Track Bandits Racing Lingo

Common Racing Terms and Definitions

• Aero: Short for aerodynamics. Open-wheel cars are designed like upside-down airplane wings. The air going over and under the car affects how it performs. The faster the car goes, the more airflow pushes it against the racetrack and the faster it can corner. Aerodynamics also has become a big part of stock-car racing. Wind-tunnel tests are used to find ways to help the cars slice more quickly through the air.

• Apron: The area on oval tracks on the inside of the racing surface closest to the infield. Also where drivers exit pit lane.

• Balance: Open-wheel cars must be precisely balanced to make the handling accurate and predictable. Can be affected by humidity and temperature of the track.

• Banking: Oval tracks are slanted away from the outside retaining wall to help the cars stay on the racing surface. Banking typically is several degrees more in the corners than on the straightaways.

• Camber: How much a tire is tilted from vertical so it touches more of the racing surface.

• Carbon fiber: Developed for the aerospace industry, it looks like fiberglass but is lighter and stronger. The chassis of a typical Indy car is made of carbon fiber and aluminum.

• Caution: A yellow flag signals trouble on the racetrack, usually the result of an accident. Cars line up behind a pace car and travel at a restricted speed until the green flag is waved to resume racing. Teams prefer to make their pit stops during a caution because there is less risk of losing positions.

• Downforce: Using the atmosphere like an airplane, the car is pushed against the track to make it corner better. The rear spoiler on a stock car captures the air coming off the roof and helps hold the rear of the car on the track.

• Draft: Most prevalent in stock-car racing, and on superspeedways, where two cars running together are faster than one car. The car in front opens a hole in the air and creates a vacuum behind it, pulling the second car along. The two cars essentially run with the drag effect of one.

• Drag: The resistance created when the car moves through the air.

• Fuel cell: A holding tank for a race car’s gasoline supply. Consists of a metal box that contains a flexible, tear-resistant bladder, designed to eliminate or minimize fuel spillage.

• Groove: The fastest line around the racetrack, be it low, in the middle or high.

• Loose: Term the driver uses to tell his crew the rear of the car wants to fishtail in the corners. Also called oversteer. The opposite condition is push, which means the car is difficult to turn and wants to go straight in the corners. Also called understeer. Teams are forever seeking a happy medium.

• Marbles: Usually the area above the racing line on either an oval or road course where rubber scrubbed off tires and other debris come to rest in marble-like particles. ‘‘Getting into the marbles’’ often results in the driver losing control of his car.

• Paddock: The area at the racetrack that includes the garages, inspection areas, hospitality areas, media center and drivers’ and officials’ motor homes.

• Pole: Driver who is the fastest in qualifying, usually one or two timed laps, starts on the pole — or inside the front row. The second-fastest qualifier sits on the outside pole.

• Qualifying setup: Cars in qualifying trim usually have the least downforce and drag possible, a light fuel load, a special set of tires and special engines. The cars are set up not for reliability but to reach maximum speed for a lap or two (four in Indy 500 qualifying).

• Quarter panels: The sheet metal immediately behind and in front of the tires of a stock car. Prime sponsor space because they are highly visible on TV. Open-wheel equivalent is the sidepod, where the primary sponsor’s name usually is displayed.

• Roll cage: The steel tubing frame that protects the driver inside a stock car.

• Roof flaps: When a stock car gets sideways on the track, the flaps pop up and act much like the flaps on an airplane wing, slowing the car and helping prevent it from becoming airborne.

• Safety shields: Also called safety liner. Feature often referred to as a “tire within a tire.” This inner tire is used in NASCAR and will hold a car up if the outer tire is cut down.

• Scuffs: Tires that have one or two laps on them, opposed to ‘‘stickers,’’ which are unused.

• Set-up: Used to describe the car’s overall preparation as the crews assess the variables in getting it ready to race.

• Spoiler: The wing on the rear deck lid of a stock car. Adjusting the spoiler gives the car more or less rear downforce.

• Spotter: A team member who watches the race from high in the grandstands or press box and is in constant radio contact with the driver, telling him what is going on around him.

• Stagger: Measures the difference in circumference of left tires and right tires. Teams racing on oval tracks will use a larger set of tires on the outside of the car, giving it a natural tendency to turn left through the corners.

• Telemetry: Sensors on Indy cars measure things such as suspension movement, downforce and tire pressures. Data is sent to the crew via radio signal so they can decide how to make adjustments before the car comes into the pits. NASCAR rules don’t allow use of telemetry during a race.

• Tub: The center section of an open-wheel car. The engine and suspension are attached to it.

• Wedge: Term NASCAR crew chiefs use for adjusting the weight on the car’s chassis. A jackscrew can be turned to either add or subtract pressure from the coil spring, thus shifting the weight and altering the car’s handling. ‘‘A round of wedge’’ means turning the jackscrew one time.

• Wings: On the front, sides and rear of an open-wheel car, they fine-tune the handling.