NASCAR Mixes It Up At Preseason Thunder Day Two

NASCAR's Preseason Thunder three-day test for the Sprint Cup Series continued on Friday with a bit more pack drafting than on Thursday. 

That scenario was ordered up by the sanctioning body, which changed the diameter of the restrictor-plate opening overnight from 1/32nd of an inch to 15/16-inch, adding about 26 horsepower to the engines.

At the same time NASCAR lowered pressure relief valve settings by five square inches to 25 psi; they narrowed the grille openings on the cars and, thereby, decreased airflow to the engines. The objective was to stop cars from hooking up and tandem drafting without passing, in the hopes of promoting better and faster racing.

"We did some drafting, which is very interesting," noted Jeff Gordon, the four-time Sprint Cup champion and fastest overall driver on Thursday. "With the smaller spoiler and restrictor plate, the cars have a lot of power, a lot of speed and that has changed things a bit. The cars aren't quite as stable as they were, and we can't go as long (in the draft), which I think is the goal."

The big issue for the Sprint Cup stock cars is increased temperatures with these changes and Gordon thinks that if the teams get the temperature maintenance issues cleared up, "You'll see pack racing all day long in the 500. But it looks like it's more challenging, more difficult.  I think you're going to see more pack racing, more cars driving in packs and it is the 500, so it's a long race. Survival is important and you've got to figure out what is going to get you there to the end," he said."

NASCAR asked the teams to try some pack running on Friday and the sanctioning body said it was for their benefit as well as the teams. There have been plenty of wind tunnel tests leading up to this three-day flog, but NASCAR couldn't know the true results until a group of race cars tried its new ideas on the track.

"Our goal and our responsibility is to try to make decisions so that racing is as good as everybody expects it to be--or better--during the Daytona 500," noted NASCAR president Mike Helton. "We watch the speeds and everybody knows we watch the speeds; there's a balance between what we're comfortable with," he said.

The information NASCAR gathered during the afternoon pack drafting session will help NASCAR apply a baseline when Speedweeks begin at Daytona International Speedway next month.  

Team owner Jack Roush felt the FR9 Ford engines are "only good for about 9100 rpm and it looks like with what we are seeing today, we need 9500 to make it work. That sends us back to work on it, unless they change the gear rule," he said. "If the gear rules go open then we know to leave the engine alone; if they bring the chip and/or keep us with the gears we've got, then we've got a lot of work to do on the engine."

Where NASCAR once felt that 200mph was a "barrier", by increasing the plate size they've opened the teams to running quicker than before. According to crew chief Rodney Childers (No. 55 Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing), "The cars are just a good bit faster but it doesn't seem like NASCAR is worried about that top speed.  We'll get everybody out there and see what the speeds actually look like and without doing a lot of pushing," he said.

Following the two Friday sessions, NASCAR decided to implement added changes for the final, Saturday test sessions. NASCAR's tech group decreed closing the bottom of radiator opening, reducing radiator pressures about four pounds and a return to Thusday's restrictor plate.  

"We're going to continue to work o aero packages and plate sizes and all types of things from now until the day we sign back here at Daytona," stated Robin Pemberton, vice president of competition.