If you’ve used social media in racing circles earlier than, there’s likelihood you’ve heard the phrase “Penske Perfect.” Basically, it refers back to the completely meticulous manner Roger Penske manages his racing groups: every thing from crews outfitted in pressed polos to the cleanliness of the golf carts utilized by the crew to shuttle personnel round. But on the 2023 Hy-Vee IndyAutomobile race weekend at Iowa Speedway, I realized that the Penske Perfect extends even so far as its sponsors. In this case, that sponsor is XPEL.
Full Disclosure: XPEL hosted me on the Hy-Vee IndyAutomobile weekend at Iowa, the place they put me up in a stunning lodge and let me free to terrorize the race monitor.
XPEL presents protecting movies and coatings for every thing out of your vehicles to your own home’s home windows, and in the mean time, the corporate is the first sponsor of Team Penske No. 3 driver Scott McLaughlin for a handful of races. Part of that deal truly consists of using XPEL’s protecting movie on McLaughlin’s race automobile.
Racing is a sport the place the most minute margins are the distinction between success and failure— so it was a bit shocking for me to study {that a} crew would willingly apply an extra layer of movie, realizing that the additional grams of weight it could add might be the distinction between a win and ending outdoors of the highest 5. In truth, I had a chance to tour Dale Coyne Racing’s storage throughout the Indy 500 weekend, the place I realized that all of its vehicles is definitely hand painted, since a skinny coat of paint truly weighs lower than a wrap. Those are the sort of margins we’re speaking about. A transparent protecting movie appears antithetical to the complete Penske mission.
I ought to have recognized higher. Over the weekend, I realized that the protecting coating has a official, well-considered objective.
The protecting coating solely stays on McLaughlin’s automobile throughout apply classes; it’s eliminated instantly afterward for qualifying and the race. See, that unofficial “Penske Perfect” motto additionally pertains to the No. 3’s livery; through the use of the protecting coating in apply, Penske can assure that the livery will likely be in pristine situation come crucial components of the weekend — the components of the weekend the place marginal variations weight issues probably the most.
During the Iowa weekend, drivers solely had one apply session — and sure, XPEL’s protecting movies have been in use throughout that single session. Even if it’s just for a second, presentation issues.
Source: jalopnik.com