Revving engines, smoking tires, and high speeds. Car racing enthusiasts and race drivers alike know the thrill of competition, the push to perform better, and the agony - and dangers - of bad decisions. This title explains just what's going on during any race, why, and how a driver can improve control and ultimately win.

Revving engines, smoking tires, and high speeds. Car racing enthusiasts and race drivers alike know the thrill of competition, the push to perform better, and the agony—and dangers—of bad decisions. But driving faster and better involves more than just high horsepower and tightly tuned engines. Physicist and amateur racer Chuck Edmondson thoroughly discusses the physics underlying car racing and explains just what’s going on during any race, why, and how a driver can improve control and ultimately win. The world of motorsports is rich with excitement and competition—and physics. Edmondson applies common mathematical theories to real-world racing situations to reveal the secrets behind successful fast driving. He explains such key concepts as how to tune your car and why it matters, how to calculate 0 to 60 mph times and quarter-mile times and why they are important, and where, when, why, and how to use kinematics in road racing. He wraps it up with insight into the impact and benefit of green technologies in racing. In each case, Edmondson’s in-depth explanations and worked equations link the physics principles to qualitative racing advice. From selecting shifting points to load transfer in car control and beyond, Fast Car Physics is the ideal source to consult before buckling up and cinching down the belts on your racing harness.

In this engaging title, young readers learn about the moving form of energy that is motion! The relationship of mass and acceleration is explained, as are the forces of downforce, updraft, friction, inertia, centripetal force, and the role of aerodynamics in managing these forces. These properties are illustrated by the running of car races. Colorful infographics make internal combustion, mass and acceleration, and centripetal force easily accessible, and prominent contributors such as Junior Johnson and Sir Isaac Newton are featured. A fun experiment with friction brings the science of motion to life! Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Checkerboard Library is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.

Provides background information and activity suggestions.

A physicist explores the science of speed racing and the #1 spectator sport in America in the perfect gift for both NASCAR and science fans. Every NASCAR fan—at one time or another—asks the same question: Why isn’t my favorite driver winning? This is your chance to discover how much more there is to NASCAR than “Go fast, turn left and don’t crash.” If you’ve ever wondered why racecars don’t have mufflers, how “bump drafting” works, or what in the world “Let’s go up a pound on the right rear and add half a round of wedge” means, The Physics of NASCAR is for you. In this fast-paced investigation into the adrenaline-pumping world of NASCAR, a physicist with a passion uncovers what happens when the rubber hits the road and 800-horsepower vehicles compete at 190 miles per hour only inches from one another. Diandra Leslie-Pelecky tells her story in terms anyone who drives a car—and maybe occasionally looks under the hood--can understand. How do drivers walk away from serious crashes? How can two cars travel faster together than either car can on its own? How do you dress for a 1800°F gasoline fire? In simple yet detailed, high-octane prose, this is the ultimate thrill ride for armchair speed demons, auto science buffs, and NASCAR fans at every level of interest. Readers, start your engines.

Top Gear's Richard Hammond is in the driving seat for this turbo-charged tour through the nuts and bolts of car technology. Underneath the hood of every car there's a lot of fast, furious, and spectacular science going on. G-force, combustion, power: you name it, a car's got it. Help your child discover all about the science of cars with this explosive tour of automobiles in Car Science. Find out how cars revolutionized the world and see how a car functions with jaw-dropping diagrams, cutaway drawings and cool graphics. Steer to the fundamental science behind the mechanics and then sit back for an exciting look into the future of minimal emissions, maximum fun.

Read Along or Enhanced eBook: Accelerate through the pages of this book and introduce readers to physics and how it assists objects to move. This stimulating nonfiction title includes real-life examples and basic experiments to facilitate further understanding of physics. Readers will learn about velocity, Newton's Second Law of Motion, thrust, gravity, momentum, and g-force through vibrant and colorful images, fascinating facts in conjunction with informational text, accommodating graphs and diagrams.