| | The bad news this weekend at New Hampshire International Speedway is Winston Cup teams will be forced to use a one-inch carburetor restrictor plate for the first time. The good news? It might rain all weekend.
The topic of adding restrictor plates at NHIS has been brought up more than discussions of Bill and Monica, O.J. or Elian combined. At least in NASCAR racing circles. And I've spent the most of the past week laughing at various quotes from drivers and car owners alike.
Not one person likes what is going to happen. Some have been vocal about it; some have been vocal about others being vocal. The one positive is this open discussion usually brings about intelligent, well thought out solutions. My only concern is NASCAR rarely works that way.
So a one-inch plate it is, and the engine shops all over North Carolina have been in overdrive from the minute the word got out.
A big part of this week's challenge for the teams is to find the proper balance between durability and maximum power with this new configuration. The race engine designed for Loudon will be radically different than those used at Daytona and Talladega.
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The 24 Debate
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The debate will continue over the intake manifold use by Jeff Gordon and the 24 crew at Richmond.
The Hendrick Motorsports and GM side of the story is that they have been using the magnesium manifold for months and the shape is identical to an approved part number. It is the material that is the issue here with NASCAR.
The next new position at NASCAR might just be "Director of Metallurgical Engineering."
Still, even though my mom told me not to jump off a bridge just because my friend did, it seems that if 10 other teams are using the same part and have been for months, the "everybody is doing it" excuse should fly here.
My question is: Have the inspectors all been asleep since the 600 in Charlotte?
-- Ray Dunlap
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Both of those superspeedways require a wide-open throttle with a range of about 6,300 to 6,500 rpms. New Hampshire, which is just a mile long with drag strip like straightaways and tight corners, will probably allow cars to produce 8,300 to 8,400 rpms. The restriction of air to the carburators will lower these power plants by about 250 horse power, and they'll loose about 150 foot-pounds of torque.
The unanswered question, however, remains "Will it be safer?" After all, that's what brought about the change in the first place after two driver deaths at NHIR this year.
With the restrictor plates or not, and no matter how this race turns out, there is still a need for better cushions for these cars to hit in the event of a wreck. But styrofoam is NOT the answer. Besides, there is a much better product already available called an Impact Protection System (IPS). I invite you to read more about this product in a column by Mark Cipollini at www.autoracing1.com.
While most drivers, including Dale Earnhardt, have come to the defense of Bob Bahre, the promoter at New Hampshire, the fact that Bob is a great guy is not up for discussion. It is the design of the track. The captain of the Titanic was a great guy, but only having 20 lifeboats for 2,200 people was a design flaw. The layout of the Loudon track -- 1,500-foot straightaways and 90 degree turns with only 12 degrees of bank, is a bad layout. A design flaw.
What really is disturbing to me is that brand new facilities are being brought on line every year, and still not one of them has built-in safety walls. I can only hope these new tracks will include some type of soft walls if enough people continue to complain.
But back to the restrictor-plate issue this week.
The two vital factors in the "Durability vs. Power" equation will be camshaft design and rear end gear ratio. By restricting the amount of air and fuel mixture that can go into the combustion chamber there is less time that the valves (intake or exhaust) need to be open. That means you can run a much smaller lobe on the cam.
The good news for the engine folks is that means less wear and tear on the valve train, which should create durability. The bad news is this reduced power tempts you to use lighter-weight parts inside the engine to reduce the frictional coefficient and rotating weight.
The magic number becomes 280! The engine requires about 280 horse power just to overcome the forces of friction internally. The better an engine can be lubricated, and the lighter the rotating parts become, the more teams can push the envelope of 280 or less.
NASCAR has a real challenge ahead of it this weekend in controlling the materials used all over these racecars. Al hands were on deck at Sears Point in June when Rusty Wallace's qualifying engine was dismantled and laid out for inspection. Why did NASCAR do such a terrible thing? Because the weight of the connecting rods and pistons were much lighter than most other teams.
How many poles does Rusty have now? WOW! Do you think they are on to something at the No. 2 car? Did anyone notice that Rusty was one of seven cars that had engines expire during the race at Richmond? There hasn't been seven blown motors in a single race in years, at least not since the compression ratio was dropped.
People are pushing the power issue right over the proverbial durability cliff. And this weekend should be another good example of that exercise. | |
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AUDIO/VIDEO
 Jeff Burton knows that a slower race is a safer race.
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Mark Martin knows it will be hard to pass in New Hampshire on Sunday.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Steve Park feels that all the drivers should test the new plates.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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