Sound is a beautiful thing. It comprises some of people’s favorite music, can be a medium for great memories, and most importantly, is the vessel that harbors loud, thundering V8 power to the eardrums of humanity.
To keep it simple, those engine noises pass from the engine into something called a header, which takes the exhaust from each cylinder and heads each off into one bigger pipe and then travels through more piping out the sides of the cars flying by fans each weekend.
There has been some debate this week, though, on whether or not the usage of mufflers should or should not be implemented in the three main NASCAR series, particularly at the NASCAR Cup Series level.
Earlier this week, in a column on Speedcafe.com, Roland Dane compared the Cup exhaust to that of the V8 Supercar series, stating that the NASCAR exhaust is simply too noisy in comparison. While there was some lighthearted joking online, there were also some serious qualms with the thought of deafening the NASCAR machines.
Fuel was added to the proverbial fire when NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Brad Perez dropped some news that the series had already been using mufflers earlier this season, namely at Portland Raceway just a short while ago.
Perez went on in the replies to say that the mufflers don’t “kill the product or make the sound worse.” A driver is about as good of a source on this topic as it can get, and yet some still aren’t sure what to make of the situation.
Therefore, some facts need to be checked.
First, just how loud is a Cup car? Most reports show anywhere from 100-130 decibels depending on how close someone is to the action. Pit road is the loudest, coming in with the 130. How loud is that for comparison? Deep Purple’s famous 1972 London Rainbow Theater concert clocked in at 117 decibels. Led Zeppelin, another group famous for the noise levels of their shows, clocked in at 130 decibels, which is reportedly enough to cause immediate damage.
NASCAR races aren’t just over in a flash, though. The sustained noise level can be just as harmful, according to experts. There is merit, then, in deadening the cars a tad, especially if it can bring a less harsh atmosphere to the ears of young fans on race day.
With facts out of the way, hypotheticals must take over. If NASCAR were to only equip two or three cars with mufflers one weekend, some fans might notice. If they equipped 10, fans would probably notice. Twenty? Fans would know. Why? The difference in noise. However, if every car were to be equipped with mufflers, most wouldn’t know the difference unless they were told.
If NASCAR made the change tomorrow and simply didn’t tell anyone, maybe 1-2% of fans would notice. The incredibly vast majority wouldn’t bat an eye … until some driver used it as an excuse for finishing poorly, that is. From a fan’s perspective, as long as it doesn’t damage the quality of racing, few will care, especially since most fans now are watching from their living rooms anyway.
This truly seems like a no-brainer decision for NASCAR, but plenty will disagree for the sake of doing just that: disagreeing.
Why can’t we all just get along? It’s not like the cars have been stripped down on horsepower or anything, too. Oh, wait.
About the author
Tanner Marlar is a staff writer for Sports Illustrated’s Cowbell Corner, an AP Wire reporter, an award-winning sports columnist and talk show host and master's student at Mississippi State University. Soon, Tanner will be pursuing a PhD. in Mass Media Studies. Tanner began working with Frontstretch as an Xfinity Series columnist in 2022.
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Midas can bring back the, “Your muffler, fix it.” ads.
What fan of racing is saying the cars are too loud? That’s part of the thrill of going to the track.
I’m sure the NHRA is considering mufflers on the Top Fuelers, Funny Cars and ….
When I worked, I wore hearing protection. At the range, I wear hearing protection. At the racetrack, I wear hearing protection. At Deep Purple concerts, I… don’t.