Live From Daytona 500: BSI Prioritizes Consistent Testing, Driver Safety With Visor Cam The company is using the iconic race to test improvements to picture quality By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor
Saturday, February 15, 2020 - 5:40 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Embracing a stock-car-racing lifestyle comes with risks. Reaching speeds upwards of 200 mph, drivers face danger at every turn. At the Daytona 500, Broadcast Sports International (BSI) will give fans a glimpse of what it's like behind the wheel with Visor Cams on the helmets of two participating drivers: No. 48 Jimmie Johnson and No. 77 Ross Chastain.
The helmet of both Jimmie Johnson (pictured here) and Ross Chastain will be equipped with a Visor Cam.
NASCAR has been great over the years about having this gear in the cars, says Peter Larsson, president, BSI. They've really gone a long way to make sure that the cars that aren't carrying a camera have the equivalent weights and aerodynamic shape.
MORE FROM DAYTONA 500
Fox Sports Headlines 20th Consecutive Year With FPV Racing Drone, 80-Ft. Strada Crane
SMT Digitizes 62-Year-Old Race With Broadcast, Team Data-Tracking
Fox Sports' Mike Davies and Dave Hill Preview the Network's 20th Consecutive Season
NASCAR Productions Embraces At-Home Production Model for Super Bowl of Racing
Game Creek Video Provides Total Structural Backbone in the Compound
Fox Sports Stresses Audio From the Loudest Sport on Earth
Photo Gallery: A Weekend at the Daytona 500
Guess and Check: Testing Becomes a Crucial Step in the Process
In special cases like the Visor Cam, the BSI team did their due diligence in the research and development lab. Over the past six months, testing was done to ensure that Johnson and Chastain would be equipped with a reliable and durable product.
There were tests where they would put the helmet on a big steel block and drop these heavy weights on it, because one of the big things that you didn't want to happen was there be enough mass or solidness left in the camera that it could split the helmet open in a severe impact, says Larsson. There also was a lot of sled testing where they would put a dummy in a sled with weight and slide it down a 30-ft. path into a brick wall.
In the testing stages, the technical team wanted to make sure that, during a crash, the camera would essentially disintegrate and detach from the driver's helmet.
There's a certain range of motion that your neck can expand before it will sustain any permanent damage, he says. [NASCAR] wanted to see if there was going to be an increase in movement because of the extra weight. So they did an awful lot of work to make sure that there'd be no extra danger.
Some drivers may deem this application a bit intrusive, but BSI reassured them on the effort's intended purpose and gained their trust.
The biggest concern was an issue of liability because there's a big difference between a driver's choosing to put a GoPro-esque device on a helmet and our telling them to do it, Larsson explains. There are still some drivers that say no, and that's fine, but we tried to make [this device] as small, light, and non-intrusive as possible.
These helmet POV cameras will give fans a view from the driver's perspective.
Prepare for the Worst: Development for Possible Contingency Plans
As Johnson and Chastain fly down the track, the chance of these POV cameras going offline greatly increases. Despite all the testing that these cameras went through, a high-speed impact could potentially do severe damage. All Larsson and his team can do is hold their breath and hope for the best possible result.
It's in the lap of the TV gods at that point, says Larsson. In the old days at Daytona, the pit stops, albeit intense, were a little more leisurely. [NASCAR] would actually let us get in and get to the stuff in the car. [My team] does a good job at testing, but it's just going to be what it's going to be.
In case something actually breaks, BSI has a building in the infield near pit row that turns into a makeshift repair shop.
If it breaks, he explains, you can get two bad pieces and get enough to create substantial machining capabilities back in the office. The camera shop will fix anything that we send them. We lose very few [cameras], he adds. If there is a wreck or something like that, the only time we actually lose equipment is if there's a fire or when the cars [slide] into the wall.
Same Sport, Different Procedure: How Visor Cam Changes for Indy 500
NASCAR isn't the only motorsport where Visor Cams make an appearance. In 3 months, the Indianapolis 500 will deploy these cameras on certain drivers on the IndyCar circuit. Besides the car's being an entirely different structure, other challenges come with what would seem a similar camera deployment.
The basic concepts are the same, Larsson points out. Indy is a specific animal just because the speeds are so fast, and, with the catch fencing, the RF is more difficult.
RF implementation varies given the different capacities at each venue. Indianapolis Motor Speedway, for example, seats about 235,000 people and, with the area in the infield, can accommodate about 400,000. Daytona International Speedway, on the other hand, seats about 101,500 people, with a maximum of about 168,000 including the infield.
You go up there, set up, test, and you think everything's all right, but, when race day comes [at the Indy 500], everything is totally different because you start getting all these microwaves that are sitting in the stands, Larsson adds. Since Daytona is a much more open environment, the [team] has a lot more experience to know exactly where things need to be to get a better product out there.
Always Improving: BSI Uses Daytona T
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
09/10/2026
September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026
New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...
08/10/2026
Modern venues have come a long way since the tinny, echoing audio of the mid 20t...
08/10/2026
ESPN's first Super Bowl production will stream in English and Spanish on Disney+, while the ESPN App carries the full slate of game, ManningCast, studio, an...
08/10/2026
From high-school videoboards to War Eagle Productions, the Opelika native is learning how to lead shows and capture big moments
The future of live sports produ...
08/10/2026
The Television Academy and Prime Video have announced a six-year agreement making Prime Video the exclusive global home of the Emmy Awards beginning with the 20...
08/10/2026
Techex will exhibit at NAB Show New York 2026 (Booth 623, Javits Center, October...
08/10/2026
X Games has announced the appointment of Steve Rogers as Chief Operating Officer. Rogers previously served as COO of World Supercross and spent nearly a decade ...
08/10/2026
Fonn Group has appointed Trevor Spielmann as Sales Director for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Spielmann joins from EVS, where he held sales and business de...
08/10/2026
The flagship program will originate from major PG events with a four-camera production, live distribution across PGTV, social platforms
Perfect Game is bringin...
08/10/2026
Innovation rarely happens in a vacuum. More often, it happens at the point of collision: when worlds that have run on separate tracks begin to converge. That is...
08/10/2026
For decades, the production and broadcast services business has run on a familia...
08/10/2026
Uplynk, Zixi, BroadView Software, and Grass Valley have published The IP Converg...
08/10/2026
The NFL has announced the return of the Big Data Bowl, the league's analytics competition, now in its ninth year and again powered by AWS. Registration is o...
08/10/2026
Eutelsat has renewed its partnership with T l diffusion d'Alg rie (TDA), Algeria's national broadcasting network operator, for continued distribution of...
08/10/2026
Disney will livestream Super Bowl LXI on February 14, 2027, alongside the game's broadcast on ESPN and ABC. All Disney subscribers in the United States wi...
08/10/2026
RHStv and Red House Streaming have announced an expansion of their partnership w...
08/10/2026
Gray Media has announced a distribution agreement with TEGNA and DAZN to simulca...
08/10/2026
SVG readers can save 10% on registration and receive a complimentary Solutions H...
08/10/2026
PROTON Camera Innovations GmbH has been named a recipient of a 2026 Technology a...
08/10/2026
Industry leaders discuss real-world cloud workflows for live game production, pl...
08/10/2026
The next-gen audio technology joins Dolby Vision as part of Apple TV's immersive F1 experience...
08/10/2026
David France, Jesse Short Bull, Mato Wayuhi, N. Bird Runningwater, Jodi Archambau, Jhane Myers, Paul McGuire, Amber Morning Star Byars, Holly Macarro, Nick Tils...
08/10/2026
Dynamic panning plug-ins get an upgrade
Sound Particles have just announced major updates for two of their popular dynamic panning plug-ins. Energy Panner 2...
08/10/2026
New expandable instrument boasts full DMNO engine
UDO Audio have just announced the upcoming release of a new, expandable synth that packs the power of the ...
08/10/2026
Two new subwoofers added to monitoring line-up
ADAM Audio's monitoring range has just been expanded with two new DSP-equipped subwoofers, the Sub8 PRO a...
08/10/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
08/10/2026
Calrec gives broadcasters freedom of choice at NAB Show New York We're looking forward to meeting up with you all at NAB New York on 21st-22nd October.
Cal...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Globecast, a leading provider of broadcast, media and entertainment managed services, will showcase its next generation of media orchestration services at NAB S...
08/10/2026
Clear-Com played a critical role in the production communications infrastructure for Rock in Rio 2026, one of the world's largest and most recognized music...
08/10/2026
Sohonet Launches ClearView Rush: A Leap Forward in Studio Review, Built for Crea...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Ikegami announces a major expansion to its range of broadcast-quality live production cameras. Scheduled for introduction on Ikegami booth 708 at NAB New York, ...
08/10/2026
Calrec will be located at Booth 444.
Freedom to choose
The media landscape is evolving quickly, and the broadcasters best placed for what comes next will be...
08/10/2026
LiveU has announced that CRD Audiovisuel relied on LiveUs LU900Q intelligent production unit, with built-in native LiveU IQ (LIQ ) connectivity, to deliver live...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Marshall Electronics, a globally recognized provider of high-performance video solutions for broadcast, streaming, AV and professional production, will exhibit ...
08/10/2026
14-hour package also includes A Remarkable Place to Die season 2 as well as libr...
Live From Daytona 500: BSI Prioritizes Consistent Testing, Driver Safety With Visor Cam The company is using the iconic race to test improvements to picture quality By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor 
