play in turns.
Drivers focus on controlling the distribution of weight on the car, because that controls the car’s grip on the track during steering. This is made more difficult by NASCAR’s incredible speeds and the fact that weight shifts unevenly between the tires, but here are the three basic ways that drivers can control in a turn.
The key to winning a NASCAR race is understanding the forces that impact the car—and how to cope with them. Here's a look at the physics of NASCAR's much vaunted Car of Tomorrow, built in an attempt to lessen driver injuries and fatalities. The car has significant design changes from its predecessors, and will be used in more than 25 races this year.
Safety and competitive parity were the goals when NASCAR began considering design changes to its car in early 2000. The new car was developed with a less-aerodynamic, fixed body that only allows racing teams to make only minor engineering adjustments. Roll over the Car of Tomorrow for more on the specific design changes.
Races have always been won or lost in the turns and the new car makes skill off the straight-aways even more important. A higher center of gravity means weight is redistributed more in turns. Here's a look at three forces that come into play in turns.
Drivers focus on controlling the distribution of weight on the car, because that controls the car’s grip on the track during steering. This is made more difficult by NASCAR’s incredible speeds and the fact that weight shifts unevenly between the tires, but here are the three basic ways that drivers can control in a turn.
TIME Graphic by Feilding Cage and Lon Tweeten
SOURCE: NASCAR, The Physics of NASCAR: How to Make Steel + Gas + Rubber = Speed, 2008
SOURCE: NASCAR, The Physics of NASCAR: How to Make Steel + Gas + Rubber = Speed, 2008
