Submitted by NASCAR Ranting and Raving Blog

After I got the initial e-mail the other day from the Adidas representative regarding Dale Jr’s new 3-stripe racing suit with ClimaCool Technology my curiosity regarding the make-up of the suit was peaked, so I asked him for more information about it. Here is what he sent me:

ClimaCool(r) isn’t just another moisture-wicking fabric. It is an integrated system of technologies that work together to regulate the athlete’s body temperature far better than any single fabric technology can.

ClimaCool(r) apparel actively conducts heat and sweat away from the body through a combination of heat and moisture-dissipating materials, ventilation channels and three-dimensional fabrics that allow air to circulate close to the skin.

By mapping the body’s critical heat and sweat zones using infrared cameras, designers are able to place these technologies exactly where they are needed to optimize the athlete’s body temperature. An athlete can actually stay cooler in ClimaCool(r) apparel than they can in bare skin.

ClimaCool(r) (Apparel)

A combination of performance fabrics, open mesh and ventilation channels keep cool air flowing in and heat and sweat flowing out.

You stay dry, comfortable and performing at your peak in even the most heated competition.

With ClimaCool(r) equipped apparel you can ignore the heat and keep your focus right where it needs to be: on the road, track, field or finish line ahead.

Cool Apparel Background

In summer, sweat is your friend. Sweating helps you cool down and lets you perform at your best for longer - no matter how intense your session or how intense the heat or humidity.

Contrary to some popular belief going naked is not the best solution. To shed extra heat, the sweat needs to evaporate off your skin, not run down your body. Sweat that drips from you is wasted. To combat this you should wear a wicking fabric that absorbs sweat from your skin as it builds up during sport exercise. The sweat can then evaporate off your skin or from your athletic attire cooling you down, as it should.

Too much sweat in your kit makes it heavy and uncomfortable and if you ‘wet out ‘, eventually you will, ‘ max out ‘ your temperature.

To combat this you need to spread sweat across the garment, away from the sweat production areas, allowing air in as ventilation in key, critical sweat zones. Mesh should be used as ventilation, applying it where it has most benefit. Air is also your friend too, cooling you down by evaporating more liquid sweat.

3dimensional fabrics should be used for cooling benefit as they allow sweat to be pulled across your running singlet and out through the fabric to evaporate. 3D fabrics, because of their construction, also allow air to flow not just into your singlet or t-shirt but also across your skin. This translates into faster and better cooling. 3D fabrics also stop that sticky wet feeling by keeping fabric cling to a minimum, allowing you to concentrate on your workout rather than a wet sticky feeling of garment against skin

Finally conductive fibers may be used to draw heat away from critical sweat zones allowing you to exercise at your optimal level for longer.
Conductive tape can also be used on key sensorial areas resulting in a cool feeling against the skin.

Key utilities for efficiently cooling during intense exercise:

* Placement of ventilation in key heat and sweat zones;
* 3dimensional fabric constructions to enhance micro ventilation and moisture management;
* Use of conductive fiber (i.e. X-static or others) or tape in critical sweat zones which conduct heat away from the body.

So there you have it, the first hand dope on Dale Jr’s fire suit, straight from Adidas. And you read it here first!

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Submitted by NASCAR Ranting and Raving Blog

O.K. I got a little a head of myself there, but I’m kind of taken back by the following press release. This little old blog here actually made the list at number 7. I can’t believe it. Look at the compnay I’m in with too, there are some very good people on there.

One thing I did notice about the list is that all of the blogs listed are run by people who are passionate fans of the sport first and their favourite drivers (if any) next. I think that is what separates those blogs listed from other driver fan sites, and makes them worth reading.

New NASCAR Sports Blog Index™ Fuels Fans Insight

Rounding the turn to Daytona’s 50th Anniversary, Sports Media Challenge launches its NASCAR Sports Blog Index (SBI). The SBI points fans and brands to blogs where they can tap into the most influential online NASCAR fan conversation.

CHARLOTTE, NC – February 4, 2008 – It’s the start of a new season and you can almost hear fan sentiment revving along with the engines. Just over one year since Sports Media Challenge (SMC) launched its first Sports Blog Index™, SMC announced the addition of its NASCAR Sports Blog Index to guide fans to some of the most influential racing-focused venues on the web. The Index is intended to fuel interest and engagement of the sport’s most avid as well as newest followers. The Index points fans to blogs where they can reap perspective and share their own insights on their favorite sport, teams, and sponsors. Recent posts range from car technology and how good the new Toyotas are to Kyle Busch’s ideal woman. Even in the off season, NASCAR’s famed sense of community is alive and well as demonstrated by a single blog post generating as many as 200 comments.

“NASCAR blogs are among the most informed and intelligent across all sports. Bloggers who focus their efforts on team sports generally have an inside track, yet they limit analysis to their favorite competitors. However, the best NASCAR blogs illuminate their favorites and also showcase a particularly well-honed general knowledge and analysis of the sport,” says Kathleen Hessert President of Charlotte, NC based Sports Media Challenge.

With the help of its proprietary Buzz Manager™ software, Sports Media Challenge analysts monitor millions of sports, entertainment and lifestyle blogs and other social media daily. SMC now publishes a Sports Blog Index for NASCAR, the NFL, NHL, Baseball, College Football, and more.

“From the brand perspective we’re looking for the blogs that have the most influence to help organizations understand their customers better than ever. By intensely and consistently listening to online word-of-mouth, properties and sponsors can better understand and harness invaluable insight,” according to Hessert.

Fans Drive Discussion on 50th Anniversary

This year, NASCAR will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Daytona 500, and today’s fans want to showcase their knowledge like never before. In addition to mainstream media coverage of NASCAR events, bloggers are covering NASCAR on a daily and sometimes hourly basis. Blogs are gaining legitimacy in the eyes of the public and are now posting unique, influential content to which fans can relate. A lack of editorial restriction, original content, and ability to comment directly on a post make blogs particularly attractive to fans.

Sports Media Challenge’s Sports Blog Index is the first ever standard measurement tool to identify the most influential sports and entertainment blogs and is derived from an in-depth analysis of all blogs related to the industry. A blog is rated on three main criteria: influence, fan engagement and quality. These factors are measured through a mixture of qualitative and quantitative data, which allows the Sports Blog Index to more accurately rate the true “worth” of a given blog. Influence, which is a measure of the impact a blog has on fan opinion and perceptions, is a key factor in determining a blog’s ranking. Fan engagement is based on quantitative data such as page visits, number of posts, etc. The quality of a given blog’s content is determined by the SMC team, who analyze the humor, sentiment and sarcasm of a blog more effectively than a computer. The inclusion of both quantitative and qualitative data in the rating is what makes the Sports Blog Index unique.

Based on the rating of each blog in the areas of influence, fan engagement and quality, the top ten NASCAR sports blogs are:

1. The Daly Planet

2. From the Marbles

3. One Bad Wheel

4. Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie (NOTE: here’s Steve and Charlie’s new site address)

5. Restrictor Plate This

6. Answer this…

7. NASCAR Ranting and Raving (hey that’s me!)

8. Kathy’s Pit Stop

9. Life in the Turn Lane

10. Full Throttle

About Buzz Manager

Buzz Manager, a staple service of SMC, is the proprietary search engine focusing explicitly on the sports, entertainment and lifestyle markets. It mines, monitors and analyzes online content and helps identify the most influential blogs in the Sports Blog Index. Buzz Manager tracks and measures the online word-of-mouth and mainstream media exposure of brands within the sports market. A combination of technology and human analysis is used to determine a brand’s awareness and perception. The Sports Blog Index uses the Buzz Manager tracking software to determine ratings for tens of thousands of sports blogs being tracked. Beyond blogs, Buzz Manager also monitors trends on other forms of Fan-generated media, including message boards, Facebook and other social media.

About Sports Media Challenge (www.sportsmediachallenge.com) Since 1988, Sports Media Challenge has helped more than 100 leading university athletic departments, professional leagues, teams and world-class sports personalities protect and enhance their brands through strategic communications, consulting and training. Some of the clients to use its PR and marketing tools include The Universities of Notre Dame, Tennessee, Texas, THE PGA TOUR, The NFL, MLB and NBA teams as well as NFL MVP Peyton Manning, and NBA great Shaquille O’Neal. Sports Media Challenge has become the industry leader in online word-of-mouth marketing and reputation management.

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Submitted by Auto Junkies

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