NASCAR: 2016 digital dashboards tested

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams are taking part in a Goodyear tire test this week at Kentucky Speedway, where NASCAR's new digital dashboard system is also being tested. Ganassi Racing's Jamie McMurray tweeted these pictures of the in-dash system.

The digital dashboard will be legal for teams to use starting in August, and will become mandatory in 2016. It can change display of info from digital to "analog" style (LEFT) with the flip of a switch.

"It has the ability to do a lot – lap times, monitor tire PSI, pit stop page," McMurray said of the new system.

NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O'Donnell told Sirius XM NASCAR Radio that the digital dashboard is aimed at providing more information to both the drivers and the fans.

"That is the ultimate goal, is to get as much information as we can – first and foremost to the drivers and crew chiefs that they can see and react to – but ultimately to the fans," O'Donnell said. "So if you're sitting at the racetrack, and you're on your device, we want you to essentially be in Denny Hamlin's car and be able to see what he is seeing and react to it.

"It's evolving, and it's something that we think can be a real game changer for the sport in terms of us showcasing technology. There's also some proprietary information. We want to make sure we keep that with the teams from a competitive standpoint, but some really cool stuff potentially coming for '16 and I think the fans will ultimately enjoy what they see."

On Monday, NASCAR announced it has renewed its commercial license agreement with FanVision, the in-venue technology and content provider used at professional sporting events across the country. FanVision will remain NASCAR's exclusive handheld television in-venue race content broadcaster through the 2019 season.

FanVision device and services offer fans customizable access to the live race broadcast, multiple in-car camera feeds, instant replays, in-depth statistics, and a digital scanner to listen to drivers and crews. Fans can rent or buy their own FanVision device trackside at any one of the company's eight retail locations at every race.