Link is broken, but I never posted the other 60 being taken out of the left side of the car?
I was more excited about this new car for 2013 than I was the 2012 season ever since I'd heard of them testing them at Martinsville and taking weight away. That was honestly a big issue that should have been addressed earlier. Then they started talking aero reduction . I wouldn't expect the racing to be great or maybe even good to start with, but it will get better through the year and by 2014 it should be well beyond what it was this year. That they are finally working on the cars again and working towards better racing is great news.
Then I saw them in person (Ford Fusion & Toyota Camery anyways).. and they look exactly like the street versions. That alone is a huge step forward.
For the bold, they actually ended up adding downforce to the car. I disagree with it personally but they act like it produces better racing. They'll also probably lower the power next year.
The decrease in weight should help Goodyear fix their tires.
Thanks for fixing the link, no idea why it was broke.
I'm not a real camera person. I was lucky to get proof that I went to Dover and Bristol this year period. I didn't take any pictures at Kentucky at all now that I think of it. There a few images on these pages and these are the first pictures of the real deal that I have seen outside of the stock images from the makes. (the #9 is actually just a diecast, but it works I suppose)
Strange . I read on NASCAR.com - if I could find the article - that they don't plan on changing the power this year, but they are looking at it down the road (from a Robin Pemberton quote) so I wouldn't count on that happening in 2013. The only way more downforce can add more mechanical grip or better racing is if the car has so much downforce that it can be nearly wide open every where like the trucks .
Where did you read or discover that bit of information?
Sigh, yes less horse power and more downforce WOULD produce better racing (at the bigger speedways), but only because the distance between one car to another would be less due to reduced speeds. Less power makes a short track race less exciting. Look at how boring the Truck races at Bristol always are
It'll just be a little bit faster version of Nationwide, however the decrease in weight should help the balance of the car, allowing Goodyear to produce tires that can actually be raced properly on.
Yeah, the tires are a plus regardless and the look of the cars is better, but I like speed . The Nationwide cars are visably slower, and less power and more downforce would make them easier to drive.. which would close up the pack, but wait a second... didn't they try restricted cup cars at New Hampshire one year and the #18 lead the whole race?
I want to see them on the edge of control, not this nearly wide open high downforce package
2000 Dura Lube 300. It was Jeff Burton who led all laps. However think of the Nationwide races at some of the bigger tracks, they can provide decent racing. The trucks always put on the best show most of the time. Of course, knocking down the cars 100hp would still have them at 750hp. With them also being lighter, they will still be much faster than both the Nationwide and the trucks, that isn't necessarily the problem.
Average speeds probably won't fall at most tracks. Increase in downforce coupled with the lighter cars should increase speeds through the corner, while the lesser hp engines will just keep them from reaching ridiculous speeds on the straights. It's a balancing act essentially.
The era of searching for mechanical grip is nearly long gone, as we get more into the bigger tracks and farther and farther away from the short tracks that used to fill more of the schedule. 80% of the schedule is now tracks that are aero dependent. IMO it should have been a downforce cut to the rear and side of the car. I do agree with the weight cut however. The reason they seemed to go with the higher downforce is because the drivers and their data concluded that it was going to provide better racing, with less worries of aero push.
It might not be the best racing, but I would like to see more driver skill involved where possible, so more power less downforce would please me even if it didn't open up more passing oppertunities (I know it would do that). I wouldn't be trigger happy saying that they for sure will add downforce and take horsepower, because the cars that they have been using up to now ('13 models) havn't even been made of sheet metal to reduce costs. This December's Charlotte test will be the first to use race ready vehicles . I doubt it will change anything, but I hope that it will.
The Sprint Cup Awards Banquet is Friday night on Speed (8 PM EST) if anybody cares to watch it.. I probably won't.
Humm, be sure to sit high before all else there (not the back striaght if you can help it). Best seat there would be between the start/finish line and pit exit closer to the start/finish line (unless you get the Sprint Tower in the center which is VERY expensive ).
Never been there for a race, but I have walked the grandstands
Good deal. World of Outlaws at Volusia I assume? Find the guy selling pork chop sandwiches in the concession area...they're amazing.
I also agree with Cornys, sit as high up as you can afford even if its not in the middle of the track. We sat by the entrance to the pits a couple years ago but we weren't high enough to see them all the way around the track, we kind of expected that but higher is definitely better.