Shootout at Daytona

[Dan D.]

Did you guys see that bump-drafting tonight? Unbelievable!! And....I saw 9800 RPMs. They were saying Jeff Gordon hit the rev limiter. Wonder what that was - 10k probably. On a push rod engine, and over 200MPH to boot. I still can't believe it.
Duke and Joe must have designed their camshafts! Wonder what the torque bandwidth is? Probably about 1k -9k to 10k. Wonder if they are running a B26 VAC? -Dan-

[Tom L.]

Re: Shootout at Daytona

Not sure about the B26 but they must be using Walmart's CJ-4 to protect their cams.

[Stuart F.]

Re: Shootout at Daytona

What they are doing now can no longer be called "bump drafting". When they actually did some bump drafting in the second 50 lap stage, that's when they had wrecks. What they were doing is making full contact by having the front car drag their brakes in order for the second car to pull up tight. That gave them the best speed, i.e, two car draft at upwards of 206 MPH. A second two car draft would easily pull up to the first one with about a 10 MPH closing speed. Very tricky business. The only break away happened just before the end when four cars (two two car drafts) pulled out on the rest of the pack.

I can't see NASCAR letting things continue this way for the 500, or the DUELs for that matter. Even many of the best of the best in the shootout lost it in the second phase. You get the lesser drivers in the DUELs and all heck is going to break loose. NASCAR tried to slow them down in the shoot out by outlawing one of their oil coolers which allowed them to continue the draft for many laps. Without the cooler, it was expected they would have to break it off to cool their oil - they found ways around that too (it was 44* ambient last night). I see a smaller restrictor in the offing. Trouble is, the engine builders are going nuts. They didn't build the engines for sustained 9500+ long runs, and all of the hundreds of engines will need to be redone. NASCAR won't let them change rear end gearing either. As it was, only one Toyota engine let go (Kasey Kane's). There will probably be a lot of lost engines otherwise in the 500.

You wonder why I like living I Florida? Man! We got a lot going on here - both good and bad, but never a dull moment.

Stu Fox

[Dan D.]

Re: Shootout at Daytona

They could not do these 2 car freight trains if they still had the front splitter. I don't know why NASCAR did away with them - they were key to keeping the car on the ground.
I agree that they they cannot run 9500 for too many miles, especially when the temp gets hotter. I think NASCAR has some real problems right now, but it sure was fun to watch. Also, why can't they change gears? They are going to have to if they want to keep engines in one piece, unless they find other ways to slow them down. One other thing I guess I don't understand is how they can get enough air through the engine at that speed with the restrictor. I remember not too many years ago they only turned 6800 on restrictor plate races, cause of the fact they could not get enough air through the restriction.
It should be fun to watch Thursday. -Dan-

[Stuart F.]

Re: Shootout at Daytona

Dan;

They actually still have the splitter, but it is built into the new front facia. It just doesn't have or need the vertical strut rods. I don't understand why they can't change gears except that what ever they use it will be mandated by NASCAR - all must run the same. So, I suppose if NASCAR changes the ratio, all will have to change to what they mandate.

It was fun to watch as it was different. Was it better than years past???

What caught NASCAR by surprise was they had no data as to how the new cars on the new track surface would act. They finished the paving in December, the first teams practiced in January, but none of them chose to test under drafting conditions. So, no one knew what to expect. The new front and rear changes on the cars lines them up perfectly - front to rear, so the concern for someone "lifting" the car in front of them in bump drafting no longer is a concern, but getting just slightly off center movement between the two cars in a corner can upset the "Train" big time causing a spin out, as we saw last night.


Stu Fox

[Dan D.]

Re: Shootout at Daytona

Yea Stu, it was different. I guess I can't say if it was better or worse to watch. Need to see the duals and 500 to better tell.
This makes them really trust other drivers that are not necessarily their teammates, and of whom they compete with. Last lap will always be interesting.

And if you think engine builders are going nuts now, don't forget they have to start figuring out how incorporate next years switch to FI. That should be real fun! -Dan-