Sonoma Raceway notebook: Race app speeds up officiating

NASCAR took another step toward being more efficient this past weekend in officiating race teams and drivers on the race track and pit road.

Its Race Management application, which was “soft launched” last year at Sonoma Raceway, debuted with a “hard launch” on the 11-turn road course in Sonoma this past weekend, according to NASCAR officials. The app, created by Microsoft, tracks a variety of systems which monitor competition on the race track and officiating on pit road. The system is hosted in Race Control and is overseen by several NASCAR officials.

“What we wanted to do with Microsoft was create an app that could sit in the center of all of that data, video, audio (and) layer it into all one dashboard so that you don't have to have a system installed per user to be able to get a lot of the important information these systems are producing,” said Stephen Byrd, NASCAR director of technology innovation and development.

NASCAR's Race Control team monitors a variety of systems during a race to ensure competition remains fair. Among these systems is the pit road officiating system, where a system of around 40 cameras keeps an eye on pit crews and drivers to make sure that violations - such as crew members going over the wall too early or a car speeding down pit road - are captured and penalized appropriately. The race management app auto-detects 90 percent of violations and six officials monitor live TV feeds in the NASCAR TV compound to look for violations also.

In addition, the application monitors the broadcast replay system, which features 18-20 cameras around the track, and displays it in one dashboard with timing and scoring systems - how cars are tracked and scored around the track - and historical data. The system allows for officials to show teams rather quickly how clear-cut a violation is.

“With Race Management, it gives us some incredible visual aids and tools now that can (shorten) a conversation that may have taken 30 minutes (to) maybe 30 seconds because we can very clearly paint the picture to say ‘here's when the caution flag came out, here's when this car was on pit road, this is why you're in this position', end of story,” he said.

Byrd said there a handful of officials on pit road that can call penalties in case of a system failure, but: “we have numerous redundancies built in to ensure that doesn't happen.”

SONOMA ATTENDANCE

While the Toyota/Save Mart 350 continues to be Sonoma County's most popular public event, attendance figures are closely guarded data. NASCAR has not made such information public since 2012. While course officials are authorized to release attendance figures, a spokeswoman confirmed only that this year's attendance represented a “modest increase” over last year.

KAHNE'S HARD CRASH

Kasey Kahne's hard crash on the final lap ended Sunday's race under caution. The Hendrick Motorsports driver hit the outside wall heading into Turn 1 after making contact with Kevin O'Connell, who was in his Monster Energy Cup Series debut. The impact pushed the move-able cement barrier wall back a few feet.

That part of the track didn't have what's known in the racing world as a padded SAFER barrier, a wall that's commonly used as a buffer between the main retaining wall at other race tracks across the country. He was evaluated and released from the infield care center.

“Yeah, it was a hard hit,” said Kahne in a Chevrolet press release after Sunday's race. “No. 15, no clue who he is, I saw him a lot today lapping him, but he went low down the front stretch and then just … I was going to his outside and he just turned right and just hit me, put me straight in the wall getting the white flag there. No clue what he was thinking. You obviously don't know what he's doing either.”

A track spokesperson said after Sunday's race that there are no SAFER barriers at the facility and that the preferred cushioning for a crash are the tires seen across several different turns at the race track.

ELLIOTT EXTENSION

Chase Elliott, the son of former NASCAR great Bill Elliott, signed a four-year contract extension with Hendrick Motorsports to continue driving the No. 24 Chevrolet through 2022.

Elliott replaced NASCAR legend Jeff Gordon in 2016. In his rookie year in the Monster Energy Cup Series, Elliott won the Rookie of the Year award and finished 10th in the standings, recording 10 top fives and 17 top 10s. He is currently sixth in the 2017 points standings. He has yet to win at NASCAR's highest level.

BUCKET DRAGS

Sonoma Raceway will host Bucket Drags next Tuesday. These drag races attract competitive drag racers, with cash prizes up to $1,000 in certain divisions. Racing goes on from 8:15 a.m. to 5 p.m. Entry fees range from $25-$60, and spectators can watch for $15.

For more information, visit the track's website at SonomaRaceway.com.