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NASCAR Racing/lug nuts
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Question
Hey been a nascar fan now for over 10 years and have yet to find out how tire changers can zip the nuts off and on without crossthreading the stud. What prevents crossthreading or does it happen and just the high speed guns over power crossthreading. I know how easy it can happen without starting them by hand and if you crossthread them enough times during a race eventually the nuts will not hold at all.
The studs are elongated for about 1 1/2 to 2 inches past the threads. This elongated part is tapered down from the point that the threads end. This tapered part acts to center the lugnuts and also catches them and holds them in place when the tire is initially set in place.
Can they crossthread? Yes and it does occasionally happen. But the system seems to work very well and so crossthreading is a rarity.
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Stooge
Expertise
8 year crew member, 25 year NASCAR historian with VAST collection of NASCAR data (stats, photos, old magazines, books, programs). I know all or can find all about NASCAR Winston Cup trivia, including stats, driver facts, race records, pit & inspection info, pics of old cars and drivers, etc.
Experience
Almost 40 year fan, 8 years on pit crew, high traffic NASCAR website, hundreds of old info sources including pics
Education/Credentials
Life: lived it for 8 years, been following it for almost 40 years, been to more than 200 races, worked shoulder to shoulder with many of the drivers and crewmen of the present and past, been quoted in magazines and newspapers, website listed in a book, had picture published in Nextel Cup Scene (was Grand National Scene back then). *Just quoted in a Las Vegas magazine last month (Feb/March '07) about the Vegas race*
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