Racing Technology

Ryan McCallister

06/11/06

Racing has paved the way for many of the advancements in automotive

technology used in everyday production vehicles. Since the beginning of the auto

industry gearheads and engineers alike have strived to get the most out of their vehicles

as possible. If racing benefits from these technological advancements then they should be

introduced into the everyday driver. In the beginning this led to overall improvements in

speed and durability. Now days the new found technology in automotive racing industry

has less of an impact on overall design but is no less important.

The money and drive of competition involved in racing led to simple design

improvements in areas such as aerodynamics strengthened suspension, and drivetrain.

As changes like these were tested through racing they were introduced into to the

production automobile. In the early years there was much to be improved upon and this

was rapidly changing, so much that a car one year old was practically a dinosaur.

New age equipment and technology enables engineers to do research and make

design concepts in much more technical areas. Using Finite Element Analysis tools

engineers are aiming to make improvements related to engine performance starting with

the Formula One and Champ Car World Series engine programs. These racing

improvements are said to change standards in reliability, noise reduction, vibration,