I spent an interesting Sunday morning at Kansas a couple weeks ago watching the cars attempt to pass pre-race inspection. The process was relatively simple.
In short, the building had two stations. In the first, the car's height was measured, the undercarriage checked (measurements again), and the hood was popped and some wrenching done).
The car was then wheeled by the crew to the next station, where it was weighed. An inspector looked inside the driver's window. Finally, the cars were lined up outside the building and wheeled back to the garage.
When the car was first brought in, the wheels were blocked so the car wouldn't move.
Next, an inspector got on the ground and measured things underneath.
Sometimes, he was joined by a crew member when things didn't add up.
Simultaneously, another inspector checked the height.
Truex's team apparently didn't think he'd measure up, as the car came in with the wrenches ready to go!
An official went under the hood with a crew member.
The front bumper was measured, and if the proper measure was not found, crews could use this tool to make it fit. Stewart and Waltrip's crews wacked their cars a few times. Interestingly enough, this was the only tool provided by Nascar. All others were brought in by the teams.
The secret of Hendrick's success? Label the obvious?
Both sides of the car had to match the template. Notice the camera in the bumper.
Some crews came back to talk with the inspectors when the car failed and had to be brought back after a few "adjustments." (Other than what could be fixed with the sledge hammer, naturally!).
The cars then rolled to the second platform where the crew was careful not to be on the platform with the car. I assume it was to check the weight of the car.
The inspector looks inside - this took hardly 10 seconds.
The man at the computer logged data.
The other high tech data collection was done on this clipboard at the first station.
And there you have it - the inspection process. Simple enough to pass, right?
The post-race inspection process involves the top 5 finishers, and another car randomly selected. The cars are torn apart, which can mean teams are stuck at the track for hours after the finish of the race. Stories abound of post-race inspections not finishing until 4 or 5 a.m.
No comments:
Post a Comment