Fast Speeds Bring Fast Reaction from NASCAR

Fast Speeds Bring Fast Reaction from NASCAR

Budweiser Shootout Recap, Speedweeks Preview, Drafting Explained

By Corey Rose

Well unless you’re a Dale Junior or Kasey Kahne fan (sorry Uncle Clark), Saturday night must have been pretty enjoyable for you race fans out there. We had speeds faster than we’ve ever seen at Daytona thanks to literally a laser-straight pave job in the offseason, a much improved look to the cars and a new breed of racing that had fans changing their shorts. The “Two-Car Tango”, as it quickly came to be known, is a much different approach to the double-file lines from front to back we are accustomed to seeing at Daytona. For today’s article, I’ll put on my Bill Nye VHS and explain a little of the science behind the draft and what NASCAR is doing to slow it down.  We’ll talk about the week’s events and will give you some insight into the release of tomorrow’s BRO RANKINGS.

“The Two-Car Tango” – The name sucks, but the speeds are incredible (206+ MPH).

If you happened to accidentally turn on Fox on Sunday afternoon forgetting that football is over, you would have subjected yourself to Daytona qualifying - the most pointless and boring event in NASCAR. In three hours of coverage, they set two spots for the race. Sorry NASCAR, but this has to go.

You would have also noticed these guys were running 20 MPH slower than they were the night before at the Budweiser Shootout. The only reason why? They didn’t have that second car glued to the back bumper.

DRAFTING EXPLAINED

Reduced Drag = Redline Speeds - Thanks to Desktop Engineering for the visual

The first car in line is essentially working as a fullback by clearing a hole in the air. The resistance faced by doing so puts a great deal of drag on the car, which significantly reduces its speed. Now, when a second car lines up and lays the front bumper against the rear of the other, the train ride begins. With no resistance, the speed the second car is able to travel is greatly increased thus propelling the front car forward at the same speed.

Pull out of line and you drop like a rock. We saw it multiple times Saturday night and even saw it come into play at the finish line. Had Denny Hamlin stayed glued to Ryan Newman’s bumper, Newman’s wallet might actually be fatter than his head.

Newman’s Fat Head – I feel bad for his mother.

 

Instead old Hambone went for the win as he should have in a cash-only race. That opened the door for Kurt Busch in the double-deuce (#22) with the quee-I mean nice guy, Jamie MacMurray, in the #1 pushing him to victory. Passes at the finish on these restrictor plate tracks have to be perfectly timed, and these guys work on it throughout practice all week long. Hambone’s timing was dead on but the double yellow line, equivalent to out of bounds, kept him out of victory lane. Either way, you can expect a similar finish on Sunday. BroNameth Prediction:  The guy leading the start of the last lap won’t be leading at the end of it.

NASCAR Listening to Fans But Scared of Lawyers

With speeds topping out around 206 or 207, NASCAR is sweating bullets trying to find a way to bring them down to a level they’re comfortable with. Frankly, I’m all for dumb-and-fast no matter what we’re talking about. The problem is the “have at it boys” style of racing at 207mph isn’t dumb. It’s asinine and is a lawsuit waiting to happen.

While improvements have been made, we’ve seen too many cars go airborne at high speeds the last few years and NASCAR can’t afford for one of them to land on Junior Nation’s seating area.

Dale Sr. placing Tony Stewart gingerly into the wall. ©Comcast

No disrespect but just ask The NHRA (drag racing for you uneducated ones out there) how a fan’s death has affected them. They now run 1/8-mile runs instead of ¼-mile. The Result: It’s like watching firework duds go off side by side over and over; it’s promising for the first 2 seconds and then you feel like someone pissed in your cereal bowl. If you’re on a Saturday night binder and find yourself up at 7am on Sunday, you can watch some NHRA and see what I’m talking about

To slow the cars down, NASCAR is mandating changes to the airflow and cooling systems of the cars. The anticipated result is that those cars pushing another car from behind will be able to do so for a shorter period of time. Limited airflow equates to higher engine temperatures. Guys aren’t going to push as hard if their engine is about to blow. In theory, this will not slow the cars down when in open air or when drafting. It will simply limit the amount of time they can stay glued together.

If NASCAR doesn’t see an acceptable change in practice and in the Gatorade Duels on Thursday afternoon (set your DVR by the way), expect to see changes in the size of the restrictor plate. This is the metal plate that sits on top of the carburetor-opening to limit the amount of airflow to the engine. The more air, the faster you go and vice versa. We should all be hoping it doesn’t come to that. Dear little, baby Jesus, please don’t let it come to that. BRO NOTE: As of press time, NASCAR announced all teams will be issued a smaller restrictor plate for all remaining events at Daytona. Details to follow…

Speedweeks - Schedule

Thursday, 2/17: Gatorade Duels, 2pm ET on SPEED

-These twin, 60-lap heat races will feature everyone in the 500 field minus Junior and Jeff Gordon because they already have locked in grid spots 1 and 2 by qualifying fastest on Sunday. The rest of the field will be set based on the duel results.

Friday, 2/18: NextEra Energy Resources, 250 7:30p, ET on SPEED

-This race will mark the beginning of the Camping World Truck series season. Truck racing on pavement didn’t make a whole lot sense to me when I first got into NASCAR, but then I actually watched one. They’re just like Mark Sanchez’ love life: short, rough, and filled with young talent.

Saturday, 2/19: Drive4COPD 300, 1pm ET on ESPN2

-This is the one event this weekend I’m willing to sacrifice for the greater good of my relationship with the ball-and-chain. Why? It’s longer and is not as exciting as the truck race and - worst of all - Danica Patrick is racing. That’ll just ruin my mood. Plus, how exciting is Nationwide racing really going to be this year? By forcing the drivers to compete for the championship in either Nationwide or Sprint Cup, we’re left with amateur hour in Nationwide. While it’ll serve as a great feeder series much like the minors in baseball and hockey, do I really want to watch a buncha nobodies go around the same track I’m going to watch the big boys go around on Sunday? That’s just me though.

Sunday, 2/20: The Great ‘Merican Race, 1pm ET on FOX

-200+mph bumper to bumper, 43 cars, Darrell Waltrip & Jeff Hammond commentary, Crank It Up, and a moment of silence through lap 3 as a tribute to the only Earnhardt that matters. Need I say more?

BRO RANKINGS: DAYTONA EDITION

Corey Rose and Uncle Clark will post their BRO RANKINGS for this weekend’s race. Check back Thursday Afternoon.