Technical Terms A-K
| Areo Package | The combination of shocks, spoiler adjustment, springs, tape on the nose grill and various other factors that are designed to give the car the most down force. These factors give the car the most grip on the track. You'll notice that even the slightest damage to the car can dramatically effect its handling. |
Associate / Contingency Sponsors |
Sponsor companies, other than the Primary Sponsor, who pay money to drivers who use their products or put their decals on their cars. |
| Balance | When a car doesn't over steer or under steer and goes on around the the track as if it were on rails. |
| Ball Joint | The ball joint is part of the front suspension. It is a metal ball inside a socket that can turn & pivot in any direction & is bolted to the wheel spindle. The ball joint allows the suspension to travel while the wheels are turned. |
| Bite | The combination of the car's set up & tires that give the driver ability to "stick" to the track. An example is the way Tony Stewart manages to stay at the bottom of the track. |
| Bear Grease | The slang term for the material used to to patch cracks, holes and bumps on a race track. |
| Blend Line | The line near the apron of the track that extends from the end of pit road to the first turn. The drivers must stay below this line to re-enter the traffic. |
| Blister | Overheating of the tire tread that causes bubbles on the tire. |
| Brake Bias | There is a control knob inside the car that allows the driver to shift the amount of braking done by the front brakes & the back brakes. |
| Bump Drafting | When a driver uses his front bumper to push the car ahead of him allowing the front car to get an extra boost of speed. Usually done by teammates or drivers who have agreed to work together on tracks with long straightaways. |
| Catch Fence | The large chain link fence that extends over the race track wall. The fence is designed to protect spectators from loose / flying debris from the race track. |
| Chassis | The floorboard, interior & roll cage of the car. |
| Contact Patch | The part of the tire that physically touches the track. |
| Cowl Induction | The air intake located at the base of the windshield that funnels the air into the carburetor. |
| Chute | The straightaway on a racetrack |
| DNF | Stands for Did Not Finish. A driver gets a DNF as the result of an accident or mechanical failure that precludes him from completing the race. |
| Downforce | Downforce is the result of air blowing across the car. The more downforce a car has the better it sticks to the track. Even the slightest rub against the wall or another car can effect the cars downforce. During pit stops the crew will make sure bang out any dents. Teams use a wind tunnels & test at various tracks and then experiment with putting tape on the radiator grill, varying tire pressures & varying shock absorber pressure to maximize the downforce on the of the car |
| Driver Uniforms | The drivers uniforms are made of either of two flame retardant materials, Nomex® manufactured by Dupont or Proban® manufactured by Rhodia . |
| Engine Gauge Cluster | The cluster is on the dashboard. The gauges monitor oil pressure, water temperature, oil temperature, voltage & fuel pressure. |
| Engine Displacement | The size of the engine measured in cubic inches. NASCAR rules allow the engine to be no larger 358 cubic inches. |
| Flags | Nascar uses various different color flags to communicate with drivers on the track. Click here to learn the about what the flags mean. Update coming shortly. |
| Front Splitter (COT) | Adjustable lip on front of car that is adjustable and creates more down force that sucks the car down to the track and thus more traction and control. |
| Fuel Cell | It is the race car's gas tank. It is made of rubber and has one hose for putting the gas in and another on top to allow air to escape, so that the cell can be completely filled faster and with no air taking up valuable space needed for fuel. On most tracks it holds 22 gallons of fuel. On some of the faster speedways Nascar has mandated the the use of smaller 14 gallon cells. |
| Getting Freight Trained | When a driver moves up or down, out a line a cars to make a pass and doesn't succeed, resulting in the other car passing like a freight train. |
| Gorilla Snot | Ever wonder how they change the tires so fast. Well the the ends of the wheel studs are tapered about a half an inch with no threads. The lug nuts are attached to the rim with a 3M weather sealing material (slang = Gorilla Snot) this allows the tire changer to seat the tire on the stud. Then when the impact wrench is applied this material breaks away as the lug nut is tightened down. |
| Groove | The groove also referred to as the "the line" is and area of the where drivers get there cars to run the best on the track. There is usually a high groove & a low groove. |
| HANS Device | Head And Neck Support system. 4 Nascar drivers have been killed since 5/00. Adam Petty , Kenny Irwin , Tony Roper and Dale Earnhardt Sr. all suffered injuries to the base of the neck caused by impact with the track wall during an accident. The HANS device is a semi-hard collar made of carbon fiber and Kevlar, and it is held onto the upper body by a harness worn by the driver. Two flexible tethers on the collar of the device are attached to the helmet to minimize movement of the drivers head. In October 2001 Nascar mandated that the device be used In the Cup Series, Busch Series & Truck Series. |
| Hinge Pins & Tethers | Hinge pins are metal pins that stick up through a reinforced metal disk on the hood. The pins have a hole in them where a metal clip attached to a metal tether is inserted. These pins are designed to get the hood from flying off. |
| Jack Post | A post usually located directly under the drivers & passenger side door. This post is where the jacket man places the jack & allows both tires on one side of the car to be lifted at the same time. |
| Kill Switch | A switch located on the car's dashboard used to kill all electrical power when the throttle sticks. |
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