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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
altered - A class of drag racer that starts with an automobile body and can then be modified in almost any manner.
autocross - A gymkhana; sometimes used to mean a gymkhana that allows greater speed than usual.
back off - To slow down; often said of a driver who is attempting to pass and realizes he can't make it, so he backs off to try again later.
banked turn - A turn that's inclined so the outside area is higher than the inside area.
bend - 1. A shallow turn. 2. To damage a car slightly.
big banger - A powerful engine; one with a large volume of displacement, usually more than 305 cubic inches. big bore Same as big banger.
black flag - The signal for a driver to come into the pits, usually to allow officials to inspect it to determine whether it can run safely after an accident. It may also mean that officials have already decided the car is to slow or too dangerous to continue running, as when it has a serious oil leak that makes the track slippery.
blend - A racing fuel combining methanol and nitromethane.
blip - To race an engine intermittently with repeated short bursts on the accelerator.
block - An engine's cylinder block.
blower - A supercharger.
blown engine 1. An engine that has failed completely. 2. A supercharged engine.
bore - The diameter of the cylinder bore.
box- The transmission. Also refers to the electrical ignition box required in most stock cars.
brake fade - Loss of braking effectiveness, usually caused by overheating.
Brickyard - The Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Named from the fact that the original track was totally paved in bricks.
bubble - The last position on the starting while qualifying is going on; the driver in that position is said to be "on the bubble."
bull ring - An oval track of a half-mile or less.
buy the farm - To die in an accident.
carb- Short for carburetor.
cc - Cubic centimeters, the standard measure of displacement in Europe. A liter, 1000 cubic centimeters, is approximately 61 cubic inches.
checkered flag - The flag of black and white squares that signals the end of a race.
chicane - A man-made corner set up to reduce speed at a certain point on a road track.
chute - A straightaway.
compound - A substance used to make racing tires, generally some blend of natural and synthetic rubbers with resin, carbon black, bonding agents, and other substances.
crankshaft - The shaft that transmits power from the pistons to the differential.
cubes - Cubic inches of displacement, as in, "That car has 350 cubes."
dicing - Close, dangerous driving; from the notion that the driver is gambling with lives.
differential - The final link in the drive train, which transmits power to the wheels.
displacement - A measure of an engine's size. It's the difference between the volume contained in the cylinders when the pistons are at the bottom of the stroke and the volume that remains when the pistons are at the top of the stroke. It can be calculated by multiplying bore times stroke times 0.785 times the number of cylinders.
downshift - Shifting from a higher to a lower gear, used in road racing to slow a car without any significant change in engine speed.
draft - To follow another car very closely, taking advantage of decreased air resistance.
drift - A controlled, four-wheel slide through a turn, to get a car line up for a straightaway with a minimum of steering.
drive train - The system that carries power from the engine to the driving wheels; it includes the crankshaft and the differential.
dynamometer - An instrument used to measure engine output.
e.t. - Elapsed time.
fishtail - Movement of the rear end of a car from side to side. Also a verb, as in, "His car is really fishtailing as it comes out of the turn."
flat out - At top speed; with the accelerator to the floor.
formula - A set of specifications that defines a class of racing cars; Formula One is the best known.
fuel - Usually any fuel except straight gasoline; commonly some mixture of methanol and nitromethane.
full bore - cylinders cut or honed to the maximum measurement.
Flat out- Wide open or as fast as possible.
gasser - A drag racer that runs on gasoline.
go into the country - To leave the track, in road racing.
Grand Prix - Strictly, a race that counts toward the World Drivers' Championship.
grid - The arrangement of cars in the starting lineup; at the Indianapolis 500, the grid is made up of 11 rows with three cars per row.
groove - The fastest route through a turn or around the complete course.
GT - Grand Touring; originally from the Italian Gran Turismo, meaning a sedan built in limited quantities and designed to provide fast, comfortable transportation over fairly long distances.
gymkhana - A competition in which cars are driven around a twisting course, executing certain specified maneuvers, against the clock.
hairpin - A turn that goes through 180 degrees.
hairy - Frightening; originally short for "hair-raising."
hauler - A very fast car or the trailer that race cars are transported in.
heel-and-toe - A driving technique in which the accelerator is operated with the right heel and the brake pedal with the toes of the right foot.
infield - The area enclosed by a course. Often used for spectator seating at major races.
juice - A racing fuel blend.
jump - To start before the signal is given; usually in drag racing but sometimes in other forms of racing. "He jumped the start".
jack or jack stand - A jack is used to raise a car to get access to the tires or underneath. Jack stands are used for safety to keep the car from falling.
lap - One trip around the racing circuit. As a verb, when one driver gets so far ahead of another that he passes him, thus putting the second driver more than a lap behind, he is said to have lapped him.
leadfoot - An aggressive driver who always goes for the lead.
Le Mans start - A type of start in which the drivers, at the starting signal, run to their cars, start the engines, and begin racing.
line - The route taken by a driver, especially through a turn; as in, "He took a very high line to avoid being passed."
liter - Used to measure displacement; a liter is 1000 cubic centimeters, about 61 cubic inches, a little more than a quart.
loud pedal - The accelerator.
nerf - To bump lightly against another car, usually from behind and often on purpose, as a warning or a bit of psychology. Very common in NASCAR racing.
nitro - Nitromethane, commonly used in racing-fuel blends.
normally aspirated - Descriptive of an engine that isn't supercharged. See supercharger.
pace car - The car that leads the competitors around the course before the race begins and serves as a control when the track is under a caution.
pace lap - The lap before the official start, on which cars travel in formation, usually behind a pace car, building up speed so they'll be near top speed when they reach the starting line.
pacer - A driver who travels at pretty much the same speed throughout the race, conserving his car in the hope that those traveling faster will be forced to drop out with mechanical problems.
paddock - The infield, in road racing.
parade lap - A lap taken by cars at slow speed, before the pace lap, to give spectators a good view of them.
pit - An area beside the track where cars stop for fuel and servicing.
pit lane - A road that takes cars from the course into the pits and back out again. Also "pit road."
pit stop - The act of leaving the course to enter the pit for refueling, tire changes, servicing, or repairs.
pole - The best position in the grid, usually awarded to the driver who has the fastest qualifying time. In oval-track racing, it's the spot on the left of the front row. On a road course where the first turn is to the right, it's on the right side of the front row.
pop - Any exotic fuel blend.
production - A production engine or car is one that is made in quantity, usually on an assembly line.
prototype - A sports car that is not in production; either an experimental model or a car made in very limited quantities, solely for racing.
qualifying - Preliminary sessions in which cars race against time to determine their positions in the grid.
rev - To gun an engine. As a noun, "revs" is short for "revolutions per minute."
riding the rails - Taking the outside line around a turn.
roll bar - A frame of tubular steel that protects the driver if the car rolls over.
roll cage - A structure of tubular steel, padded with foam rubber, used primarily in stock cars for driver protection.
rpm - Revolutions per minute.
sandbag - To hold back on a car's performance, during trial runs and qualifying, to mislead other drivers as to its potential.
shoes - Tires.
shunt - A collision; British.
shut the gate - To block a competitor who's attempting to pass.
shut-off - A point at which a driver has to begin slowing down in order to negotiate a turn.
slalom - A type of gymkhana in which drivers maneuver through a course marked by pylons.
slicks - Wide, flat tires used on the rear wheels of dragsters.
slingshot - A type of drag racer in which the driver sits behind the rear wheels.
slingshotting - Passing a car by first drafting to conserve power, then suddenly moving out of the slipstream and using the reserve power.
speed trap - An area at the end of a drag strip where electric eyes are used to measure a vehicle's speed at the end of its run.
spin - To lose control so that the car revolves around its vertical axis. Also "spin out."
spoiler - An air deflector that dimishes the tendency of a car to lift off the track at high speed, thus improving the adhesion of the tires to the road.
sports car - Generally, any car that handles better, brakes better, and is more maneuverable than an ordinary passenger car.
sportsman - A type of stock car with a light body and engine modified in certain limited ways.
stock - An unmodified car, almost exactly as produced by the manufacturer.
stock block - An unmodified engine.
stroke - The distance the piston travels within the cylinder.
stroke it - To drive below maximum speed, usually to conserve the car when it has a safe lead near the end of a race.
supercharger - A high-powered fan that forces air into the engine, increasing power. See also turbocharger.
switchback - A hairpin turn; British.
tachometer - An instrument that measures engine rpm.
T-bone - To hit another car broadside.
ten-tenths - Driving at the car's absolute limit.
tow -A driver is said to "get a tow" when he drafts another car.
tread -1. The surface pattern of a tire. 2. The width of a car as measured between the centerlines of the tires.
turbocharger - A supercharger driven by a turbine that, in turn, is driven by the car's exhaust gases.
tweak - To fine tune an engine or make any minor modification that will result in a slight power increase.
wheelbase - The distance between a car's front and rear axles.
windmill - A supercharger.
wing - A spoiler.
wires - Wire wheels.
X-car - An experimental car.
yellowtail - A rookie NASCAR driver, so called because cars driven by rookies have yellow rear bumpers.
yellow flag - A flag used to signal caution because of dangerous conditions. A driver is not allowed to improve his position under the yellow flag.
James H. Jones Jr., A2Z Auto Racing ©2004
