Nascar- How do cars pass each other if all are going top speed?

[blankslate]

Tom Cruise is driving.

Or Will Ferrell

 

[Auric]

Root for your favourite consumable brand... go go Terlit Duck!

 

[Svnla]

Winning teams get the best out of the total equation = engine power + vehicle wind resistance + tire grip + down force + driver skill + pit stop crew + other misc.

<<--- used to watch to old CART racing series before the breakup.

 

[SKORPI0]

Drafting (aerodynamics)

Open-wheel racing

In single seater, open wheel racing series such as Formula One and the IndyCar Series a technique known as slipstreaming is used. Along a long straight a car following close behind another uses the slipstream created by the lead car to close the gap between them, hoping to be able to overtake the leader under braking for the next corner, or if he has a straightline speed advantage, to pass on the straight. However it is very difficult for cars to follow each other close together in fast corners as the "dirty" (turbulent) air that comes off the lead car unbalances the trailing car as its aerodynamic devices provide less grip. However, on the straight this effect is much less of a detriment due to the lower levels of grip required.
Stock car racing


NASCAR cars drafting during practice for the 2004 Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway

On the faster speedways and superspeedways used by NASCAR, ARCA, and at one time the IROC series, two or more vehicles can race faster when lined up front-to-rear than a single car can race alone. The low-pressure wake behind a group's leading car reduces the aerodynamic resistance on the front of the trailing car allowing the second car to pull closer. As the second car nears the first it pushes high-pressure air forward so less fast-moving air hits the lead car's spoiler. The result is less drag for both cars, allowing faster speeds.[2]
Handling in corners is affected by balance changes caused by the draft: the leading car has normal front downforce but less rear downforce. The trailing car has less front downforce but normal rear downforce. A car with drafting partners both ahead and behind will lose downforce at both ends.[2]
Similar to the "Belgian tourniquet" in cycling, the "slingshot pass" is the most dramatic and widely noted maneuver associated with drafting. A trailing car (perhaps pushed by a line of drafting cars) uses the lead car's wake to pull up with maximum momentum at the end of a straightaway, enters a turn high, and turns down across the lead car's wake. The combination of running downhill and running across the zone of lowest aerodynamic drag allows the trailing car to carry extra speed and pass on the inside of the leader.[2]
Drafting was discovered by stock car racers in the 1960 Daytona 500, when Junior Johnson found that he could use drafting as a strategy that helped him overcome the fact that his Chevrolet could not keep up with other cars, allowing him to win the race.[3] Like Johnson, other drivers found they picked up speed running closely behind other cars; and as they experimented they found that a line of cars could sustain higher speeds and/or use less gas (resulting in fewer pit-stops) than a single car running by itself.[2]

http://onebadwheel.com/nascar-101/aerodynamics-and-drafting-in-nascar/
http://www.troubleinturntwo.com/nascar-101/aerodynamics-and-drafting

 

[JulesMaximus]

It's all rigged... just like wrestling.

Dale Earnhardt wasn't killed in an accident, he was sacrificed.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

It's all rigged... just like wrestling.

This. Same demographic. Simple minded are easily fooled.

 

[JTsyo]

Corners. If you have more power, you turn corners better.

He's asking about NASCAR, there are no corners.

 

[Evadman]

One companies engines ran faster because their connecting rods were underweight. Toyota.

You have no idea how connecting rods work. Not only NASCAR, but other teams, agreed that the weight differential of connecting rods in that 1 specific engine granted no performance impact. It wasn't all engines either, it was only 1 engine, and only a few connecting rods. The connecting rods were out of balance with the rest of the connecting rods in the engine, which if anything, actually hurt performance and durability. A perfectly balanced engine will run better than one out of balance. Weight will be added to the crank to balance the rotating assembly, but it will be unbalanced across the journals which... Geez, I have no idea why I am trying to explain this because you obviously get your info from people who have no clue or just make stuff up.

<edit>
Here, have a quote.

According to the Sprint Cup Series Rule Book, connecting rods must be composed of solid magnetic steel with a minimum weight of 525 grams. Wilson said only one of the vehicle&#8217;s eight connecting rods was in question, and it measured 2.7 grams under the minimum weight. Its neighboring rod, he added was more than 4 grams over the minimum.


Wilson said NASCAR mandates the material and minimum weight of a connecting rod, because otherwise engine builders would try to construct them out of a lighter substance such as titanium. If there was an intent to gain a competitive advantage, he added, all the connecting rods would have been lighter, and not just one. Making one rod lighter than the others only unbalances the load on the bearings, and carries a higher risk of failure.


&#8220;The notion that you would reduce the weight of one rod, and by 2.3 grams, as an opportunity to enhance your performance is patently absurd. Because what you actually risk is placing an uneven bearing load on the crank shaft. What you strive for is every connecting rod to weigh the same &#8230; At 10,000 RPM, if you don&#8217;t have a balanced bearing load, you&#8217;re going to fail,&#8221; Wilson said.

 

[who?]

Drag racing has no corners this is about NASCAR.

 

[darkewaffle]

Chaos Theory.

 

[SKORPI0]

Chaos Theory.

 

[JulesMaximus]

NASCAR did something similar from 1974 - 2006. It was called the International Race of Champions - IROC series. IROC included drivers from multiple series of racing. NASCAR, Indy, Sprint car, etc. Field of cars was usually around 12 give or take.

There's a very good reason it ended in 2006: It was the most boringest racing evar!

 

[WaTaGuMp]

People say they have no right turns in Nascar, well they turn right to get out of the pits, not to mention they have 2 road course races.

 

[Scarpozzi]

They all have different setups too. Each driver has different tendencies and wants the suspension and camber adjusted differently. These settings are also different for each track they race on. For instance, the race this weekend in Bristol has a 33 degree banked turns, so the camber on the left side of the car is adjusted wider so the left rear tire (drive tire) gets more traction than your car would.

When driving around that track, you feel like you're going to fall out the window. I can only imagine at 100mph in those banked turns, it must really mess with your balance after 500 laps.

 

[ultimatebob]

They pass other drivers by driving it like y'all stole it... Boogity, Boogity, Boogity... until they get close enough to intimidate the the guy in front of 'em with the 'ol chrome horn. Then, in one of them racing deals that just happens sometimes, you ram the guy in front of ya so they spin and flip up into the fence in a big 'ol ball o' flame just before you speed by while flipping them the one finger salute. Rubbin' is racin' and eight wheels is better than four so, thanks to Budweiser, and Jesus, the Wonder Bread Ford Fusion was pretty fast today.

Wow... reading that was like watching Darrell Waltrip do a play by play on Fox

 

[randay]

some cars just go straighter and turn lefter. science cant explain why.

 

[mmntech]

Drafting is a very basic racing technique. Though most Nascar I've seen isn't racing. They just go around the oval in a big blob of cars and who's ever at the front of the blob wins. The real challenge is just avoiding the walls and the other cars, and not tiring out. It's a bit like watching cars drive on the highway IMO.

 

[vailr]

It's the sponsor decals that make all the difference. Just having a tobacco company's logo on your car adds an extra 2 to 3 mph in vehicle speed.
Everyone knows this.

 

[jupiter57]

NASCAR: Wrestling on wheels.:biggrin:

 

[boochi]

There's a very good reason it ended in 2006: It was the most boringest racing evar!

Boring because the NASCAR drivers dominated the events. Like it or not, NASCAR's cup series is the home of the best race car drivers in the world.

 

[zinfamous]

some drivers are better left-turners than other drivers.

 

[zinfamous]

some cars just go straighter and turn lefter. science cant explain why.

 

[Ferzerp]

We make fun of it, and think it's stupid, but none of us could hope to do it at that level. Don't forget that.

I say this as someone who finds it boring and stupid. I just know it's not easy.

 

[Evadman]

There's a very good reason it ended in 2006: It was the most boringest racing evar!

Boring because the NASCAR drivers dominated the events. Like it or not, NASCAR's cup series is the home of the best race car drivers in the world.

The majority of IROC was raced on ovals, the last one was on the infield course at daytona IIRC. The 2 types of racing (oval vs road) are very different. Take NASCAR drivers and put them into an open wheel indy car, and let's see what happens.

I'm not saying that NASCAR drivers are worse than open wheel or the other way around. I'm saying that if you race on ovals you will tend to win on ovals. Race on street, you will tend to win on street. Both are where your skill is.

 

[randay]

We make fun of it, and think it's stupid, but none of us could hope to do it at that level. Don't forget that.

I say this as someone who finds it boring and stupid. I just know it's not easy.

I dont think its stupid, but the fact is that some NASCAR drivers cant drive at a NASCAR level. so by that logic, you're wrong. some of us could hope to do it at that level.