NASCAR uses specialty track-drying technology to rid rain from racetracks
From the Daytona 500 to the Indy 500, NASCAR drivers need the track to be completely dry should there be any rain during these important races. New technology helps to decrease the tracks by 50 percent of the drying time.
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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The weather has often been the biggest challenge for NASCAR, but the impact of rain is now significantly reduced thanks to track-drying technology.
NASCAR's Air Titan 2.0 is a track-drying apparatus that uses compressed air to push water off the racetrack.
On oval tracks, like the Daytona International Speedway, races cannot happen if the course is wet. Slicks, the tires used on oval tracks, cannot handle the precipitation due to the lack of tread pattern on the tires.
Air Titan track driers run during a rain delay in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.
(Todd Warshaw/NASCAR via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Thomas Davenport, Manager of Track Services for NASCAR, says that the Air Titan trucks use a large volume of air to eliminate excess moisture off the speedway.
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"The air from the blower goes through a series of hoses, and it comes down on an air knife that you see pulled along behind the truck," Davenport says. "In a sense, it's a squeegee, but it's of air. So, if you think of folks squeegeeing water off a window or things like that, it's the same effect. We just use it with air."
BROOKLYN, MI - JUNE 14: A detailed view of an Air Titan 2.0 as it works to dry pit road during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway on June 14, 2015 in Brooklyn, Michigan.
(Jerry Markland/Getty Images / Getty Images)
But the work isn't done yet. Once the trucks have done a couple of laps around the track, it is up to air blowers to remove the moisture from the pores on the tracks.
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"We use our buffalo turbine air blowers, and we use our jet dryers to combine and apply heat to the surface, just like you would think of a hair dryer," Davenport explains. "You know when you're drying your hair out, right, you use the towel and ring your hair out to get the excess moisture off and then the hair dryer is just getting what's left behind. It's the same way with the jet dryers. Jet driers come behind and take out the rest of that moisture that's in the top layer of the asphalt."
CHARLOTTE, NC - MAY 28: An Air Titan dries the track during a rain delay during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 28, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
(Jerry Markland/Getty Images / Getty Images)
There has been a 50% decrease in drying time because of the technology.
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And Davenport says that it makes a big difference from an efficiency standpoint.
September 12, 2015: NASCAR's Air Titan's working to get the race surface ready for the start of the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, VA.
(David Hahn/Icon Sportswire/Corbis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images / Getty Images)
"When you can cut down the drying time and the run time, your efficiency across the board goes up," he says.
Forecast for the 66th annual Daytona 500
The forecast is not looking good for Sunday's Daytona 500.
The FOX Forecast Center expects the first round of precipitation to impact Central Florida on Saturday, with rain chances on Sunday and Monday. It will also be much cooler on Sunday, with temperatures above 10 degrees below normal.
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(FOX Weather)
Races in both 2020 and 2021 were impacted by rain, with the 2020 contest being postponed until the next day due to persistent rainfall.
You can watch the 66th annual Daytona 500 on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. EST on FOX and FOXSports.com.