Indy Racing League Automotive Glossary Have you ever been confused when someone breaks out the Indy Racing lingo and obscure automotive terms? Hollywood Poker’s Indy Racing League Automotive Glossary covers important terms, words, and lingo that will improve your automotive vocabulary and IRL viewing experience. Our glossary will have you wowing friends and family as you toss out cleaver remarks like 'the poor adhesion on the groove is making the cars handle towards the apron, it must be slick'. Check out the Indy Racing Glossary and then hit the poker tables! adhesion Adhesion is the controlling of contact between two objects that are a touching each other. The contact between a tire and pavement when there is no motion is an example of adhesion. aerodynamics Aerodynamics is the study of how an object travels through air resistance. This is one of the main reasons for the evolution of automotive design. apron An apron is a border built to separate the racetrack from the infield. Usually aprons are built out of concrete or steel. attenuator One of the most important elements of auto racing is safety and the attenuator is an important part of that. Sitting in the rear of the gear box the attenuator is made of carbon fiber and honeycombed aluminum, its job is to absorb the force of a rear end crash. axle An axle is a rotating shaft that connects the wheels to either side of the car. bite The bite is an adhesion contact between the race track and the car’s tire. blister With the speed and action of racing the tire will get extremely hot during a race and can bubble, this is what is referred to as a blister. cam CAM stands for The Championship Association of Mechanics, the group was formed in 1989 to promote the work of Indy Car crew members. camber The proper camber can set a racer apart from the competition. The camber is the degree tires are angled to provide greater turning ability around corners. camshaft A camshaft is a rotating shaft that regulates the engine’s intake and outtake valves. center of gravity The centre of gravity on an Indy car is the area of the car that could balance both the car’s weight in the front and the back if it were suspended. chassis Sometimes referred to as the tub, the chassis is in the center of the car’s body and is where the driver sits. contact patch The contact patch is the term given to the small portion of the tire that makes contact with the racing surface. This is one of the more important elements of a driver’s success, different modifications to the car’s body and tires can help the driver get a good contact patch. crankshaft One of the more important things under a car’s hood is the crankshaft. The crankshaft is a rotating shaft that is powered by the up-and-down motion of the pistons. While doing this the crankshaft powers the flywheel, which powers the transmission. The crankshaft is housed in the crankcase. damper The damper is a device which reduces the car’s vibration. diaper When an accident or an engine malfunction happens the engine must be protected and that’s what the diaper does. It’s a blanket made of absorbent materials that will contain the engine if anything bad happens. disc The disc is one of the more important parts in a car’s braking system. displacement Displacement is the theory of how much the total volume of air-fuel mixture a car’s engine is capable of drawing on all cylinders during one operating cycle of the engine. downforce With a car going the speed that race car drivers hit, the aerodynamics of the car would lift the automobile off the ground. The wings on the car have the opposite effect of airplane wings, they use downforce to keep the car on the ground, instead of encouraging lift. dyno Dyno is a short form for dynamometer. This a machine that attaches to the car to measure its horsepower output. electronic control module (ecm) The Electronic Control Module (ECM) is a computer system that regulates the car’s fuel and emissions systems. engine block The engine block is made of aluminum and contains the crankshaft and the connecting rods and pistons. fuel injection Fuel injection is a system that replaces conventional carburetion, it delivers the fuel to the chamber under the pressure of the engine's combustion. gasoline alley Gasoline Alley is one of the more action-packed areas of an Indy track. This is the garage area where most of the major repairs of a car happen. grip The grip is how well a tire maintains its traction with the road while driving. groove While racing the groove is the place to be, this is the area that is the fastest and most efficient on the track. You can often see a darker surface on a track, it is the groove and the pavement is usually darker because of a build-up of tire rubber on the racing surface. The groove is also referred to as the line of the track. handling Handling is a way to describe a car’s overall performance on a race track. Proper tires, suspension and aerodynamics are the best way to insure excellent handling. horsepower (hp, bhp) Horsepower is a unit used to measure the amount of power an engine outputs. In general the higher the horsepower, the faster the car travels. i-beam suspension I-Beam Suspension is a suspension system, the I-shaped frame supports the body of the car. indy 500 The Indy 500 is considered by most to be the most important race on the Indy circuit. The race is held in Indianapolis every Memorial Day Weekend. loose When the grip of the back tires is too loose, the car will become hard to handle when this happens it is called a loose. marbles When excess rubber builds up above the groove of a tire during a race it’s called marbles. methanol Methanol is the fuel that powers all the cars in the Indy Racing League, it is pure methyl alcohol produced by synthesis. neutral When a car is neither pushing nor loose the car’s handling is driving neutral. nomex Nomex is brand name used by Du Pont for the material in their line of fire-resistant clothing for racers. pace car The pace car leads the race cars out of pole position or after a yellow flag or a restart has been ordered. pushing When a car is having trouble making corners due to tire grip it’s called pushing. It can be caused by a lack of downforce on the front of the car and too much on the car’s rear. rev limiter Rev limiter is a computer device in the engine that causes a car’s engine to misfire if it exceeds the amount of rpms that Indy Racing League regulates. ride height The ride height is the distance from the bottom of the chassis to the ground when the car is at full speed. This is regulated at a distance of two inches off the ground. short track Short track is actually that, a track that is one mile or less in length. side pod The bodywork on a car’s side that contains the vehicles radiators and engine exhaust is referred to as the side pod. It also offers the driver some protection if they are involved in a side crash. slick When track conditions are bad enough where the car’s tires are not maintaining a good grip it’s called a slick. These conditions can be caused by many things including dirt, hot weather, or not enough rubber. stagger When the right-front and/or right-rear tire are larger than those on the left-side it’s called a stagger, this helps improve turning abilities in ovals. sticker tires When a driver has new tires on their car they are referred to as having sticker tires. This is because new tires have price stickers on them. superspeedway A superspeedway is a racing track that has a distance of more than one mile suspension & wheel energy management system (swems) SWEMS is a wheel-restraint system that puts multiple restraint points on a car’s chassis and suspension. This insures the chances of the wheel assembly coming apart during a race are slim. Usually the SWEMS can hold five tons and they are made of FIA-approved Zylon. telemetry A telemetry measures various diagnostic information about a car and sends it to the pit crew. This allows the driver’s team to see any mechanical problems that the driver may not be able to detect. tight When a car is having problems steering due to a lack of grip in the front tires the car is driving tight. When trying to drive around a corner the car will want to continue straight. tire compound Throughout the history of the automobile the tire compound has evolved. The combination of rubber polymers, oils, carbon blacks and curatives used to create a tire is called the tire compound. usac The United States Auto Club (USAC) is a group that governs car racing in the United States, including Indy Racing. weight jacker Cars are equipped with a weight jacker. This hydraulic system distributes the cars weight from one side to the other to help the car’s handling.

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