The Race to Reinvent AI and Analytics in NASCAR
From the way teams strategize races to how fans consume content, learn all about how artificial intelligence and analytics are changing NASCAR.
Photo Source: WSC Sports
Sitting on top of a pit box facing a NASCAR track, you’re staring at a wealth of information in front of you as you make a decision.
Your role is the crew chief, a role which is often described as not too different from a head coach on an NFL sideline. You are about to decide on one of the most high-pressure situations in all of motorsports, whether or not to change the tires of your car in the closing stages of a race.
The car you are in charge of as crew chief is currently leading the race with 40 laps to go. However, the opponents appear to be closing down the gap you have over the competition. Your car’s lead is closing ever so slightly by the lap. Now, you have a decision to make.
Choosing to pit, a process that involves heading off the track for around 30-40 seconds to replace your car's tires, would give you the speed needed to win the race.
Replacing tires in a pit stop will also set you back behind all the other cars in the race who have not pitted, which means you have to pass each one to win.
With only 40 laps remaining, or 10-20 percent of the race depending on the track, pitting might be too big of a risk if you won’t be able to make up the ground you lost.
Choosing not to pit will keep you ahead of all the other cars, for now.
Eventually, the drivers behind you who were cutting into your lead might end up passing you. Now, you wonder if you would have been in a better position to win if you had new tires.
These kinds of decisions can make or break your race. Pit stop drama has become so entrenched in NASCAR culture that it even spawned a fondly-remembered scene from the first “Cars” movie.
Pit strategy in motorsports is by no means an exact science. Other cars are also making their strategies independent of yours.
Also, if a car wrecks, all of the cars will line up in a single-file line similar to an elementary school bathroom break, which is a considerable advantage to those who pit and a death sentence to those who have not. There is a column on ESPN’s website by Bill Borden, a former championship-winning NASCAR crew chief, which goes into this in much further detail.
Even if there is no way to truly perfect whether to pit or not to pit, race strategy is one of many aspects of NASCAR, which has become rethought thanks to the advent of artificial intelligence.
AI and analytics have had a slow and steady climb into the NASCAR circuit, both on the track and in other areas of the sport. Based on how quickly AI has progressed, the climb is expected accelerate shortly.
AI and Analytics Are Changing The Way Teams Strategize In NASCAR
Veteran driver Ryan Newman chose not to pit during a 2017 race in Phoenix before a restart following a wreck with only 2 laps remaining.
While most other drivers in contention chose to take new tires, Newman was told by his team to stay out on old tires. The strategy was bold and unconventional. Most importantly for Newman however, it worked.
It was Newman’s first win in 127 races, a winless stretch that lasted nearly four years. The decision to not put on new tires before the restart of the race was a decision that Newman’s team attributed to “...(using) the analytics and data in front of them to make the most informed decision.”
The analytics and data were supplied by Pit Rho, an AI startup specializing in race strategy which was later acquired by General Motors in 2022.
When Road & Track talked with Pit Rho co-founder Josh Browne five months before the acquisition, he suggested that the success Newman had in Phoenix validated the model and led to an amping up of Pit Rho’s relationship with various teams.
Pit Rho has an exclusive agreement with teams like Newman’s that use Chevrolet-manufactured cars. Despite this, Browne noted that he believes the sport’s other two manufacturers, Ford and Toyota, are also valuing an analytical approach to race strategy.
AI and Analytics Are Changing The Way Fans Consume NASCAR Races
Does anyone remember glow puck?
Excuse me for the abrupt switch to hockey. Still, the infrared tracking on the puck to allow casual fans to see the game better is an example of how in sports, an innovation meant to improve broadcast presentation is not always well-received.
The advent of artificial intelligence allows broadcasters to use on-screen illustrations more sensibly. NASCAR and its rights-holding networks have been at the forefront of these innovations for the past few years, using artificial intelligence to achieve a more dynamic and modern way of storytelling.
In 2022, Vizrt, a Norwegian broadcasting software company, joined forces with FOX Sports in the lead-up to the Daytona 500, NASCAR’s most-watched race.
FOX’s goal was simple, to find more elegant ways to display information on the screen. In a crowded field of 40 cars, the network’s goal was to use attention-grabbing and colorful graphics to display information in a way that did not disrupt the race.
What Vizrt provided was an AI-powered object-tracking system that tracked all the cars on the track over the video feed. This allowed FOX to use on-screen graphics in a way where it would not disrupt the viewing experience of their consumers.
Wanted to know how fast a car is going? The miles per hour of the car would be on a graphic conveniently, thanks to AI, placed right above the car as it flew down the track.
Ever since 2019, NASCAR has teamed up with Adobe to create an algorithm for their site which provided personalized content on both their website and their online store.
Best,
Eddie for the Don’t Count Us Out Yet Team