NASCAR at Talladega!!!

The last restrictor plate race of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup season was a good'un.

The "big pack" was definately back with the "tandem draft" of the last few years now gone, replaced by old fashioned big pack bump drafting!

Dale Jr is complaining... Get over it! That was a good 'plate race!




This is the end of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, again from Talladega... pity they did not get to race back to the line.



And finally the end of the Nationwide Series race... A great last lap slingshot... maybe the tandem was not all bad...




Whether you like the "tandems" or the "big pack", if there is one thing NASCAR can still do, it's put on a great show at Talladega!!

To me the best balance for the Cup Series is a combination of the "big pack" but with the ability to race one-on-one, slingshot if you will, on the last lap for the win...

Don't want much do I?

2011 NASCAR Memories

With the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at an end I thought I would start the off-season by looking back at highlights of this tightly fought Championship...

After five consecutive Jimmie Johnson titles was 2011 going to become number 6?



The season got off to a great start with a new name, Trevor Bayne, winning the years biggest race. Not only that, but he also put one of NASCARs oldest teams, Wood Brothers Racing, back in Victory Lane!

The Daytona 500 signalled the start of an up and down year for restrictor plate racing in NASCAR with "tandem drafting" one of the stories of the year. Two cars have always been faster than one, but this year things got physical with drivers literally pushing each other all the way round the two 'plate tracks. Sounds exciting but was not always, until...



The finish was close but many fans were not convinced by this style of racing, me included. The downside of this style of racing was that the drivers teamed up before the race and decided who was going to do the pushing and who was going to be pushed. It all got a little too planned for my liking. I do not want a return to the old "pack" races where drivers could not overtake, but it would be nice if a driver could race for themselves... then again...



Clint Bowyer proved that even in the era of the "tandem", the slingshot is alive and kicking!!

That wasn't the only close finish of the year...



2011 brought a renewed emphasis on winning and several drivers took their first Sprint Cup win this year...





Which brings me on to another story of the year, Kyle Busch... for all the wrong reasons...



"Boys Have At It" has always had an imaginary line that drivers should not cross, trouble is NASCAR decided that he did! NASCAR told Kyle he wasn't racing any more that weekend, put him on probation to the end of the year and issued him with a fine! He also got in trouble with his team and his sponsors. What effects that incident will have on him for next year only time will tell.

"Retaliation" and "payback" were two of the years watch words...




Which brings me to what will be the long standing story of the year, not a sixth title for the 48 car but the battle between Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart. After such a dominating run by one driver it was great to see that run broken by one of the tightest battles in NASCAR history.



One of the greatest NASCAR Championship battles ever?

Certainly!

Do NASCAR have to work on the product a bit... I think so, but that's for another day...

Falling A Bit Flat

**APPOLOGIES FOR THE LATENESS OF THIS POST - I HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING INTERNET ACCESS ISSUES**

I watched every lap of the Daytona night race, and have been trying to figure out why I ended the race feeling a bit underwhelmed.

Firstly I thought it was down to the fact that I watched the race live...

Not a particularly odd prospect and not one that would usually leave me feeling disappointed...

Until you bear in mind that the race ended at three thirty in the morning so I was ready for some sleep... but that wasn’t it.

Then I realised...

No slingshot. Not even an attempt. Not even given a thought. Since the COT was introduced into Cup racing we have seen the slingshot, the ability to pass one-on-one on the last lap at Daytona and Talladega, make a comeback. Until this race that is.

I have never minded the two car bump drafting we are currently seeing at the ‘plate tracks, however when it gets to the point where drivers plan in advance who they are going to work with, and stay together until the end without any thought of changing, it has gone a bit too far.

When we hear the pushing drivers saying to their partner “I will push you to the flag”, something’s gone wrong. Help each other, sure, but on the last lap it should be everyman for themselves.

The trouble is if the pushing driver falls off of the front cars bumper they go backwards so quickly that they might have not bothered starting the race in the first place.

It was interesting to see Kyle Petty and Wally Dallenbach try the two car draft in the pre race show. It showed how hard it was and how little the driver behind sees when pushing. It was also interesting to see the Stewart Haas cars in the windtunnel, although I would have liked an hour on this in detail, as I am very interested by the effects of the draft and the bump draft with the latest car.

And so the season rolls on getting ever closer to the Chase.

Next up for me, the British GP from Silverstone...

Speaking of a bit flat...

Why No Three Car Draft?

I have been thinking about the two car drafts in the 2011 Daytona 500 where the first car was a "puller" and the second a "pusher". This made for a new style of drafting and for a very exciting 500 mile race!

This became possible due to a number of elements.

Firstly the cars have bumpers that line up perfectly. In the past the rear bumper was slightly higher than the front nose so when touching the front cars trunk was lifted off of the ground, loosening the car up in the turns. The latest generation of Cup car was designed with bumpers that line up enabling the cars to bump draft without lifting the car in front.

Secondly the new tarmac at Daytona! Smooth, smooth, smooth! No bumps or dips to throw the cars around!

Two cars have always been better than one at Daytona, and three better than two. Not being an expert in the field of aerodynamics I am perplexed by why three cars couldn't draft together? 

If the car in front is braking slightly to keep the two cars together, and the second car is constantly pushing, why can't a third car use the hole in the air created by the first two and come along for the ride? I understand that the third car would not be able to bump draft, as the second car would be a pinball in the middle, however I am surprised that other cars, other pairs, were not able to "old school" draft along behind.

 

As the last lap "slingshot" seems to be alive and well, you would assume the "draft" still works, so why no third car?

Were the cars "drafting" at all, or were they just pushing each other to faster speeds? 


Do we really care as the race was so good?

Will we see more of the same at Talladega?

Food for thought...

WOW! WHAT A RACE!

29 race leaders and 88 lead changes... First time all three GWC attempts were needed to finish a race...

Once again NASCAR seems to have produced a 'plate / aero package that produced great racing, and not one tire left the ground in the Cup race.

With 20 laps to go I was asked who I would put my money on, and I did not have an answer. There were so many drivers looking good, so many pairings who could work together and have a shot at it. In the end it was Harvick pushing McMurray on the last lap who made the breakaway. A one on one shootout coming off the tri-oval is what a 'Dega race should come down to, and Harvicks move was a perfectly timed move to end a dramatic race.


Arguably the drivers ability to overtake was too reliant on bump drafting and not enough on the cars ability to draft up to each other, but the end result was a lot of great racing with the drivers being able to race and work their way to the front if required.

"I am pissed"... and so Jeff should be!! JJ's blocking, sorry, attempt at staying the lead car on the low line, was a bit silly. As I have said before, you've just gotta love the openness and enthusiasm from Jeff.

This year has seen some good racing, some drama, some good wrecks which while dangerous and expensive are what fans want, yet still NASCARs viewing figures continue to drop. It was painfully obvious that Talladega was not full on Sunday and Bristol, a track that always sells out, failed to do so a few weeks ago.

Fans want to watch a good show, and this year NASCAR has delivered so I don't think NASCAR needs to worry about the quality of the show. Keep doing what they are doing, letting the racers race; give them cars and tires that enable them to go racing, stand back and let the show speak for itself.

The best thing about rivalries at Talladega?? It's Richmond next... bring it on!!
 

Dull 'Dega?

NASCAR has two issues with the restrictor plate races - racing and safety.

First (non) issue; the racing.

Jeff Gordon has said that these cars suck up to each other... sounds good.

With the restrictor plate from earlier in the year one car could overtake another without being pushed as the last laps of the races showed... sounds good.

A lot has been said about the dull single file facing at last weeks race, the end result of the drivers not knowing what they can do in the pack after NASCARs message in the drivers meeting. Where was this dull racing? Not at Talladega if you ask me. Sure the drivers took it easy for the first 100 laps, but remember this was a 500 mile, 190 mph, game of chess. The first 150 laps are all about getting yourself in a position to race for the win at the end, no more. Learn what your car can do, get some friends to work with you, avoid any wrecks, and then go racing for the win. This is what I saw at 'Dega. At the end the drivers raced as best they could without beating each other up in the turns... sounds good.

Second issue; safety.

NASCAR has to know that they need to go into the wind tunnel and understand why these cars are getting so airborne when they are turned around. I don't know if the answer is to put some holes in the bottom of the car to let the air flow through the rear, and roof flaps in the trunk lid to let the air out of the back of the car, or if more is needed, but we have to believe that NASCAR is burning the midnight oil getting their heads around this issue.

Otherwise in terms of safety, the current Cup car has lived up to its expectations and nobody can argue with that.

So again, I don't think this package is as broken as most are making out.

If my last name was Helton, or France I would put the bigger plate from earlier in the year back on the cars as it gave the drivers the ability to pass one on one. I would stick to my guns with the yellow line and no bump drafting in the turns, and I would spend the next few weeks in the wind tunnel trying to keep these cars on the ground.

This might give us good old fashioned plate racing, minus the airborne stunts, with less beatin' and bangin' in the turns but with the ability to draft one on one, and slingshot for the win... sounds good?