Gordon - DuPont

Science + Talent =Eddie Dickerson makes it sound so simple. “Our goal is tobuild cars with the most power and the least resistance. Theteam that does it best gets the checkered flag.”DuPont materials, the engineering skills of Hendrick Motorsports,and Jeff Gordon’s driving prowess put #24 in the winner’s circleDickerson is director of chassis engineering at Hendrick Motorsports(HMS), the powerhouse North Carolina racing organization that isfielding seven teams in 2001 in NASCAR’s Winston Cup, BuschGrand National and Craftsman Truck series.Driver Jeff Gordon in the #24 car sponsored by DuPont has seenenough checkered flags to capture threeWinston Cup Series championships for HMS. Gordon’s 55 th win June10 in Michigan gave HMS its 100 th Winston Cup victory.“Hendrick Motorsports was the first to build its own cars from scratchand is still the only team building the whole car including the engine,”Electrical engineer Jim Wall electronically designs andstress-tests engine components before they aremachined in Hendrick shops.

says Dickerson. “Each teamneeds 15 to 20 cars a year. Ittakes about a week to buildthe chassis and another weekto hang the sheet metal on it.Then it’s off to the windtunnel to study the car’s downforce. Even though every #24car is built the same, eachperforms differently becauseit’s hand-built.”Hendrick Motorsports isleading the way technologically– supported by morethan a dozen graduate engineers– to use the mostadvanced materials andscience to build cars and thenTwo cars — a primary and a back-up — are prepared for each NASCAR race.duplicate the things that work.Earlier this year, for instance,Jeff really liked the car he drove at Atlanta, so we digitized it by electronically measuring 15,000 points on thebody. Having all this data available should help us build amatch.”Checkered flags go to the cars that generate the most down forceand, more important, make the best use of it. Explains Dickerson:“We try to adjust the balance of the car – springs, shocks, tirepressure and such – as precisely as possible so the car willmaintain its grip on the track in corners. This is what TV announcersare talking about when they say a car is ‘loose’ or‘tight’ – not enough grip or too much. If the car is balanced frontto-backand side-to-side, the driver can go through cornerswithout letting off the gas significantly. Obviously, the driverwho can keep his foot on the gas the most has an advantage.” Henotes that circumstances aredifferent at short tracks such asBristol, Martinsville and Richmondwhere drivers must brake– often hard – to negotiatecorners.Pristine in the shop, hard-workingbrake assemblies glow fiery orangeon short tracks.Car handling isn’t all springsand shocks, however. HMSengineers are working on aradiator that will cool moreefficiently so they can thenreduce the size of the air openingin the front grill. This, inturn, will give the aerodynamicexperts more control of the airaround the car to generate moredown force.“Besides building engines, we’re intensely involvedwith GM in engine development, testing parts fordurability and performance,” says Randy Dorton (right),director of engine development, with Rob Benson,director of dyno operations.

As NASCAR racing has become more sophisticated, taking the checkered flag depends more and more on thesmallest of details, points out Randy Dorton, director of the HMS engine program. “Much of our R&D effort nowgoes into adaptingtechnology so wecan find thoseelusive hundredthsof a second that addup to wins.“For example, whilewe were looking fora new material forengine bearingapplications, welearned that DuPontTM Vespel ®polyimide resin isused to make thrustwashers in anAllison transmissionthat’s standardequipment on someGM vehicles. Thisproduction useimmediately gave usAll #24 cars are painted with DuPont ChromaPremier ® from DuPont Automotive Finishes.confidence to try itin our bearingapplication. We’ve since replaced needle bearings in the rocker area with Vespel ® parts and trimmed weight in theprocess. The strength of Vespel ® allows us to get good pivoting and still use less metal in the rocker area.”And because the Vespel ® needs only slight lubrication, less oil has to be pumped to that part of the engine. Thatmeans the horsepower required to pump the oil can be used instead to power the car.Each car starts with a roll cage built to NASCAR specifications. After years of aerodynamic scrutiny of the visible portions of the car, HendrickMotorsports is testing new underbody configurations to improve handling and gain speed, according to Eddie Dickerson, director of chassisengineering.

“We’re always trying to make #24 the slickest caron the track,” says crew chief Robbie Loomis.“Having DuPont as sponsor of the #24 Monte Carlo puts us in adifferent relationship with our sponsor than most other teams,” saysDickerson. “Sponsors’ candy and burgers and such certainly are goodproducts, but they won’t make a car run faster. DuPont, on the otherhand, brings us materials and technology. We didn’t need to developVespel ® ; it was already there for us. We just needed to learn to applyit.”Similarly, HMS mechanicslearned to use DuPont TMKrytox ® performancelubricant to prevent therubber/silicone boot onspark plug wires fromadhering to the plug’sceramic insulator becauseof the intense heat generatedunder the hood. “Whena mechanic tried to removethe wire,” Dickersonexplains, “the wiringassembly pulled apart. Wediscovered that by applyinga small dab of Krytox ®inside the boot, we eliminated the problem because the Krytox ® easilystands up to the heat. Now Krytox ® is used on General Motors productioncars to solve this same problem.”Each Winston Cup team will use 60 to 80 tiresMoving fluids around the #24 are lots of hoses and tubing of DuPont TMTeflon ® per race, including practice sessions.PTFE. HMS engineers have found that the strong, lightweightmaterial is ideal for the very tight bends necessary to fit all the fluidlines into cramped spaces. The hoses are extruded in a convoluted configuration – rather than a smooth bore – toprevent collapsing in sharp-radius bends.Developing engine components is no small part of the HMS operation. Each year, the HMS engine departmentbuilds more than 700 engines for its own teams and for lease to a number other NASCAR competitors. As important,the engine department is an extensionof the GM Motorsports technicalprogram. Most recently, HMS played akey role in the development and testingof the new SB2 engine that powers allGM cars in NASCAR Winston Cupcompetition.DuPont Motorsports Network sponsors of #24 include Corian ® , Tyvek ® ,Stainmaster ® , Nomex ®, and Sontara ® .“We’ve brought together a lot of talent –electrical, mechanical, and chemicalengineers, as well as specialists inmetallurgy and combustion – to buildengines that are not only powerful, butdurable, too,” says Jim Wall, engineeringgroup manager for Hendrick Engines.“There’s a careful balance betweenpower and durability, which is why we’realways seeking new materials that willlast without sacrificing horsepower.”

The department currently is working on anew configuration for a cylinder head.Wall and his team – heavy users of computer-aideddesign and manufacturingsystems – will design, model, and test thepart in the computer before any metal isever shaped. “We test stress and thermalloads in the computer so we’re very closeto the final part design before we make thefirst prototype.“We give the race teams the basic tools,then they put them all together. The driversdo the final testing. It’s incredible whatdrivers like Jeff can sense in a car – he canfeel a 5-horsepower difference in anengine. He’s got extraordinary hand-eye Jeff Gordon’s dashboard is set so instruments and track are directly in his field ofcoordination and a very sharp mind. Hetakes maximum advantage of the tools we give him.”At Hendrick Motorsports, putting all the basic tools together involves the efforts of some 320 employees workingin 400,000 square feet of building complex spread over 67 acres near Charlotte, North Carolina. “Each of those320 people is critical to the success of the Hendrick race teams,” says Robbie Loomis, crew chief for Gordon.“Nothing symbolizes this better than the pitcrew on Sundays. They are so in tune with eachother, they’re almost like one person out there.That’s the only way we can have stops of 14 and15 seconds race after race.”HMS was the first organization to field professionalpit crews that train four to six hoursduring the week. Members are selected for theiragility, experience playing team sports, and theirwill to win. And every crew member can use theservices of a HMS fitness trainer to assure thatthey are in shape and race-ready.“This reflects Rick Hendrick’s attitude towardThe #24 air dam is reinforced with Kevlar people,” concludes Loomis. “He has a knack for® for strength without unwantedtaking ordinary people and making them give110 percent. He knows that, ultimately, it’s people who win races.”To learn more about Hendrick Motorsports and JeffGordon, go to www.hendrickmotorsports.com orwww.jeffgordon.com.The red-tipped probe digitizes a cylinder head to ensureconformity with specifications.