[14000rpm]

It was 2008. I was in Birmingham, Alabama for a month to start a new project together with a Leeds, AL based customer. I was there only for a month which meant every weekend had to have something to keep me from boredom. One such activity I booked was Sky Diving. I have had Vertigo all my life and I was told Sky Diving is one way to get rid of it. I wasn't still very keen but I still mustered the courage to book a ride for one of the weekends. For some reason, my sky Diving session was canceled. Was it an Instructor issue, technical fault? don't seem to recollect why.

Nevertheless, I got my money back. With money and time at hand, I chose the next best place to take it - Down the road. Literally.

I'd been reading about Talladega and NASCAR since it is quite famous. It was made famous furthermore by the movie - Talladega nights.

https://youtu.be/ku4rbxnxr5Q?si=Oj6U79Bsi9eqa6os

Thought I'd go and visit the International motorsports hall of fame just outside Talladega race track.



Further research pointed me to a company that was offering a Pay and Drive session on NASCAR racecars ! How can I say no to Speed?

Some Gyaan before we proceed -

Background of Talladega and NASCAR:

Talladega Superspeedway has the record for the fastest recorded time by a NASCAR stock car in a closed oval course, with the record of 216.309 mph set by Rusty Wallace on June 9, 2004. Buddy Baker was the first driver to qualify at a speed over 200 mph, with a 200.447 mph lap during testing on March 24, 1970. Baker’s record was set while driving the #88 Chrysler Engineering Charger Daytona.
In May 1987 Bobby Allison experienced a tire failure while going through the tri-oval portion of the track, which sent his car airborne. His car tore out a portion of the frontstretch catch fence, nearly entering the crowd. NASCAR imposed rule changes to slow the cars after the incident, with a 1988 rule requiring cars running there and at Daytona to use restrictor plates. The most often cited reason is a fear that the increasing speeds were exceeding the capabilities of the tires available at the time, as high-speed tire failure had led to some gruesome crashes at slightly lower speeds. The plates limit the amount of air and fuel entering the intake manifolds of the engine, greatly reducing the power of the cars and hence their speed. This has led to the style of racing held at Talladega and Daytona to be somewhat different from that at other superspeedways and to be referred to by NASCAR fans as “restrictor-plate racing”.

The Talladega Jinx
The high numbers of crashes over the years, along with other factors, have led to rumors of Talladega Superspeedway being cursed. Stories of the origin of the curse vary. Some claim that a local Native American tribe held horse races in the valley where the track currently resides and a chief was killed when he was thrown from his horse. Others say that the site of the superspeedway was once an Indian burial ground. Still another version says that after the local tribe was driven out by the Creek nation for their collaborating with the forces of Andrew Jackson, a shaman put a curse on the valley.
Since the construction of the track, many strange happenings and untimely deaths have fueled the rumors of a curse. In 1973, Bobby Isaac left his car during the race on lap 90 because of voices he claimed to have heard which told him to park his car and get out. Earlier on lap 14 in the same race, young driver Larry Smith died in a seemingly minor wreck.
To some, Bobby Allison’s 1987 wreck described above was yet another reminder of the curse. In 1993, Bobby’s son, Davey Allison, died in a helicopter crash in the infield of Talladega.
Source : Wikipedia.

NASCAR is a race with 4 left turns taken at a very high rate of speed. That's it.



NASCAR used to be a 'Race on Sunday, Sell on Monday' tactic for most auto-makers and hence most manufacturers that sell in US have a team out there. Directly or Indirectly via professional racing teams.







Source of pix: Google images

[14000rpm]

Booked myself a 6-Lap drive on Dale Jarett Racing Adventure who was organizing these drive sessions on previous years racing cars. I was told they are in the same state of tune as they did during the race weekends but who is to say.

I was instructed to be to at the venue at 8.30 am but excitement got the better of me and I reached by 7.20 am to see 30 cars already lined up!!











Not all were there to drive though. Some came in as spectators too. Quickly registered my entry and drove into the driveway leading to the central parking/camping area in my rental Corolla Altis. The access to the central pit area is from under the racetrack. The same racetrack on which I’d be driving at 170 mph a little later!!

I drove along with the convoy into the designated parking area. From where, we were taken to a training hall. Had the typical American favorite of coffee and donuts. Thereafter we were all given our Hot Pit Pass Only with these Pitpasses could they identify the number of laps I was entitled to drive.



Then came the briefing. Now the team takes training very seriously coz these are not detuned cars and are capable of reaching 200mph in capable hands. Surprised to know that most of the drivers/trainers are farmers from the area!! Talk about local employment!! All the do’s and don’ts how’s and how not’s are all explained in this classroom session which were to be used during a demo drive.





I initially thought the demo drive will be in the racecars itself coz I’d just then seen the cars pull into the pit lane. My excitement was muted when we were guided to full size pickup trucks. I hopped in to a Ford F550 super duty. Now all that we were instructed in the classroom was going to be demonstrated on the racetrack while being driven in a truck!! I seriously started to think about body Roll and eventual rollover but these trucks were stable. Very stable even at 90mph on the bankings!! Shocked.





On board the truck, we are shown all the various hand signals that the instructor doles out while on the actual drive. The hand signals are fairly simple. There are signals for moving right or left on the track throttle and brake. That’s it.



Got into my race suit.



The cars are nothing but fiberglass bodies covering a steel frame. All the mountings are made to the frame itself and the body is nothing but claddings. The frame on the sides are so high, you cannot have doors. That’s right no doors!! And how to get in? you sneak in through the windows. !!





The cars owned by Dale Jarett are not really alike. They all have different seating structures for different body sizes. Otherwise they are all the same. So, the cars you drive are chosen according to your body size.

After a few sessions came my time. Car 88 was allocated to me and I 'Snuck in' through the window and settled into the tight-fit cockpit. So did the instructor.







(Lost the event pix taken by the organizer. This is what is left.)

He gave my another round of orientation of the hand signals just to be sure and then, car was fired up. We sat there for a few minutes till all the cars had their drivers and instructors settle in. Soon off we went. The car's are manual but then they are so tall, one can barely use the another gear but the top. We drove in a convoy in the pitlane and within that short straight, I was asked to shift up into Top as we entered the racetrack. To my surprise, there was no sudden burst of acceleration but the grunt was there and we were slowly building speed. We were still in a convoy though with restricted speed since the instructors were judging the drivers ability to hold the car in a lane at higher speeds and through the bankings.

Come lap 2, my instructor let me shift to the outer lanes and pass a few slower cars and by Lap 3, I was given the GO for full throttle. My thrill knew no bounds and I kept going faster each lap. The banking greatly assists in turn-in but the steering, at these speeds, is rock hard. Very hard to make sharper turns and at some point, Centrifugal force takes over and then BOOM - Car meet Wall, Wall meet Car !!

I was in the top most lane now and I was inches away from the wall. The stories of how, in the past, Talladega has been notorious in tempting drivers with speed that could not be sustained and the cars flew out of the track ran by my head. Although I could not turn to see the Instructor, I didn't see him make any panic hand gestures. Maybe I was doing alright.

With there being no visual markers to note whilst on track and in full speed, I had no easy way to know how may laps had gone. I just continued enjoying my time and didn't even try to look at the Speedometer. But, the fun had to end. After all, I could afford only 6 laps. :(
I was soon instructed to move into the inner lane and before I realized, the instructor had shoved the gear into neutral. Only then had I got to brake and that pedal is hard as Hell.
Non assisted I’m sure. Pulled into the pitlane and slowed to a halt. Phew. The 6 laps just flew away and I had hit 169.80 Mph (274 kph) !! For that time in my life, it was the fastest I'd ever driven. I have since driven faster than that on the German Autobahn's though.

As we stopped , I asked my instructor :


Instructor: ''that was a good drive''
Me: “that was super cool. How do you think my drive was?”
Instructor: “ you drove fabulously and made the right passing moves. You had good pace too”
Me: “ rate my drive”
Instructor: “well, I’d give you 8/10 in the batch of drivers who’ve come here. The better ones are only coz they’ve chosen to drive for 20 laps”
Me: “wow!! Had I got more laps, what speed do you think I’d have done?”
Instructor :” I guess you could’ve reached a 200 mph too !! “
Me: “ any chance of a free drive for a few more laps?”
Instructor: “ fat chance!!”

And there ended my day at the track. Last I checked, I was the fastest that morning. It was easy for anybody who’d taken a 20 lap drive to beat my speed. Collected my certificate..



..hung around for a little bit.







..and then drove out to the International motorsports Hall of Fame just outside Talladega Speedway.

[14000rpm]

And that was one hell of an experience ticked off. I went to US many time thereafter and I went to a few NASCAR races too. Once to see Juan Pablo Montoya racing and a NASCAR Truck series to meet Narain Karthikeyan.








it wasn't like a quick dash at the fanbase where they sign autographs and move on. I had scheduled a time in coordination with his manager and I spent a good 10-15 mins talking to him. Nice down to earth chap.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the International Motorsports section. Thanks for sharing!

Going to our homepage today

[s2K_scorpioN]

Nice drive.

I worked for Stewart-Haas Racing for 2 years, they won a very dominating season one of those years (2018), made me see the NASCAR money of yore for a bit.

Racing is racing, even if you're only turning left. Although things have changed since, with NASCAR racing on more road-courses than ever before. But oval racing has its own charm.

[14000rpm]

Originally Posted by s2K_scorpioN

I worked for Stewart-Haas Racing for 2 years, they won a very dominating season one of those years (2018),

Cool. Keen to know more about the inner workings of a race team.

Originally Posted by s2K_scorpioN

made me see the NASCAR money of yore for a bit.

Cool. I read NASCAR provides a low threshold for sponsors which means there is some money to be made in the sport for everyone. I can't validate this though. Perhaps you can.

Originally Posted by s2K_scorpioN

Racing is racing, even if you're only turning left. Although things have changed since, with NASCAR racing on more road-courses than ever before. But oval racing has its own charm.

Indeed. It is extremely competitive. The tactics for passing are unique to NASCAR alone. I had tuned into Montoya's radio channel in one of the races and could sense the intense chatter back and forth between driver and pit.

Curiosity got the better of me and I even visited the NASCAR Museum in Charlotte, NC to know where it all started. Interesting connection to banned substances.

[rijo_tj]

Awsome post OP !!

Just a quick question. How did you get such good quality selfies back in 2008 ?

[s2K_scorpioN]

Originally Posted by 14000rpm

Keen to know more about the inner workings of a race team.

Biggest team is always the Aero team. The speeds racecars run nowadays, the biggest gains are to be had there. I worked on the Vehicle Dynamics team, mainly specializing in tire dynamics - this is a much smaller team, working closely with the Race Engineers. Of course then you have the powertrain team and the pit crew.When it comes to stock cars, the engine specifications are highly restricted, even down to perceivable airflow characteristics (you can get away with some, but the gains are minute (but they are there).

You've got windtunnel testing --> this generates the aero map that we run within our simulations.

Then you've got wheelforce testing --> this helps use get real time data of tire forces about the hub of each wheel.

We also used to do lab testing of tires to generate a complete tire force map (pacejka fit for the most part). These fits would then be scaled to real world forces from the wheelforce testing results, while also making them more temperature and pressure sensitive as in world conditions.

These tire models would then become the tire components in our simulations.

Day-in-day-out it is mainly a repetitive process of trying to better your performance from the last time you were at a track, you build off your last performance.

Originally Posted by 14000rpm

I read NASCAR provides a low threshold for sponsors which means there is some money to be made in the sport for everyone. I can't validate this though. Perhaps you can.

I believe this is true, but the margins are becoming smaller and smaller and competition is fierce, since the rules are highly regulated, so whether you win or not is as much a driver factor as the car. Unless you have an aero advantage. So it tough to get sponsorship when you can't guarantee wins, unless you have a really good sponsor relationship who travels with a driver between teams.

Originally Posted by 14000rpm

The tactics for passing are unique to NASCAR alone.

Right, since at a given time on the track, all things being the same, there is only one ideal line around a corner, drivers have to get creative with drafting, putting on the pressure, being patient (lol). You've also got the opposite of drafting where if a car is lined up to the rear quarter panel of another car beside it, and is close enough, the victim car will actually face more drag - effectively slowing them down. This is why you see wide variety of winners at super speedways.

Let's not to forget the stun pulled by Ross Chastain a few years ago at Martinsville to qualify in the championship 4.

[14000rpm]

Originally Posted by rijo_tj

Just a quick question. How did you get such good quality selfies back in 2008 ?

Not sure what it was - A point and shoot or a DSLR. Certainly not a Mobile phone for sure.

Originally Posted by s2K_scorpioN

Biggest team is always the Aero team. The speeds racecars run nowadays, the biggest gains are to be had there.

Very interesting. Thanks. I'm sure it must've felt a very exciting job when you did it. My team was responsible for Vehicle Dynamics at FCA when it was my account and they had to simulate upcoming model's with multiple Tire, Suspension Geometry etc. for road dynamics and NVH. Hence I understand your role.

Originally Posted by s2K_scorpioN

Right, since at a given time on the track, all things being the same, there is only one ideal line around a corner, drivers have to get creative with drafting, putting on the pressure, being patient (lol)... This is why you see wide variety of winners at super speedways.

Yes. Hence there is some amount of surprise always keeping the viewers hooked till the end. Unlike most F1 races these days.

Originally Posted by s2K_scorpioN

Let's not to forget the stun pulled by Ross Chastain a few years ago at Martinsville to qualify in the championship 4.

Wooo. That was a mega Catapult move. Did not know about it till you point out. Total shocker. Such moves could've only been possible in Gaming till he did it for the first and last time.

https://youtu.be/sOY9p5gFa5Q?si=74tpxZXbvF0xD7bc