The Physics of Racing Series

The Physics of Racing Series Articles were written by Brian Beckman, a professional physicist, and member of the No Bucks Racing Club. They are a series of articles about the physics of racing cars. It is decidedly slanted toward autocrossing, but sidebars from other forms of racing appear when relevant. It starts with the fundamentals (Newton's Laws, for example) and builds up complexity, covering more advanced topics. All aspects of racing where physics applies are covered, from driving to car setup to computer simulations. The author is trying hard to make the articles useful and enjoyable for the non - technical reader who knows that physics is important for racing but needs some help understanding it. So, you don't have to be a physicist, engineer, etc. to understand the articles. The analyses in the articles are totally original. The articles are kind of a journal of a personal learning process from a physicist's point of view.

1- Weight Transfer
2- Keeping Your Tires Stuck to the Ground
3- Basic Calculations
4- There is No Such Thing as Centrifugal Forces
5- Introduction to the Racing Line
6- Speed and Horsepower
7- The Traction Budget
8- Stimulating Car Dynamics with a Computer Program
9- Straights
10- Grip Angle
11- Braking
12- Cyber Car, Every Racer's DWIM Car?
13- Transients
14- Why Smoothness
15- Bumps in the Road
16- RAR- A Simple Racing Simulator
17- Slow In, Fast Out- Part 1
18- Slow In, Fast Out- Part 2