NASCAR makes telemetry boxes optional
By Dave Rodman, Turner Sports Interactive
August 17, 2001
2:01 PM EDT (1801 GMT)
BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Telemetry boxes, including global positioning systems and in-car cameras, will be optional equipment this weekend for Winston Cup teams competing at Michigan International Speedway.
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A cockpit fire ended Robby Gordon's day at Watkins Glen.
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The decision on the telemetry units by the NASCAR competition department came in the wake of a cockpit fire that started in a NASCAR-mandated telemetry package mounted in Robby Gordon’s Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet during last Sunday’s Global Crossing @ The Glen.
The fire eliminated Gordon from the event on the 2.54-mile road course after he had led 13 of the first 56 laps. Gordon, making what was planned as his final start for RCR this season as a relief driver for injured Mike Skinner, was distraught over losing what he felt was a sure chance for victory.
The combination of the in-car cameras and telemetry systems is provided through a group effort by Broadcast Sports Technology (BST), Sportvision and Pi Research. They are being used in the season’s second half by NBC Sports and TNT during the networks’ broadcasts of NASCAR races to provide unique visual and data elements.
NASCAR vice president/broadcasting Paul Brooks on Thursday afternoon said NASCAR and its technology partners had decided to replace the lithium batteries used in the devices with more common alkaline batteries, used in household devices such as flashlights.
“We have been able to determine the fire originated from one of the lithium batteries in the GPS system,” Brooks said. “So the first course of action is to eliminate lithium batteries from the package as a potential source of a problem.
“It’s our feeling that the alkaline batteries are a safe, stable and predictable alternative and we obviously have a great deal of confidence with this decision. The downside is (alkaline cells) are a little bit heavier.”
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Robby Gordon felt he had a good chance of victory in his last race as a replacement for Mike Skinner.
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Brooks said the alkaline batteries add “about three pounds” to the weight of the Sportvision GPS unit and “between five and eight pounds of additional weight to the in-car camera.”
“Our overall feeling is we’d rather work with the stable battery that has known parameters,” Brooks said. “We feel like we have a good solution and that Sportvision knows what the problem is. It’s gonna be optional for the teams to run the Sportvision device or an in-car camera this weekend. In the next couple weeks, we’ll work with the teams and help them feel comfortable with the systems.”
Brooks said all cars had been required to run the GPS systems in the first 22 races this season, including those races in the first half that were broadcast by FOX Sports. In-car camera use is determined -- as it always has been -- by arrangement between the teams, their sponsors and the respective networks.
In terms of restoring teams’ comfort level with using the devices, Brooks said their use would strictly be voluntary for the short term, beginning with the opening of practice on Friday morning for Sunday's Pepsi 400 presented by Meijer.
“It’s not the perfect environment, certainly, but it is an approach in which we’ve let the teams be part of the solution,” Brooks said. “We feel very confident that they have properly fixed the issue with the batteries, now there are just the weight issues to look at.”
Brooks said the primary use of the GPS is for relative positioning on the race track. The actual scoring of the cars and determination of positions on the race track will continue to be provided by the NASCAR Timing & Scoring system that uses devices called “transponders” to keep track of the race’s running order.
“We’re confident it’s a real good solution and a way to let the teams get comfortable in a way that’s not rushed,” Brooks said. “This will give them time to analyze it and look at the overall solution. I think we’ll use a couple weeks to educate the teams on exactly how the box works, in terms of the solution we’ve devised.”
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