Richmond: Brembo Racing preview

Brembo brake facts NASCAR at Richmond

Circuit Information

• Distance: 0.75 miles
• Shape: D-shaped oval
• Banking:
    14 degree turns
    8 degree frontstretch
    2 degree backstretch
• Front stretch: 1,290 ft
• Back stretch: 860 ft
• Type of circuit: 8.5 on a scale from 1 to 10
• 2008 Winner: 5/3/2008: #7 - Clint Bowyer
• Time spent under braking per lap: 28%

Richmond is a 0.75-mile D-shaped oval with as much as 14 degrees of banking that produces harsh braking conditions similar to Martinsville. The brakes used, therefore, are the same as Martinsville: the basic Short Track set up of 6-piston front and 4-piston rear calipers.

Brake usage is severe as "time on the brakes" averages 28% of the lap time (as compared to 35% at Martinsville and 28% at Phoenix). Because of the higher speeds entering Turn #1, the brakes are applied for an average of 3.5 seconds producing rotor temperatures up to 1600 degrees.

If the race develops long green-flag runs, the brake temperatures will show a glowing color in the front wheels that is easily seen here during the night races. Because of the high temperatures, brake cooling is critical. So the teams use carbon fiber air ducts to help keep the rotors, brake pads and tire beads from getting too hot as the extreme temperatures can cause failures in these areas.

Turn 1
Speed into the corner 154 MPH
Speed off the corner 92 MPH
Front pressure 400 PSI
Rear Pressure 300 PSI
Inline G 0.8 G
Time on pedal 3.5 s
Stopping distance 657 ft

Turn 3
Speed into the corner 145 MPH
Speed off the corner 98 MPH
Front pressure 600 PSI
Rear Pressure 400 PSI
Inline G 1.05 G
Time on pedal 2.4 s
Stopping distance 464 ft

-credit: brembo