InkShows
GBM InkShow: NASCAR Fanview and Android App
I’m spending the day at Infineon Raceway in Somona, a short drive from my hometown of San Francisco. I’m working on a number of videos and articles about how NASCAR teams use technology, which I’ll share here and over at Notebooks.com in the coming days.
Infineon Raceway, formerly known as Sears Point, is a very special place for me. My parents brought me hear countless times to watch races, attend classic car shows and learn how to drive. In high school I was encouraged to drag race here rather than on the streets. My parents also treated me to an intense highway survival driving classes that ended up saving my neck a few times.
The raceway’s changed quite a bit over the past couple of decades. When I used to come here on Wednesday nights to race my 1967 Mustang coupe or my parent’s 1969 Mach 1, it was a departure from city life. Back then, the most advanced technology at the track was probably the quarter-mile timing system, which measures track times down to 1/1000 of a second. Everyone was a gear-head and just about all of the auto sponsors seemed to be pushing cigarettes or beer.
Over the years, the raceway has been built up and technology is now a much bigger piece of the puzzle. Sprint is the title sponsor of NASCAR and it seems like there are more geeks than mechanics around here. I caught up with a Kerry Gilbert from Sprint . He who showed me how fans and team members can follow every move on the track.
GBM InkShows are Sponsored by MobileDemand, makers of rugged Tablet PCs.
Here’s a quick video that shows how Fanview and Sprint’s mobile app add to the NASCAR experience. Sprint’s device du jour is the EVO 4G, which is a pretty slick device.
sbtablet
06/18/2010 at 5:14 pm
I am SOOO not a NASCAR fan, but I am SOOOO blown away by that video. That fanview thing is cool. Great interview.
Paul Harrigan
06/18/2010 at 6:12 pm
That is really interesting!
If NASCAR would get back to real racing, I would probably add a Sprint phone to enjoy it. (I love racing, but I absolutely hate the restrictions that have been put on the manufacturers and the cars.) Even without that, however, it is a fascinating video. Thanks!
Mark Hawkins
06/21/2010 at 4:12 am
Cool insite into the state of sports racing coverage.