From solar-powered tracks to recycled rubber mulch, NASCAR does its part

To quote that sage of all things rational, Kermit the Frog, it ain’t easy being green. When you’re NASCAR, which offers motorsports as its main product, it can be even more difficult. Fuel-burning race cars generate fumes, use petroleum-based fuel and lubricants, consume mass quantities of resources and attract crowds in excess of 100,000 to each of its races over a 10-month period. Yet, NASCAR is making it a lot easier to be green while still providing great racing, outstanding family entertainment and a corner of the culture that is devoted to the lifestyle. So how does all this work? It starts with commitment to the process, the addition of several partners and the will to be sustainable and self-contained at the same time. ... Read More

From solar-powered tracks to recycled rubber mulch, NASCAR does its part

To quote that sage of all things rational, Kermit the Frog, it ain’t easy being green. When you’re NASCAR, which offers motorsports as its main product, it can be even more difficult. Fuel-burning race cars generate fumes, use petroleum-based fuel and lubricants, consume mass quantities of resources and attract crowds in e... Read More

EFI at cutting edge of NASCAR engine technology

Over the course of his 25-year career in NASCAR's highest levels, Jeff Burton has seen plenty of development in modern racing machinery. Body styles, aerodynamics, safety measures -- all evolved over the better part of two decades, but until recently, all those stock cars had a common thread: carburetors. That changed at the start of the 2012 season. The advent of electronic fuel injection (EFI) in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series tipped the scales toward a more advanced race car, changing the face of competition in NASCAR's premier series. In doing so, the engine technology gave a nod to the cars' street-legal counterparts, a potentially necessary move before more product relevance could be achieved with the 2013 debut of the sixth generation of Sprint Cup car. "I do think the product is better when it's kept simple, but I believe we also kept it too simple for too long," Burton said of the carburetion era. "NASCAR always wanted it to be as simple as could be so that more teams could be competitive, and that's a good theory, but this is a different time. Today's young people, or even today's older people, are so much ... Read More

EFI at cutting edge of NASCAR engine technology

Over the course of his 25-year career in NASCAR's highest levels, Jeff Burton has seen plenty of development in modern racing machinery. Body styles, aerodynamics, safety measures -- all evolved over the better part of two decades, but until recently, all those stock cars had a common thread: carburetors. That changed at the start of the 2012 seas... Read More

Once shunned, wearing the HANS device has become second-nature

Read more: Mobil 1 Technology Hub Dale Earnhardt was known for taking risks. He kept it old-school -- and many respected him for it. But after his death at the Daytona 500 in 2001, NASCAR officials decided that driver safety was more important than preference. In 2002, it mandated the use of a head and neck support (HANS) device to prevent a driver's unrestrained head from moving forward during a front-on collision while their body remained strapped to their seat.   According to Thomas Gideon, senior director of Safety, Research & Development of NASCAR, about six drivers were wearing a HANS device in the Daytona 500 when Dale Earnhardt crashed. That day was a turning point in the way the sport looked at the once laughed-at device.   "There was a major change in the way everybody looked at what they did," he said. ... Read More

Once shunned, wearing the HANS device has become second-nature

Read more: Mobil 1 Technology Hub Dale Earnhardt was known for taking risks. He kept it old-school -- and many respected him for it. But after his death at the Daytona 500 in 2001, NASCAR officials decided that driver safety was more important than preference. In 2002, it mandated the use of a head and neck support (HANS) device to p... Read More