Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Bones of Contention. A trip to Roush Fenway Racing reveals how engineers and fabricators transform a pile of steel sheet and tubing into a chassis a driver trusts with his life.
Chapter 2: Skin Care. Visit Hendrick Motorsports and learn how the body is formed and 'hung'.
Chapter 3: Make Up. A car isn't ready for the track until it's got its paint scheme on! Hendrick Motorsports creates some of the most interesting paint schemes, and you'll learn that some "paint schemes" don't involve paint.
Chapter 4: Combustion. Dr. Andy Randolph at Bill Davis Racing explains how gasoline is converted into speed.
Chapter 5: Power Play. Dr. Randolph explains why a NASCAR engine is so much more powerful than the engine on your car.
Chapter 6: The Wizard and the Flying Car Problem. The AeroDyn wind tunnel is a leading destination for NASCAR teams to find out how the air helps–or hurts–their car's speed. Gary Eaker, AeroDyn's Wind Wizard, is also one of the inventors of roof flaps.
Chapter 7: Running with the Pack. How the air affects one car is complicated enough: Aerodynamicist Dr. Eric Warren helps us understand what happens when a second car pulls up behind you.
Chapter 8: Texas Motor Speedway at 150 mph. Climb in a stock car, experience a hot lap around Texas Motor Speedway, and gain a new appreciation for how challenging it is to drive a stock car.
Chapter 9: Sound Thinking. Two of the most important things to bring with you to the track are earplugs and your scanner. This chapter gives you a hot pass into the garage at the Atlanta Motor Speedway to experience the 120 decibel excitement of the garage as the team arrives at the track.
Chapter 10: The Rubber Hits the Road. Every team has one person whose primary job is making sure the tires are ready to do their jobs. Tire specialist Scott "Swifty" Swift explains why tires are so critical to winning races.
Chapter 11: Shock Therapy. The suspension on a passenger car is for comfort. That's not its function on a stock car, as shock specialist Kevin "Kiwi" Duncan shows us as he builds shocks in the hauler prior to qualifying.
Chapter 12: The Two-Lap Dash: A Qualified Success. Be there as the Gillett Evernham Motorsports No. 19 car practicles and qualifies at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Chapter 13: Keeping Drivers (and Fans) Alive. Learn about the changes engineers at the NASCAR Research & Development Center have implemented to make cars faster, safer and more competitive.
Chapter 14: Making Racing SAFER. The University of Nebraska–Lincoln's Dr. Dean Sicking is the man behind the SAFER barrier. Dr. Sicking explains how the SAFER barriers were developed and why they are so effective.
Chapter 15: Practice Doesn't Always Make Perfect. The No. 19 team tries to dial in their setup for Martinsville and finds that the problem you thought you were solving isn't always the problem you need to solve.
Chapter 16: Elliott is Hot. If the cockpit of a car gets up to 130°F, why is Elliott wearing long underwear?
Chapter 17: The Locusts in the Pit Box. This chapter tells you why the over-the-wall guys sometimes are called "locusts", and details the critical roles they fill before and during the race.
Chapter 18: The Checkered Flag. Having the best science and engineering isn't enough. You have to have luck on your side and–so far–none of the teams have figured out a scientific way to make that happen every week.
