It’s back to the Tricky Triangle this week. The Cup Series makes its second stop of 2010 to Pocono, along with the debut of the Truck Series. The Nationwide Series is off to race in front of what hopes to be a sold out crowd at Iowa Speedway. While another week rolls along, we’ve got more reader questions for you. If you don’t know what this post is, we answer any and all reader questions every Wednesday, right here. So if you’ve got one, click on the ”Ask the Insiders” tab at the top of the page and send one to us. On to the questions…
1. From Allen:
I’m going to try and make this easy to understand, but back in March I was attending the Kobalt Tools 500… well I noticed about 50 laps in when certain cars went by the engines sounded a little different. Some had a “BUZZ!” rather than a “ROOM!” if that makes sense… I believe it was the Toyotas though I’m not 100% sure. Was this just from letting off the gas or what?
Teams have some freedom when choosing the type of exhaust components they use. To get the optimum horespower out of the engines, teams will try different headers and exhaust pipe combinations. Between that and the differences between each manufacturer’s engines, you will have some different sounds for each engine. – T.C.
2. From Garry:
…another Chicago question…I did not want to “hog up” the thread, so I wrote them down, and only ask one question per week. Why dont they let/make them practice and qualify under race conditions. If they race at night, why dont they qualify at night? PS swamisez … ummmmmprediction…. Jeff Gordon wins the 2010 Brickyard 400 (posted on July 21,2010)
It really depends on the scheduling for each weekend. Remember that very often, NASCAR must fit in practice and qualifying sessions for more then just one series. Also, some tracks have noise ordinances that go into effect at certain times at night. Often though, while they may not get to practice at the exact same times as the race, they usually get close. – T.C.
3. From Tom:
After seeing the fine NASCAR hit Carl Edwards with, I got to wondering something. When a driver, owner, crew chief (etc) gets fined, where does the money go ? It also seems to me that a points penalty would hit home to a driver much more than a monetary one.
All money collected from NASCAR fines is given to the NASCAR Foundation as per NASCAR policy. Certainly points penalties are far more damaging than monetary fines (unless you’re an underfunded driver or team). – Journo
4. From Kate:
What happened between Jeff Dickerson and Kyle Busch? Why isn’t he spotting? I will miss his dry humor on the radio. Is he still his agent? Being a fan of both, I hope it was an amicable split.
All we’ve heard about the situation is what’s been reported. Jeff Dickerson is no longer Kyle’s agent, or business manager, though Kyle is still with Motorsports Management. Was it amicable? I’m not privy to their personal relationship, so I won’t speculate. Dickerson is a very good spotter though. - Journo
5. From KathyCalculates:
We’ve seen the Parade of Haulers at Vegas and here in Indianapolis and wondered if they do this coming into all the venues and whether or not they travel across country in a sort of caravan or if they meet up near town in order to arrive together. It is so thrilling to witness!
No, they don’t do those in every city – they are very cool though. As far as travel goes, some teams require their drivers to run together, others don’t. Most of the time, regardless of company policy, hauler drivers will run with a couple of others. No big caravans normally, though during NASCAR’s run in Mexico they did run in large caravans with police escorts into Mexico City. And to your last question, the haulers are required to be at the track at a certain time on a certain day, usually Thursday morning (for the Cup Series) where they are put in order and brought into the track. – Journo
6. From Jerry:
Guys where did all this talk come from about a triple crown that includes the Indy 500. This kind of TV promotion seems to take away from the importance of our on Nascar triple crown.
I have no idea where it came from – and I’ll be honest, I don’t think the Daytona 500, the Indy 500 and the Brickyard 400 constitutes a “Triple Crown” of American motorsports. It seems to me you’d need to replace the Brickyard 400 with the 24 Hours at Daytona or the maybe the US Nationals. I don’t think it diminishes anything in NASCAR but even if it didn’t make a “triple crown” it was still a big accomplishment for Chip Ganassi, and his organization. – Journo
7. From Sterling:
Hi there… great blog. Keep up the great work I found it to be a curious comment made early during the broadcast about the lack of fans in the stands at the Brickyard and how the commentators wouldn’t be getting into it on air. After they made the comment I couldn’t stop looking at how empty the seats were all over the track. I know times are tough and fan attendance has been down at some tracks but can you shed some light on the Brickyard specifically and why they would reference this on-air with no follow up explanation.
Thanks for the love! Without much empirical evidence, my own personal opinion is that attendance was down at the Brickyard for a few reason. First, and most obvious is the economy. Fewer fans can afford to attend races than in the past. Second, I think the tire debacle at Indy in 2008 is still having an effect. That race was a complete nightmare, and many fans haven’t forgotten. Third, I just don’t think the racing at Indy is all that great. The track wasn’t really built for stock cars, and it’s difficult to pass which means not a ton of action. And finally, I believe the novelty of stock cars at Indy has ended. While the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is still absolutely hallowed ground, it’s just not as big a deal anymore that NASCAR goes there. And I believe it wasn’t fully explained on TV because ESPN wanted to focus on the racing in their first race of 2010. More of a glass half full stance. – T.C.
8. From Phil:
The Chase…I realize that NASCAR is attempting to create season ending excitement. But I hate the orginal Chase, the revised current chase, and the anticipated elimination style chase. Here’s my reason, which may I add, I’ve never heard anyone raise. Unlike all other sports, NASCAR participants can be victims of circumstances totally beyond their control. Flat tires, failure of a part that causes the engine to blow, a caution just after you’ve made a green flag stop, another driver makes a bone head move and takes you out, etc. Under the pre-Chase 36 race format, these should even out between drivers and a true deserving champion determined. With the 10 race Chase and even more so under an elimination format, these factors are more likely to impact and determine the championship outcome. Other sports do have to overcome injuries beyond their control, but otherwise their play dictates the championship. Like I said, I understand the reasons for the Chase, however the excitement NASCAR is trying to create seems forced, artificial and contrived. Just my own opinion but I’m curious the hear how insider’s feel, if you agree or disagree. BTW, love your column!!!
First off, thanks also for the love! I’m not personally against the Chase in it’s current form. The whole reason the Chase was implemented in the first place, was because we’d seen many drivers run away with the title, and guys like Kenseth win it while only winning a single race all season. Nobody seems to remember this, but fans used to complain about the old system like they complain about the Chase now. The Chase certainly creates some season ending drama, which I think is good. I think the elimination style Chase that has been proposed is a mistake however. In my opinion, I think NASCAR needs to get as much feedback as possible from all involved (fans, drivers, media, teams, sponsors, etc.) and completely rework how the points are awarded. The current system rewards consistency, and I think they need to figure out what they want a champion to be. – T.C.
And that brings yet another “Ask The Insiders Wednesday” to a close. Thanks to everyone who sent in questions. And remember, if you’d like to be a part of next week, click on the ”Ask the Insiders” tab at the top of the page and send your question in!
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Surprisingly, we’ve already reached the mid point of the Cup Series season. The Truck Series remains off for another week, but both the NNS and Cup cars will head to Daytona for racing under the lights. The NNS teams are at the beach already getting ready for their race, and the Cup haulers will be en route tomorrow. While preparations go on, we’ve got more reader questions and answers for you. If you don’t know what this post is, we answer any and all reader questions every Wednesday, right here. So if you’ve got one, click on the ”Ask the Insiders” tab at the top of the page and send one to us. On to the questions…
1. From Ric:
When NASCAR pit road Inspectors penalize a team is it first approved / cleared / checked with higher ups or what they say goes? Who makes the decision if a team argues / appeals a penalty?
A NASCAR official on pit road can call a penalty on a team just like a referee or umpire for any other sport. They don’t need to check with race control first. If a team wants to appeal, the official will get on the horn to race control, and any decision will be made by the guys in the booth. – T.C.
2. From Kevin:
Hi would like to know if any progress has been made on AJ’s contract and if not do you think he will have other options open in NASCAR or go back to open wheel?
Not that I’ve heard. I definitely think there are opportunities for Allmendinger in NASCAR – I think he’s worked far too hard getting himself acclimated to stock cars to make a return to open wheel. On top of that, he’s never expressed any interest in returning to open wheel competition. If we find out more we will certainly let you know! – Journo
3. From Lee:
What is the difference in race trim and qualifying trim? If in Q you run fastest, why slow the car down for the actual race? What are the differences in the two?
A car in qualifying trim wouldn’t make very many laps. Between grill tape and air pressures, the car would blow up and blow tires. Race trim allows the cars to still be fast, but also have enough longevity to make it to the finish. The teams make setup changes to the car so it will be as fast as possible for those two laps. That means things like pumping up the air pressures and having little or no grill openings. In the Cup Series, teams can and will change some chassis elements too. Qualifying = fast as possible for two laps. Race = fast as possible for 500 miles. - T.C.
4. From yankeegranny:
What does it mean when a driver says the car needs to roll better through the center? How does that effect the car’s handling? Also, how can changing to a new set of tires(assuming no other changes were made) effect a car’s speed so much. You hear drivers say they were so much better or worse on a new set of tires, why?
This usually refers to keeping up the speed and momentum through the center of the corner. The center of the corner sets up the exit, which is vital to being fast. A car that gets off the corner well will look like it has 50 more HP then a car that exits poorly. New tires mean more grip. And more grip can be good or bad. It also depends on tire pressures. You’ll often hear a driver say the car is bad for the first few laps after a pit stop, but then gets better. The car gets better because the air pressure in the tire builds up some. As a run goes on, the tires will lose grip and slow down. When we go somewhere with an abrasive track (like Darlington or Atlanta) notice how far the lap times fall off from the beginning to the end of a run. – T.C.
5. From Debbie:
After watching the haulers leave Loudon, I had a question. I knew I had to ask you for an answer! Do they drain the fluids out of the cars after a race before they load them for the trip back to Charlotte? Thanks!
Unless a team has to pull a motor out, the fluids remain in the car until it is unloaded and torn down back at the shop in Charlotte. If it appears a car may have a small leak, the hauler drivers put down a product called Pig Mat that will absorb any fluids. – T.C.
6. From Ella:
How big a deal is the switch to a new kind of car in the Nationwide series this weekend? Will it cause a lot of problems or be a fairly easy thing for drivers and teams? Is this new car basically a COT car?
The chassis is essentially the same as the Cup Series COT. That said, I think there will be a bit of a learning curve for everyone, with the advantage toward the Cup regulars. There has, of course, been testing done, but no one has a ton of seat time in these new cars. It will be interesting to see them out on track this weekend – I know I’m excited. – Journo
7. From Neon:
Over the last couple of years, TNI has painted a pretty detailed and (albeit anonymous) interesting picture of the professional life of TC (tire changer) w/ just a glimpse of an off-track personal portrait. However, I can’t quite paint a mental picture of the life of Journo (the Journalist) and just what your version of a 20 lug stop looks like. Can you share “and” remain anonymous?
Unfortunately, I can’t really divulge too much about my daily tasks without revealing too much about who I am, or what my role is. That said, I did write a whole series of posts on the NASCAR life a couple of years ago. You may or may not have seen those. I’ll try to think of some not-so-revealing experience posts I can get up in the not too distant future. I’m on it, I swear. – Journo
8. From Tony:
I just read where yet another guy from the Sprint series is suspended for drug use. At this rate there are going to be quite a few jobs opening up,soon! Does anyone think that the use of recreational drug usage is as wide spread as it now looks? It seems that there is about one guy each week that is found. How many guys have been suspended since the drug testing started? Thoughts?
I don’t think this is as big a problem as it might appear. With some quick research I counted 19 guys that have been suspended since the start of last season, and the beginning of NASCAR’s stronger drug policy. The breakdown is like this: four Cup guys, two (ex)drivers, four Nationwide guys, and nine Truck guys. Only three of those 19 came from major teams. Many of those busted are temporary employees for part time teams, which is what you would expect. The bigger teams are able to weed out some of the problems because they have their own drug policies; smaller teams don’t. So out of the probably 1,500 – 2,000 people who come to the track each weekend to work, 19 failures is pretty low. We are talking about somewhere around 1%. – T.C.
9. From Richard in NC:
In a pit stop, would there be a penalty if a car runs over an air hose, but does not leave the pit box? If so, what would the penalty be? Thank you.
If the car runs over a hose entering the box, but the crew fixes the situation, the team won’t be penalized. You usually only see a team penalized when the car runs over an air hose on exit. The rule for this in the rule book would allow the official to penalize for either situation, but the latter is the most common. And all the book says for a penalty is that the driver has to return to their pit stall for inspection. It’s not necessarily one lap or tail end, etc. – T.C.
The last race of the season is upon us. Come Sunday night, the 2009 season will be over. But what won’t end, is Ask The Insiders Wednesday. We’ve got our 50th batch of questions and answers for you. If you don’t know what this post is, until further notice, we will be answering any and all reader questions every Wednesday, right here. So if you’ve got one, click on the ”Ask the Insiders” tab at the top of the page and send one to us. On to the questions…
1. From Nick:
The last time I was @ Hendrik Motorsports, Jeff Gordon’s “T-Rex” car wasn’t there. Do you know where they moved it?
I have absolutely no idea. Was it in the museum? I’m sure they try to rotate the cars in the museum to keep things fresh. Too, the museum was redone earlier this year, so they might have changed some things out. – Journo
2. From Big Mike:
I don’t understand how an experienced winner in all three series of ARCA, Trucks, and Nationwide, Rookie of the Year, 3 Cup Poles, can be overlooked for any job in any series. I’m speaking of Scott Riggs. Scott’s a great driver who doesn’t go around with a swelled head. He’s a clean driver 99% of the time and would do a great job for any team. Do you think the fact that he was man enough to stand up and admit on the air that Tommy Baldwin asked him to start and park has hurt his chances to secure another ride? Let’s face it the last 5-6 cars every week who squeeze in and have no chance of winning are there to rip off the gate. So what is your take on Scott’s future?
I haven’t heard a thing about Scott Riggs and as far as I know he isn’t really very visible around the garage. The problem is there are a glut of drivers and not enough rides. Unless you’re bringing with you money or proven talent (and money) it’s going to be hard to find a ride. I don’t think there were any hard feelings over the TBR deal. Tommy just realized he couldn’t afford to keep running the full races and starting and parking wasn’t something Scott wanted to do. As far as Scott goes though I haven’t heard anything about him for 2010. He may be working on something, he may not. – Journo
3. From Savannah:
Here is a what if question. Since Dale Jr has struggled this year, do you think that Rick Hendrick considered moving a successful crew chief, ala Chad Knaus, to the 88 team for next year? Even with the recent crew chief change, Dale Earnhardt has not improved as quickly as some fans hoped. Just curious if you think that this option was considered.
If it was considered I would think it was for only a fleeting moment. Rick Hendrick is not the type to kill a successful pairing like Chad Knaus and Jimmie Johnson. Was it thought about? I’m sure every scenario was considered, but I doubt this was a likely solution. – Journo
4. From Dave:
When NASCAR takes a team’s car to Concord for further inspection, how does it get there? Does NASCAR take it on one of their haulers or does the team? Once there how does the team get it back if NASCAR releases it? Y’all have done a great job all year and I hope this continues after the season ends.
NASCAR has transporters they use to take the cars from the track to Concord. After they’ve finished inspecting the car you get to come get it yourself (doesn’t seem fair right?). And thank you! – Journo
5. From Ric:
On the #48 team, what is the garage feelings about them. Do they mirror the fans? Is their dominance hurting NASCAR?
I’m not sure I can speak for everyone in the garage, but I don’t personally feel the way some of the fans do about Jimmie. Yeah, I wish the competition was closer, but I respect what amazing things they have been able to accomplish. I certainly don’t dislike Jimmie or the #48 guys because of their run. I wish that on some level, people could step back from their allegiances and see just how great this team has been. – T.C.
6. From Ric:
About how long does it take the winning driver / team to make it thru all the pictures and interviews after a race? What is the longest you have heard of?
The drivers take a lot longer then the rest of the team. After the main celebration and hat dance is over, the crew can take off to start loading the hauler and tearing down pit road. The driver has to stay longer for more pictures. Usually the bigger the race, the longer it takes. The Daytona 500 victory lane activities can go on for a while. I’m not sure I could tell you an exact time though, as I don’t normally hang around for the driver part. – T.C.
7. From Ric:
Who supplies (pays for) the champagne in the winners circle? What is on the bottles, looks like the Sprint Cup Logo? About how many bottles do they go thru after a race?
I’m not 100% sure who pays for it, but I would assume it’s supplied by the marketing company that handles Sprint’s NASCAR efforts (which I believe is Octagon). As far as how many bottles they go through, upwards of half a dozen maybe. – Journo
8. From Roger from Colorado:
Last week I was on a hunting trip traveling on I-20 towards Dallas from Colorado. It was Monday and I noticed quite a number of Cup and Nationwide haulers going west towards Phoenix for the weekend race there. I saw the 48 hauler and wondered what they had inside after the big wreck. I got to thinking about what all of them had on the trip to Phoenix. I assume that a different car is used at Phoenix (a smaller flat track vs the big, banked Texas track). Does another hauler meet them at Dallas and switch equipment and cars for the different style track? There were a bunch of busted up cars after the Texas race that were junk. Sure too far to return to NC and then come back out to Phoenix with more equipment.
Actually most teams have somebody meet them in Texas with the equipment they need for Phoenix. They’ll trade out everything that needs to be traded out and then head their separate ways. At Texas these guys were actually waiting in a lot outside the track ready to make the switch. – Journo
9. From Scott:
Hey Guys, after Johnson’s win this past weekend its going to be tough for Mark Martin to win the championship, but as we know anything can happen. I think we all know the fans are divided between frustration, hatred and awe of what the number 48 has done (again) this year. My question is how do your peers feel about in the garage? Do they feel the same as the fans? What about the drivers? And just to add some fuel to the black helicopters out there, is there any driver out there that could hold Johnson up or make his day difficult enough to give Mark Martin a run at this thing? Ok, I’m caught! I’m a big Martin fan and it saddens me to see him be a bridesmaid again. Not to take away what he’s accomplished this but jeez! Thanks again guys.
Like I said above, I can’t speak for everyone, but I do wish the competition was closer. You never want to see one driver or team dominate a sport. But there really isn’t the hate and discontent in the garage area for Jimmie that you will find among some fans. Unless it’s a freak deal, I think you will see most drivers steer clear of Jimmie during the race. Nobody wants to be that guy. – T.C.
10. From Ric:
Let’s say you have a car that just won a race, it stayed out of all the wrecks, the driver wants to race it later in the year. What needs to be done to the car to get it ready for that next race? What is (or not) changed / replaced / redone?
After a race, cars are completely torn down. Everything from the engine to the suspension is taken out and off. The cars are checked over and then placed back into rotation to be set up again for the next race in which it will be used. – T.C.
11. From Tommy:
I know NASCAR takes the top two cars and others for post race inspections. What do they look for in the engine? Is it just they meet certain specs like cylinder size? Do they put it on a dyno and determine how much horsepower it has? Rick Hendrick admitted his engines may vary from 5 – 15 horsepower. I wonder if Jimmie has more horsepower than the other 42 drivers?
I don’t believe that NASCAR puts engines on the dyno in the course of their normal post race inspections. What they usually check the engines for is that they meet all the specs in the rule book; compression, displacement, etc. And while Hendrick’s engines are certainly a part of their success, a few horsepower over other competitors isn’t why Jimmie has won three straight championships. – T.C.
12. From Tom Gulf Coast
If NASCAR chooses to go with a larger tire, what else would have to be changed with the car? Do you know if its a larger wheel or just a taller tire? I think the 15 inch wheel is about the only thing that has always been the same over the past 50+ years.
From what I understand, the tire is wider and would require a change to 17 inch wheels. A larger wheel and wider tire would require teams to make some big changes to the current cars. Bodies would need to be different, as the wheel openings would need to be larger. Also, I would imagine that both front and rear suspension geometry would change because of the larger combo. Also, fender wells and crush panels would need to be different. – T.C.