This week we’ve been fortunate to be hanging out with the Red Bull Racing Team as they get ready for the Coca Cola 600 Sunday night in Charlotte, NC. As I previously posted, I’m amazed at how much computer technology and mobile tech goes into running a team like this. We’ve been watching them use their Mobile Demand rugged tablets to keep track of tire pressures, fuel levels, and lap times.
The team also has a slew of notebook computers keeping track of engineering information on the cars and these are all networked via Ethernet, Wi-Fi and Sprint wireless cards. That is what we saw yesterday as the team tested their #82 and #83 cars which will be driven by Casey Mears and Scott Speed in Sunday’s race.
Today we were in Mooresville, NC to visit the team’s shop. We were taken back to the offices where we got to see what you see in most offices, desks with PC’s everywhere. But they were also testing out a new simulator. It’s a racing simulator that has a screen that looks a little like an XBOX or Playstation game on steroids. It is attached to a cage that houses the driver’s seat and the wheel which controls the sim. It rocks back and forth just like the cockpit of one of the stock cars would in a race. And it was all run by a computer of course.
After touring the shop and talking with some people there, we got to watch the pit crew practice their pit stops. The crew runs through their choreography of jacking up the car, changing four tires, filling the tank with 22 gallons of fuel, changing the track bar, putting rubber wedges in the springs, and all in less than 15 seconds. Then, after they are finished, they watch their performance on instantly available video shot from an overhead camera.
Of course there is also the mundane tech that we are all very used to and take very much for granted. But without it people like our PR contact with the team, Ashley Wise, couldn’t do their jobs. She is part of a five member marketing team. Her job requires that she be in constant contact with dozens, if not hundreds of people. While she took us around to the various parts of the team’s facility she kept banging away on her blackberry. What did we do without these things?†she asked. Being mobile for more than 30 weeks a year makes you appreciate things like smart phones and notebooks.
Check back tomorrow as we share about our experiences as the team is qualifying for Sunday’s race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, NC.
Below is the video our sister site Gottabemobile.com posted after the first day with Red Bull Racing and Mobile Demand. In it you will see how one of the team members uses his table to keep track of tire pressures and wear. Tomorrow we will have video of them dropping one of their rugged tablets and bathing it in a wash basin. Wouldn’t do that with my iPad!
The rest of the story can be found at GBM.