NASCAR Tracks: Short Tracks

This weeks upcoming race is going to be at Bristol Motor Speedway! This provides me with a great opportunity to explain short track racing to everyone. Short track racing is extremely different than superspeedway racing. There is no drafting going on between cars, speeds are lower, there are twice as many laps and the cars are in much greater danger of hitting each other. Many other factors enter into short track racing like tire wear and strategies for pitting change completely.

Perhaps the most dramatic difference in short track racing is the speed at which cars are driving. Average speeds are 80 mph and top speeds usually lye around 120-125 mph. Even though the speeds are lower, drivers at the rear of the field start the race almost a half a lap behind, since the tracks are so short. This causes the lead drivers to catch the field of cars faster and to be in traffic nearly the entire race. This typically leads to an excessive amount of crashes since drivers whose cars are not handling or driving as well, are driving beside cars who are driving faster and better.

Another unique aspect of short track racing is tire wear and brakes. Drivers spend not only the entire racing driving their engines extremely hard, but also put an extreme amount of wear on their brakes. The amount of time the drivers spend turning on these track in combination with the constant accerlation and deceleartion causes the tires to wear out quickly. Many drivers take risk by staying on the track for long periods of times which often leads to tire blowouts. A wreck at a short track usually means 10 - 15 cars are going to be involved.

A final strategy effecting short track racing is the drivers pitting strategies. Drivers are constantly at risk of pitting during a wreck and becoming a lap or two behind. It takes an average of two laps to pit at a short track. Therefore, drivers are constantly pitting at different times during the race and many drivers are on different pitting schedules than others. This causes the field to be mixed up with cars that are two laps behind and others which are on the lead lap. When the race nears end, drivers on the correct pitting strategy may be able to stay out because they have more fuel when others have to pit, allowing them to steal a win.

Short track racing is extremely unique and exciting. You typically always see a lot of crashes and the tensions between drivers is always high. Short tracks show truly how aggressive stock car racing is as cars are constantly bumping each other to gain positions. Tune in Sunday at 1pm eastern time to watch NASCAR racing from Bristol Motor Speedway!

Stockcars: Tires

If you followed this week's race in Atlanta, you surely noticed the amount of attention placed on tires after the race. Over the last two years, Goodyear has been working on new tire compounds for the COT (Car of Tomorrow). The car was only released a couple of years ago and finding the correct balance in a tire at each track for the COT is extremely difficult. Many things make this a difficult task, but the cars extreme weight and balance forefront the struggles Goodyear has went through.

Most people presume that NASCAR drivers always race on the same tire. The truth is that there are different tire compounds brought to each race track. The reason for this is that different tracks wear differently on the tires. The left side tires also wear differently than the right side tires because the drivers are always turning left. This shifts the weight onto the right side tires causing them to wear at a much faster rate. Tracks made of asphalt wear on tires differently then tracks made of concrete. Some longer tracks have turns with steeper banking causing less tire wear and more speed, while others short tracks have more turns and cause tires to wear rapidly. Furthermore, there are also road course tracks, which have the car turning left and right producing a completely different situation.

Another factor affecting drivers tires during a race is the amount of air pressure in their tires. As stated previously, the drivers continual left turns shift the weight of the car on the right side tires requiring them to be at a different air pressure than the left side tires. The tires are also filled with Nitrogen instead of compressed air. They are filled this way because Nitrogen produces less moisture than compressed air. When the tires heat up after a few laps and the moisture in the tire vaporizes and expands, it changes increases air pressure. By using Nitrogen they can control air pressure better because it has less moisture.

So next time your watching a NASCAR race be sure to stay focused on the tire issues happening at each track. Teams constantly check tires during a race to make decisions about how long tires will last, how much air pressure they need in them and when their team needs to make a pit stop. They check the tires by burning the rubber off the tire with a torch and examining how much rubber is left on a tire. This is a common method you will see at every track and hear the commentators discussing. Atlanta's race this weekend yielded some dramatic racing on the new tire compound, but also left many drivers infuriated about the new tire. With new tire compounds being issued throughout the season, it is always sure to put a spin on things!

NASCAR Tracks: The Superspeedway

The first step in understanding NASCAR is to gain a knowledge of the different types of race tracks in the sport. There are four primary types of tracks within the sport and drivers prepare for each type of track differently. With the Daytona 500 race approaching next Sunday, I will use today's blog to help everyone understand superspeedway race tracks and the variety of unique details defining this style of racing.

A superspeedway is the largest and fastest track raced on in the sport. Superspeedways are so fast that they require race cars to be equipped with a restrictor plate. Restrictor plates reduce the amount of airflow to the engine, which then restricts the speed of the car. This is also one of the reasons that superspeedway racing is so exciting. Since the race cars are restricted to a certain speed, drivers are constantly looking for alternative ways to gain speed and they accomplish this by drafting.

Drafting is the most popular way to gain momentum and speed on a superspeedway. Drafting is accomplished by linking up with a car either in front of or behind you. The car in the front starts an aerodynamic flow of air which carries to the backside of the car. When the car in the rear gets within a certain distance behind the front car, it enters the flow of air and the flow streams directly over this car. This stops the downdraft on the back of the front car which normally slows them down. This allows both cars to travel at a much higher speed and together they can pass other cars on the race track.

This also begins to demonstrate the importance of teamwork in the sport, especially at a superspeedway. Cars can strategically work together on these types of tracks by starting and stopping airflows with different cars to gain positions and make their way to the front running position. It is also the reason for multiple wrecks on these types of tracks as drivers nearing the end of a race start swapping locations rapidly to quickly get into first place. They commonly wreck each other by trying to block cars from working in different drafts with other cars to pass. This is also a style of racing where drivers carry emotions from track to track which increases the intensity of superspeedway racing throughout the season.

Superspeedway racing is one of the most exciting styles of racing in the sport today. Cars spend 3 to 4 hours racing inches apart from each other at 190 mph. No other motorsport host a style of racing at this speed which is so aggressive and dangerous. Setting up a race car at the beginning of a race and running test during the offseason in wind tunnels, help to produce the fastest stock cars in the world. Make sure to tune into the race on Sunday, February 14th, to learn even more details about superspeedway racing!