Back Marker
A car running off the pace near the rear of the field.
Balance
When a car doesn't tend to oversteer or understeer, but goes around the racetrack as if its on rails, it's said to be in balance.
Chassis
The combination of a car's floorboard, interior and roll cage.
Dirty Air
The air used and discarded by the lead car.
Fuel Cell
A holding tank for a race car's supply of gasoline. Consists of a metal box that contains a flexible, tear-resistant bladder and foam baffling. A product of aerospace technology, it's designed to eliminate or minimize fuel spillage.
Happy Hour
Slang term for the last official practice session held before an event. Usually takes place the day before the race and after all qualifying and support races have been staged.
Loose (Also referred to as "free" or "oversteer")
A condition created when the back end of the vehicle wants to overtake the front end when it is either entering or exiting a turn. In qualifying mode teams walk a fine line creating a setup that "frees the vehicle up" as much as possible without causing the driver to lose control.
Tight
Also known as "understeer." A car is said to be tight if the front wheels lose traction before the rear wheels do. A tight race car doesn't seem able to steer sharply enough through the turns. Instead, the front end continues through the wall.
Silly Season
Slang for the period that begins during the latter part of the current season, wherein some teams announce driver, crew and/or sponsor changes.
Banking
The sloping of a racetrack, particularly at a curve or a corner, from the apron to the outside wall. Degree of banking refers to the height of a racetrack's slope at the outside edge.
Draft
The aerodynamic effect that allows two or more cars traveling nose-to-tail to run faster than a single car. When one car follows closely, the one in front cuts through the air, providing less resistance for the car in back.
Drafting
The practice of two or more cars, while racing, to run nose-to-tail, almost touching. The lead car, by displacing the air in front of it, creates a vacuum between its rear end and the nose of the following car, actually pulling the second car along with it.
Beginning | Terms, part 1 | Drafting Example | Terms, part 2 | Restrictor Plate | History, part 1 | History, part 2
History, part 3 | History, part 4 | History, part 5 | End of Presentation