The Engine Seal App is for a category of engines built by a major automobile manufacturer for Circle Track Racing. The Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) sponsors several Racing Body sanctioned race series. They promote the series by offering high-performance engines to amateur racers at an affordable price.
In the U.S., there are almost 1,000 racetracks called circle or oval tracks . More than 60% of them have a dirt racing surface. They are either half or one mile per lap.
The OEM offers all the racers identical engines previously calibrated and certified for fixed output of torque and horsepower in promoting these races.
Because all racing is competitive, the OEM seals each engine after certification to prevent unfair tampering by modifying the engine to gain an advantage over other racers.
Sealing is in four critical sections of the engine. A knowledgeable racer or mechanic would need to gain access to at least one section to facilitate a modification. Those four sections are cylinder head, intake manifold, oil pan, and front cover.
After the engine is certified and calibrated, factory-installed bolts are removed in two locations for each of these four critical sections. Installed in their place are special tamper-proof assemblies. Each assembly consists of a bolt, Base, and Cup. Each Cup has a unique, highly encrypted 2D Barcode laser-etched into the top outer surface.
After installing all eight tamper-proof assemblies, a webcam attached to a P.C. decodes the 2D barcode from each Cup. The location of each Cup and the appropriate engine section, along with the engine serial number, is recorded in an OEM-controlled secure database.
The Base and Cup of the tamper-proof assemblies fully enclose the bolt part of the assembly. The bolt passes through a hole in the Base before installation and clamps it in place. The inner part of the Base has twelve integral downward-facing metal tabs. The Cup has an inner lip. After being press together in the tamper-proof assembly, the Cup passes over these tabs, which click over the lip and locks in place. Removing the locking bolt of the tamper-proof assembly always involves the destruction of the Base/Cup.
After every event within the sanctioned race series, at least the winning car is subject to inspection by a trained track inspector. The inspector has a smartphone with the Engine Seal App loaded. This App gives him access to the OEM-controlled secure database. The App also facilitates a decode of the 2D barcode on any of the eight Cups.
Suppose the track inspector finds that any of the eight tamper-proof assemblies are missing, damaged, or in the wrong location on the engine. In that case, the driver is notified of the discrepancy, shown the evidence, and disqualified.