From the Nascar page, Testing at Daytona,
" But the top speed of 206.058 mph was set 90 minutes into the afternoon session by Kurt Busch, working in tandem with his regular drafting partner, Regan Smith. Busch hit 210.9 mph down the backstretch. "
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From the Nascar page, Testing at Daytona,
" But the top speed of 206.058 mph was set 90 minutes into the afternoon session by Kurt Busch, working in tandem with his regular drafting partner, Regan Smith. Busch hit 210.9 mph down the backstretch. "
Man, they are flying!!!! Didn't take the engine shops long to figure out the fuel injection, huh???
They were already talking last night about it.....
I was thinking "it" while I was postin' last night! :LOL: (your up early!)
Yeah, busy weekend.... Listened to some stuff on NASCAR radio as well as the tube stuff from Daytona... I did like the way that big pack of cars worked in testing, wonder if they'll be back in a pack or paired up for Daytona? Guess we'll know for sure when the twin qualifiers hit--til then I don't thing anyone is going to 'tell all' about the injection or body mods.....
they were talking about the different restrictor plates---are they still doing carbs for this race??
no, they're running a plate under the throttle body.... and already considering down sizing it!!! 210 on the straights yesterday, probably faster today....
I actually like the paired racing more than the big pack. Just as many accidents it seems but more lead changing.
I'm thinking they'll squeeze'em down to 190 or close to it... just guessin... 8-)
I enjoyed the interviews after the test sessions were over today..... all the driver's were 'content' with the way the car ran, the crew chief's all had a lot of data to analyze. Kind of resembled a Liar's Club conference, don't think anyone was showing everything they had! Could be a very interesting Speed Week with all the changes this year. NASCAR seemed confident they could hold the qualifying speeds in the 195 range, which is still like 207-210 on the back chute. If tech would choose to block off the cooling on the right side, the two car deal could be over and back to a big pack, hope they work out something in the middle so that 3 or 4 really first rate cars and drivers can do a break-away, then see who's smart enough to run them down!!!!!
That there is a sure bet! Ain't it? LOL..
I ain't so sure about taking a step back to the big block(s) of cars stuck in a line and everyone being content cause you never know how far back you'll fall. At least with 2 cars paired up, even the nobody's had / have a chance to get up front cause they only need 1 guy to hook up with. It worked for the rookie in the 21 last year!
I'm thinking we're going to see some 10 and 12 car packs (maybe more) in the Twin 125's til the last fuel stop. After that I think the 2 cars paired up is probably going to be the fast way home.... I noticed the oil cooler intakes were all on the right front this year, suppose then the 2nd car in the pairs can slide a couple feet up and cool the engine, then drop back in line. If they drop left, it loosens the car in front of them terribly!!! Why's that???
Your a couple steps ahead of me as I haven't started following it serious til now. I can't respond about the looseness but find it strange as last years cars could swing over to either side to get air to the radiator.
I noticed the loose deal 3 or 4 times today, Gordon had Johnson go left about half the width of the car, then with no bumping at all Gordon was loose from the dogleg all the way to turn one. They changed spots and the same thing happened with Johnson in front. Then yesterday it was the same deal a few times with the 11 car, then today the 5 car had somebody drop inside on him and had the tail hanging way out all the way thru 3 and into 4!!!!
Also, just like last year, whenever they were 3 wide the poor dude in the middle was way big loose!!!! Fun to watch, but I wouldn't want to be there!
Well.. as long as it was only the GM's... Should be fine!:LOL:
I don't remember any changes to the bodies for this year.. but, maybe nascar did something and it's just now showing up. :confused:
The 3 wide is always a scary deal but I think that sometimes the paired cars handle the deal better than a huge block of cars. I watched a few teams last year drive up and through the middle.
This just in from NASCAR,
Teams will receive a smaller restrictor plate with an opening of 29/32nd of an inch, down from 15/16ths, to decrease the amount of air intake to the engine. The radiator opening was shrunk from 3.5-by-18 inches to 2-by-20 inches, or from 63 square inches to 40. And the pressure relief valve is now 21 pounds per square inch from the 25psi they used Friday.
So that should slow'em down and tighten'em up!
That's scary! :eek: but I'm sure they were probably "testing".. :LOL: I'm sure they'll figure it out.
Looking at the other changes, it appears (on the surface) that NASCAR if going to force the cars to get hotter, faster! Less pressure means coolant loss too! That'll break up the 2 cars I'm thinking!
Gotta give NASCAR credit---They sure don't waste a lot of time addressing the issues that come up---and how would you like the job of trying to stay a step ahead of some of those wily old crew chiefs and engineers????? Heck, they'd never try to gain an advantage by a loose interpretation of some of the 'grey areas' in the rule books, would they???:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:
That's a HOOT! :rolleyes: I don't believe there are any grey areas anymore! But we both know and understand that it's the chiefs job to find speed no matter where it's hidden! That is what makes motorsports fun right?!?!
When NASCAR debuted the COT ( Car of Today now right) they flat out told everyone, this is "our" car don't mess with it or else. When some decided to try and slip it past them, they responded with a heavy hand!
The one that still amazes me was Chad Knaus last year being caught on camera telling Jimmy that if he won the race he needed to toss the back of the car into the wall during the celebratory burnouts! But they (NASCAR) never figured out what was the deal or covered it up really well! Thanks to TV for in car cameras with audio! :LOL:
My old pal Beasley was at the race with the NAPA bunch.... Consensus with a lot of the crews after the race was that the whole deal was just a Chad Scam to get the NASCAR boys looking at the back of the car---and hopefully they wouldn't look at whatever it was that he'd done elsewhere on the car that he didn't want them to look!!!!! That Chad Knaus is one crazy dude---crazy like a fox, that is!!!!
With the 'all over' templates on the cars now, there's not even a few thousandths of creativity left for the crew chief and engineers to 'interpret'. Now with the EFI NASCAR will have another way of equalizing everybody. At this level of racing all the top teams have the money, the resources, and the personnel to win. Not so many years ago in NASCAR it was only about a dozen cars that were actually capable of winning a race...now it seems that anybody who makes the field is a contender! When 43 starting spots are determined by a second or so difference in time, most everything is indeed equal and it's going to come down to set-up, keeping up with the track, driver ability----and a big dose of good luck to win. I'd really be surprised to see any one team dominate an entire season again!!!!!
Did anybody hear any discussion about whether with FI the throttle response has improved? From an air standpoint the throttle body over the restrictor plate wouldn't seem much different, but I just wonder if they can diddle with the ECU to get anything?
Pemberton said in one of his interviews that the problem had been addressed....whatever that means! He also said the Daytona probably wasn't the best test of the EFI as most of the race is spent at WOT.. Anxious to see how things go when they actually have to get on and off the power, like Pheonix.....
So Chad was creating a diversion!?!? Cool! :eek: Yup, like a FOX! :D:D
One of the aspects of NASCAR that I actually like is that there is a real possibility that a "small" team can win. Like so many others, I love it when the "little" guy pulls it off. And I know I'm not alone in that as no-one wants Jim Johnson to win the championship every year again!