Enterprise Browser Secures NASCAR Team

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Meet Hendrick Motorsports

Winning NASCAR races requires excellent drivers, mechanical engineers, aero engineers, electrical engineers, and... IT operations? While auto racing is very much a very physical sport, there’s a huge unseen layer of data, analytics, and digital systems that influence every single decision made on the track. At Hendrick Motorsports, one of the top professional NASCAR organizations, technology is crucial to every victory.

For every race, Hendrick Motorsports processes mountains of data in real time.When each lap can be as short as 15 seconds long, operators must be able to make sense of this data and communicate with the crew in just a few seconds. This information is then used to make split-second decisions on how to compete.
To accomplish this monumental task, Hendrick Motorsports relies on the performance, efficiency, and security provided by Island, the Enterprise Browser.

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"We have a litmus test when we are looking at new technology: is it going to help us go faster and win races?"

Matthew Cochran, Director of IT at Hendrick's Motorsports.

THE CHALlENGE

Enabling New Tools Without Compromising Security

Professional auto races rely on an enormous amount of data to make critical, split-second decisions. This includes onboard telemetry from each car, simulation data, prediction models, and even the approximately 7,000 photographs that are taken each race.

Since NASCAR limits how many crewmembers each team can have trackside, Hendrick Motorsports relies on a remote race operations center to perform data analysis and inform the crew. This means the efficiency of each operator is critical to the success of the driver.

But in the past, when an operator wanted to use a new, unapproved piece of software, such as a generative AI assistant, IT was often forced to say “no” due to security concerns. This stifled productivity and slowed the team down. Outside of new software tools, Hendrick Motorsports has a massive amount of systems and assets to maintain. There is the fleet of racecars, a fleet of “race hauler” trucks that move the racecars over ground, a fleet of aircraft, a dedicated hanger at the airport, and numerous support personnel, ranging from technicians, drivers, and pilots to business functions like marketing. Most of these assets and functions are supported with a large number of IT systems and software, much of which is proprietary and built in-house. Any new security solution would need to be compatible with these systems.

Additionally, auto racing is extremely competitive, and sometimes rival operators are sitting mere feet away from operators’ workstations. For each race, Hendrick Motorsport must set up a new operations center with everything operators need to work efficiently, establish a secure data feed from the track to the center, and protect their proprietary information in a highly competitive environment.

The Solution

Enabling New Tools Without Compromising Security

Professional auto races rely on an enormous amount of data to make critical, split-second decisions. This includes onboard telemetry from each car, simulation data, prediction models, and even the approximately 7,000 photographs that are taken each race.

Since NASCAR limits how many crewmembers each team can have trackside, Hendrick Motorsports relies on a remote race operations center to perform data analysis and inform the crew. This means the efficiency of each operator is critical to the success of the driver.

But in the past, when an operator wanted to use a new, unapproved piece of software, such as a generative AI assistant, IT was often forced to say “no” due to security concerns. This stifled productivity and slowed the team down. Outside of new software tools, Hendrick Motorsports has a massive amount of systems and assets to maintain. There is the fleet of racecars, a fleet of “race hauler” trucks that move the racecars over ground, a fleet of aircraft, a dedicated hanger at the airport, and numerous support personnel, ranging from technicians, drivers, and pilots to business functions like marketing. Most of these assets and functions are supported with a large number of IT systems and software, much of which is proprietary and built in-house. Any new security solution would need to be compatible with these systems.

Additionally, auto racing is extremely competitive, and sometimes rival operators are sitting mere feet away from operators’ workstations. For each race, Hendrick Motorsport must set up a new operations center with everything operators need to work efficiently, establish a secure data feed from the track to the center, and protect their proprietary information in a highly competitive environment.

“Often, an IT department is cornered into saying ‘no’ or ‘That's a security issue’ when, internally, we really want to say yes. We just didn’t have the ability to do so. With a partner like Island, we're able to say ‘yes’ a lot more and increase that productivity.”

Matthew Cochran, Director of IT at Hendrick's Motorsports.

Conclusion

Hitting the Accelerator with Island

In an industry where a fraction of a second can mean the difference between winning and losing, every system at Hendrick Motorsports must be finely tuned and purpose driven. By improving both productivity and security, Island empowers the team to make faster, more informed decisions on the racetrack, while ensuring their most sensitive information remains protected regardless of where the operations center is located. At the same time, it allows employees to use any application they need without compromising security. Island allows Hendrick Motorsports to stay focused on what matters most: going faster and winning races.

Island helps Hendrick Motorsports go fast

Meet Hendrick Motorsports

Enabling New Tools Without Compromising Security

Enabling New Tools Without Compromising Security

Hitting the Accelerator with Island

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