Posts Tagged ‘NASCAR’

Pemberton admitted the change was made in large part simply because many folks did not like the look of the wing, but also because the spoiler hopefully will make even better racing.

“I think the racing is pretty good,” Pemberton said. “I think it’s an opportunity to change things up a little bit — and quite frankly, the wing wasn’t accepted as universally as we had hoped it would be by competitors and the fans alike. So after much effort, we started looking and decided to go back to the spoiler.”

Appearing at the same Charlotte Motor Speedway news conference as Pemberton. Martin Truex Jr. said he welcomes the change from wing to spoiler on the No. 56 Toyota he drives for Michael Waltrip Racing.

“My first reaction was that it looks better,” Truex said. “Every car I ever ran in my entire life except for the last three years had a spoiler on it, so I’m a little more comfortable with it.”

Truex’s team was among those participating during a spoiler test at Talladega Superspeedway on Tuesday. He said while speeds were a concern, most drivers were in agreement that the spoiler did not cause any dramatic handling differences at that 2.66-mile track.

“I was happy with it. Obviously, Talladega is not a great judge for us, because you go out there and pretty much run wide-open. You’re at the mercy of the engine and the draft, and that’s pretty much all it is,” said Truex, who admitted “the fastest he saw” was 208 mph and that he, too, heard of others who supposedly went 212 mph or more. “As far as the package we used there, that’s the only place we’ll use it and we’ll have to work on other race tracks to figure out what we’re going to use on them.”

“Every car I ever ran in my entire life except for the last three years had a spoiler on it, so I’m a little more comfortable with it.”
said Truex JR.

That’s where the test at Charlotte next Tuesday and Wednesday comes in.

“The test next week here at Charlotte is going to be a great one for all of us,” Truex said. “There is a lot to be learned about the setup of the cars, what the spoiler likes vs. the wing and how it drives different. As drivers, we’re going to have to figure that out — and the teams are going to have to figure out how to get the cars better to work with the spoiler as opposed to the wing. I think it will be quite a bit different.”

Pemberton said it is an important test, noting that many teams already have tested with the spoiler at non-NASCAR sanctioned facilities of all other types and should be ready to use it for real come Martinsville. He added that he expects the biggest difference will be that it may enable cars to maneuver around each other more freely and more frequently.

The Charlotte test likely will put that theory to, well, the test.

“It’s been some time since we’ve had a test of this magnitude at any race track, and I think the teams will be working hard to find the setup that will work with respects to the spoiler,” Pemberton said. “Many of the teams already have a month under their belts; they’ve tested it at various places around the country. They’ve got some experience and they’re not coming in totally blind, and I think you’re going to see what we’ve got in front of us for the rest of the year in regards to the spoilers.”

Joe Menzer: NASCAR.COM contributed to this report.

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The Sprint Cup cars tested at Talladega Superspeedway Tuesday, Jeff Gordon had an answer for those wanting to know if replacing rear wings with vertical blade spoilers was going to improve racing in the series.

He said check back after the test at Charlotte Motor Speedway next week.

Jeff Gordon was asked the question of whether the return to the use of spoilers is a good idea, well,   He’s for it.

Twenty-four cars took to the track at Talladega Monday. All had spoilers on their rear deck lids.

Teams started the day with a 1 1/32-inch sized restrictor plate.

Jimmie Johnson had the fastest time in the morning session as he turned a lap at 196.467 mph. That was 8 mph faster than Juan Pablo Montoya’s pole-winning lap last April at Talladega.

Gordon, Johnson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate, also posted a lap at better than 196 mph.

In the afternoon session, drivers were able to ride in packs and get the feel for how the spoiler-fitted cars performed in the draft at the high-banked, 2.66-mile superspeedway.

The plate size went down to 31/32 of an inch and the teams adjusted the size of their rear spoilers in order to find that happy medium between high speeds and handling.

Robin Pemberton, NASCAR’s vice president of competition, was pleased with how the adjustments went during the afternoon practice.

“We saw that the closure rates were a little too quick in the initial drafting session after lunch,” said Pemberton. “So, we had the teams make some adjustments, including going down on the plate size and trimming the spoiler back some. We believe we came away here today with a good starting point and are looking forward to coming back here next month with a great race.”

Gordon said that because Talladega is such a unique venue, it was tough to figure out what, if anything, teams learned on Tuesday.

“The balance is really what we’re interested in, is how much the balance is going to change versus just overall grip,” the four-time champion said. “You know, if it plants the back of the car too much, we’re just out of tools to make the front of the car work in turn. But we’re kind of hoping that it actually helps the front of the car turn a little bit, too.

“So I’m very anxious to get to Charlotte (next week). This test is really what’s going to happen in the draft. You’re not going to find a lot about balance and those things, plus the spoiler is bigger on this car. When we get to Charlotte I think is when we’re going to find out what a spoiler really does in comparison to a wing.”

Gordon will not have to wait to get to Charlotte to make once judgment on the cars which were tested at Talladega: They sure look better.

“Yeah, I was never crazy about the way the wing was mounted on the back of the car,” he said. “When I envisioned a wing being put on our car, I envisioned it a little bit more like a Trans Am car, where it was raised up, more of a cool looking concept, and also fit a function of aerodynamics, just made the cars a little bit more futuristic.

“But, you know, the wing that we put on there was just a glorified spoiler. It sat down on the deck lid. It wasn’t very appealing. We weren’t really using it efficiently. So when I heard about going back to spoilers, I was totally fine with it. This car looks good with a spoiler on it.”

Jim Pedley

At RacinToday.com cotributed to this report.

When the Sprint Cup and Nationwide series cars return to Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend, two of the corners on the half-mile oval may feel like they’re missing something about three feet of something.

It won’t be an illusion. Bristol Motor Speedway is extending the Steel and (SAFER) barrier 84 feet coming out of Turns 2 and 4,  a move that will narrow those transition areas by about three feet each, which should make for tighter racing at the 160,000-seat facility.

Kevin Triplett VP. of Public Affairs at Bristol Motor Speedway said “We know it’s three less feet coming off that transition. How the drivers will adapt to that, we don’t know.”

“What we’re hearing from folks who aren’t renewing their tickets, from the majority of them is, it’s economically related, and there’s not a lot we can do about that. But we are hearing from a lot of folks who say, Bristol has been known to be tight, and you guys have given them so much room.

“There’s an element out there that loves three- and four-wide racing, and there’s an element out there that would love it to be a little bit tighter. So we looked at how we could do it keeping the element of safety in mind. We decided, well, we could extend the SAFER barriers. And adding SAFER barriers, we think, is always a good thing.”

The alteration, which Triplett said would be completed in time for this weekends race, will not affect Turns 1 and 3. It also does not involve moving the concrete wall, but rather extending the barrier into parts of the frontstretch and backstretch that had previously been uncovered. Some traditional race fans have grumbled about a perceived lack of action on the otherwise popular short track since a 2007 resurfacing which widened the racing surface by about four feet.

“This will take some of that back,” Triplett said. “It will narrow it up. It will tighten the transitions in the turns.”

Triplett said the idea arose in a meeting a few weeks ago, and that the track’s operations team assured management they could get the work done before Bristol’s spring NASCAR weekend. Triplett said he wasn’t sure how the change would ultimately affect the racing at the facility, which has sold out 55 consecutive Cup Series events yet still has tickets available for its upcoming race.

“Honestly, it’s one of those things where, how do we respond to some of our fans and still have what we have?” he said. “We don’t know what the result will be. We know it’s three less feet coming off that transition. How the drivers will adapt to that, we don’t know. We’ll just have to wait and see how that goes.”

David Caraviello, NASCAR.COM contributed to this report.

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NASCAR Cup Series teams  head to Talladega Superspeedway Tuesday, March 16 for an important early season test.

24 teams are expected to participate in the one day session, which will target a number of mechanical options in advance of the Aaron’s 499 on April 25 at Talladega.

Cup officials will analyze the data along with teams’ input and later make several decisions for the Aaron’s 499. Teams also will test spoilers, which will replace the current wings on the backs of cars.
NASCAR has net set a time table for the wing to spoiler move.

Vice president of competition for NASCAR Robin Pemberton said, “It’s a confirmation test for restrictor plates and gearing, and an opportunity for teams to work on their handling packages as we transition to the spoiler,”.

Rule changes, announced on Jan. 21, are the reasons for the test. Cup Series teams used larger carburetor restrictor-plate openings in the 2010 Daytona 500 and larger plate openings are expected for the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega.

At 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway, NASCAR mandated openings of 63/64-inch the largest since the one-inch mandate in 1988, the first year the horsepower reducing plates were used in Cup competition at Daytona. Each plate contains four openings, which restrict air flow to the engine, thus slowing stock cars. Larger openings mean more air, and more horsepower.

This will be the third season that the wing replaced the traditional stock car spoiler on NASCAR’s new car. Returning to the spoiler means on track testing, and another series test Tuesday, March 23 and Wednesday, March 24 at Charlotte Motor Speedway will be devoted solely to spoiler work.

NASCAR made exceptions to the current testing policy at Charlotte and Talladega. For the second straight season, Cup, Nationwide and Truck teams can not test at facilities that host national series events. This year, teams may test at tracks that host regional touring series events, but not national series events.

Nascar.com cotributed to this report

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I’m kind of shocked that Keselowski is going with this without some kind of rebuttal. I feel this is not over In Brad’s eyes, I can’t see him not doing anything about this. I feel there  has to be some retaliation on his part.

I don’t see it happing in the near future because Nascar”s eyes will be watching.

Mike Hembree: at Speed Tv wrote this report.

Driver Brad Keselowski expressed support for NASCAR Tuesday after the sanctioning body announced its decision to place driver Carl Edwards on a three-race probation  for his role in a late-race accident Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Edwards bumped Keselowski with two laps remaining in the race, sending Keselowski’s car high into the air before it slammed to the race surface on its roof.

“I support NASCAR in the decision they communicated today,” Keselowski said in a statement released Tuesday afternoon. “They are not in an enviable position when it comes to these matters, but they do an outstanding job. The unfortunate part about what happened on Sunday is that it has overshadowed a win (by his teammate, Kurt Busch) and an overall solid performance by Penske Racing at Atlanta.”

Edwards could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

NASCAR’s decision appears to leave drivers with a lot of room to maneuver under and around the rules of the game in deciding how to deal with confrontation.

The line that NASCAR says drivers can’t cross remains rather ill-defined, in other words.

“If you draw a line in the sand, then you’re saying you can do everything up to that line and it’s OK, but anything over that, it’s not,” driver David Reutimann said Tuesday during a teleconference after NASCAR’s announcement. “I don’t think you can do that. It’s not a perfect system, nor will it ever be.

“We’re a bunch of emotional guys out there, and sometimes when we put the helmet on … some of us don’t always think as clearly as we probably ought to, especially myself.

“It’s complicated, and I would not want to have NASCAR’s job in this deal. But I think they’ve done a good job with this, with the penalties so far, and hopefully everybody can just go on and race and we won’t have issues anymore. That would be great.”

Of course, that’s also unlikely. Boys will be boys, and NASCAR already has told them to “have at it.”

One of the problems linked to aggressive and retaliatory racing is that innocent drivers often become involved in accidents caused by road rage, a point that bothers Reutimann.

“I think the thing that ticks you off is getting caught up in somebody else’s retaliation,” he said. “I think that really aggravates you to the point where you’re like, man, I didn’t do anything wrong, I just got caught up in a deal. Sometimes that happens.”

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