Introduction

We all know that being fast is key to winning races. What may be lesser known is that data is key to being fast. Typically, NASCAR releases telemetry data gathered from racecars within the series around 24 hours after each run. This data includes cars’ speed, RPM, brake position, temperature, and, while teams could easily access the data, they couldn’t get to it quickly. A racing organization headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, wanted to collect this data in near real-time. With the ability to instantly gather this data, they could improve various aspects of racing performance faster and more efficiently.

Challenge

Our client wanted their race data access to be as fast as their cars. With the right solution, data could be available to racing teams in mere minutes instead of 24 hours after the race. That’s kind of a big deal.

With the availability of data in near real-time, the racing organization could:

• Gather information on car configuration and driving tactics instantly
• Coordinate techniques and mechanical changes during practice runs
• Gain extra time needed to implement a strategy for racing performance

Approach

Levvel’s mission was to team up with the client’s internal engineers to ingest this telemetric data faster than the competition. This involved collecting the data directly from onboard sensor devices via an existing AWS (Amazon Web Services) Kinesis Stream.

Results

As a result of having near real-time racing data, this racing team won almost every race in the series for the next several months. If you’re not first, you’re last! By refreshing data every few seconds, this racing organization was able to define precisely what real-time, high impact questions to ask come race time. This was ground-breaking for the racing industry as a whole, and it allowed this team to dominate the NASCAR series.

Download the PDF

You can access the PDF here.