Kenny Bruce authored this quick look at the speeds at Las Vegas' Winston Cup test and asks if those speeds are too fast. It's an issue worth greater examination.
"The cars are going too fast at Las Vegas. At least that's the opinion of a few drivers who took part in NASCAR's test session there January 29-30." Bruce asserts that "No one complained at (Atlanta, Texas, and Charlotte) when the speeds edged up around 190." This, though, is untrue - there were complaints enough that NASCAR tested restrictor plates at Atlanta and Charlotte at a few points during the 1990s; they used the wrong plates in those tests, plates larger than what are used at Talladega, so the result was not much of a speed reduction.
Bruce notes that speeds at Kansas and Chicago are "in the 175-180 MPH range," though he neglects to mention the pertinent fact that those tracks feature flatter banking than Vegas, Atlanta, Charlotte, and Texas.
He then asks "How do you sell (that speeds don't always mean good racing) to the growing number of engineers, crew chiefs, and others" who work to make racecars faster. That NASCAR or any sanctioning body should be overly concerned about the opinion of engineers or crew chiefs over the speeds involved at racetracks is a puzzle, since the sport has more than enough history to know that most of these tracks are indeed too fast.
For stock cars, banked intermediates like Charlotte are not suited to handle speeds above 170 MPH; flatter intermediates like Chicago are likewise not suited to handling above 160. Their histories have long shown this. "Balancing speed and competition is a delicate matter and slowing the cars down isn't always the answer," writes Bruce. It is astonishing to read someone assert that slowing the cars down isn't always the answer.
Where has slowing the cars down ever hurt the competition? Daytona and especially Talladega have been much better races at speeds 30 MPH below what the cars are capable of, and to think other tracks likewise won't see improved racing with substantially slower speeds is preposterous.
Racing is not about speed. It is about lead changes - competition. Charlotte won't suffer with 35-second laps; Pocono won't suffer with 59-second laps; Vegas won't suffer with 35-second laps.
3 comments:
I agree with you, the speed on the track is a mute point, FranceCar ought to figure this out!
The worrisome part is FranceCar lets itself get bullied to a disturbing extent.
Good points all around.
I am not a 'motorhead' in terms of fully understanding how the engines get their horsepower, but I have said for a couple of years now that Nascar should get away from the Carb engine and go with a fuel injected engine. Not only in the long run it can be more cost effective, but also a 'better' way for the governing body to control or limit speeds at certain tracks without sacrificing engine performance they way plates do.
a good example is the IRL races at TMS (speeds controled with a larger rear wing, and'dailed' down fuel injection)
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