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WHEN the 2012 Nascar season roars to life in Florida next February, racecars in the Sprint Cup series will have undergone one of their biggest changes in decades. But the difference won't be visible to spectators in the stands or fans watching on TV. Starting with the cars in the premier Sprint Cup series, Nascar is turning its back on the venerable carburetor, a straightforward mechanical device that has fueled its engines since the competition began six decades ago. Instead, the Sprint Cup engines will be fed by electronic fuel injection. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

THE fuel injection systems that will replace four-barrel carburetors on all cars in Nascar's top-level Sprint Cup series for 2012 will use some components similar to those found on today's passenger cars and others that are little changed from current racing engines. A throttle body, which controls the flow of air, is mounted atop an intake manifold, a layout similar to that now used for Nascar's carburetors. Fuel will be sprayed into the engine by injectors mounted in the manifold's passageways at a specified distance from the intake valves. Nascar will require teams to use a sealed electronic control unit. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

FOR more than 30 years, Formula One racecars have benefited from powerful brakes that vastly outperform the systems available on any showroom model. The gap may be narrowing, though: high-tech materials similar to those on the racetrack began showing up in exotic sports cars about 10 years ago, and some luxury models now offer them as well. How about the rest of us? Even underpowered grocery-getters would gain safety and weight advantages with advanced brakes -- but they probably won't get them anytime soon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]