Lateral grip is actually much more important than speed down the straightaway. If you are under inflated when you turn, you can imagine you're actually shearing the sidewalls of the tire. And then if it's too high and you just simply don't have the grip to break the turn and you're going to hit the wall. What else the drivers think it could be the aerodynamics? Let's find out in our next clip here.
What difference does the driver make? Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-hosts Chuck Nice and Gary O’Reilly break down the science of NASCAR in Neil’s interview with Dale Earnhardt Jr. with the help of physicist Diandra Leslie-Pelecky.
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What difference does the driver make? Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-hosts Chuck Nice and Gary O’Reilly break down the science of NASCAR in Neil’s interview with Dale Earnhardt Jr. with the help of physicist Diandra Leslie-Pelecky.
NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: https://startalkmedia.com/show/innovations-in-racing-with-dale-earnhardt-jr/
Thanks to our Patrons Mud Runner, Jeffery Arzt, Valentin Ivan, Stuart Baker, Byron Griffin, and Michele Baldacci for supporting us this week.
Photo Credit: Photograph by D Ramey Logan, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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