The science behind matching cylinder heads

In the recent past, other forms of motorsports have made fun of NASCAR for its relative technological weakness.

This has been especially true of open-wheel aficionados, who claim that "taxicabs" do not provide enough of a techno-boost to fans around the world to amount to anything more than a cultural oddity.

Uh, now might be a good time to rethink that whole line of thought.

Technology partners are part and parcel of open-wheel, formula-style racing. It has been the norm in those series -- Formula One, the Indy Racing League and CART -- to have companies on board to help with the business of manufacturing speed from technology.

It's been the case in NASCAR for years as well, just not the same degree.

The technical partner programs were first introduced in the area of CNC machines.

Companies who manufacture these multimillion-dollar, computer-controlled machines often signed technical partnerships with teams that had their own engine shops.

One of these machines is capable of cutting a huge number of identical cylinder heads from billet aluminum, each the exact same as the last one thanks to computer mapping and computer-aided cutting tools.

A solid example of the way these partnerships are changing is SKF, the Swedish-based company that recently signed on as an associate sponsor/technical partner for all three of Richard Childress' Nextel Cup machines.

Based in Gothenburg, Sweden, SKF is a leading global supplier of products, customer solutions and services in the business of rolling bearings and seals.

SKF has been involved in NASCAR for the past seven seasons, most recently with Roush Racing.

In fact, SKF sponsored new RCR driver Jeff Burton for several events last season before Burton made the switch to RCR.

What does a Swedish-based company want with a NASCAR technical sponsorship?

On the surface, such a sponsorship is akin to a suntan lotion distributorship at the North Pole, given the fact that NASCAR cars live in a much smaller technical box than, say, the Ferrari Formula One team.

By the way, SKF has been associated with the Scuderia Ferrari since 1947, and all 150 of the bearings and seals on the world-beating red cars are made and designed by SKF.

On the two-wheeled side, SKF maintains strong relationships with Aprilia and Ducati.

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"SKF's long-time NASCAR involvement has generated excitement for the company both internally and externally around the world," said Per Jacobsson, Director of Marketing Communications, SKF.

"Increasing our level of racing involvement with RCR will offer SKF a new avenue to promote our products and services to our audiences, as well as research and develop new products for the automotive industry."

Once you get past the marketing-speak, the deal is pretty simple. SKF uses NASCAR to increase brand awareness for its automotive division, which in turn benefits the Heavy Duty, Industrial and Aerospace divisions of the company.

SKF makes roller bearings, radial shaft seals and precision-engineered elastomeric products, and the data the company collects at NASCAR and other races world-wide is used to maximize its consumer product line, which is utilized by auto makers and other production-oriented businesses.

Richard Childress Credit: Autostock

"The opportunity to work with RCR engineers will benefit both parties extremely," said Rob Jenkinson, who manages the SKF Racing Unit in the Automotive division.

"We will use resources from each SKF division to improve the performance of the Richard Childress Racing. Together, RCR and SKF will work toward total mechanical efficiency to improve machines on the racetrack and on today's highways around the world."

SKF places a great deal of emphasis on automotive safety and maintenance, and its NASCAR relationships are a primary vehicle for the company's efforts in such efforts as the Be Car Care Aware Campaign and the Right to Repair Act.

"It's great for RCR to sign on a technical partner with all of the knowledge and expertise that SKF has," said Richard Childress. "I know SKF will help carry RCR to the next level on the technical side of the business. We think there are many things that SKF will bring to the table that will put us back in victory lane."

SKF's technical partnership with RCR is a case of mutual benefit. SKF gets exposure from a top-flite NASCAR Nextel Cup team, plus all the data that the team's three cars can generate.

RCR gets technical expertise and engineering muscle from a worldwide leader in performance seals and bearings.

Technology aside, the Swedish company is playing this one very smart. Swedes make up a significant bloc of rabid NASCAR fans outside the United States.

A large group of Swedish citizens makes an annual pilgrimage to Daytona for Speedweeks each season, proudly displaying their heritage in the form of T-shirts and other souvenir gear.

In all, there's business sense in such an arrangement, and it's becoming more common among NASCAR teams and technology companies to capitalize on mutual needs.

Heretofore, there has not been much in the way of direct comparison between Formula One and NASCAR, but technical partnerships are definitely in that category.