Nascar 2010

[Cincy'sMom]

Did anyone else see the chief marketing officer for NASCAR on "Undercover Boss" yesterday? I'm not a fan of car racing in general so I didn't know much about NASCAR. I learned a lot!

Like, there are races 38 weeks of the year and the drivers and teams travel from race to race. The cars have special tires that have to be measured before each race and placed in the right position on the car. I wonder why the tires have no grooves, at that speed wouldn't the car need the grooves to keep it from slipping and sliding on the track? (Maybe the forward momentum plus the weight of the car keeps it moving forward as opposed to up and down the width of the track?) And I missed how many changes of tires per car any given race requires. I wonder what NASCAR does with all those used tires? Can tires be recycled?

Everyone on the pit crew has a specific job and they actually train for and rehearse the pit stops ahead of time. The pit stops are almost choreographed like dances. Everyone knows where to go and exactly what to do. No wasted effort or movement when the driver makes the stop.

They showed him helping to paint signs at the tops of the curves and you could see how steeply the curves are banked. The signs and markings are painted by hand.

When I was in high school my parents and I went to the Indianapolis motor speedway. You can take a bus tour around the track. It makes one slow loop in which they show you everything, the service pits, the infield, the stands and the curves. It was so cool!

I thought it was a great episode. One of my friends is friends with Dion, the crew memeber from the 5, so it was neat to see him.

The tires actaully have more grip becuase they don't have grooves. Ideally, you want to have as much rubber on the road as possible to get maximum grip. Doesn't work for street cars becuase you have to be able to wick away rain, snow, etc.

The number of tires changes depends on the track and length of the race. The "lower" series, Truck and Nationwide, have set number of tires they can use each week (varies). Cup also has a limit, but it is so much higher it never comes into play.

I don't know what is done with the tires. All have to be returned to NASCAR/Goodyear. Some I believe are sold to racing schools and other groups. I would guess some are recycled.

[aTailOf2Kitties]

Kyle throws a fit, Jeff throws a punch, and Denny throws a curve....awesome!

[RICHARD]

Well folks,

As it should be?

The whole season comes down to the last race of the year!

Rock on!

[aTailOf2Kitties]

and, as usual I have to work
Seriously, can't they extend or shorten the season by one measly week so that it doesn't always end the weekend before T-Giving? I always have to work that Sunday to make up for being off on Thurs and Fri My boss is a big football fan and I always tell him it would be like him having to work during the Superbowl.

and... uh... GO DENNY!! Gimme 11, just this once!