Link to the Show / Show NotesThe racing team is just as important to a car’s finish as the driver is. With little to
separate competitors over hundreds of laps, teams search for any technological
edge that will propel them to Victory Lane. Of special use today is computational
fluid dynamics, which is used to predict airflow over a car, both alone and in relation
to other cars (for example, when drafting). Engineers also rely on more basic
subjects, such as calculus and geometry, to improve their cars. In fact, one racing
team engineer said of his calculus and physics teachers, the classes they taught to
this day were the most important classes I’ve ever taken.(1)
Mathematics helps the performance and efficiency of non-NASCAR vehicles, as
well. To improve engine performance, data must be collected and processed very
rapidly so that control devices can make adjustments to significant quantities such
as air/fuel ratios. Innovative sampling techniques make this real-time data collection
and processing possible. This makes for lower emissions and improved fuel
economy goals worthy of a checkered flag.
For More Information: The Physics of NASCAR, Diandra Leslie-Pelecky, 2008.
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