Legacy Motor Club Brings Large-Format 3D Printing to NASCAR — BigRep STUDIO Prints Parts for $40K Per Season Down to $1,100

Legacy Motor Club, a NASCAR Cup Series team competing with Toyota Camry XSE race cars, has installed two BigRep STUDIO 3D printers to manufacture prototypes, tooling, and functional components in-house. The move has dramatically reduced costs and accelerated development cycles.

Speed of Iteration Drives Adoption

"I can't afford to outsource and wait two to three weeks to develop a part. Being able to 3D print different designs, put them in the car, and redo if it's not right, is priceless," said Tony Cardamone, shop foreman at the NASCAR team.

One of the first components moved in-house was a gear cooler plenum designed to improve cooling of the transaxle. The component's size and geometry made it difficult to produce on smaller printers, previously forcing the team to rely on external suppliers.

Massive Cost Savings

The numbers tell the story:

• Grille bezels: Previously $1,900 each externally (~$57,000/season for 30 units). Now $471 each internally — a 75% savings.
• Gear cooler plenum: Outsourced production averaged $2,000 per unit with one-week lead time. In-house production costs just $56.93 per unit in material alone. Twenty versions used across the 2024 season cost roughly $1,140 total vs. $40,000 outsourced.

Beyond Prototyping

The team now produces between 10 and 20 parts weekly using the BigRep systems — both prototypes and functional production parts. High-temperature materials enable functional components like the gear cooler plenum to perform under extreme conditions.

"We're printing parts that go on the car and perform under very high heat and heavy load conditions. With BigRep's material catalogue and open material system, we have the flexibility to create just about anything we need," said Curtis Neumann, aero engineer at the team.

Repeatable builds also benefit from 3D printed tooling. Custom fixtures and alignment templates help crews assemble each car to identical specifications — critical in professional racing where precision matters.

NASCAR Regulations Drive Innovation

A 2024 NASCAR rule requiring rocker extension skirts to keep cars grounded during high-speed incidents prompted another 3D printed solution. The team designed and printed the part using PA6/66 filament, demonstrating how regulations can drive innovation.