How Does NASCAR Dry a Wet Track? Inside the Air Titan System
· Yahoo Sports
Anyone who has watched NASCAR long enough has experienced it.
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Dark clouds roll in, rain begins to fall, and moments later the cars are parked on pit road while fans wait for the track to dry.
Unlike many other forms of motorsports, NASCAR’s premier series races on slick tires at extremely high speeds. On oval tracks, even a small amount of standing water makes racing unsafe, meaning officials cannot resume competition until the racing surface is completely dry.
So how does NASCAR actually dry an entire speedway?
The answer involves an impressive fleet of specialized vehicles, powerful air systems and a coordinated effort that has dramatically reduced weather delays over the last decade.
Why NASCAR Can’t Race on a Wet Oval Track
NASCAR Cup Series cars use smooth racing slicks on oval tracks. Without grooves to channel water away from the tire, even a thin layer of moisture can cause the cars to lose grip and hydroplane.
Road course events are different. NASCAR can race in the rain on road and street courses because teams switch to specially designed wet-weather tires that feature deep tread patterns. Oval racing, however, remains too dangerous because of the sustained speeds, banking and close-quarters racing.
That means every oval track must be completely dry before the green flag can wave again.
What Is NASCAR’s Air Titan System?
The backbone of NASCAR’s track-drying operation is the Air Titan 2.0 system.
Rather than simply blowing hot air onto the pavement, Air Titan uses powerful truck-mounted compressors that force high-pressure air through long hoses connected to air knives mounted behind each pickup.
Those air knives act much like an oversized squeegee. Instead of scraping the surface, they push large amounts of water across the asphalt and toward the apron, where it can be removed more efficiently.
Multiple Air Titan trucks work together, allowing NASCAR to cover much of the racing groove simultaneously instead of drying one section at a time.
The Air Titan Isn’t Working Alone
The Air Titan trucks are only one part of the process.
As the compressed air pushes water off the racing surface, jet dryers follow behind. Those trucks use turbine engines to produce high-speed heated air that removes the remaining moisture trapped near the surface of the asphalt.
Sweepers and vacuum trucks then collect standing water along the apron and other low-lying areas, while additional equipment dries pit road before teams are allowed back to work in their pit stalls.
Officials also send safety vehicles around the track to inspect conditions, and NASCAR continuously monitors moisture levels before determining whether racing can resume.
How Long Does It Take NASCAR to Dry a Track?
There isn’t one answer.
The amount of time depends on several factors, including:
- How much rain has fallen
- Whether rain continues during the drying process
- Air temperature
- Humidity
- Wind
- Cloud cover
- The size of the racetrack
Under favorable conditions, NASCAR can sometimes dry an oval in around one to two hours after the rain stops. Following heavier storms, however, the process can take significantly longer.
Because the asphalt also retains moisture beneath the surface, NASCAR often continues drying even after the track appears dry to the naked eye.
Air Titan Changed NASCAR Weather Delays
Before Air Titan was introduced, NASCAR relied much more heavily on traditional jet dryers, making lengthy rain delays common.
The Air Titan system debuted in 2013 and dramatically improved the efficiency of track drying by combining compressed air, jet dryers and support vehicles into one coordinated operation.
While weather delays remain an unavoidable part of stock car racing, today’s technology allows NASCAR to return to green-flag racing much faster than was possible just a decade ago.
For fans waiting through a rain delay, the convoy of green Air Titan trucks circling the speedway has become a familiar sight. They’re the first sign that NASCAR is working to get the track back into racing condition as quickly, and safely, as possible.