Photo courtesy of Richard Childress Racing
AVONDALE, Ariz. — It was a question that’s been asked almost as long as NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers have been competing in companion events over the course of a weekend.
“So Ryan, did you learn anything out there today that might help you on Sunday?”
“Yes. You definitely don’t want to hit the cone. There’s a pass-through penalty for that,” Newman said.
It was a joke, of course. Ryan Newman had just climbed from behind the “wheel” of a Caterpillar D11 T bulldozer, a mammoth piece of equipment that tips the scales at 230,000 pounds.
His No. 31 Chevrolet, fielded by Richard Childress Racing, carries primary sponsorship from Caterpillar. For this weekend’s race at Phoenix International Raceway (renamed Jeff Gordon Raceway for Sunday’s Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500, 2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM), the black and yellow paint scheme features Cat Command Autonomous Mining on the rear quarter panels.
So there Newman was, taking the D11 T through its paces, moving around an obstacle course and pushing around a lot of dirt.
Did I mention the dozer, the course and the dirt was located outside Tucson, nearly 150 miles away from Newman and Phoenix?
Caterpillar’s Cat Command is a program that allows heavy equipment to be operated remotely. Thanks to technological advances, the operator can be on site, if not behind the wheel, or more than 100 miles away, as was the case here Friday morning. The benefits, such as safety and increased production, appear to be numerous.
It was a new experience for Newman, 37, and a 17-time winner in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series, but not an entirely foreign one.
“I’d say the closest thing to it, something that is somewhat parallel to some of the stuff that we’re doing in the Sprint Cup Series … is the (race car) simulation,” he said.
“This is different in the form that you’re performing a service … getting a job done. Whereas where what we’re doing is about subjective feeling and feedback and trying to base it off a stopwatch.
“But it’s really interesting to see the use of technology and how Caterpillar has adapted all that to the job site.”
Can automated racing be far behind? NASCAR from afar?
“I hope not,” he said. “That kind of takes me out of a job. I might enjoy the air-conditioned office but I like the physical part of (my job).
“For me, it’s all about driving the race car. I like that, to be able to feel that … to take it to that edge and be super competitive.”
And that “feel” wouldn’t exist outside the vehicle, whether it’s in a race car going 180 mph or a piece of heavy equipment with a top speed of 7 mph.
“Here, it’s more about the edge of the (bulldozer’s) blade and not the edge of control,” he said.
