NASCAR officially launches the race management app built on Windows 10

Microsoft and NASCAR have built a new race management app on Windows 10 which will allow race officials to click on a car number and instantly see that driver’s position on the track, check when the car got fresh tires, when will the car next stop for fuel, etc. This new app was officially launched last Sunday for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway. Microsoft Consulting Services worked with NASCAR to develop this Windows 10 app using Azure cloud platform. It combines into one screen six data categories – historical data, timing and scoring, pit road officiating, video replay and car positioning.

“Running a race requires many people consuming data from many different sources and then coordinating that information into a seamless operation,” John Probst, NASCAR managing director of competition innovation said. “Historically, this information and data has been presented in a piecemeal form – little bits of information spread across many monitors or printed on individual sheets of paper.

“With the race management app, we are able to combine all of this information and present it to officials in a logical way. One application, one display,” Probst added. “You could describe the current wave of tech transformation as a pivotal moment across all of sports. It’s up there with the Industrial Revolution and the Iron Age,” said Mike Downey, director of sports technology engineering at Microsoft.

Since this race management app is built on Windows 10, it can take take advantage of new input tools like Surface Dial. NASCAR officials can use Surface Dial in the app’s “infraction video” feature, which captures video to monitor pit stops for violations. NASCAR is also using Office 365 for email, SharePoint Online for collaboration and a suite of Office Web Apps for their everyday activities.