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| W2w or W/W |
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Wheel to wheel racing. Traditional sports car racing with group starts, unlimited passing.
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| Waiver |
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The agreement to forego premium payment during a period of disability.
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| Walk-Away Lease |
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Another name for a closed-end lease. A leasing contract in which the residual value, or final value, of the vehicle at the end of the term, has been specified. The lessee is not required to buy the vehicle, or make up any shortfall in its residual value.
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| Walking the Dog |
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A driver who was lucky enough to hit the proper setup and is running away from the field.
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| Wall Magnet |
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A car destined to become affixed to the outer retaining wall.
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| War Wagon |
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Also known as pit wagons. Used as storage and to transport equipment and extra parts from the garage area to the pits where the will be needed for the race. Has become handy in a variety of other uses.
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| Warm Up Lane |
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A paved lane, separate from the racing surface, that extends from the pit exit to some point further around the track. The idea is to give cars exiting the pits a separate area for coming up to speed, before they merge back in with the race traffic.
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| Warm-Up |
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The laps taken on the track prior to the race used to warm up the tires, transmission, engine fluids and other components of the race car before the start of the event.
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| Warm-Up Lap |
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The lap before a race starts. Drivers use this parade lap to warm up their engines and tires.
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| Water Box |
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In drag racing, the wet area before the staging lanes. The driver pulls through the water to wet the tires prior to a burnout.
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| Water Pump |
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The pump that circulates coolant through the engine block, cylinder head and radiator. It is driven by the engine crankshaft.
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| Wc |
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The common Internet acronym for Winston Cup, NASCAR's top series, and arguably the single most successful sports league or series in all of professional sports today. Winston Cup cars are highly developed Stock cars, and are relatively heavy and overpowered for their suspension and tires.
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| Wear and Use |
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Normal depreciation of a vehicle under average daily use.
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| Weaving |
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Zig zagging across the track to warm up and clean off tires, or to confuse an opponent while attempting a pass.
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| Wedge |
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Also known as cross weight. The balance of the weight on each corner of a race car adjusted diagonally (Example: Left rear to right front). By taking out (lowering) the wedge - understeer or push can be alleviated. By increasing the wedge setting the car can be tightened, helping to alleviate a loose condition. This can be done can during a pit stop to make a quick chassis adjustment. It is accomplished by turning a bolt, attached to the top of the rear springs. Turning it in or out 360 degrees (Round of Wedge) or any varying amount depending on the condition and its severity.
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| Wedge, Round of |
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Adjusting the handling of the car by altering pressure on the rear springs.
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| Weight Jacker |
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A hydraulic cylinder the driver uses to adjust car handling. The cylinder compresses or extends springs, which transfers the car’s weight distribution from one side of the car to the other, thereby adjusting the car’s handling to the driver’s liking.
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| Weight Transfer |
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Weight transfer is critical to traction. Vehicles are set up to provide a desired weight transfer to rear wheels. When the vehicle accelerates, the front wheels lift and the weight shifts to the rear wheels, which makes them less likely to spin.
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| Wet Sump |
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The type of oiling system used in most passenger cars, and in some race cars (usually the lower classes). In a wet sump, oil that isn't being used at the moment is stored in a sump, which is an area built into one end of the oil pan (under the engine), like the deep end of a swimming pool. The pan catches oil running down from the engine, and the oil runs into the sump, where a pump picks it up and forces it back into the engine.
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| Wets |
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Formula One rain tires, delineated into intermediate, full wets, and monsoon.
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| Wfo |
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Wound Full Out, or Wide [censor] Open, meaning at full speed.
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| Wheel Base |
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The length between the front spindle center line and the rear axle center line. A Winston Cup car has a wheelbase of 110 inches, while on a Busch car it is 105 inches.
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| Wheel Size |
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Determined by the diameter and width of the wheel on which the tire is mounted. A 15-inch wheel has a diameter of 15 inches. A 15 X 7 wheel has a 15-inch diameter and a 7-inch width.
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| Wheel Size (E.G. "15 X 7") |
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Wheel size is defined by the diameter and width of the wheel. A "15 X 7" wheel has a 15-inch diameter and a 7-inch width.
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| Wheelbase |
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The distance between the centers of the front and rear wheel axles as viewed from the side of the car.
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| Wheelstand |
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A mainstay in drag races, this refers to when the front end of car lifts up during a race. It is also known as a wheelie.
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| White Flag |
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The flag shown to the race leader and the pursuing drivers telling them that there is one lap to go before the end of the race and the finish line. This final lap is almost always one of the most exciting as lead drivers vie for the best possible position -- making that last ditch, all-out effort to win.
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| Wicker Bill |
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A long, narrow, removable spoiler made of steel, aluminum or carbon fiber on the trailing edge of the front and rear wings. Wicker bills enhance the efficiency of the wing, which creates added downforce. Teams will use different sized wicker bills to create more or less downforce. The larger (higher) the wicker bill, the greater the downforce, and vice versa for smaller wicker bills.
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| Wide-5 |
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A wheel-and-hub system where the area that would normally be the center of the wheel is instead part of a star-shaped hub. The wheel itself has no center; the wheel's mounting holes are on small tabs protruding from the inside of the rim. Wide-5 wheels have the wheel studs close to the rim, supported by the much stronger hub, and so are immune from having the center ripped out of the wheel by cornering forces, as sometimes happens with regular wheels. This makes them popular for short track racing where cornering speeds (and G-forces) are high. However, they are not generally used in events where changing tires during the race is necessary, because the wide spacing of the wheel studs slows down the removing and replacing of the nuts.
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| Wind Tunnel |
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When a team wants to test any aerodynamic changes it does so in a "wind tunnel". When a car is in the tunnel it is set up with the wheels on four pads hooked to data gathering instruments that feeds into computers. Pressure measurements are also taken from tiny orificies on the car. All data is analyzed, the team makes adjustments and the process is repeated. The tunnel used by the majority of teams is the LFST (Langley Full-Scale Tunnel), at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, VA. Teams pay $ 1,400 per hour to rent the tunnel and often spend from 12 hours to two days on a single car. Fortunately, dimensions can be calculated and duplicated again on other cars.
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| Window Net |
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A tight webbing that covers most of the left-side window of a Stock car, next to the driver. It prevents the driver's head and left arm from going out of the window in a left-side impact or roll, and it keeps crash debris from flying in the window and striking the driver's head. The window net unfastens at the top so the driver can get in and out.
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| Windscreen |
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A transparent fiberglass surface on the front of a car designed to aid air flow and deflect turbulent air from the driver.
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| Wing |
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An aerodynamic device mounted such that airflow passes over and under the device. Used to create downforce, aiding in traction and stability. Also known as an airfoil.
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| Wings |
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Located on the nose and rear of the racecar, wings produce downforce to stick a car to the racetrack. Wings are adjustable to affect the traction and balance of the car. Wings will be changed, depending on the track type and the effects desired by the driver, but they are strictly regulated for size and position by series sanctioning bodies.
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| Winston Cup |
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The creme de la creme of NASCAR racing, the drivers are going for all the marbles in this race that spans the entire season as drivers accumulate points at each of 31 events. The driver that accumulates the most points, not the most wins, becomes the eventual Winston Cup winner.
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| Winston Million, the |
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A $1 million award given to any NASCAR Winston Cup driver who wins three of four selected races -- the Daytona 500, the Winston Select 500 (Talladega), the Coca-Cola 600 (Charlotte), and the Mountain Dew Southern 500 (Darlington).
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| Wire-to-Wire |
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When a driver wins the race from the pole position.
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| Wissota |
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A Wisconsin-based organization that sanctions regional Stock and Modified racing in the Midwest and Northwest.
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| Wonder Boy |
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A name given to Jeff Gordon by some of his detractors. Frankly, he is a “wonder” having won 27 races and two NASCAR driving championships by the age of 26. Gordon will likely be a wonder no matter how long he races.
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| Woo |
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World Of Outlaws sprint car racing series.
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| Wrc |
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World Rally Car - Car designed for highest class in World Rally Championships.
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| Wrench |
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The one who wields the wrenches, a mechanic.
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