Wed. Dec 7th, 2022
Do NASCAR Cup Cars Have Speedometers?
Do NASCAR Cup Cars Have Speedometers?

Is it possible to push a race car to 200 mph? If you didn’t have a speedometer, how about that? This is done by NASCAR drivers every weekend. Some NASCAR drivers want NASCAR to let them use their speedometers.

Speedometers are not allowed in Cup Cars. The drivers use gear and speed to judge their speed. Some drivers would like to know how fast they are going.

Two NASCAR Cup Cars completing practice laps at Bristol Motor Speedway before a race.
NASCAR Cup Cars practicing at Bristol | Sean Gardner/Getty Images

There is a rumor that Dodge is building a hybrid NASCAR car.

For many more seasons than Formula 1. NASCAR drivers use the knowledge of their transmission gear and engine revolutions per minute to judge their speed. Drivers push their car just as fast as they can if they choose the most appropriate gear.

NASCAR began to convert to a digital dashboard. Drivers can choose what their dashboard displays with the new units. The McLaren PCU 500N digital dashboard is used by the NASCAR Next Generation race car.

The most important gauge for drivers is the tyrannosaurus rex page. Water and oil temperatures are monitored. Keeping the two of them within five degrees of each other will ensure that they get as much power out of their engine as possible.

Formula 1 technology has led to the development of a digital dashboard that can display a speedometer. NASCAR doesn’t allow speedometers.

The pit lane has a speed limit. The speeds vary by track. The driver who is caught speeding on the pit lane can lose the race.

The #4 car competes a pit stop in pit lane during a NASCAR race.
NASCAR pit stop | Sean Gardner/Getty Images

Does the next generation NASCAR car still have a gear stick?

There are dangers in the pit lane. The crews jumped over the wall to get the driver on their way. There are different points in the pit stop routine. Cars are driving very close to each other.

There are strict penalties for speeding on pit lane. For a long time officials watched passing drivers and timed them. The electronic timing system was used by NASCAR in 2005. Many drivers have been caught speeding on the pit road.

Juan Pablo Montoya was flagged for driving 60.06 mph on the pit road while leading the Indy 500. He moved back to the middle of the pack. He said it was devastating when one of the races of his life slip through his fingers.

Racecar drivers prefer to know their overall speed while racing. Drivers are asking for a speedometer in their cars because of NASCAR’s pit lane speed limit.

NASCAR driver Joey Logano looking at his digital dashboard, which does not have a speedometer.
2016 NASCAR cockpit | Sarah Crabill/NASCAR via Getty Images

NASCAR banned the use of speedometers during the era of the analog gauge. The first lap is usually done at the pit lane speed limit. Drivers take this chance to check their tyke reading. The colored light system was developed at the end of the analog era. The lights are yellow and red as the driver goes over the limit.

The McLaren PCU500N digital dashboard is unnecessary. McLaren could be asked by NASCAR to create a page that only shows pit road speeds. The same data that NASCAR uses to issue speeding tickets could be given to drivers.

The driver joked that he would make pit road easy if he had a speedometer.