Activity Overview
Martinsville Speedway is 0.526 miles around and 12 degree banking. Martinsville is a monumental test of brakes and setup. The track is partially paved in asphalt and partially (corners) paved in concrete. When brakes begin to fade a driver must simply slow down in order to keep the car on the track. Brakes and braking certainly became an issue for the 17 car as well as others in the 2011 chase race. In the old Can-Am series the cars were allowed to have moveable wings running nearly flat (low angle of attack) for down-force and minimal drag then standing the wing nearly up-right to create a huge drag and act as a brake when going into a corner. In this lesson you will investigate the idea of using a 6 foot x 6 foot moveable wing at Martinsville on a NASCAR Sprint Cup car.