Racing Green is the story of how motorsport science has become
smarter and more environmentally friendly, and how these developments on
the track are changing the world.
Motor racing is one of the world's most watched sports. In the United
States alone, NASCAR has over 75 million fans and counting. It's also
the most scientifically demanding sport on Earth, requiring a
combination of peak physical and mental skill, world-class engineers and
a constant drive for technological innovation.
Racing Green explores the science that has been translated from racing
to the road, from the early 19th century through to innovations such as
electric cars and autonomous vehicles. The history of motor racing, both
its glories and its tragedies, led to some of the most important modern
developments we see in car design today. Just as the heartbreaking death
of Dale Earnhardt at the Daytona 500 led NASCAR to introduce a new
raceway barrier method, ideas pioneered during races - such as crush
zones to crash helmets - have been incorporated into race car and track
designs around the world. Cleaner technologies first trialed and
improved in modern racing are also shaping our communities beyond the
track, from the hidden aerodynamics in everything from your grocery
aisle to Apple's new $5 billion headquarters to a Porsche made from flax
and tires made from dandelions.
Through exclusive interviews with NASCAR's Research and Development
Center, Formula 1 insiders, engineers, scientists and drivers, lifelong
motorsport fan Kit Chapman goes behind the scenes of the current
breakthroughs to show where motorsport is likely to take us in the
future, picking up extraordinary tales along the way, such as the Ohio
State University's experimental electric car, the Buckeye Bullet, which
broke the electric land speed record on the salt flats in Utah, hitting
an astounding 340 mph, and the untold story of how motorsport used its
unparalleled mechanical expertise to help during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Racing Green is a mix of travelogue and historical retrospective,
combining visits to the experts and discussing the science with
retellings of real-life incidents that represent milestones in shaping
the modern world.
