206mph too much for Daytona?

[John S]

Nascar to neuter raw speed of over 200 by cutting temperatures.           
Not sure if this is for safety, to improve the quality of racing, or it's just to make a better show?

In an attempt to halt continuous two car drafting and speeds that hit 206mph at Daytona in the Budweiser Shoot Out, NASCAR first made teams blank off a right side air intake hole that was used to direct air to the radiator and oil cooler.The thought process being that the second car would run too hot to stay behind the lead car for long periods of time. 

However the second cars were seen to just edge the nose to the right occasionally allowing enough air to the coolers.  Teams run a pressurized water system and after qualifying for the Daytona 500 NASCAR handed out a bulletin to crew chiefs informing them of a second change that cars would have to run a 33psi pressure relief valve within the system, limiting the water temp to an average 250 degrees from the up 300 degrees that had been seen.  It can be expected though that NASCAR will issue smaller carburetor restrictor plates after the two qualifying races.

Story by George Bolt Jr, racecar-engineering.com, Feb 14.

[Jericoke]

I wouldn't want to run NASCAR.

There are so many things that can go wrong in a top flight 'spec' series.  You don't want anyone to die, or be seriously injured.  You want your sponsors to be seen clearly.  But you still want people to believe that there is racing, and genuine risk.

[lkjohnson1950]

NASCAR has real racing, it just doesn't happen until the last 40-50 laps, after the last pit stops. And if you have seen some of the wrecks you know the risk is there. NASCAR has a phobic fear of the 200 MPH bogey. They are terrified that a big accident with possible spectator involvement will bring all kinds of government and insurance wrath down on them. They will do anything to get below the 200 mark. In the past they have forced the teams to position the spoiler more vertically. added a strip across the back of the roof to break the draft, issued spec spring/shock units to prevent lowering the front spoiler down to the surface, and of course the infamous restrictor plate which limits the amount of air that can enter the carb, thus limiting power output. Dumb but understandable I guess. F1 has tried all kinds of rules to reduce cornering speeds as has the IRL.

Lonny

[cosworth151]

I wonder how successful this will be. During the Shoot Out, I noticed that team mates would pair up and simply swap positions when the trailing car started to overheat. In NASCAR, team mate can be on the same radio frequency and talk to each other during the race.

I can understand NASCAR's concern. Since Force = (Mass x Speed) / Time, a 3400 lb Cup car travelling at 200 mph would hit the catch fence with a LOT more force than a 1411 lb F1 car at the same speed.

The dreaded restrictor plate first came about after Bill Elliott drove his T-Bird to 205 mph at Talladega back in the 80's.