Racing Green: How Motorsports Became Smarter, Safer, Cleaner and Faster

by Kit Chapman

Racing Green is the story of how motorsport science has become smarter and more environmentally friendly, and how these developments on the track are changing the world.

Motor racing is one of the world's most watched sports. In the United States alone, NASCAR has over 75 million fans and counting. It's also the most scientifically demanding sport on Earth, requiring a combination of peak physical and mental skill, world-class engineers and a constant drive for technological innovation.

Racing Green explores the science that has been translated from racing to the road, from the early 19th century through to innovations such as electric cars and autonomous vehicles. The history of motor racing, both its glories and its tragedies, led to some of the most important modern developments we see in car design today. Just as the heartbreaking death of Dale Earnhardt at the Daytona 500 led NASCAR to introduce a new raceway barrier method, ideas pioneered during races – such as crush zones to crash helmets – have been incorporated into race car and track designs around the world. Cleaner technologies first trialed and improved in modern racing are also shaping our communities beyond the track, from the hidden aerodynamics in everything from your grocery aisle to Apple's new $5 billion headquarters to a Porsche made from flax and tires made from dandelions.

Through exclusive interviews with NASCAR's Research and Development Center, Formula 1 insiders, engineers, scientists and drivers, lifelong motorsport fan Kit Chapman goes behind the scenes of the current breakthroughs to show where motorsport is likely to take us in the future, picking up extraordinary tales along the way, such as the Ohio State University's experimental electric car, the Buckeye Bullet, which broke the electric land speed record on the salt flats in Utah, hitting an astounding 340 mph, and the untold story of how motorsport used its unparalleled mechanical expertise to help during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Racing Green is a mix of travelogue and historical retrospective, combining visits to the experts and discussing the science with retellings of real-life incidents that represent milestones in shaping the modern world.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Racing, Sports

320 pages, Hardcover

Published May 10, 2022

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Dr Kit Chapman is an award-winning science journalist. Formerly an editor for Chemistry World, Kit’s byline can be seen in Nature, New Scientist, The Daily Telegraph, Chemist+Druggist and BBC Science Focus among others.

Kit appears regularly on radio, TV and podcasts, and has given talks to thousands of students around the world on science, writing and history.

Born in the UK, Kit holds a masters degree in pharmacy from the University of Bradford and a PhD in the history and philosophy of science from the University of Sunderland.

Reviews

[Petra X · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review I am totally knocked out by this book. It is a 10-star. I have learned so much I can see a future I didn't envisage that will be here in just a few years and in ten years will be ordinary and we will probably be moving on. Review to come. I really want to write this one, I want to share so much.

This is highly technical. I could not even point out the pistons in an engine - I don't even know if they are visible, but I'm learning, I'm really learning and all about electric engines too. This is fascinating stuff. I didn't know the book was going to be technical, I didn't know that the Liqui Moly cap I had to wear in Daytona (in case I got photographed!) was anything more than yet another engine oil. Now I know it was invented by WWI fighter pilots who added molybedneum disulphide to their motor oil and found their engines didn't stop if they suddenly lost pressure. Gosh, me learning technical stuff!

What was I doing in Daytona? The boyfriend de la jour was a racing car driver, he had raced professionally for Aston Martin in Europe, but was now was on a Porsche team as a hobby. Since he was a billionaire and his family paid him $2M a year to stay out of the business that he had built up (construction), he could well afford it. We were at Daytona racing, and I got to do three laps in a Corvette but I had to wear the Liqui Moly team cap just in case I got my pic taken.

Those were an amazing three days of living life like I was used to it - we were in Hollywood, Florida, "What do you want to drive to Daytona in, the Ferrari or Aston?" he said, I said the Ferrari. When we got to Daytona, the Aston was waiting for me, he'd had a closed truck pick it up and bring it up so we would each have a vehicle. I think there is a pic on my pic group link in profile. He asked me to drive it back to Hollywood but the insurance company wouldn't accept my licence, as I don't have a US one. Shame that.

I could have got used to that life of racing, which I love love loved, art and fancy cars, but sadly I got dumped. I asked one of the crew I had got close to, if Kenneth ever brought a woman more than once, and the answer was, very rarely, but you'd be especially welcome! It wasn't to be.

[Brian Clegg · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a perfectly reasonable assumption that a book about a topic you (and most of the world) have no interest in will be uninspiring - and for me, motorsport is on a par with watching paint dry without the aesthetic content. However, David Sumpter's Soccermatics had proved to me that it was possible to take a similarly boring subject and make an enjoyable popular maths title based on it - so perhaps I shouldn't have been so surprised that I enjoyed Racing Green.

In part, this is down to Kit Chapman's skill as a storyteller. I often moan about a lack of narrative in popular science books - this book oozes with it. If anything, there's almost too much. Where Sumpter gave us quite a bit of detail on the maths of the 'beautiful game', Chapman gives fleeting glimpses of the science and technology involved in this most technical of sports, sometimes with no more science content than a shampoo commercial. Even so, I can forgive that for the range of technologies and their applications explored here.

Along the way, Chapman brings in simulation, safety design, aerodynamics, battery technology, the physics of brakes, autonomous vehicles, new materials and more. Some of it is fairly predictable - carbon fibre technology, for example - in other cases there are real eye-openers, such as the use of flax as a more environmentally friendly substitute for carbon fibres (sustainability and the environment are common threads throughout the book, hence, that 'green' bit).

As someone with an airline background, I was amazed at how late motor racing realised simulators would be useful - but as with most of the technology employed in the field, once they did, they took it very seriously. Another surprise was the sheer amount of data flowing from Formula 1 cars during a race - far more than even 5G can cope with. I knew how much CERN had to juggle data when searching for particles, but not the extent to which it now dominates motor racing.

All the way through, we get stories to put the tech into context. Not infrequently, given the risks involved in the sport, these stories involve crashes, lessons learned and the use of technology to reduce fatalities. It's a dramatic book that is likely to appeal to a good few readers who rarely dip their noses into popular science titles.

I do need to mention two issues. The smaller one is that Chapman's storytelling drive is so strong that occasionally it warps reality a little. This comes through in the very first sentence. 'Romain Grosjean has 27 seconds to live.' Well, no, he doesn't. But I can forgive that as dramatic licence. What's less forgivable is when Chapman describes the development of graphene. There is no doubt that of the two key players, the life and work of Andre Geim makes by far the best tale. But to not even mention his co-Nobel Prize winner Konstantin Novoselov, is, to say the least, not very nice.

The bigger issue comes through in the book's subtitle 'How motorsport science can save the world.' This is that classic fallacy, justification by spin-off. NASA often does this. Yes, we've spent all these billions, but this amazing everyday technology is a spin-off from our work. Putting aside the fictional ones like Velcro and Teflon, we can allow NASA memory foam, but the claim, for example, that the need for small computers on Apollo led to the microcomputer revolution is a total misunderstanding of how economics and technology work. It was cheap microprocessors for everyday uses like controlling traffic lights that led to the PC, not bespoke multi-million pound computers.

In Racing Green, the claimed spinoffs are an attempt to launder motorsport's reputation as a money-burning, environmentally damaging waste of resources. It's true there have been some interesting spinoffs - but if the money spent on motorsport had been simply been put into R&D to deal with these problems, it would have achieved far more. Spin-offs are not a justification, unless you are already a fan. The ultimate example of the misplaced fan view in the book for me was the claim that Mercedes is a successful brand because of its motorsport successes. No it's not - the majority of Mercedes drivers couldn't care less if they have a racing team. And credulity is stretched to the limit in suggesting racing autonomous cars will iron out the issues they face on the ordinary roads - because those issues are all about the non-controlled, non-standardised environment of real roads, the very opposite of a race track.

The spin-off justification was a constant irritation throughout the book, but it just shows what a good piece of writing Racing Green is that I could overlook it and still get lots out of the experience.

[Lyndsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly enjoyed this scientifically robust book about the advances in safety, automotive engineering, and biofuel development as it relates to the world of F1. I also learned that during the pandemic, numerous F1 constructors banded together to engineer and product ventilator and CPAP machines for hospitals around Europe.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rather pretentious title but the book does talk about some rather interesting technologies that should make racing cleaner and greener and may get passed on to everyday life.

[Joanna W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kit Chapman's ability to make an interesting narrative without sacrificing technical details should be studied in a lab.

[SierraL · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is not for people looking for a fun and easy read. It’s goes into incredible detail about the science behind why cars work, and how the racing industry is constantly at the forefront of making cars better. It also has a particular focus on the electric car, and the Formula One and E classes that push for more efficient and safe cars- perhaps more than any environmentalist. That being said, if you want a book that WILL teach you about cars, and teach you well, in a fun format with breaks of the authors travels to places of interest in the racing industry, you should add this one to your reading list.

The story starts with the introduction of the car, and along with it the electric car. It follows its beginning, its falling as the combustions engine struts it stuff and demonstrates it’s superiority in the world that had just started exploring the industry of engineering. The electric car is shown as a rising star in the new world of desiring sustainability for a dying planet, and how the racing industry has a large hand in its innovation and reintroduction, simply through its desire for the fastest and safest cars to date.

A curious mix of the authors journey around to places of engineering wonder, and the incredibly detailed science of how the cars work, the author demonstrates what must be a lifelong passion for all things racing, even down to the nitty gritty of the chemistry. I, for one, appreciate him taking the time to share this love with his readers.

The role engineers have played in other fields, most especially for aiding hospitals during the covid pandemic, paints a more intricate picture of the racing communities’ relationships with the rest of the world, and how involved they can be with other industries. For me, who is unfamiliar with racing and with cars, it was an interesting look into an incredibly rich and complicated world. For others who pick up this book with this knowledge already in their arsenal, I’m sure the descriptions of the history is colorful enough to be a fun refresher!

For people familiar with more complex readings, the title and description of this book is pretty alluring, with the text itself going into deep detail of the science and history of race cars. For people who aren’t as likely to enjoy a deep read like this one, however, I fear they might find it a difficult slog through to the finish line. Nonetheless, the more relaxed parts of the book are fun while still being informative, keeping no improvement or invention from the spotlight.

This book showed the inspiring creativity and determination of humans to invent and improve upon the things they love. Ultimately it was made for a few specific type of people, but it caters to them well. If you are interested in science, history, racing, or the particulars of a green future, I’m sure you will love this book!

[Lance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Auto racing would not be the first sport one would think would be a leader in promoting environmental and scientific awareness but this book by Kit Chapman proves that thought to be false. The science that goes into building race cars, aerodynamics, fuel and energy efficiency and safety are all quite complex and yet can also be used to help preserve the environment, mitigate climate change, advance health care technology and yes, improve the driving experience of regular travelers and commuters.

Of course, given the title, one would expect that the book would address climate change and the use of electric cars to combat that. Chapman starts this discussion with that (after providing the reader with a brief history of auto racing) by telling the story of the Formula E racing circuit. Similar to F1 only in the types of courses they run, Formula E not only uses solely electric cars but they are considered to be the cutting edge for chassis design, energy efficiency and other such advances in the sport. Other circuits, even NASCAR, have taken notice. The other interesting aspect discussed about Formula E is how many scientists and engineers work in the industry as their talents are put to use in many different fields.

Speaking of different fields, the book does not concentrate solely on auto racing. One of the more interesting topics covered by Dr. Chapman in his explanation of how auto racing science helps other areas includes healthcare. He explains how some of the same technology that makes race car engines more efficient, whether electric or internal combustion, helped make ventilators that were used on patients during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic more efficient as well.

Chapman explores a variety of topics and interviews people of both genders in a wide variety of specialties to make the book complete. It does get very technical and detailed at times, so unless a reader is well versed in the topics, it will take careful reading to fully understand those passages. It does help that for the most part, the language is such that one doesn’t have to be an expert to at least gain a rudimentary understanding of the science and he uses many excellent everyday examples.

The writing about the sport itself, primarily F1 racing, is done quite well. This may come across as macabre, but this reviewer believed the best writing was done about two famous crashes in F1. The first, which shook a young Chapman to the core, was the 1994 crash that killed one of the greatest drivers of all time in any form of racing, Aryton Senna. The other one was the near death of Romain Grosjean in the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix, when many of the advances in safety that Chapman writes about were used to save Grosjean’s life when his care was engulfed in flames. Both times Chapman explained the dangers the drivers faced and it was a good illustration of the tremendous advancements made in safety.

This is the rare sports book that will appeal mostly to non-sports fans as those with interest or careers in science or engineering will appreciate the connections between auto racing and other areas using those concepts. Race fans, especially F1 fans, will also enjoy not only seeing this connection but also get a good glimpse at the future of the sport.

I wish to thank Bloomsbury USA for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...

[Rory Haggart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this so much. I found myself taking pictures of pages to send to friends because there were so many interesting facts and stories that I just had to share.

It's packed full of insightful discussions with experts which gives it quite a casual feel, and it doesn't shy away from balancing the goods with thoughtful consideration of the bads (e.g. sustainability concerns, the history of exploitation in the production of components).

I found it so engaging to find out ways in which motorsport teams have been involved in other aspects of society without us even noticing. For example how pit crews helped to train surgeons, or how aerodynamic design improved the carbon footprint of supermarkets.

I am only dropping a star because of the density of the stories and the facts. There is just so much information to process that I found myself unable to read more than about 20 pages in one sitting - especially during the chapters concerning safety in the sport which were particularly heavy to get through.
I also think there could have been more of a discussion about the role that cars will play in the future and about the damaging effects that are associated even with 'sustainable' travel like electric or hydrogen fuel cell cars. These cars may be heavier and lead to deterioration in road quality or safety, and they will still pollute our cities with tyre wear. I really appreciated the balance in the discussions throughout the book but I think this would have been a valuable addition.

Overall, great read.

[Bruce Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a lot to unpack here. Lots of interesting facts, and astonishing achievements. What lost a star was calling hemp flax. Hemp, of course, could be called cannabis, so Kit opted for the safe, non-controversial, flax. Kit says canvas comes from flax. Hmm, the etymological definition of canvas springs directly from cannabis.
Kit calls what we just went through a 'pandemic' - if mass psychosis may be called a pandemic, then I agree with him. However, he didn't.
Kit calls carbon life, correct. But, what he doesn't do is draw that conclusion that 'carbon zero' would be a bad thing. No, he's bought into the 'climate change' nonsense. Thus, racing 'green'.
Snow cover of the Northern Hemisphere is at a 56 year high according to the NOAA/Rutgers Global Snow Lab. Record low temperatures were registered in multiple cities across the United States in the last couple of days. Kit missed the bus on this one.

[Mira Akbar · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tactile and visceral writing style that gets to the heart of racing. As one who grew up with the need for speed, I really appreciate the intimate sense of the rich history of the sport. Which is to say, the sport's commitment to tinkering and pushing limits. Which, in turn pushes us to innovative solutions for better efficiency and safety. Wonder and obsession aren't counter to what we need for the future; they are the heart of it. And this book understands that and explores it with enthusiasm and excitement. It's contagious, and provides for a deep dive into the science that also feels fast and engaging. I breezed through it like a bullet on the salt flats.

[Tasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just what I needed between F1 seasons, a little something to keep me sane while I waited for the new year to begin.

It’s really cool to see how industries affect each other. I love learning about the intersectionality of innovation, and it’s even cooler when there is a slant toward future and sustainability. I hope Motorsport continues to pioneer and promote these pillars.

Happy bonus for me was the last chapter mentioning Ushuaia, Argentina, the place I had just come back from not even a day before finishing the book. Felt like a little bow tied on top of a nice present.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

A witty, well-researched read about all the science behind motor sports. This is a great read for anyone, not just gear-heads! Kit Chapman walks us through the history of motor sport, the insane engineering that goes into all the materials and parts, and garnishes it all with humorous anecdotes. Connections are made to a multitude of fields. An informative read that doesn't get too heavy. Easily accessible for the layperson.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the 10 most interesting non-fiction books I’ve ever read. Ignore the mild hyperbole of the subtitle and dive into fascinating science, history and the power of sharing creative ideas and reaching across disciplines to solve big challenges.

[Christian Loidl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Please do the world a favor and don't try to reproduce generic accents when speaking in the voices of people in a non fiction book. The content was great and informative but that rubbed me the wrong way and was an unnecessary distraction at best.

[Emma Pickering · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding insight into the world of motorsport, as a budding engineer it was helpful and allowed me to develop further reading into topics the book broached…I would highly recommend to avid fans of the sport or those with the love for engineering knowledge.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super interesting book, but extremely complex. Needed to push through sometimes but was definitely worth it!

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I knew about many of the amazing safety protocols F1 have applied over the years, I had no idea how much innovation had its origins in racing. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.

[Rahul Devaskar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good overview of innovation in motorsport

[Holden C · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I could take off half a star because it takes some nerve for a Brit to call chicken and waffles a weird breakfast

Sir you eat beans

[Tyler Fridley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great (and occasionally funny) series of stories about how far motorsport has come, how far it will go, and some cool inventions that came out of one of my favorite sports

[Lisa Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are some facts shared in this book that I’m going to remember forever.

[aimee · Rating 4 out of 5]

feels a bit like that one scene from Monty Python's Life of Brian:
what has motorsport ever done for us?
turns out, quite a bit...

[Alexa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too much Covid talk (I get it topical and impacted the book greatly) but now I want to go research graphene

[okay · Rating 4 out of 5]

ready for my degrees in…environmental science and the history of science?

[Charlotte Jeffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

very convincing for a mech eng course. really interesting and funny