Submitter
Bradley Safrit, Director of Information Technology
Company
Richard Childress Racing
Industry
Auto Racing
Business Challenge
Founded in 1969, Richard Childress Racing (RCR) is one of the most acclaimed professional teams in NASCAR competitions. RCR has accumulated more than 16 championships across NASCAR’s top three series; however, the team has not won a championship trophy in the sport’s premier division since 1994. RCR leadership decided to take a technology and analytics approach to restore the team’s former glory.
Analytics Solution
During each race, NASCAR provides teams with approximately 12 items of telemetric data such as speed, brake position and temperature. For a deeper understanding of the items, RCR built a command center to ingest, combine and perform analyses on the telemetric data. Comprising computers, camera and six large screens showing multiple angles of the race, the command center enables RCR to analyze telemetric data using a combined approach of predictive analytics and AI technology and derive real-time insights that its engineers and crew chiefs can use to make race-related decisions.
Impact
With the availability real-time data, RCR now has insights on car configurations, driving tactics and optimal timing for pit stops. The command center’s data-driven, multidimensional approach has led to improved performance for RCR – and if progress continues, RCR will be well-positioned for its next championship trophy.