Tony Stewart has been to anger management!?! Well, OK, then. The following is from the NYTimes Sports section.

A Mellow Stewart Is Staying Positive. Tony Stewart says he has undergone anger-management counseling, and by all accounts the Nascar driver has been much more polite this season. By Dave Caldwell. [New York Times: Sports]
8:52:28 PM    comment []  

What a race track!! - 2.5 miles and three distinct turns banked at 14, 8, at 6 degrees respectfully. Its been called a "Roval" because its a combination of oval and road course. Because of the sharp turns, low banking and long straights, this track poses a problem for teams. Do you plan to shift or not? Some do, some don't. In the straight aways - man, oh, man watch the speed!! I think this track tests both driver skill and mechanic car building ability more than a lot of tracks. Also, because of the length of the track, 2.5 miles, better not run out of gas!!!

Expect great racing here. Can't wait!!

Let's go to the Pocono Raceway!!

AE
5:11:42 PM    comment []  

After a great race under the lights at Daytona, its off the Chicago for the 3rd season of racing at the Chicagoland Speedway.

Here are the details.

Winton Cup race broadcast is on NBC at 2:30 (EDT), Sunday, July 13.
Chicagoland is a 1.5 mile tri-oval with 18 degree banks- see map.
This is only the third Winston Cup race at Chicagoland and Kevin Harvick has won the first two. Can he make it three!?!

Newbie Racing News

If you are new to racing, as I, then you may have heard drivers complaining that their cars are either too tight or too loose. But what does that mean? Here is how NASCAR defines those terms:

LOOSE
(Also referred to as "free" or "over-steer.") A condition created when the back end of the vehicle wants to overtake the front end when it is either entering or exiting a turn. In qualifying mode teams walk a fine line creating a setup that "frees the vehicle up" as much as possible without causing the driver to lose control.

TIGHT
Also known as "under-steer." A car is said to be tight if the front wheels lose traction before the rear wheels do. A tight race car doesn't seem able to steer sharply enough through the turns. Instead, the front end continues through the wall.

What I take away from this is that either condition for a race car in not good. In either case, a driver may have to back off the throttle (that's gas pedal to you and me) to keep the car in control. Less throttle means less winning in car racing, so it is important that a car be able to take a turn as fast as possible.

Here are some ways teams adjust a car during a race. Again, from NASCAR:
AIR PRESSURE
With the advent of radial tires with stiffer sidewalls, changing air pressure in the tires is used as another setup tool that is akin to adjusting spring rates in the vehicle's suspension. An increase in air pressure raises the "spring rate" in the tire itself and changes the vehicle's handling characteristics. If his race vehicle was "tight" coming off a corner, a driver might request a slight air pressure increase in the right rear tire to "loosen it up."

TRACK BAR

(Also referred to as a "Panhard bar.") This bar locates the vehicle's rear end housing from left-to-right under it. In calibrating the vehicle's "suspension geometry," raising or lowering the track bar changes the rear roll center and determines how well it will travel through the corners. During races, this adjustment is done through the rear window using an extended ratchet. Typically, lowering the track bar will "tighten" the vehicle and raising the track bar will "loosen" it.

WEDGE

Refers to the relationship from corner-to-corner of the weight of the race vehicle. Increasing the weight on any corner of the vehicle affects the weight of the other three corners in direct proportion. Weight adjustments are made by turning "weight jacking screws" mounted on each corner with a ratchet. A typical adjustment for a "loose" car would be to increase the weight of the left rear corner of the vehicle, which decreases the weight of the left front and right rear corners and increases the weight of the right front. A typical adjustment for a "tight" vehicle would be to increase the weight of the right rear corner, which decreases the weight of the right front and left rear and increases the weight of the left front.

(Geez, I thought a wedge was a piece of rubber inserted into the suspension spring to tighten a car. I got that wrong - got to love it though, that's what being a newbie is all about.)

All this a little much?? Well, think about this. You drive a car. And you have to make that car turn from time to time. I'm betting you have developed an instinctive feel for the "balance" for your car. You know if you are over-steering or under-steering, you just didn't know there were terms for this.

Think about driving on ice. You are minding your own business and you go to turn the car, when, the back-end starts to get away from you. You just over-steered -or- your car was too loose for the conditions. Once you gain your composure, I'm betting you think to yourself - I need to slow down. Slowing down is NOT what we want in racing!! (ice either, for that matter)

I think street cars, for the most part, are all very loose. And I don't mean compared to NASCARs, I mean relative to the conditions which we all drive in daily. That is why hopping into a BMW is so much fun, they are tighter - and you notice it almost right away.

Because in street cars we are vigilant against over-steer, we don't experience under-steer as often, but I'm betting you have felt it. Imagine zipping along a back country road. you come across a curve that is a little sharper than you expect and before you know it you are on the outside of the curve. You just under-steered. What do you do? Slow down - again, not an option.

Now - why do they adjust the car during the race? Well, one reason, track conditions change during the race. So, in order to be at their best, teams will make small changes to the car. Remember, from above, one of the ways to make a change is in air pressure. This turns out to be a relative easy way adjust a car because these race cars will get several tire changes during a race, so, with the new tires can come a new tire pressure.

Let's go racing in Chicago!!!!!!
1:24:08 PM    comment []  

For the First Time This Year, a Rookie Finds Victory Lane. Greg Biffle, the 2002 Busch Series champion, outraced the field to win the Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway. By Viv Bernstein. [New York Times: Sports]
11:49:55 AM    comment []  

Earnhardt Team Rides Hot Streak at Daytona. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Michael Waltrip drive for Dale Earnhardt Inc., the company that has monopolized victory lane at Daytona International Speedway since 2001. By Viv Bernstein. [New York Times: Sports]
4:18:21 PM    comment []  

The Firecracker 400

This is a night race and is on Saturday night (7pm broadcast) rather than the usual Sunday afternoon. The broadcasting switches from FOX to NBC.

Daytona is a tri-oval, 2.5 mile super speedway with 31 degree banks. See map below.

To NASCAR, a super speedway is any track, including road courses more than 1 mile long. Interesting to note, drivers don't think of it quite the same. To drivers, there are short tracks (less than a mile) intermediate tracks, (1 to 2 miles) and super speedways (2 + miles). The important thing is this; the longer the track, the greater the distance between turns, and the faster drivers can go. At least as far as ovals are concerned.

The angle of bank in the turns is important, too. The steeper the banking of the turns, the less drivers need to slow down to negotiate the turn. In fact, the turns at Daytona are steep enough that drivers need not slow down at all. In theory, they could achieve incredible speeds at this track. All of this speed, however, can be rather excessively dangerous, so much so, that NASCAR declares this a "Restrictor Plate" race. So, just what is a restrictor plate:

RESTRICTOR PLATE

An aluminum plate that is placed between the base of the carburetor and the engine's intake manifold with four holes drilled in it. The plate is designed to reduce the flow of air and fuel into the engine's combustion chamber, thereby decreasing horsepower and speed. (thanks NASCAR.com)

What does it mean? All of the cars in this race will be slower and very evenly matched, the effective horsepower of each car has been reduced to the same level. This certainly achieves the goal of making accidents less lethal. However, it also introduces a phenomenon known as the "big one."

Because the cars are so evenly matched, they tend to stay bunched up in a pack. If an accident occurs, one driver can take a out quite a few others with him - thus the name the "big one."

And there in lays the controversy of restrictor plate racing. Drivers generally don't like it, they want to race as fast as they can. Oddly, though, drivers think fans like it, because, they think fans like to see wrecks, and some do. NASCAR recently had an on-line poll in which fans were pretty split over the issue (58% were against restrictor plates.) But should on-line polls be influencing track officials?

Here is another side. I think the TV media is at least partially to blame for restrictor plates. It is TV commentators that become outraged at excessive speed and it's danger, and it is also TV sportscasters that need the wrecks for the highlight clips on the evening news. I not saying there is a conspiracy to create more, but less fatal, wrecks. But there is an incentive to keep the status quo. It's just, as a newbie to NASCAR, you and I might want know about this often talked about controversy in NASCAR racing.

By the way, I am not a fan of restrictor plates, there, I said it. But, racing is what racing is... that is the saying you need to learn in NASCAR.

By the way, restrictor plates only happen at Daytona and Talladega. Good fact to know.

Discussion Topic

Here is a topic for discussion with your new NASCAR buddies. Since this is a restrictor plate race, the cars are evenly matched and will most likely see a "big one." Let's say, you qualify somewhere in the middle. Would you chance swapping an engine just to go to the back of the field? That gives you more time to react and get out of the way of the big one when and if it happens. But you better be a strong driver if you want to make it up. i think it will be interesting to see if this happens at Daytona. By the way, i don't take any driver would say they switched an engine just to go to the back.

Just so you know (and qualifying will need to be a topic for another day) in Winston Cup racing, if you swap out an engine after you qualify, you have to start the race at the back of the field.

So, now you have learned a little about the Daytona race. Thanks to Crow for sharing is knowledge about NASCAR and racing.

3:54:34 PM    comment []  

NASCAR has announced that the North Carolina Motor Speedway in Rockingham will loose its Fall race.

Also, the Labor Day race in Darlington will move to Fontana. Darlington will however, keep two races on the Winston Cup. So, does this mean that the Southern 500 will now be in California???

No...the late Fall race in Darlinton will become the Southern 500.

Also...Say bye to the Winston Cup! The Nextel Series Cup!?! Oh, Man what a name!
3:59:38 PM    comment []