Right-rear

In motorsports, the right-rear refers to the back right corner of a race car, including the wheel, tire, and suspension components located on that side of the vehicle.

To understand which part of the car this term describes, imagine standing behind a race car and looking at it from the back. The right-rear is on your right-hand side, at the back corner. This location is one of four corners on any race car, but it often receives special attention from racing teams because of its critical role in vehicle performance.

The right-rear corner becomes especially important on oval tracks, where cars spend most of their time turning left. During these left-hand turns, the right-rear tire carries more weight than the other tires due to the physics of cornering. This extra weight means the right-rear tire works harder, wears faster, and plays a bigger role in determining how well the car handles.

When drivers accelerate out of corners, the right-rear tire is crucial for putting power to the ground and propelling the car forward. If this tire doesn't have enough grip or isn't set up correctly, the car may struggle to exit turns quickly, costing valuable time on the track.

Racing teams make numerous adjustments to the right-rear to optimize performance. They carefully monitor tire pressure, select specific tire compounds designed for the workload, and often choose a larger tire for the right-rear compared to the left-rear. This size difference, called "stagger," helps the car turn left more naturally by creating a difference in circumference between the two rear tires.

Beyond the tire itself, teams adjust the suspension components at the right-rear corner. They modify spring stiffness and shock absorber settings to control how weight transfers to this corner during cornering and acceleration. These adjustments directly affect traction and how responsive the steering feels to the driver.

Some racing series allow teams to adjust the right-rear wheel's position slightly forward or backward on the axle. These small changes can significantly impact the car's turning ability and overall stability, giving teams another tool for fine-tuning performance.

In sprint car racing, "right-rear" can also describe an aggressive driving maneuver. When a driver intentionally makes contact with another car using their right-rear tire, it can cause the other vehicle to spin or crash. This usage refers to a specific action rather than just a location on the car.