Racing in NASCAR is not exactly the smoothest. There’s a lot of bumping around involved and it’s usually all within the rules of the sport. The car, however, has to deal with the brunt of these impacts. Sometimes it comes back to the pits in a decent condition. However, more often than not drivers and teams find their machines torn up to varied levels after a race weekend. That’s precisely what happened with the #20 Toyota Camry XSE driven by Christopher Bell during last weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race at the Michigan International Speedway. Joe Gibbs Racing promptly released a video explaining what the usual procedures are for the damaged car after the event.
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As per the video, the car will go through a teardown process in which it will be taken apart. Some parts of the car will be intact while others will be damaged. The broken parts are scrapped while the ones still in working condition will be used during next weekend’s race. What’s interesting is that not even the scrapped parts are entirely discarded. This will make Bell’s car for the upcoming Daytona race a mix and match of brand new parts along with those he ran last weekend.
On the other hand, unusable parts are sold to L. Gordon Iron and Metal Co. owner Louis Gordon, who is an entrepreneur who acquires these discarded parts and uses them in his business. In a recent media interaction, he said that no part of a NASCAR car should entirely be scrapped since the materials used in building them are far too valuable. Steel and aluminum fetch good prices and Gordon is taking full advantage of the opportunity.
However, this does not mean that every wrecked car is disassembled for parts that are then sold or used separately. There is something called a NASCAR graveyard owned by none other than former Cup Series driver turned broadcaster and Xfinity Series team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dirty Mo Acres is a property in North Carolina where wrecked cars from several eras are kept all over. The collection includes some iconic cars like Jeff Gordon’s #24 Chevy in which he won the 1997 Daytona 500.
A behind-the-scenes look at the process of a racecar being laid to rest in the backwoods of Dirty Mo Acres. #JRM360 pic.twitter.com/QIdBG661Nl
— JR Motorsports (@JRMotorsports) June 22, 2017
Cars that were once driven by racers like AJ Allmendinger, Danica Patrick, and Mark Martin are also reportedly strewn around this property. Without proper care, however, there has been a lot of vegetation growing in and around these vehicles but it would still be a cool thing for fans to experience.
With the upcoming Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway, teams will be sure to add to their wrecked cars list as the nature of the 2.5-mile-long tri-oval is as volatile as it comes during the NASCAR calendar. Several drivers will be seen making heroic moves to keep their postseason hopes alive.
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