Deal making at the restrictor plate tracks is not a new phenomenon. The drivers are constantly working through spotters and crew chiefs to find that always important “dancing partner.” In this new era of the tandem draft however, finding the right guy to work with most likely will mean the difference between a chance at winning and running in the back. As important as these deals are however, believing that the drivers have already found their partner is ludicrous. Any deals made before the race aren’t worth the paper they weren’t written on.
Why am I calling BS on these deals? Because once the green flag drops, all that talk goes out the window. Especially from the beginning of the race, the drivers’ drafting partners will be limited by who they qualify near. If driver X qualifies on the pole, and his pre-planned drafting partner starts 35th, there’s no way that deal happens. That’s not to say that those two may not hook up later in the race, but it certainly won’t happen at the start. You can be sure that once the field is across the line, guys will start pairing up almost immediately, deal or no deal.
Now, where deal making will really matter is after qualifying. If teammates or other possible partners qualify near each other, than those initial deals can be worked out. And obviously guys will try and work together as much as possible through the race, but pit stops and cautions will play a role in who is able to actual stay working together.
Since we are talking about pit stops I also want to point out that drafting partners, while certainly vital at speed, will also be very important for pit stops. Since there are no big packs anymore, drivers can’t just pit with everyone else and expect to stay with the field. If they don’t make a deal and pit with their partner, they risk losing the draft and going laps down.
As the weekend progresses, you will no doubt hear plenty about all the deals made and broken. And you can be sure the drivers will be burning up those radios and their new found ability to talk to multiple drivers, both inside and outside their own teams.
TheNASCARInsiders.com Follow the Insiders on Twitter or be a fan on Facebook!
Love it or hate it, restrictor plate racing has created some ridiculously close finishes over the years. This last weekend at Talladega was just another example. Why? Because choking off the engines levels the playing field. Squeezing a restrictor plate in between the carburetor and intake has certainly slowed the cars down, but in the process it has also spawned a level of parity that we don’t see at any other race track. Underdogs and back markers are suddenly not so. And guys like Trevor Bayne and Dave Blaney become stories.
To this point in 2011, we’ve run two of the four plate races for the season. And through those two races, only three drivers have finished in the top ten in both: Carl Edwards, Mark Martin… and David Gilliland. Wha?! Yep, that’s not a typo. David frickin’ Gilliland. Driving the under supported, we can’t afford sticker tires, #34 Ford for Front Row Motorsports, Gilliland is suddenly a contender at plate tracks. In both events he qualified in the 39th position, but was able to stay out of trouble and draft his way to the front. And the restrictor plate on his engine made it possible.
One of the more interesting story lines from Sunday’s Aaron’s 499 was that of Dave Blaney. Blaney drives the #36 for Tommy Baldwin Racing, where usually he has to pull off the track early in races with perfectly good race cars. With very few sponsors, TBR and Blaney are forced to start and park so they can afford to race full events here and there. At ‘Dega, they brought Golden Corral on board and had one of their best days to date. While the possibility of a good finish was ruined by a spin off the nose of Kurt Busch’s car late in the race, Blaney ran up front and was even able to lead 21 laps. There are no moral victories, but what happened to Blaney and TBR would be the closest thing to one. Hopefully it helps them secure more funding for future races.
The opportunities that plate racing provides are not just limited to the Cup Series. Joe Nemechek was able to work with another underdog, Mike Wallace, and fight his way back from being a lap down to finish third in the NNS race at Talladega. Wallace was also on his way to having a season making day, but was the main victim of the last lap crash that resulted in his car taking a tumble down the backstretch.
When we head to Daytona in July, you can be sure that you’ll hear the usual from the media about tandem drafts, deal making, and spotters. But by the end of the weekend, there is a good chance that the story of an underdog driver will be part of the headlines. And it will all be because of a thin piece of aluminum.
Filed under: Denny Hamlin, Sprint Cup, NASCAR
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
If there is one thing we’ve heard about this weekend’s race at Talladega, it’s that it will be unpredictable. The COT combined with the restrictor plate and the current rules package means the cars will run around the 2.66 mile superspeedway in tight packs. And tight packs often mean big wrecks. What I don’t really understand, is why all of a sudden it seems as if “Talladega” and “Daytona” have become four letter words.
While I’m certainly not a fan of wrecks of any kind (big or small), I do enjoy the racing at the superspeedways. Having the entire field running right together, lap after lap, has always been exciting to me. The thought that literally everyone has a decent shot to win (see Brad Keselowski), coupled with the 200mph chess game that goes on for 500 miles really makes for great racing in my opinion.
Some have argued that because races at these tracks are so unpredictable, and that the drivers don’t have as much control, maybe Talladega shouldn’t be in the Chase. With crashes being common here, this race could theoretically end a driver’s chances of winning the championship. But, I would contend that the fact that we have no idea what will happen is exactly why this race should be in the Chase. Right now, only Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick sit within 100 points of leader Jimmie Johnson, but bad finishes by all three could put everyone from fourth to tenth right back in the hunt. Now that would be excitement.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t watch sports of any kind because I want to see finishes that are easily predictable. If the favorites won all the time, no sport would be fun, interesting, or entertaining to watch. We want to see good racing, upsets, and crazy finishes. As ESPN’s Chris Berman says, “that’s why they play the game.”
With all that is on the line this weekend, I believe we could be in for a great race. We’ve got a very tight championship battle, along with plenty of non-Chasers who are hungry for a win, and that combined with the madness that is Talladega and we’ve got a recipe for a real wild card weekend.
With the first off weekend of the season in the rear view, we head to Thunder Valley this week. The Cup cars are getting some spoiler testing in before they leave for Bristol, and while they do we have more 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:
TC, when you are (un)tightening lugs, what is it you look for, feel for, listen for, etc. before you move on to the next?
It’s really all about feel. When you go to your local tire shop, you can hear what an impact sounds like when the lugnuts are really tight. That noise is the gun ratcheting over. For the good changers, you will never hear the gun ratchet over like that. We just want to stay on the nuts long enough that they are just tight. Don’t stay on long enough, and they will be loose, stay on too long, and you won’t be able to get them off on the next stop. After you’ve been doing pitstops for several years, your brain and your hands just know when to move to the next. – T.C.
2. From Lee:
I know that the drivers get to fly in private jets to and from races. What about the crew? Do they fly commercial or ride in the hauler? Do they usually travel together, or are they on their own to make it to the racetrack?
It depends on the team. Some teams have their guys fly commercial, others have private jets they fly their teams on. TC has actually written a couple of posts on the subject here and here (this one includes links to pictures of team planes). Teams like Roush, Hendrick, RCR, etc all have planes (Roush actually has 2 Boeing 727s); teams like Front Row fly commercial. For smaller teams, when the track is within driving distance, they’ll often make their guys drive – this is especially the case in lower series. They don’t ride in the truck though, they take vans. – Journo
3. From djones:
My question is regarding templates. In LV Robby Gordon’s car didn’t fit the template. If he has same at shop, why didn’t it? Same thing happened to JJ Cobb in ATL. Template didn’t fit. BTW, I don’t know which ones they were. Can templates get warped somehow? Does hot/cold affect them? Are any tolerances allowed? Thanks TC & Journo.
Templates are made of aluminum, and while I don’t know the chemical properties of aluminum, I don’t believe they really distort. Whenever cars are run through templates though, they are always in the shade. There are certain areas that NASCAR will let teams slide on if the template doesn’t quite fit. They may pass you, but tell you to fix it for next week. On top of that, NASCAR does allow for some tolerances on templates. If you ever make it to a track like Daytona, where the inspection areas are visible, you will see the officials use a small gauge that measures the tolerance between the template and the body. – T.C.
4. From Rick:
I’m a huge fan of Bill Elliott. Is he very respected in the garage and If given a good car, do you think he could win again?
My answer is yes and probably not. It’s hard not to have a lot of respect for Bill Elliott. He’s a good guy and great race car driver. While he is still pretty good with Wood Brothers (which doesn’t have bad equipment), I have a hard time seeing him make a Mark Martin like return to full-time competition. Remember Mark, even during his part-time seasons, remained very competitive. Bill has been OK, but just hasn’t had that spark since he retired from full-time competition. – Journo
5. From yankeegranny:
I am surprised that crew chiefs don’t do more to see that their drivers lead a lap during the pit stop sequences. A case in point, if JR had lead laps in the second and third races, he would be in the top 12 instead of sitting in 13th, In the first 26 races leading a lap in every race(not likely, but possible,) a driver could accumulate an additional 130 points, Now that is not chump change in anyone’s book. I want to throw something at the tv, everytime JR gets up to 3rd or 4th during pit stops and Lance tells him pit this lap, instead of telling him to lead a lap and then pit.
All of this sounds good, but it doesn’t always work out that a team can lead a lap during pit stops. It really depends on how far the car can go on fuel, and how much time a car is giving up on old tires to a car on new tires. Lance McGrew isn’t going to leave Dale Jr. on track to lead a lap if there is a chance he may run out of fuel. Five bonus points in that situation isn’t worth screwing up the whole race. The reasoning is the same for tires. If Dale Jr. is out front on old tires, and tires fall off a ton, somebody on new tires will be able to make up a ton of track position. When this is the case, when Jr. does finally pit, he will be further behind then he was before the sequence of pit stops. – T.C.
6. From Richard:
Why doesn’t Nascar make the wing or spoiler hinge against a stop so when the car goes backwards it just flips over and has no lift when going backwards.
I’m no engineer, but this sounds like something that wouldn’t be too reliable. I question whether or not it would work every time, or whether it would work like it should. Likewise a fixed wing and spoiler allow NASCAR to ensure equality among the teams; a revolving spoiler or wing would probably leave some room for fudging. It seems to me, having a fixed wing or spoiler is just a whole lot easier. – Journo
7. From Joe:
Can you give us an idea of exactly where the restrictor plate is located, perhaps using a quick diagram of the car? Also, how has the restrictor plate changed this year? What are the restrictor plate tracks? Can you also give us a rough estimate of the speed difference of a car with the restrictor plate and without?
The restrictor plate is located on top of the engine, in between the carburetor and the intake manifold. I found an image that illustrates the location here. NASCAR made the holes in the restrictor plate a little bigger this season, so the engines will have more horsepower. Restrictor plates are only used at Daytona and Talladega. In May of 1987, Bill Elliott sat on the pole at Talladega with an average speed around the 2.66 mile track of 212.809 mph without any restrictions. A year later at Talladega, with a restrictor plate with 1″ holes, Davey Allison sat on the pole with a speed of 198.696 mph. This season at Daytona, Mark Martin sat on the pole with a speed of 191.188 mph. So the restrictor plate does definitely slow the cars down quite a bit. – 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!
It seems this season that no matter what NASCAR does in terms of competition, they get it wrong. Today’s race at Talladega was yet another example.
During the pre-race drivers meeting, NASCAR informed the drivers that they would not tolerate overly aggressive driving and bump drafting in the corners. Violators would be penalized.
The drivers took them seriously, and what proceeded was a 500 mile, 36 car parade with a little three wide racing mixed in. Jamie McMurray triumphed in the end after all hell broke loose with two late race crashes, one in which Ryan Newman ended up on his lid down the backstretch.
The frustration following the race was evident from both the drivers and the fans.
I think we can all agree that telling the drivers they couldn’t be aggressive during the race was the wrong thing to do. They couldn’t afford to push the envelope and risk a penalty, so they avoided contact all together, and the racing suffered. After the decision was made following the first Talladega race this year, in which Carl Edwards ended up in the fence at the finish, to make the openings in the restrictor plates smaller, everyone involved knew the fields were going to end up being even tighter. In order to counter a rise in the chance for the “big one” NASCAR warned the drivers. And we all witnessed the result.
The problem with this situation, is that NASCAR is really damned no matter what they do. They can’t have cars flying into the catchfence but they must strike a balance and still maintain a good show for the fans. And therein lies the million dollar question. How does the sport make the superspeedway races entertaining, yet still safe for the fans and drivers?
We heard this week that changes are coming to the COT for the 2011 season, and that NASCAR is seeking input from some of the teams and drivers. Hopefully, some improvements to the current car will allow the racing to be better at all tracks, including Daytona and Talladega.
You do have to hand it to NASCAR though, at least they are trying to be proactive.