Racecar Challenge
	
NASCAR fans love watching fast cars race. They sometimes witness terrible crashes. How do most racecar drivers escape from wrecks unharmed?  The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) sets the safety standards.

Driver protection is very important. Racing suits and gloves are made of fireproof materials that allow drivers to escape from burning cars. Helmets are made of three protective layers. They are lightweight but tough enough to absorb impact. 

The body of a racecar is built to break apart in a crash. This keeps the driver from being trapped or crushed. A racecar's frame is made of strong steel tubing that is strongest near the driver compartment. Thin steel tubing used in the front and back of the car is designed to crush in a collision. In the event of a crash, the heavy engine is pushed under the car, keeping it away from the driver. 

Made of the same plastic as a fighter jet's cockpit, a racecar's windshield absorbs impact without shattering. The other window openings are covered with mesh to keep the driver's body inside the car if it crashes.

Racecar tires are designed as one tire inside the other. If the outer tire is punctured, the inner tire stays inflated. Fast-spinning racing tires get extremely hot. They are filled with nitrogen rather than air. Nitrogen does not expand as much as air does when the tire temperatures rise. 

Racecar designers are challenged to make their cars strong and safe but light and fast enough to win.









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