SP & Shield drive virtual lap at Daytona 500 and keep 75th-anniversary production on track.

Florida, USA

OVERVIEW
A 500-mile-long NASCA cup race, the Daytona 500 is an annual event held at the Daytona International Speedway. This year’s event marked 75 years of NASCAR and to celebrate this anniversary, the event included a special virtual final lap. Leaders in broadcast mixed reality, The Famous Group were chosen as NASCAR’s preferred partners to bring this ambitious project to life.

PROBLEM 
“We were asked to recreate 18 historic NASCAR racecars and show them racing in a single lap together on the Daytona racetrack,” explains Erik Beaumont, Head of Mixed Reality at The Famous Group. “The fantasy lap would include a Dale Earnhardt Jr. No.88 car and a Dale Earnhardt Sr. No.3 car, a nod to some of the most important moments in Daytona 500 history.”

The team faced the challenge of seamlessly merging the imaginary and the real, requiring meticulous tracking and precise timing. They needed a reliable solution that would offer maximum control and flexibility throughout the production process.

SOLUTION
Recognising the need for a powerful tool, The Famous Group turned to Stage Precision’s SP data and control management software and Shield plug-in for Unreal Engine 5, specially designed for virtual production and augmented reality applications. “This was our first big project using SP. We had tested it and found it filled a hole in our workflow and toolchain but had yet to use it on a major project,” explains Beaumont. “SP provided us with an extraordinary level of control, making it an indispensable asset for this project.”

Using SP’s powerful capabilities, The Famous Group could carefully manage tracking, timing, signals, and the coordination of multiple machines, cameras and tracking systems. “SP gives us tremendous control and general ease of use,” confirms Beaumont. “From managing tracking data and timing to camera IO and interfacing with Unreal Engine, SP was the backbone of our production pipeline at Daytona.”

In addition to SP Software, The Famous Group employed various other technologies, including Unreal Engine with Shield plug-in and SMT tracking, to bring this ground-breaking virtual lap production to life. SP was able to accommodate these different technologies and unify them into one workflow. With SP software driving their creative endeavours, The Famous Group were able to bring the stuff of NASCA fan dreams to life.

“The guidance and expertise of the Stage Precision team were invaluable in ensuring a seamless production,” reflects Beaumont. “The end result was a mixed-reality moment where historic cars, that are now either in museums or don’t exist anymore, raced once again on the prestigious Daytona racetrack – live and in real-time!”