meet madeline carroll safety first - nie world · • 11/2 cups water • 1/2 cup couscous...

© 2008 Universal Press Syndicate

release dates: September 6-12 36-1 (08)

from The Mini Page © 2008 Universal Press Syndicate

BETTY DEBNAM – Founding Editor and Editor at Large

TM


TM

Please include all of the appropriate registered trademark symbols and copyright lines in any publication of The Mini Page®.

Are you a NASCAR fan? If you are,you’re not alone. NASCAR has beenpicking up new fans ever since it wasformed 60 years ago. Millions watchNASCAR races each year. But there’smore to the sport than high-speeddriving.What is NASCAR?

NASCAR stands for the NationalAssociation for Stock Car Auto Racing. Astock car has a body similar to apassenger car in stock at a regular cardealership.

There are more than 1,200 NASCARraces each year. They take place at about100 tracks in 30 states, Canada andMexico.

Participants in this popular racingsport needcourage, skilland brains.Manyscientists andengineers*work on raceteams. It isimpossible towin aNASCARrace and stay safe without using mathand science. The Mini Page brings you upto speed on the science of NASCAR.*An engineer is someone who uses scienceand math to design something.

Dangerous energyEnergy is the

ability to do work ormake somethinghappen. There aredifferent forms ofenergy. A moving

car has motion energy. The faster a caris going, the more energy it has.

When a crash stops a car suddenly, allthis energy has to go somewhere.

In a crash, there is very little time tospread the energy around. A lot of energyhitting at once can crumple the car.

No one wants that energy to crumplethe driver, too. So engineers for NASCARand passenger vehicles have designedcars so that energy is spread around thecar rather than into the driver.

Even when a driver slows down beforestopping, the brake parts might be so hotthat they glow. The brake pads mightsqueal. The motion energy has changedto heat, light and sound.

Hot wheelsOne NASCAR race can be up to 600

miles long and can last five to six hours.(And no, there aren’t any bathroomstops!) The inside of the car can get ashot as 120 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. ANASCAR driver sweats as much as amarathon runner.

Drivers drink sports drinks through atube that comes into their helmet. Whenthey bite down on the tube, it squirts theliquid into their mouths.

Speed and Safety

The Science Behind NASCAR

phot

o by

Kev

in C

. Cox

/Get

ty Im

ages

, cou

rtes

y N

AS

CA

R

Elliott Sadler and TonyStewart collide in theDodge Challenger 500NASCAR Sprint CupSeries race in May.Because ofengineering changesto cars, tracks andequipment, fewerdrivers are injuredtoday than they werejust a few years ago.

phot

o by

Chr

is G

rayt

hen/

Get

ty Im

ages

,co

urte

sy N

AS

CA

R

At some tracks, racers can drive up to 200miles per hour. That much speed can bedangerous. Teams of engineers andmechanics work to make the cars and trackas safe as possible.

Mini Spy . . .from The Mini Page © 2008 Universal Press Syndicate

Mini Spy and her friends love to watch NASCAR races! See ifyou can find: • man in the moon • question mark • carrot

• fish • kite• eyeglasses• bottle• comb • knife• pitcher• bread loaf• letter C• pencil• ladder• caterpillar• letter A• flyswatter• lima bean


TM

Safety winsThe biggest worry for NASCAR

engineers is safety. Some of theNASCAR safety features include:

• A “crush zone” is made by usingweaker tubing in the area engineershope will crumple first. Slightly smallertubing is put in the front and rear of thecar. Thicker tubes are placed closer tothe driver. That way, if there is a crash,the crush zone with the smaller tubingwill crumple easier. Engineers hope thatis all that is crushed!

In NASCAR cars, tubes form a cagethat surrounds the driver’s compartment.These tubes protect the driver fromgetting smashed.

Crush zones arebuilt into passengercars, too. If a car is in an accident, thefront end of the car is designed to crumple.The energy goes into crumpling thefront end rather than the passenger.

• Foam is inside the doors of NASCARcars. This foam absorbs, or sucks in,energy. When a car is hit on the side, theenergy goes into crushing the foam. It doesnot go into crushing the driver. This foamis being put in the roofs of passenger cars.

Added protection• The walls around the track have

foam that absorbs energy, too. When acar hits a wall, the energy goes todamage the wall instead of the driver.

• Drivers wear protective suitssimilar to what firefighters wear. Thematerial does not burn or melt easily.

When the suit gets hot, itforms a layer of carbon onthe outside of the suit’sfibers. That carbonblocks the firefromthefuelitneeds to burn.

The suits are notcompletely fireproof, butthey give the driver time to get out ofthe car.

• NASCAR cars have fireextinguishers that automatically turnon if there is a fire. Drivers can alsohit a fire extinguisher switch. Thissends fire-fighting chemicals into thecar. Drivers can aim the chemicals atthe fire.

Safety First

photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver KyleBusch gets ready for the August Allstate 400in Indianapolis. There is a supporting frameinside the metal body of the car. This isreally a cage to protect the driver.There are no doors on NASCAR cars.Drivers have to get in through the window.The side of the car is a solid piece of metal.That way, if the car gets hit, there isn’t adoor that could pop open.

Words that remind us of NASCAR are hidden in the block below. Somewords are hidden backward or diagonally. See if you can find: STOCK,CAR, RACE, SAFETY, DOOR, ROLL, CRASH, FRICTION, ENERGY,MOTION, HEAT, SOUND, DANGEROUS, PIT, HOT, ENGINE, TIRE,CRUMPLE, DRIVER, FOAM, SCIENCE, WIN, SEAT, BELT, CORNER.

NASCAR TRY ’NFIND

I LOVENASCAR!

H R D R W R E N R O C P M E SF E A O O H V T L E B I O N AR F A C O L I E R I T T T E FI S O T E R L S E A T C I R EC O H A C R A S H W I N O G TT U K O M M R E V I R D N Y YI N L L T C A R E L P M U R CO D E C N E I C S E N I G N EN K C O T S S U O R E G N A D


Basset Brown

The News

Hound’s

TM

Rookie Cookie’s RecipeKooky Couscous



Meet Madeline CarrollMadeline Carroll stars as Molly Johnson

in the movie “Swing Vote.” She hasappeared in other movies such as “SantaClause 3: The Escape Clause” and onseveral TV shows.

Madeline, 12, was born in and still livesin Los Angeles. She began modeling whenshe was 3 years old. An agent saw her in a

nail salon and found Madeline her early jobs. She soon beganappearing in TV commercials and has appeared in nearly 50.

She has three brothers and a dog, Spot. She likes to playgames outside in her neighborhood. She also likes watchinghorror movies.

You’ll need:• 11/2 cups water• 1/2 cup couscous (whole-wheat

or regular)• Sprinkle of salt• 1/4 cup dried apricots, choppedWhat to do:1. Bring water to boil. Add couscous and stir. Reduce heat to low and

simmer for 2 minutes.2. Remove couscous from heat. Allow to stand for 5 minutes to absorb

all water.3. Fluff couscous with fork; sprinkle with salt to taste.4. Add dried fruit, chickpeas and orange juice; stir gently.5. Top with sliced almonds. Makes 4 servings.*You will need an adult’s help with this recipe.


TM

TM

Go dot to dot and color this Indy racing car.

• 1/4 cup dried cranberries• 1/2 cup chickpeas (garbanzo

beans)• 2 tablespoons orange juice• 2 tablespoons sliced almonds

All the following jokes have something in common.Can you guess the common theme or category?

Nancy: Why did the girl ask her parents abouttheir car’s history?

Ned: She was writing an autobiography!

Nate: What would you do if your car’stires got old?

Nelson: Retire them!

Neil: What makes a car happiest?Norman: Joy riding!


When two things move against eachother, there is friction. Friction is aforce that can slow or stop themovement.Good friction

In racing, friction is both good andbad. It’s goodbecause you can’t gofast unless you havea lot of frictionbetween the car andthe track. Withoutfriction, it would be

like driving on ice. There wouldn’t beenough grip on the tires. Friction alsohelps the car stop when the driver putson the brakes.

NASCAR tires grip the road muchbetter than tires on passenger cars.NASCAR tires are softer and are totallysmooth because they have no treads.

One of the reasons NASCAR driversdon’t drive in the rain is because waterreduces the friction between the tiresand the track. The tires lose their gripon the track, so drivers have less control.Bad friction

Friction can be bad because it createsheat. For example, when you rub yourhands together, friction makes themwarm. The friction of tires against thetrack causes a lot of heat, which candestroy the tires.

Friction also causes the tires to wearaway. For example, if you rub sandpaperon wood, you create friction. Slivers ofthe wood come off. The friction betweenthe racetrack and the tires causes someof the tire rubber to come off, too.

Nearing lift-offG-force is the force of gravity on

someone or something. Normal gravityjust frombeing onEarth is 1G. WhenNASCARdrivers racearoundtightcorners,they canfeel up to

2 or 3 Gs. When the space shuttle liftsoff, astronauts experience up to 3 Gs.

NASCAR car seats surround thedrivers so they don’t fly out. There arebraces around the driver’s head andsides. Just as in the space shuttle, thedrivers are strapped in.

More Science of NASCAR

The importance of seat beltsNASCAR drivers always

wear their seat belts. Theywear two belts over theirshoulders, two lap belts andtwo belts around their legs.

There is also a safetydevice that fits over the driver’s shoulderand attaches to the helmet. Thisprevents his or her head from snappingforward in case of a sudden stop.

The Mini Page StaffBetty Debnam - Founding Editor and Editor at Large Lisa Tarry - Managing Editor Lucy Lien - Associate Editor Wendy Daley - Artist

The Mini Page thanks Dr. Diandra Leslie-Pelecky, professor of physics, University ofTexas at Dallas, and author of the older kids oradult-level book, “The Physics of NASCAR.”

phot

o by

Kev

in C

. Cox

/Get

ty Im

ages

, cou

rtes

y N

AS

CA

R

Kyle Busch comes in for apit stop during a qualifyingrace for the NASCARSprint All-Star Race in July.The average NASCAR tirehas to be replaced every50 miles. In comparison,the average passenger cartire can go from 40,000 to50,000 miles.

(a) If a NASCAR race is 500miles long, can you figureout how many times thedriver would have to makea pit stop to change tires?(b) How about if the race is400 miles long?

Site to see: www.nascar.com

Look through the sports section of yournewspaper for stories about NASCAR.

Next week, The Mini Page is about Newberyand Caldecott Honor Book winners.

phot

o by

Dou

g B

enc/

Get

ty Im

ages

, cou

rtes

y N

AS

CA

R

Drivers round a turn during the NationwideSeries Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 inJuly. When drivers are going fast into a turn,a force is needed to push them around thecurve. This is called centripetal (sen-TRI-puh-tul) force.This force makes somethingfollow a curve. In racing, this force comesfrom the tires on the track.

Answers: (a) 10; (b) 8


Supersport: Aaron RossHeight: 6-0 Birthdate: 9-15-82Weight: 197 Hometown: Tyler, Texas

The bright lights of New York and the glamour of theNational Football League can be overwhelming. But Aaron Rosssuccessfully handled the hoopla in his first pro season last year.

The former University of Texas standout worked his way intothe regular lineup at cornerback, started 12 games, and helped the NewYork Giants win the Super Bowl. It was a dream beginning for a rookie.

Now Ross, a first-round draft choice in 2007, is revving up for his secondNFL season. In short, the Giant is a winner. He played on Texas’ nationaltitle team in 2005, and in 2006 won the Jim Thorpe Award as the topdefensive back in college football. While at UT, he also participated in theteam’s community service program.

While quick and swift, Ross would be challenged to keep pace with hisfiancee. That’s Sanya Richards, the speedy 400-meter sprinter who is anOlympic gold medalist.

TM

meet madeline carroll safety first - nie world · • 11/2 cups water • 1/2 cup couscous...

Documents