The Challenge
The evolution of NASCAR has made races more data-driven and dynamic than ever. That has required traditional control operations to shift into a higher gear to meet those high-velocity demands. Officials, who were typically located in a control tower at each track, faced limitations with the display technology they were using. They needed a new way to visualize and monitor the increasing number of information and video feeds, while enhancing safety and enabling split-second evaluation of incidents and potential penalties.
The Solution
NASCAR sought to create a state-of-the-art remote race control room within its NASCAR Production Facility in Concord, North Carolina. The facility would provide an operational extension of race control at the track, enabling officials to monitor races with greater visibility and collaboration. Working with Samsung as its technology partner, NASCAR designed a command center powered by advanced display solutions, including Samsung’s high-resolution, ultra-large LED display, The Wall, which can host multiple video, data and statistics feeds simultaneously in real time.
"Officials now have a centralized environment where they can view the race with multiple data feeds and video sources in real time."
— Michael McDermott, Executive VP, Consumer Electronics at SEA
The Results
NASCAR’s remote race control room, powered by Samsung display technology, has given officials unprecedented visibility across every race. With the ability to display multiple data sources in a single environment, officials can now visualize track activity, monitor car telemetry and collaborate in real time, reducing the risk of missed calls and enabling faster, more accurate decision-making. The investment has improved operational efficiency, enhanced race safety and provided NASCAR with a future-proof solution for managing the growing volume and innovation of race data.
About Nascar
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 14 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR sanctions races in three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series™, and NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series™), four international series (NASCAR Brasil Series, NASCAR Canada Series, NASCAR Euro Series, NASCAR Mexico Series), four regional series (ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East & West and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour) and a local grassroots series (NASCAR Local Racing Series). The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. NASCAR also owns Motor Racing Network, Racing Electronics, and ONE DAYTONA. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, with offices in five cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races annually in 11 countries and more than 30 U.S. states.
The Challenge
Keeping pace with NASCAR innovation
From the green to the checkered flag, a lot can happen during a NASCAR race. With up to 40 cars on the grid competing at speeds exceeding 180 mph in races spanning hundreds of miles, every lap presents potential incidents, penalties and decisions that officials must evaluate in real time.
For years, officials working inside race control towers at each track were responsible for this task. However, as NASCAR evolves, traditional race control operations needed to keep pace with the sport’s growing data-rich nature, pushing the towers’ limitations.
Today’s NASCAR races generate large volumes of information, including dozens of video feeds, telemetry from every car and radio communications between drivers and teams. The physical constraints of trackside race control rooms made it difficult to process all the information simultaneously.
In addition to the array of cameras positioned around the track and in-car cameras from every vehicle in the field, NASCAR also collects data from the cars themselves, including engine performance metrics and other telemetry streams.
Scott Miller, competition strategist at NASCAR, understands the challenge more than anyone. He has spent more than four decades in motorsports, including eight years overseeing NASCAR race operations. “NASCAR is always evolving. As the technology advances, we’re able to process increasing amounts of information. For example, we can monitor engine data and telemetry, which we could never do before the new technology,” Miller stated.
In the past, officials have had access to some of this information, but there was no central hub pulling it all together in real time into a single display.
“We had a replay system that we used in the tower, and it was completely track-based. It went from the TV truck to the tower, but that was as far as it went. There was no real way in the tower to bring in car data, radio communications and all the new and different feeds,” Miller explained.
Space limitations also meant that only a few officials could work in the tower at any given time. NASCAR wanted a solution that would expand officials’ visibility without disrupting the established race control structure.
“Race controls at the racetracks are limited in space, and they can only have so many people in there. We needed another way to get more eyes on more things as the event unfolds,” Miller explained.
To support officials working in the tower and manage the growing volume of race information, NASCAR set out to build a remote monitoring environment that could visualize the entire race in real time and enhance how races are monitored.
The Solution
A wall of display technology
NASCAR partnered with Samsung to build the remote race control room at the NASCAR Production Facility in Concord, North Carolina. The room acts as an operational extension of race control at the track, enabling officials to monitor races with greater visibility using Samsung display technology.
“What we conceived for this room is a level of support for those in the tower that was never available before,” Miller said.
Fully equipped with Samsung display technology, the control room now features The Wall — an ultra-large LED display measuring 32 feet wide by 9 feet tall — as its centerpiece. With high-resolution, high-contrast MicroLED technology, it serves as the ideal command center hardware for race monitoring. The vast screen real estate can display multiple data feeds and live visuals with pinpoint precision, so officials can clearly see all aspects of the race like never before.
The Wall features a customizable layout with multiple sections, each controlled by dedicated workstations that let operators push specific content to different quadrants of the screen.
“Each one of those quadrants on the wall is controlled by a computer, so anything that we generate can go into its associated quadrant,” Miller explained.
During a race, the central section of The Wall typically shows the live broadcast feed, mirroring what viewers see at home. This helps his team track the primary action around the circuit. Surrounding sections display a variety of race data, including feeds from:
- More than 80 broadcast cameras
- In-car cameras
- Engine control units
- Optical tracking cameras
- Pit-road officiating systems
- Official cameras positioned at the pit, start and finish lines, restart zones and other key locations
That consolidation of the action dramatically improves officiating, explained Michael McDermott, executive vice president of Consumer Electronics Business at Samsung Electronics America. “Officials now have a centralized environment where they can view the race with multiple data feeds and video sources in real time.”
Moreover, they can access radio communications between drivers and teams, with speech-to-text displayed clearly on the screen, allowing them to monitor how situations are unfolding.
Supporting the visual ecosystem is a network of additional Samsung displays, including 25 ViewFinity S6 (S60D)
QHD HDR10 High Resolution monitors and seven ultra-wide, curved 49 Inch Odyssey G9 G95C monitors. The Odyssey G9s offer a large screen for officials at workstations to simultaneously view and assess multiple data sources, enhancing their ability to efficiently support track operations.
The high resolution of the displays also adds value, as they can show large volumes of real-time information in easy-to-read detail, particularly the numbers and statistics being monitored during a race.
“Having the television feed in the large middle quadrant is really sharp. Then seeing all of the other feeds in the smaller quadrants is just better than looking at it on a computer screen,” said Miller.
Working in collaboration with race control staff at the track, the remote room functions as an extension of officiating operations, providing additional analysis, monitoring and replay capabilities that enhance accurate, fast decision-making throughout the race.
“We’re in constant contact with the people at the racetrack in the tower and are able to help with any calls,” Miller highlighted. “We’re able to add personnel and eyeballs to all of those video feeds so that we don’t miss anything.”
The Technology
The Wall
A deep black background and enhanced depth delivers an unmatched viewing experience. With a simplified installation process and a built-in control box, The Wall: All-in-One is the ideal LED video wall.
The Results
Greater visibility, accurate analysis, faster decision making
Now entering its second season of operation, the remote race control room has transformed NASCAR’s ability to monitor races, analyze incidents and make officiating decisions more effectively, thanks to the greater visibility it provides.
Having previously relied on individual computer monitors and isolated replay systems, the new ecosystem of Samsung display technology enables officials to view multiple race feeds and data streams simultaneously, improving situational awareness during critical moments.
“The biggest benefit is to be able to see everything in real time and visualize far more things than you could with just a computer in front of you,” Miller said.
The Wall display also improves collaboration among officials. When it’s necessary to analyze an incident or replay angle, the feed can be instantly shared on The Wall for others in the room to review, too — a huge improvement over everyone crowding around a couple of monitors.
“Samsung technology, with The Wall, has allowed us to do things we weren’t able to do before, because, it’s like having 20 monitors in front of you, as opposed to probably two or three sitting at a single work station,” Miller enthused.
Powered by Samsung displays, the control room also provides a place to visualize and aggregate the unprecedented amount of race insight and safety-monitoring data that NASCAR officials now have access to. Officials can now track engine health and other technical data for every car during the race, something that was not previously possible.
“We can now monitor engine data and telemetry, or if anything is failing,” Miller said. “Before this remote race control room was implemented, we just didn’t have a place for all that data to go.”
For NASCAR, the technology within the race control room has accelerated a generational leap in race operations. It provides greater situational awareness of all the action on the asphalt, improving collaboration and race safety. For Miller and his team of officials, it has supported their roles and made race calls more efficient and accurate.
This major step forward in how races are monitored and officiated keeps NASCAR on track with broader advances in the sports world, according to McDermott. “Across the sports world, control rooms are being centralized so that operators can see data and action in real time. These environments allow organizations to combine video, data analytics and communications to deliver real-time decision making so that there’s no interruption in the action.”
The new vision the partnership provided also roots NASCAR back in what drives its ultimate mission, added McDermott. “Samsung and NASCAR are committed to utilizing technology to drive better experiences: for the teams, the officials, the operators and ultimately the fans.”
