Hot Spots In Cyberspace 8154

Build it yourself

Searching for the perfect hobby? Dying for an excuse to clean out the garage? Why don't you build your own racecar? Targeted at amateur designers, www.gmecca.com/byorc compiles design strategies and tips, software, sanctioned design rules, and racecar engineering publications to assist budding building enthusiasts. The homepage also lists the latest updates, so you know the information is fresh.

From the DN files

Have you ever used Design News' Quick Search at www.designnews.com? It scours the entire site to find related articles in our online archives, which date back to 1995. Results are scored according to how well they match your criteria, and are organized by date so you can quickly find what you're looking for. A recent search on "racing" turned up a ton of related features and news articles. Among them: a 12/4/00 feature, "Software speeds Formula One designs"-which examines the benefits of concurrent design, outsourcing, and serious computing power-and a 5/1/00 feature, "Indy 2000: Safety sets the pace"-a look at how car redesign quickens competition and enhances safety.

Whenever your job requires research, make sure www.designnews.com is one of your sources. If it's an engineering project, chances are we've written about it.

Own the action

It's not easy, or advisable, to abscond with an actual souvenir piece of a racetrack. But now you can purchase the next best thing. Individual shares of the International Speedway Corp.-owner of fourteen tracks in the U.S.-are available from www.oneshare.com. The shares can be ordered framed and personalized to make the perfect gift. Other popular stocks for sale include Harley Davidson, WWF, Disney, and Krispy Kreme Doughnut.

Know your stats

When you gather 'round the boob tube for some action-packed speedway laps, you'd better know your stats. A database at www.erinet.com/dclayton/formel1/f1index.html could help you out. It catalogs Formula One World Championship results from 1950-1998. Knowing who finished first in 1954 could mean the difference between seeing the next few laps live or spending your time re-fueling chip bowls.

Know your NASCAR too

A wealth of stockcar stats is available at www.nascar.com/know. "Know your NASCAR" is a healthy collection of racing tidbits, stretching all the way back to 1948 when the first NASCAR-sanctioned stock car race was held in Daytona Beach, FL. There is also a place where you can submit those tie-(and ego-)breaking trivia questions to racing experts who know how you feel.

Racing analysis

Performance Trends Inc. began in 1986 with a program designed to simulate drag racing performance. Since then, they have expanded to offer 15 engine building and racing computer programs, including Engine, Suspension, Circle Track, and CAM analyzers. Products for flow-bench and on-track testing are also available at http://performance trends.com. Most of their programs are offered in a downloadable demo version.