The use and importance of computers in NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing is a trend that continues to emerge in the sport, but the technology hasn't yet found a home on race day.
To find out how computers are used in Winston Cup, Stock Car Racing went to Steve Hmiel, technical director at Dale Earnhardt Inc., which fields Chevrolets for drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr., Michael Waltrip and Kenny Wallace.
As Hmiel explains, NASCAR has always banned the use of any kind of in-car telemetry on race weekends. However, when it comes to testing, the sanctioning body doesn't mind if teams use as many computer sensors as they can fit in their car.
On race weekends, the only way teams can use computers is to acquire lap times directly from NASCAR, so naturally teams try to gain as much information as they can during testing when computers are allowed.
"There are a lot of things that we can measure as it relates to the motors," Hmiel says. "We can also check exhaust temperatures, inlet air temperatures and cooling pressures."
As far as using the computers for the car itself, teams can look at aerodynamic loads and pressures over and under the car. They can even judge the pressures inside the car and how the air is flowing through the ductwork.
"As far as using computers to help with the handling of the car, we can understand the speed of the cars and g-forces we're working with," Hmiel says. "We can also use computers to see how much load is on the steering and suspension parts, and that helps us understand the front-to-rear and side-to-side roll of the car."
Hmiel says teams can measure just about anything they want to measure through the use of computers. The trick is to have someone smart enough to understand what all the data means.
"The most important piece of the equation is not the gathering of the information, but the interpretation of that when we get back to the shop," he says. "Fortunately with our engineering department at DEI, we have the right people in place to figure all that information out, and they give us a report we can pass along to all our crew chiefs and they can take it from there."
When working as one of Mark Martin's former crew chiefs, Hmiel says the two would often joke about some of the teams getting so caught up using computers in testing. Now, as Hmiel and Martin will both attest, the use of computers is imperative in order to stay competitive.
"It's the only way to do it now when it comes to superspeedway racing because the attitudes of the cars mean so much," Hmiel says.
Hmiel says that on race weekends, the only data teams are able to get comes through NASCAR, putting everybody on an even keel.
"On race weekends, we use computers strictly for timing. Back in the old days, we'd have somebody with a handheld stopwatch telling us lap times, but now we've got computers to do that for us."
Hmiel says that's important when teams go to a track like Rockingham or Darlington where the tires wear out quickly. Teams can use the computers to tell them if their lap times are falling off more than other cars.
"That's important because a guy can just blow by you and you're all heartbroken thinking he's that much better than you until you look at the computer and see he just put on new tires," Hmiel says.