The national education campaign “Your Car. Your Data. Your Choice.” will be a sponsor of the Blake Alexander-driven funny car at this weekend’s NHRA Northwest Nationals taking place Aug. 2-4 in Seattle.
The campaign is a co-sponsor with National Pronto Association. Together, they’re working to bring urgent attention to the issue of car-data access and control, which has implications for millions of car owners and drivers nationwide.
Newer-model cars today are equipped with advanced technologies that enable real-time, wireless transmission of data related to driver behavior, GPS location and vehicle health, including maintenance and repair information. As this technology advances, carmakers are locking in exclusive access to and control of car data. The result could lead to greater inconvenience, greater cost and fewer options for repair and maintenance services for car owners and drivers.
Having access to and control of data from racecars, including Blake Alexander’s short-wheelbase funny car, allows crew chiefs such as Daniel Wilkerson to monitor car health, diagnose problems and improve performance.
“Just as Dan and I need to see every data point my car is feeding us while on the track, car owners and drivers should be able to access similar information for their everyday car, and be able to share it with the trusted crew chief in their life,” Alexander said.
“I’m honored to include ‘Your Car. Your Data. Your Choice’. on my car because data analysis is part of my strategy, and without data, I can’t compete to win,” Alexander said. “There’s more to racing than the number of horses you have.”
In June, six-time Top Fuel world champion Clay Millican debuted his “Your Car. Your Data. Your Choice.” dragster at the Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tennessee. Millican and Alexander, both former Top Fuel champions, are doing what they can to help emphasize to car enthusiasts and DIYers what’s at stake if car owners don’t have access to and control of their car data.
“It’s their car, it should be their data. Full stop,” said Millican. For more information about the campaign, visit yourcaryourdata.org.
