From Garage to the Speedway
Security begins at the front gate
- By Neal Villarin
- Nov 01, 2012
Millions of fans flock
to speedways all
over the country to
catch a glimpse of
the high-octane action
that the world of auto racing provides.
As the most competitive form of
racing in North America, NASCAR, in
particular, offers an amped-up experience
for fans due in part to the exciting
Sprint Cup Series schedule, legendary
venues, talented drivers, fast-moving pit
crews, wide array of sponsors and, of
course, the cars themselves.
Behind the scenes, teams of mechanics,
tuners, engineers and specialists work
tirelessly to ensure the cars are ready to
perform as each race weekend approaches.
One NASCAR team—the world-class
Earnhardt Ganassi Racing (EGR) organization
that fields the No. 1 LiftMaster
Chevrolet (driver, Jamie McMurray) and
the No. 42 Target Chevrolet (Juan Pablo
Montoya)—specifically constructed a
state-of-the-art facility in Concord, N.C.,
where these award-winning drivers and
talented crews can prep for each fuelfilled
weekend and give loyal fans an inside
look at the action behind the scenes.
High-tech, High-traffic Facility
Spanning more than 185,000 square
feet and housing $22 million worth of
race cars, professional equipment, tools
and electronics, EGR’s high-tech facility
requires the safest and most reliable security
and access systems to ensure the
crew and cars are kept safe at
all times. Due to the
overall value of the
items and talent within
the EGR race
shop, facility manager
Pete Wilson
has taken the
necessary precautions
to
ensure that
every access
point for this
facility is safely
and securely operating by installing Lift-
Master’s reliable, technically enhanced,
UL-325 compliant commercial door operators
and gate operators on the market.
Commercial sites like the EGR race
shop in Concord have needs that are very
different from residential applications—
frequency of use being the most salient
difference. Whereas the typical residential
garage door opener may be used only
a few times daily, a commercial door operator
and a commercial gate operator
may be used several times an hour.
At the EGR race shop, the commercial
door and gate entranceways function
as load-in points for new equipment,
tools and cars under repair, as well as a
shipping dock for cars and equipment
being sent out each weekend. These
doors and gates are vital to the facility’s
day-to-day operations, and the commercial
operators powering these entrance
points need to function reliably and safely
at all times.
Given the facility’s large size, Wilson
worked with a local LiftMaster professional
to help determine which type of
commercial door and gate operators were
best suited for the structure and function
of the facility and the well-being of the
employees and visitors inside and out.
With heavy industrial usage in mind and
the need for dependability and durability
at each of the commercial access points,
Wilson opted for LiftMaster commercial
gate operators (model SL595) and Logic
4.0 commercial door operators throughout
the facility.
Keeping Operations Safe, Secure
The LiftMaster Logic 4.0 Model H Industrial-duty hoist operators are installed at seven of the
commercial access points in the EGR
race shop. These units feature a continuous-
duty, high-starting torque motor, a
universal-mount frame design, industrial
ball bearings on the output shaft and an
emergency chain hoist with an electric
interlock. Capable of operating up to 25
cycles per hour or 80 to 90 cycles per day,
these units are also UL325-2010 compliant,
so they include the mandatory primary
entrapment feature. Working to
continuously analyze for the presence of
a primary-monitored entrapment protection
system, such as approved photosensors
or a monitored sensing edge, the
operators perform beyond basic constant
contact to close operation. Each
door operator installed at the EGR shop
includes a set of CPS-U Commercial
Photo-Sensors, ensuring the doors stop
when something crosses in the sensors’
path, alleviating potential harm or injury
to facility employees, guests, equipment
or materials that might be crossing under
a moving, heavy commercial door.
These state-of-the-art operators
not only maintain a safe, secure experience
for EGR personnel and guests,
but they also alert the team when upkeep
is needed or suggested. Equipped
with the Maintenance Alert System,
the units establish a routine maintenance
schedule based on the number
of cycles or calendar date so a checkup
on the operators can be scheduled
with a LiftMaster dealer prior to any
issues arising. The doors are vital to
the daily operation and success of the
EGR race shop, so reliable operation
is a must for the team of technicians
and owners.
“In racing, safety and dependability
reigns supreme, and with cars and
equipment coming in and out of our
facility at all hours of the day and
night, we cannot afford to have a door
fail,” Wilson said. “With our commercial
door operators and gate operators,
we never have to worry about not being
able to get in or out of our facility,
which allows us to focus on getting to
and from the track as quickly and efficiently
as possible. In addition to dependability,
these products provide security
and peace of mind, which gives
us confidence that our cars and equipment
are safe when we head to the track
every weekend.”
Week in and week out, the professionals
at EGR truly put these commercial
operators to the test, relying on
the systems to open and close the truck
bay doors twice every hour in a 12-hour
workday, or 24 times each day. In addition,
the hugely important roll-up
doors to the parts room and machine
shop open 10 times per day, ensuring
that the cars watched by millions each
week have access to the service they require.
Since installing the LiftMaster
commercial operators, EGR has seen
more than 1,300 cars and 6,500 components
come through the race shop
safely and securely.
To help protect the perimeter of
the facility and keep unwanted visitors
from entering, the EGR race
shop also is equipped with LiftMaster
commercial gate operators. These extreme,
heavy-duty devices support gate
lengths up to 90 feet and gate weights
up to 2,500 pounds. Fully enclosed and
weatherproof, the gate operators have a
high-starting, continuous-duty torque
motor with built-in overload protection
to ensure rugged and reliable performance.
This model is ideal for the EGR
location based on frequency of use and
is likewise UL325-compliant.
“We have had a great relationship
with LiftMaster for the past couple of
years, both on and off the track,” said
Chip Ganassi, owner of EGR. “We use
their commercial door operators and
gate operators at our race shop because
they provide secure and reliable access
into and around our facility. We have
a great deal of money invested in the
equipment within our race shop. So, it’s
vital to have a reliable partner that can
help us secure it all.”
As fans across the world get to experience
the excitement of Earnhardt
Ganassi’s teams on race day, each week
LiftMaster’s commercial door and gate
operators keep EGR’s talented crews,
machines and facility running like the
well-oiled machines that pass through
their doors each day.
This article originally appeared in the November 2012 issue of Security Today.