Sweet Seventeen

Member since: 08/03/2007

Number of hits: 10300

Gender: Female

Quote/Motto: "I could have jumped on a message board and discussed the incidents with other fans not only across the country, but from around the globe (at least to the extent anyone outside the United States really gives a fig about NASCAR’s “B” series — the Toyota Invitational — this year)." -- Matt McLaughlin

Favorite Driver: Matt Kenseth

Favorite Racing Moment:
Matt Kenseth clinches at The Rock

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07/29/2008

Technically Speaking - Matt's Tire Didn't Really Explode

I'm pretty sure most everyone has seen footage of the tire "explosion" on the 17 DeWalt Ford at Indy. Darn it all. Goodyear blows (pun intended) but I digress...

I wanted to point out that the 17's tire didn't actually explode...technically speaking. Apparently, the gross mechanical failure of the tire was to blame for the blown out rear quarter panel. I was thinking PV=nRT had something more to do with it -- as in lots of P. But I guess not. It was the rubber, the belts, and the cords on the right rear tire that failed so catastrophically it tore out the back end. Not an explosion, so to speak

I got verification from Diandra L-P (She's that physics professor who wrote "The Physics of NASCAR").

See below for her technical explanation:

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Comment from: Susie [Visitor]
So from your recent reply, it sounds like Matt Kenseth's tire exploded from mechanical failure and not a "pressure-induced" failure? That seems odd to me, but hey, I've never seen a tire pop rip open the rear end of a driver's car before (neither has Matt, by the way). Perhaps the rubber dust particles ignited and added to the explosion? The mechanical failure thing just doesn't make sense...sorry.
07/29/08 @ 08:45

Comment from: diandra [Member]
Hi Susie: I was sloppy in my answer. There IS pressure involved because the tire is the only thing keeping the 40-50 psi of nitrogen gas inside the tire. A couple drivers had tires go down - they had a small hole that created a leak and they started losing air. The tires that 'exploded' probably didn't have any greater pressure inside than the tires that just went down. The 'exploding' tires just had the outer layer of the tire pull apart (that's the mechanical failure). So snafam is right that pressure is involved, but the 'exploding tires' most likely didn't have any greater pressure from inside than the ones that just went down.

The sheet metal on a stock car is minimum 24 gauge. That's about 0.027 inches. An average sheet of 20-lb copier paper is 0.0038 inches thick, so the sheet metal on a stock car is about (0.027/0.0038=7.1) seven sheets of copier paper! The strength of the car is in the steel tubing chassis, not the sheet metal.
When you see that much sheet metal ripped away (like the No. 17), it's from tire parts hitting the body. The wheel is rotating about 2180 times per minute at 180 mph. The pieces of tire that are loose on one side and attached to the tire on the other side whip around like those things you put on the end of a drill to remove paint. The tire pieces (which are still pretty strong) hit the sheet metal and rip it to pieces. That's why drivers are so careful getting back to pit road when the have a tire they know is going down. Even if the car doesn't hit anything, the tire coming apart can tear the car body right off. Thanks for making me be more clear!
07/29/08 @ 09:20

Comment from: Susie [Visitor]
Ah ha, I get it now! Thanks for taking the time to explain. It was just that everyone keeps referring to the tires as "exploding" but now I understand the damage was due more to the gross mechanical failure of the tire - which in turn ripped apart the car. There's been a lot of discussion on Matt's website about "the tire explosion" so I will let my fellow 17 fans know. Thanks again, Diandra.
07/29/08 @ 09:46

Check out Diandra's blog at Stock Car Science Blog

07/16/2008

Generation 3 Motorsports

I saw this on Matt's website. It's an announcement for the new late model team owned by the Kenseth's with Ross Kenseth as the driver.

Why is Ross' car number #25???

If you're the first one to tell me - I'll send ya some #25 gear!!! (I don't even know if they have any yet, but I'll try my best.)

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Generation 3 Motorsports

Three generations of Kenseths — Roy, Matt, and Ross — all share a love for stock car racing and all made their career starts in the same type of car at the same Wisconsin track, Columbus Speedway.

Generation 3 Motorsports fields the #25 late model for Ross Kenseth at races around the Midwest in 2008 with sponsorship from Blain’s Farm & Fleet, DeWALT, and other fine sponsors.

Thanks for stopping by!

Matt Kenseth, owner
Roy Kenseth, owner
Ross Kenseth, driver

Generation 3 Motorsports