What do NASCAR pit crews and manufacturers have in common? More than you’d think.
Augury’s Beyond the Line 2025 wasn’t your typical industry event. It was an hour of conversations with manufacturing leaders and a special NASCAR guest. They shared real success stories and AI strategies that cracked the code on competitive advantage—and what you need to do to see the same results.
The Great Manufacturing Race Against Time
The event opened with a simple fact: manufacturing has always been a race against adversity. But today’s track is different. Daily cost forecasts shift like sand. Consumer demand resembles a question mark more than a trend line. Supply chains threaten to disappear. Yet some manufacturers aren’t just surviving—they’re lapping the competition.
The secret? They’re giving their teams AI tools they can rely on.
“The manufacturers who will win won’t just be the ones with the most resources. They’ll be the ones who’ve given their teams the power to turn on a dime.”
Purina’s $11 Million Plot Twist
For Joe Schoultheis, Sr. Divisional Manager of Maintenance at Purina North America, digital transformation required disciplined partnership, the right people (Purina’s PdM specialists are legendary), and technology that actually works.
Machine Health worked soon after installation. “We went from constant firefighting to proactive maintenance,” Joe explained. “Our unplanned stops went down, our KPIs improved, and we literally came out of firefighting mode.”
Nick Leader, Digital Transformation Advisor and Coach, echoed the results predictive maintenance can realize. “I think you can’t predict, but we can prepare. In today’s manufacturing environment, everything is uncertain—not a week goes by without fundamental changes. That’s exactly why manufacturers need to start building these adaptable foundations that allow for agility and flexibility.”
Joe’s biggest mic drop moment? Machine Health helped Purina North America avoid $11 million in costs in 2024 alone.
“These are conservative numbers for us, so we actually feel it’s higher than that,” Joe added. “My advice to anybody going into this: you can see the value, but the value doesn’t come overnight. Technology doesn’t give it to you—the people give it to you. They have to drive the technology and make sure you stay with it.”
The Process Revelation
Scott Waughtal, CEO of Superior Silica Sands, oversees a complex operation. Mining sand may seem simple until you realize they’re juggling multiple uncontrollable variables on their production lines—temperature, moisture, air conditions, and more.
“I spent time with operators trying to control this process manually,” Waughtal admitted. “I didn’t do any better than them. It’s just too hard.”
Enter AI-driven process optimization through Process Health and its AI agent, Process Navigator.
Chris Dobbrow, Augury’s VP of Business Development, explained how the technology analyzes complex production data and reviews numerous simulations to make step-by-step recommendations. What does it mean for operators? “Help meeting the objectives they’re trying to achieve over that production run in near real time. That allows for a predictive, prescriptive approach.”
Scott explained when things changed for his teams. “The day I started to see our operators really trust the recommendations coming out of Process Navigator versus their gut instinct, I knew we had turned the corner and were starting to get real momentum.”
Their success so far? A 7% throughput increase, 5% gas efficiency improvement, and lower maintenance costs. Today, they’re working to scale the solution to more parts of their operations.
The NASCAR Connection
The final lap of the event featured Julia Landauer, a two-time champion race car driver now working on NASCAR’s innovation team, who joined Augury’s CEO Saar Yoskovitz to draw parallels between racing and manufacturing.
NASCAR pit crews are using AI to optimize their own performance by analyzing refueling angles and flow rates and collecting biometrics to enhance crew member movements during pit stops. When three-tenths of a second can mean the difference between winning and losing, precision is everything.
“Being a fan of racing is like a sadomasochistic experience,” Landauer laughed, “because there’s so much out of your control. You have to be ready to deal with things happening—people crashing into you, parts failing, strategy going wrong.”
Sound familiar?
The most powerful insight came from understanding AI not as a replacement for human expertise, but as a co-pilot. “I think there are questions about which roles AI will replace,” Saar noted. “I look at it differently. Which skills is AI going to replace?”
Julia agreed. “I really believe that if people can learn to use AI as a tool to enhance what they’re already doing, they’ll make themselves invaluable. In a competitive landscape, if you don’t do that, other people will—and that’s where you’ll start to see a real divide.”
The Million Job Gap That Changes Everything
With manufacturing facing a one-million job shortage and a “silver tsunami” of retiring experts, the question isn’t whether to adopt AI—it’s how to do it right. It isn’t just about implementing technology; it’s about creating cultures where team expertise and innovation thrive together.
In the words of Brielle Fragale, Augury’s Senior Director of Customer Success and Beyond the Line host: “The manufacturers who will win won’t just be the ones with the most resources. They’ll be the ones who’ve given their teams the power to turn on a dime.”
Ready to save time and money? Watch Beyond the Line for more tips and stories. It’s one hour, 100% insights—and worth your time.
