Graduation day
Those involved in the aero development of the NASCAR Next Gen racecar saw it not so much as the birth of a new era, more the completion of a study course
By Dr Eric Jacuzzi
A once-in-a-lifetime project for most of us involved, who may never see another project quite as revolutionary to an ecosystem as this
Five-minute warning
Each car has four conical receivers on its underside, which are used to attach magnetic targets for the OSS to create reference points for the images… [and] a zeroing point
Three hundred seconds is how long it takes NASCAR to digitally scan a car in its Optical Scanning Station, using technology developed by an innovative company in the UK
By Bozi Tatarevic
NASCAR needed a more efficient scrutineering solution as it sought to clamp down on aerodynamic tricks being employed by teams so, in 2017, the governing body put out a request for product (RFP) to replace the aluminium body templates it was using at the time. Hampshire, UK-based Hawk-Eye Innovations ended up winning the bid with a product that can be built up and torn down efficiently for 36 or more race weekends per year, while still maintaining calibration. Curiously, the company is perhaps best known for its tennis line calling system, but is also involved in other sports such as cricket and baseball.
Racecar spoke with Dan Reeves, research and development inspection technician for NASCAR who leads the Optical Scanning Station at NASCAR’s R&D Center, about how the Hawk-Eye system turned from a concept to a prototype being tested and calibrated in the field, all within a single NASCAR season.
Going live
Once validated, the system went live for the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series at the start of the 2018 season, each having its own Optical Scanning Station (OSS) unit at the track. Splitting the two series had the obvious advantage of efficiency, as each one can have up to 40 cars entered per race weekend, but it also allowed them to configure the system specifically for the coordinates of the car type that runs through its OSS. This was an important factor as the Next Gen car was introduced into the Cup Series in 2022.
Each car has four conical receivers on its underside, which are used to attach magnetic targets for the OSS to create reference points for the images. On the Xfinity car, these are
The spreadsEagle its wings
Goodyear has been by NASCAR’s side for decades, and continues to support the series as it looks to introduce more tyre options into the Next Gen era
By Daniel Lloyd
Goodyear has been the sole tyre supplier to the NASCAR Cup Series since 1997. This stands out as one of the longest continuous single supply arrangements in top-level motorsport, comparable to Firestone’s supply of IndyCar since 1999 and Dunlop’s provision of tyres to Australian Supercars since 2002.
Before it became a class of one, Goodyear had been heavily involved in stock car racing since the 1950s, jostling for grid space with other tyre manufacturers. Its milestones during that time of competition included introducing the slick tyre in 1972 and bringing the first radial tyre in 1989, which proved more robust and reliable than the previous bias-ply construction.
It was perhaps no surprise then that, having been closely involved in previous iterations of NASCAR machinery, Goodyear was entrusted with the development of rubber for the Next Gen package, which arrived in 2022. As in other areas of the car, the development of that product has been a continuous process, including the upscaling of wet and option tyre usage this year.
Scale of operation
In addition to the Cup Series field, Goodyear supplies all cars in the supporting Xfinity and Truck Series, requiring the production of around 100,000 tyres each year. It is, therefore, intrinsically linked with the NASCAR structure.
There are 36 points-paying races on the Cup schedule, plus two non-championship events, but the logistical demand of each meeting differs depending on what is racing on the undercard. If it’s a three-series weekend where the Cup Series, Xfinity and Trucks are all in action (meaning approximately 100 cars combined), Goodyear will need to bring an army of around 60 personnel, covering the tyre fitters who put the rubber on the wheels for collection by the team mechanics, as well as the engineers who work with the teams to ensure their tyre pressures are safe and legal. The number also includes sales and logistical staff.
Goodyear implemented wet tyres on a Cup Series oval for the first time this year, and also made progress on its tyre compound options
Chris Graythen Getty Images
The TAG-510 provides the brains, but it is combined with an additional unit, called an EIU-510. That supplies speci c I/O needed for combustion
Josh Wesley, senior product manager at McLaren Applied
Forward thinking
McLaren Applied has upgraded its operating system and produced a new series of ECUs ready for future technology advances
By Andrew Cotton
Getty Images
