It is no news that NASCAR cars are expensive pieces of machinery whose cost is justified only by the advanced levels of engineering and mechanics in them. While various norms are in place to ensure the physical safety of these cars when they aren’t racing, one important factor is the use of haulers for transportation.
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Teams use haulers or huge rigs to move cars, auto parts, and other tools between racing venues on the calendar. The haulers are driven along with the truck and the trailer since these help with sponsor endorsement space. A hauler weighs 80,000 pounds and is generally 80 feet in length. It can carry two cars at a time and includes areas for a sleeping cabin and an office within it.
It comes with a price tag of around $400,000 and is replaced every five years. Certain teams with bigger purses have additional haulers than required to help with logistic costs. The social media team of Joe Gibbs Racing explained the need for haulers in a recent video. It said, “The haulers keep the cars safe during transport. We wouldn’t want something to happen to the car on the way there and not have it for the race.”
Transporting NASCAR Haulers isn’t the average road trip
NASCAR haulers, in all truth, are the workhorses of the racing industry. A pressing question that could plague a mind is, “Why not just move a hauler from one venue to another without bringing it back to the team’s home base?” The answer lies in the fact that teams tailor their cars to suit each track that they race on. This alteration can be made only with the resources and space of the home base.
Work to transport the hauler back to base begins with around 20 laps left in a race. Pit crew members begin removing the plugs on the pit box and moving equipment to the garage. The haulers stay ready with their lift gates lowered. Once the checkered flag is waved, the garage becomes the most heated area on the track.
Tool boxes, carts, and all the other components in the garage are loaded onto the hauler, while a separate team works on the car. A NASCAR car cannot be directly loaded into the hauler from the track. Its suspension has to be lowered to fit into the space. When a car doesn’t have to go through a post-race inspection, crew members quickly head to the airport to fly to their base. The hauler shuts its doors and prepares for another long journey home.
