APS News

July 2007 (Volume 16, Number 7)

NASCAR Fans Find the Physics

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University of Nebraska physics professor Diandra Leslie-Pelecky went behind the scenes at top racing shops, and onto the asphalt at the Daytona International Speedway in her quest to uncover the science behind NASCAR racing. In her public lecture on April 16, she gave Jacksonville residents and April Meeting attendees a taste of what she found.

Leslie-Pelecky became interested in NASCAR physics while watching a race one weekend, in which a car quite suddenly veered into the wall. She couldn’t figure out what had caused the crash and set out to solve the conundrum. And she discovered there’s a lot more to car racing than driving around in circles.

Any good NASCAR driver can recite this basic mantra: go fast, always turn left, and don’t crash. Leslie-Pelecky says that the drivers are working at a point of constant unstable equilibrium. The key to maintaining that precarious balance is maintaining, as much as possible, the same amount of force on all four tires.

She found that the best NASCAR drivers are “intuitive physicists”: they understand the complex interplay of the various forces at work on the track extremely well, from aerodynamics and acceleration to friction and energy dispersion upon impact. 

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Editor: Alan Chodos
Contributing Editor: Jennifer Ouellette
Staff Writer: Ernie Tretkoff

July 2007 (Volume 16, Number 7)

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Articles in this Issue
Executive Board Resolution Thanks Legislators for Support of Science
US Physics Team Trains for Competition in Iran
NASCAR Fans Find the Physics
Creation Museum Draws Scientific Fire
Study Yields Insights into Public Perceptions and Attitudes Towards Science
Public Opinion on Evolution and Intelligent Design
Nobel Laureates Tackle Middle East Problems
Proposed European Missile Shield's Politics Overshadows Feasibility
Members in the Media
This Month in Physics History
Profiles In Versatility
Zero Gravity: The Lighter Side of Science
Letters
Inside the Beltway
The Back Page
2007 General Election Preview