Photo: nascar.com
Ever wondered what's wrong with the carbureted engines that motivate NASCAR racers? No, neither did we, because we love the sountrack and the smell generated by these oval races. However, Bill Nye (you know, the Science Guy) begs to differ.
In a recent piece the mechanical engineer turned science educator wrote for digital magazine Aeon, he points his educated finger at NASCAR for burning fossil fuels, coming up with an electron-powered solution.
"Beyond the heart-pounding, Are-these-cars-going-to-jump-the-barrier-and-kill-me? exciting quality of it, it’s depressing - leastways depressing for me as an engineer. Because here I am trying to envision the smart, efficient transportation technology of tomorrow, and there is NASCAR doing the opposite - celebrating a very old transportation technology of yesterday," Bill wrote.
He even mentions the NASA development model as a solution. This would see the racing series organizing a competition to see which body could come up with the most advanced EV.
While talking about the 3 mpg (80 liters per 100 km) efficiency returned by NASCAR racecars, the educator talks about the way in which NASCAR could become NESCAR (National Electric Stock Car Racing).
Perhaps Bill has overlooked all the green efforts NASCAR is already making. From using E85 (ethanol), through planting trees and a sport industry-leading recycling scheme, these racecars are already making up for all the suck-squeeze-bang-blow entertainment they provide.
Regardless, NESCAR is an achronym that could catch on, but we don't see the need for such a radical solution. For one thing, NESCAR could be developed as a standalone effort, or a support series, following Formula E's example.
Sure, FIA's all-electric series isn't exactly popular, but with F1 audience ratings themselves being disappointing these days, why risk ruin everything by betting all on electrons?
While it's true that we've kept EVs on a hold for too long, willing to force-feed their development overnight sounds like a good basis for mistakes to be made.
"Beyond the heart-pounding, Are-these-cars-going-to-jump-the-barrier-and-kill-me? exciting quality of it, it’s depressing - leastways depressing for me as an engineer. Because here I am trying to envision the smart, efficient transportation technology of tomorrow, and there is NASCAR doing the opposite - celebrating a very old transportation technology of yesterday," Bill wrote.
He even mentions the NASA development model as a solution. This would see the racing series organizing a competition to see which body could come up with the most advanced EV.
While talking about the 3 mpg (80 liters per 100 km) efficiency returned by NASCAR racecars, the educator talks about the way in which NASCAR could become NESCAR (National Electric Stock Car Racing).
Perhaps Bill has overlooked all the green efforts NASCAR is already making. From using E85 (ethanol), through planting trees and a sport industry-leading recycling scheme, these racecars are already making up for all the suck-squeeze-bang-blow entertainment they provide.
Regardless, NESCAR is an achronym that could catch on, but we don't see the need for such a radical solution. For one thing, NESCAR could be developed as a standalone effort, or a support series, following Formula E's example.
Sure, FIA's all-electric series isn't exactly popular, but with F1 audience ratings themselves being disappointing these days, why risk ruin everything by betting all on electrons?
While it's true that we've kept EVs on a hold for too long, willing to force-feed their development overnight sounds like a good basis for mistakes to be made.
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