The COT is designed as a cost cutting measure really, I like the fact that they are adding a wing as opposed to a small spoiler, the splitters will be a good idea.
Offtopic : Why do NASCAR have 43 starters? Surely they could run more at the bigger tracks ...
IIRC they limit the number of drivers due to the number of pit stalls at each track. Some tracks use to only have 39 or 41 pit stalls and it made it difficult to have bigger fields. But it could be like that to keep it competitive because only 20-30 have the equipment to win as it is now.
you are correct, they made it a standard 43 because thats the min amount (other than dover, where they use one pit stall for two cars untill the first car drops out, that pit road is being redesigned soon)
It's a policing agent as well. The inspection process includes something called "The Claw" which measures points across and around the car to ensure the shape hasn't been touched.
It is sort of a shame really, as each car is really the same, and the engineering creativity is being removed. The most recent Hendrick pentalties are a sign of this. Hendrick's modifications were not explicitly against the rules, but they were penalized for trying to come up with new ways for creating front DF. For the past year+, if you come up with something outside the rules, it will be treated as against the rules. Which is a shame.
That's not really a shame IMO. The harder they police the rules, the more creative you have to be. Nascar has always tried to keep the field of teams as close and competitive as possible. They don't want one or two teams to dominate the rest of the competitors. When Roush had all 5 cars doing very well you noticed Nascar making a restriction of only having 4 teams per organization. The penalties they gave the 2 Hendrick cars were totally correct. Nascar gives the specs of the shape of the car that they want each team to use. If a team changes the body, what was the point in Nascar giving the specs? They crack down on those "creative ideas" so they don't continue and pollute the sport.
If anything is a shame it is how the chevy's are so dominant.
PMD basically summed it up. Well, technically that's what stock car racing is. Nascar isent the only one who does that. Otherwise it wouldn't be "stock" if engineering creativity are allowed.
They dont want NASCAR to be something like F1 where one team dominates the entire sport.
You are missing the point here. NASCAR provides a set of rules for the teams to build the cars. Engineers are supposed to build cars within the rules, but find ways to increase the performance of the cars (loopholes).
NASCAR has (in the past) revised rules to deal with the creativity and ingenuity of the teams improving the cars. But now, teams that come up with allowable (by the rules) modifications are being called "cheaters" and harshly punished and fined.
If this keeps up, NASCAR will just build 43 generic nameless cars themselves and distribute them at each race weekend.
This is just what they did for the International Race of Champions (IROC) series. And, oh wait, that series just completely died.
Competition yes.
Taking the engineer and team out of the equation, bass ackwards.
I can see your argument but i seriously doubt that it'll come to that. As for the "cheaters" the modification are allowed but it's on a small scale. They dont exactly take the engineer and team out of the equation. They just play a smaller scale. Here I'll give you an example. Can you honestly say that the cars from Hendrick Motorsports (#24, #48) and the cars from Front Row Motorsports (#34 #37) are the same??? They are not even remotely identical (except for the chassis). Hendrick engines can zoom past a freight train in Talladega, while Front Row engines can barely finish a race without blowing up.
In fact, Hendrick's engineers as so strong that a few weeks ago at Darlington (a track that's tough on engines) with the race winding down (20 laps or so) Jeff Gordon's car started to overheat and steam started shooting out of the radiator. That's a sure sign that the car's close to blowing up. And yet he WON the race without blowing up, in fact he even did doughnuts with the car still steaming. Other's weren't so luck, Dave Blaney and David Gilliland both blew up with a few laps to go.
Engineers and the team are allowed to do their stuff, it's just not as much as other forms of racing discipline.
As for evening the field. It's not exactly "evened". There are still a few cars who dominate (or come close to dominating) and others who cant even race half way without encountering some kind of mechanical problem. However, both the oval tracks and the "stock" format stop one team from leading the entire race. (It still does happen but not as often as F1).
The engine programs vary, and probably will continue for some time.
My point simply was this:
NASCAR has a template the teams must build their car bodies to conform to. It is measured on many points around the shell of the car. The Hendrick cars fit the template on all the points of being measured around the car.
The pentalty was unjustly harsh as the rules (car meeting the template) were not broken. NASCAR is just making it up as they go along. The Right thing to do would have been make the 24,48 use their backup cars, and revise the rules after the race to clairify.
(i really dislike the 24 & 48 btw, but NASCAR is pretty dumb for the way they handle these things)
Anywho, 80% chance of Rain sunday in France! Rain GP FTW!!!!!!!!
Hmm interesting, the majority thought that NASCAR penalties are too lax. (Remember the Kurt Busch/Tony Steward incident).
Anyway, I dont think it's too harsh. But that's just me. But if you think so, that's alright. However, I dont share the same feeling that Nascar is "making up" the rules. I mean when Morgan Shepard (#89 i think in 2004 or 2005) got penalized for the same reason and sent back to the field no one cared but when the #24, #48 get penalized they get million of flak.
