You've heard about using Bluetooth in mobile phones, headsets, and PDAs. Now it's also helping to give racecar drivers a competitive edge. The first driver to take advantage of this technology is 20-year-old Daniel Herrington, who signed with the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) this March for the 2006 Star Mazda series.

Herrington uses a Bluetooth helmet that lets him hear his team more clearly and efficiently. It also helps keep him safe, Herrington told us: "When it does become a safety feature is in the case of a fire, when you must get out of the car quickly," which the lack of wires lets him do.

Herrington's team plans on integrating Bluetooth technology elsewhere in his car--to read essential data, for example, without using cables. The car has 30 to 35 sensors throughout, which measure engine temperature, tire pressure, air-fuel rations, wheel speed, and other factors. "These are things that can change during the lap" Herrington said. "With Bluetooth, we can pull that data off the car faster."

Bluetooth sensors might also be used to send data from the driver himself. Monitoring heart rate, breathing, and other physiological stats could be quite useful in a race. For instance, "If [a driver's] heart rate spikes up," Herrington said, "the crew can call in and calm them down."

The Bluetooth technology Herrington is using was developed by Torc Technologies's team of professors and students from Virginia Tech, who are still fine-tuning it. Among devices they're working on is a voice-activated mic, which would let Herrington talk to his crew without taking his hands off the wheel.