The line of insulation includes floor panels, oil tank blankets, filters, transmission tunnel blankets and exhaust crossover shields. The insulation lowers race car temperatures and keeps drivers cooler.

Beating the heat in a stock car competition is another kind of space race that demands thermal protection materials.

Under a Space Act agreement between Boeing North America (formerly known as Rockwell Space Systems) and BSR Products Inc., of Mooresville, N.C., Space Shuttle Thermal Protection System (TPS) materials that orbit the globe have circled the race track.

BSR created special TPS blanket insulation kits for use on autos that take part in National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) events, and other race cars through its nationwide catalog distribution system.

NASA’s fleet of orbiters are protected by TPS materials inside and out, from the sometimes space-exposed cargo bay to the space plane’s outer surface. Developed by Rockwell, classes of TPS tiles and thermal blankets safeguard Space Shuttle orbiters as they slam back into Earth’s atmosphere. Reentry heat loads can be as high as 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit during the plunge.

The idea of using Space Shuttle TPS to insulate heat-generating areas of stock cars came by way of a tour taken by NASCAR champion Bobby Allison at Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Then KSC Director, Jay Honeycutt, a racing fan himself, recommended to Allison that TPS insulation could shield drivers from excessive heat exposure.

Speeding race car drivers are in the hot seat in more ways than one. It has been estimated that temperatures inside a race car’s cockpit can soar to a sweltering 140 to 160 degrees. It is common for NASCAR drivers to endure blisters and burns due to the excessive heat flooding into the cockpit. That extreme heat comes through the engine firewall, transmission tunnel and floor. High temperatures, in fact, have led to many totally exhausted drivers being hauled out of their cars after a grueling meet.

Intrigued by the use of TPS, Allison contacted colleague and rival, Roger Penske, who was able on short notice to loan a stock car to KSC for one day of TPS retrofitting.

Penske team members, Rockwell and NASA personnel worked together to pattern TPS material to fit Penske Racing Inc.’s No. 2 Ford Thunderbird stock car. The TPS insulation extras added less than four pounds to the car. Later tests clearly showed significant temperature drops in locations where the TPS material was used. In the driver’s cockpit, temperatures were lowered by some 50 degrees.

A big thumbs up was given to the TPS additions by NASCAR driver Rusty Wallace. He raced several times with the material and participated in an instrumented test at Daytona International Speedway in April 1996.

BSR identified numbers of areas in stock cars that would benefit from selective touches or a mix of Space Shuttle TPS materials, such as: under the driver’s seat and ancillary components; between floorpan and exhaust system on the driver’s side; for insulating the oil tank; to shield the ignition system; and for installation under the driver’s feet and along the side of the transmission tunnel and behind the pedals.

NASA Official: Janelle Turner • Web Design: Printing & Design Office, NASA Headquarters • Credits