Slingshot Pass - W

W

Wallies

A slower car, usually found at the rear of the grid. It is sometimes a derogatory term.

Wear the shiny off

A term used, mostly within drag racing, when a brand new car either hits the wall, or, in the Pro Stock class, when a new car flips over into its top and continues down the track for a considerable length, peeling the paint off.

Weight shifting

A technique used to reduce understeer. This involves the driver decelerating through a corner to shift the weight of the car from the back to the front, increasing grip of the front tyres and decreasing understeer.

Wet (or wet-weather) tyre

A racing tyre with deep grooves designed to displace standing water, allowing the tyre to obtain grip in conditions where dry weather tyres (slicks) would aquaplane. Monsoon wet has become a term used for extremely wet conditions.

Wheel banging

When the wheels of two different race cars slightly collide during an overtaking manoeuvre.

Wheel hop

(drag racing) violent shaking of the car as the tires lose and regain traction in quick succession.

Wheelie

In a rear wheel drive vehicle, when the front wheel(s) rise up in the air under acceleration.

Wheelie bars

(drag racing) rear struts fixed to rear axle, which protrude out to rear of car to help prevent car's front from raising too high or flipping over on launch.

Wheelspin

When the rear tyres (or front tyres in the case of a front wheel drive vehicle) break traction with the racing surface under acceleration, spinning the wheels faster than they move across the surface. On higher traction surfaces like bitumen the tyre will begin to shred and melt from the friction, producing white smoke.

Wheelstand

wheelie. In drag racing, an extreme case, with front wheels very near vertical.

Wheelstander

In drag racing, an exhibition car designed to complete a pass in a wheelstand (wheels near vertical)

Wickerbill

See Gurney flap.

Wing

Aerodynamic device on many racing cars. The principle is the same as an aircraft wing except in motor racing applications the wing is inverted to create downforce instead of lift, pressing the car onto the road surface to increase traction.

Wired to the tree

A drag racing term for a racer that consistently beats his opponent off the starting line. Also called Chopping down the Christmas Tree.

Wishbone

Suspension control arm with three points, shaped roughly like a chicken wishbone.

Works team

A motor racing team supported by a vehicle manufacturer, usually run in-house at the manufacturer's premises. A works driver is a driver who drives for the works team.