NASCAR Tech News Page 2

Nov. 1, 2005:

More on Car of Tomorrow: NASCAR vice president of communications Jim Hunter said the new cars were about a second per lap slower than the current cars, a sign, he said, that the new-spec car is working according to plan. "I think we're moving along," Hunter said. "I think so far the tests are showing what we hoped would happen." The boxier car also will have room for more safety improvements. "Safety tops the list of things that are different about this car," said Gary Nelson, NASCAR's vice president of research and development, in a news release. "We have done a lot of things in the last four years to improve safety that are car-of-tomorrow items, but we put them on the car of today if they would fit. You can't just fit a bigger roll-cage, a different frame or different exhaust. The average race fan is going to see a taller, wider car that has been designed to enhance competition on the track." (USA Today)

Oct. 31, 2005:

Car of Tomorrow notes, another test planned: Based on information from Monday's test, NASCAR will schedule another test – likely at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. – where it will check such issues as making sure the new splitter design doesn't collect trash off the track. Bodine came to Atlanta with NASCAR's car a week ago and ran several laps to develop a baseline for Monday's test. "We had a little leg up on everybody. But last week's test and the first laps today, we're real pleased with the speeds we've been getting," he said. "So far, I would say we are right on target with what we want to accomplish." Burton said he didn't find too many differences, other than the new car's look. "I think the splitter idea is a good idea. The concern is, if you lost the splitter. If you lost the splitter, you'd be in major trouble," Burton said. "All in all, my initial belief it's just a race car and we can make it work." (Miami Herald)

Car of Tomorrow testing today: NASCAR's proposed car-of-the-future is to be tested today at Atlanta Motor Speedway, with Ford's Carl Edward, Chevy drivers Brian Vickers, Jeff Burton and Martin Truex Jr., and Dodge's Kyle Petty, along with NASCAR's Brett Bodine. The bigger, boxier car has been controversial, and some people in the NASCAR garage are insisting that it will never make to a starting line. NASCAR officials insist they hope to debut it next October at Talladega, with a full rollout in 2007. (Winston Salem Journal)

New air pressure rule: NASCAR officials announced in the drivers meeting a minimum air pressure rule for the right front tire in light of tire problems at Charlotte earlier this month. (News-Record)

Oct. 29, 2005:

Car of tomorrow be test at Atlanta: The second on-track test for NASCAR's "Car of Tomorrow" is scheduled Monday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, with six or seven teams expected to take part. Among them will be Hendrick Motorsports, with Brian Vickers driving the first of the cars it has built in the new configuration. Alan Gustafson, crew chief for Kyle Busch, Vickers' teammate, said his team will not take part in the test, but have an avid interest in what takes place on the 1.54-mile D-shaped oval. "I don't think NASCAR's done refining it and I don't think any of the teams are, either," Gustafson said. "Definitely, we're nowhere close. It's going to evolve a lot. I hope it does. "The good thing that they're doing, and I like, is that it needs to an evolution. You need to have a lot of tests on it. We'll do different things and take time because our cars have gotten to where they are (through) 50 years of evolution." (ThatsRacin)

Oct. 5, 2005:

More on Car of Tomorrow: NASCAR's "car of tomorrow" looks and drives a lot like today's race cars. But the redesigned car could prevent injuries and provide better racing down the road. Officials and teams tested prototype versions of the redesigned car at Talladega Superspeedway on Monday. Roush Racing driver Carl Edwards tested a Ford, Kyle Petty tested a Petty Enterprises-built Dodge and Brett Bodine tested a Chevrolet that was built by NASCAR's own engineering staff. Gary Nelson, NASCAR's managing director of research and development, said the cars will make their full-scale debut in 2007 but might be used in one race next season. "Today's a big step toward that," he said. Petty said the new car doesn't drive much differently, but he is excited about its potential safety features. The redesigned car is slightly larger, and the driver's seat has been shifted about 4 inches toward the center of the car.  Roush Racing president Geoff Smith says the new car will cost teams millions of dollars to produce. But if NASCAR phases it in gradually, Smith says the cost will fall from "catastrophic" to merely "expensive as hell." (USA Today)

Oct. 4, 2005:

NASCAR dyno testing: After the race, NASCAR took the engines from the following cars: #20-Tony Stewart, #25-Brian Vickers, #31-Jeff Burton, #38-Elliott Sadler, #17-Matt Kenseth, #12-Ryan Newman, #42-Jamie McMurray and #9-Kasey Kahne. NASCAR will test the engines on its dyno to evaluate relative horsepower .(Speed Channel)

More on Car of Tomorrow testing: NASCAR's "car of tomorrow" looks and drives a lot like today's race cars. But the redesigned car could prevent injuries and provide better racing down the road. Officials and teams tested prototype versions of the redesigned car at Talladega Superspeedway on Monday. Roush Racing driver Carl Edwards tested a Ford, Kyle Petty tested a Petty Enterprises-built Dodge and Brett Bodine tested a Chevrolet that was built by NASCAR's own engineering staff. Gary Nelson, NASCAR's managing director of research and development, said the cars will make their full-scale debut in 2007 but might be used in one race next season. "Today's a big step toward that," he said. Petty said the new car doesn't drive much differently, but he is excited about its potential safety features. The redesigned car is slightly larger, and the driver's seat has been shifted about 4 inches toward the center of the car. The changes provide extra room for new energy-absorbing blocks of metal that NASCAR has been developing since the death of star driver Dale Earnhardt in February 2001. The new car's roll cage, a steel skeleton that protects the driver, also has been beefed up. The new car's body intentionally has been designed to be boxier than current cars; officials hope less aerodynamic cars will be able to pass each other more easily on the track. Although teams build several new cars every year, building a fleet of redesigned cars will be an extra expense. (USA Today)

Oct. 3, 2005:

NASCAR issues Shock Bulletin: NASCAR last weekend issued a bulletin tightening gas pressure restrictions on rear shocks for Nextel Cup cars. That was in response to a tactic used at Dover by Hendrick teammates Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch, who finished 1-2 in the race. Their shocks — in conjunction with a softer spring setup — were built to work in reverse by lifting the rear end of the car up while traveling over bumps to create more rear downforce and allow faster lap speeds and more grip in the corners. (Sporting News)

NASCAR and Honda? Honda, long-rumored to be interested in NASCAR Nextel Cup racing, is now trying to hire NASCAR engine builders for its Honda Racing Development operation, according to engine men familiar with the situation. It is unclear just what game plan that Honda might be considering. But NASCAR has provided Honda with Truck-racing templates, and Honda, since introducing its first big truck this season, the Ridgeline, has been widely expected to enter NASCAR Truck racing eventually. (More at Salem-Journal)

Car of Tomorrow testing today: NASCAR will test its "car of tomorrow" at Talladega today with help from Roush Racing and Petty Enterprises. The bigger, boxier car, intended to enhance safety and reduce the importance of aerodynamics, also will be tested at Atlanta later this year. The new design tentatively is scheduled to appear in 2007, but car owner Jack Roush said its debut could come as early as the Oct. 8, 2006 race at Talladega. NASCAR met with Nextel Cup owners at its Research and Development Center last week. Roush said he would prefer a gradual rollout of the car to ease costs rather than rebuilding a team's entire fleet to start a season (Times-Dispatch)

Oct. 1, 2005:

NASCAR sends back Dodge's proposed new nose: NASCAR has not made a final decision on whether to approve a new nose for Dodge Charger next season. Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president for competition, said the nose Dodge officials submitted for approval has been sent back with suggested revisions. If Dodge doesn't accept the changes, there will be no changes to the nose for next season, Pemberton said. Dodge teams have complained the car's pronounced nose and front grille has a tendency to collect trash off the track that leads to engine overheating. (Miami Herald)

Kyle Busch calls NASCAR shock rule "silly": Kyle Busch said he thinks NASCAR was wrong to change rules on how shock absorbers can be built to address the shocks that were on his car and teammate Jimmie Johnson's at Dover a week ago. "The Dale Earnhardt Inc. gang has found something that really helps them on the restrictor-plate tracks, and they're able to dominate," Busch said. "Probably three years or so they've been able to use whatever they use and win races. "But in the downforce races, which are most of the season, we found a little advantage there. It's not that the other teams don't have an opportunity to find that ... it's just that they haven't worked as hard as we have. "For any advantage to be taken away from me is honestly silly."" (ThatsRacin)

Sep. 30, 2005:

More on Hendrick post race inspection, including new shock rule? Roush Racing president Geoff Smith said he expects NASCAR officials to issue a technical bulletin as early as Friday outlawing the trick shock absorbers used by Hendrick Motorsports teammates Johnson and Kyle Busch in their 1-2 finish Sunday at Dover International Speedway. Instead of soaking up bumps, as shocks normally are designed to do, Smith said the Hendrick cars' shocks were designed almost to work in reverse; every time they hit a bump, the shocks jacked up the car's rear end for about 15 seconds. Because cars encounter frequent bumps at Dover, the shocks apparently kept the Hendrick cars' tails elevated about an inch beyond what NASCAR rules allow for most of the race, directing more air to the cars' rear spoilers and creating extra aerodynamic "downforce" that helped the cars stick to the track. Cheating? Not exactly, Smith said. "It was clearly an ingenious engineering exercise, and they ought to be commended for their ingenuity," he said. Johnson's team declined comment through a spokesperson. This explains why the two Hendrick cars failed an initial technical inspection by NASCAR officials Sunday night but passed the maximum-height requirement after they "settled," as NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston explained this week. Officials confiscated the Hendrick cars' shocks after the race, along with shocks from four other cars. Smith expects NASCAR to prohibit all teams from using such shocks beginning with the Oct. 9 race at Kansas Speedway. The Hendrick shocks wouldn't help in this weekend's race because downforce isn't a major concern at Talladega and teams typically try to get their cars as low to the ground as possible without violating NASCAR's minimum height requirements. (In part from USA Today)

Sep. 26, 2005:

Car of Tomorrow teams worried about cost: NASCAR is expected to meet with owners this week to discuss the car of tomorrow. Top owners in the garage are worried about the cost; each new car is expected to cost $150,000-plus. Multiply that by 25 cars per team and the total will make it impossible for many organizations to stay in business. (Sporting News/Spencer)

Sep. 19, 2005:

Teams are waiting on templates: Teams are concerned because NASCAR hasn't given them all of the templates for what's generally referred to as the car of tomorrow. Tests of the car are set for the Monday after the races at Talladega (October 2) and Atlanta (October 30). Organizations with in-house chassis programs need time to build a chassis that will complement the new body. NASCAR expects the car of tomorrow to enter competition in 2007. (Sporting News)

Sep. 5, 2005

Car of the Future to test at Talladega: NASCAR's car of tomorrow, tentatively set to debut in 2007, is scheduled to have an on-track test at Talladega Superspeedway, the day after the Oct. 2 Cup race, and at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the day after the Oct. 30 Cup race. Previous versions have been tested at other tracks. The future car will be larger and have more room for the driver, providing additional safety. The higher-standing car also will alter aerodynamics and series officials hope lessens the dependency on aerodynamics and improves racing.  (Roanoke.com)

Sep. 3, 2005

New Charger nose: Dodge teams have struggled with downforce-to-drag balance on the new Charger all year, but a new nose for 2006 could correct the problem. The design for the new nose has been submitted to NASCAR, and approval could come within the next couple of weeks, Dodge director of motorsports John Fernandez said Friday. Dodge has three drivers ranked in the top 10 (Rusty Wallace, Jeremy Mayfield and Ryan Newman) but has won only two of 24 races this year. Teams have complained that the current nose isn't very good aerodynamically and that the cross-haired grille collects debris and causes engine overheating. Fernandez said the Dodge nose is actually no worse at collecting debris than the Ford or Chevy nose, but that the aero issue is legitimate and has been addressed in the redesign. (Tampa Bay Tribune)

Aug 28, 2005

Darby talks about Car of Tomorrow, Impounds and more: Darby said NASCAR expects more than 30 of next year's races to be impound races, where teams won't be allowed to work on their cars after qualifying. This year's 36-race schedule will include about 20 impound races. Lowe's Motor Speedway at Charlotte could be among those added to the impound list, especially for its October race, but the track is not expected to change its schedule for Thursday night qualifying sessions. Darby also said Dodge has asked for a new nose for its Charger model, introduced this year. One nose was already submitted and rejected. The so-called "car of tomorrow" is still on track for a 2007 debut, Darby said. "The question is will it be across the board or a stair-step introduction," he said.  (In part from Miami Herald)

Aug 22, 2005

NASCAR meets with teams on 2006 rules:  NASCAR will meet with teams at NASCAR's research and development center in Concord, N.C., to review new rules and procedures for 2006. Template changes, the tire leasing program and the car of the future will be the lead topics.  (Sporting News/Lee Spencer)

Aug 14, 2005

NASCAR to mandated 8 degree camber rule: NASCAR has decided to do what many of its Nextel Cup series crew chiefs would not – alter race set-ups to reduce the chance of blown tires. Beginning next weekend at Michigan International Speedway, NASCAR will mandate a maximum front-wheel camber angle of eight degrees. Camber is the degree tires are tilted in order to maximize its performance through the turns. NASCAR issued a technical bulletin to teams this weekend notifying them of the change. Aggressive chassis set-ups – including high degrees of camber and low air pressures – have been blamed for several tire problems this season, most notably at Pocono and Michigan. (ThatsRacin)

Aug 6, 2005

Crews blame NASCAR aero-dynamics for boring racing: Sunday's Allstate 400 at the Brickyard is expected to be another follow-the-leader race, dominated by one or two drivers, with the winner determined not by passing on the track but by work - and perhaps gambles, perhaps just luck - in the pits. "Nobody can pass here - but nobody can pass anywhere," said crew chief Michael "Fatback" McSwain. "Unfortunately, if you don't come out first, second or third on the last pit stop, I don't think you'll have a chance to win here." (More at Salem-Journal)

July 20, 2005

Engine height rule in 2006? NASCAR is also considering a maximum engine-height rule (as measured from the center of the crankshaft), to keep teams from raising engines to allow more wheel-travel. "But if they did that, we'd all be dragging bell-housings on the ground and tearing up the asphalt, and probably sending flywheels sailing into the grandstands," Andy Graves, the manager for Chip Ganassi, said. (Salem-Journal)

New nose in 2006: NASCAR officials are telling crew chiefs that there will be a new nose-lip for all Nextel Cup cars in 2007, perhaps earlier, a new nose valence that would be similar to Trans-Am noses and truck noses - with a lower aerodynamic lip, designed to force teams to limit the wheel-travel of race cars.  The new rule would come in response to the radical wheel-travel that teams are using this season to drop the nose of the car and increase speed by literally dragging the nose on the pavement. Wheel-travel is believed to be one reason for the rash of tire problems, with tires taking a fearsome beating. (Salem-Journal)

July 16, 2005

Dodge Top Numbers in Wind Tunnel: Dodge teams won NASCAR's wind-tunnel testing of Chicago's top finishers, and Jimmie Johnson's Chevy, to everyone's surprise, pulled the weakest numbers, according to NASCAR sources. Dodge's Ernie Elliott won NASCAR's engine dyno testing of Michigan's top finishers, according to other NASCAR sources. (Salem-Journal)

July 14, 2005

Roush doesn't like "Car of the Future": Roush Racing team owner Jack Roush had some harsh comments for NASCAR's planned "car of the future" on Thursday.  The car design, which is supposed to incorporate new safety innovations and have a bigger driver cockpit area, is still not likely to see track action anytime soon, Roush said. "NASCAR wants to trash everything we got, start with an all-new chassis, with all new construction techniques and every component being new ... I think that's wrong and very much resistant to that," he said. (ThatsRacin)

Hutchens passes NASCAR safety test: Safety Solutions announced the new Hutchens II which has passed the NASCAR mandated SFI 38.1 Specification. NASCAR officials were present and set-up the testing done at Delphi. The official request for approval to NASCAR will be submitted by the end of this week, although copies of the test data have been received by there officials. The Hutchens II combines a small carbon fiber spacer used to change the helmet tether pivot points to better control the occupant head motion early in the event. A single 3 inch Kevlar back strap drapes over the carbon spacer and anchors to the seat belt buckle, like a traditional Hutchens Device. The carbon spacer and strap harness combine to provide an all around better performing restraint with major benefits not only in frontal and angular frontal impacts tested in the stringent SFI 38.1 standard, but also in side and multiple impacts where some current restraints fail. For more information on the Hutchens II visit the website www.hutchensdevice.com.(Safety Solutions)

July 12, 2005

Cars head to wind tunnel: NASCAR officials plan to take six cars from Sunday's race to the Lockheed wind tunnel in Marietta to determine how the various manufacturers stack up on aerodynamic issues: the Chevrolets driven by Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart, the Fords of Matt Kenseth and Mark Martin, and the Dodges driven by Jeremy Mayfield and Rusty Wallace. (AJC)

June 20, 2005

NASCAR Takes Engines: NASCAR officials took the engines from 10 teams to test at the sanctioning body’s research and development center in Concord, N.C. It’s the first time series officials have taken just engines after a race. This is being done as part of an ongoing process of examining the engines.  Engines taken belonged to the cars of Tony Stewart, Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, Michael Waltrip, Elliott Sadler, Jeff Burton, Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne, Jimmie Johnson and Casey Mears. (Pilot Online)

June 12 2005

Aero Package to be similar '06: Despite some grumbling in the garage about the current aero package, NASCAR vp/competition Robin Pemberton confirmed that the 2006 rules package likely won’t be much different from what it is now. "It’ll be close," Pemberton. Pemberton also said NASCAR's "car of the future" and "engine of the future" (read: common engine) processes are in no great rush. The car of the future, which includes such safety innovations as the driver moved toward the center of the car and a higher roof line, could be phased in beginning in 2007. The engine item would be considered for 2008 at the earliest. (SPEEDTV)

June 6 2005

Engine of the Future Delay: NASCAR's controversial engine of the future suddenly appears all but dead, according to engine builders and car owners, after the latest round of meetings between NASCAR executives and a few Nextel Cup team owners.  However, that would lock in the current Toyota and Dodge engine designs as still technically superior to the present Ford and Chevrolet engines. And it would leave Honda - widely expected to make a run into NASCAR racing - with a clean sheet of paper to design its own new NASCAR V-8, which rivals worry would be even better than any engine in the sport right now.  NASCAR's engine of the future was to have debuted at California in February 2007. Now it has been pushed back to 2009 or 2010. (Salem-Journal)

Gear Rule Changes at Pocono: Changes in NASCAR's gear rules mean competitors will not be able to shift through the turns this Sunday at Pocono. "I disagree with the gear rule," Jeff Gordon says. "At Pocono, we'll be way down on RPM, and we won't be able to shift. It's like putting a restrictor plate on the cars at New Hampshire. We won't be able to pass, and that's not a good thing." Many competitors feel the lack of horsepower will produce single-file racing. (FOXSport's Lee Spencer)

New Models in '06? Both Chevrolet and Ford have been busy working on their new models for Cup and Busch competition starting next season. Chevrolet will debut the newly-redesigned Monte Carlo at Daytona in February 2006, while Ford will switch from the Taurus (which is no longer being built) to the Ford 500 next year. (Yahoo! Sports)

May 31 2005

Manufactures Not Leaving NASCAR: Billion-dollar losses by the U.S. automakers, sagging sales, loss of market share to foreign manufacturers, soaring health-care costs and high fuel prices. Sounds like trouble for the sport of NASCAR racing, which relies heavily on support from automakers to keep fleets of Fords, Chevys and Dodges on the track. Not so, say the automakers' representatives at the race tracks. "This is the time, when you are in difficult situations, when in fact you rely on racing even more to move your product," said Dan Davis, director of Ford Racing Technology. "I don't think racing is in any jeopardy at this point or that the racing program is going to be somehow eliminated. In fact, it's possibly the opposite. When you have programs like racing that work, and you have limited funds, that's when you start to really rely on those areas. Racing works. We know it works. ... It's solid as a rock."  But there is concern in NASCAR about the health of the U.S. auto manufacturers. "The withdrawal of any one manufacturer in the series can have awful consequences throughout the garage," Roush Racing president Geoff Smith said. "If any one decided not to play any more, there would be a number of teams that would immediately be underfinanced to be able to compete with the people that had the budget." Smith said he sees only two scenarios that would cause any of the Big Three or Toyota, which now competes in the Craftsman Truck Series, to leave NASCAR. One would be if global consolidation eliminates a nameplate. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

May 27 2005

NASCAR Tech Grads Landing Jobs: NASCAR's Technical Institute has proven such a hit, with a large number of graduates landing jobs on stock-car teams, that Rick Hendrick is considering organizing his own Hendrick Motorsports Technical Institute, to train prospective crewmen. (Salem-Journal)

May 25 2005

Childress Wins Engine Builder Showdown: Danny Lawrence and Greg Gunnell of Richard Childress Racing walked away with top honors Tuesday night after the final round of the Clevite Engine Builder Showdown.  The winners earned $20,000 and will have their names on the new Randy Dorton Memorial Trophy.  Dorton was director of engine development at Hendrick Motorsports. He was killed along with nine others in the crash of a team-owned plane that was en route to a race at Martinsville Speedway on Oct. 24.  A scholarship fund in Dorton's name has also been established, and an eBay charity to raise money for it continues through Friday. For more information about the fund or the auction, go to www.randydorton.com. (ThatsRacin)

May 20, 2005

NASCAR Crew Chief helps Develop Goodyear Belts: NASCAR Nextel Cup racing series is so competitive, finding an advantage this season is like trying to train an alligator to eat with manners.  Yet, Steve Boyer, crew chief for driver Sterling Marlin, has found comfort in Goodyear Gatorback Poly-V belts used to help power his racecar engine.  He should. He helped develop the product.  Before Boyer joined Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates in 2001, he was an engineer for Goodyear's automotive belt and hose program, working on a team that developed Gatorback belts.  Now, Boyer has selected the belt to help power Marlin's racecar engine, according to Mike Gregg, chief engineer at Goodyear's Lincoln, Neb., belt plant. "Every weekend, the No. 40 car is equipped with Gatorback belts under the hood," he said. (AutoChannel)

May 8, 2005

Dodge asking for No Help: John Fernandez, director of Dodge Motorsports Operations, says the manufacturer hasn’t asked NASCAR for help despite some struggles with the new Charger. Dodge was winless in the season’s first nine races heading into Saturday night’s race at Darlington. “We had some issues at California, which is probably one of the dirtiest tracks because thre’s a lot of stuff on the race track,’’ Fernandez said of trash collecting on the nose and causing engines to overheat. (News-Record)

May 2, 2005

Car of the Future Delay? Under pressure from race teams, NASCAR might delay the debut of the "car of the future" until the end of 2007 and the "common" engine until 2008. Many engine builders fear teams could be crushed financially if they're left with large inventories of obsolete engines. But to even the playing field and prepare for Toyota's expected arrival in the Cup series, NASCAR is looking at controlling cars from the tires up. (SportingNews)

Crate Engine News: Detroit executives have proposed to NASCAR that the sanctioning body switch to crate engines at Daytona and Talladega as a cost-cutting measure for the Busch series. Crate engines would be formula engines built to identical standards, IROC-style; they could be mass produced for maybe $8,000 apiece, considerably less than $60,000-plus Daytona/Talladega Busch engines currently used. (Salem-Journal)

April 26, 2005

Safety and Engine of the future News: Jack Roush says that NASCAR should immediately incorporate all the new safety devices planned for Daytona's proposed "car of the future" into current Nextel Cup cars, rather than wait for the introduction of the car, which Roush says may not be ready until 2009.  Roush also said that he and Ro-bert Yates have begun assembling a new engine-design team for Ford, to deal with NASCAR's proposed "'engine of the future." But Roush says that project will cost millions of dollars with no appreciable results that couldn't be achieved with cheaper, more modest technical efforts.  NASCAR wants its engine of the future on the track in 2007. Roush says that Ford couldn't have such an engine ready until 2008 at the earliest. Doug Yates, who heads the Roush-Yates engine operation, says that bringing a new engine on line would cost his own two-car team at least $20 million, over and above actual developmental costs. (Salem-Journal)

April 23, 2005

Dyno Numbers:  Results of NASCAR's most recent chassis dyno testing, at Atlanta, shows a few surprises. Jamie McMurray, who finished 11th, had the strongest engine (Elliott's), with 769 peak horsepower, winner Carl Edwards showed 754 horsepower. Runner-up Jimmie Johnson showed 759 horsepower.  Others tested: Elliott Sadler, 764 horsepower; Ryan Newman, 763; Kasey Kahne, 758; Mark Martin, 756; Michael Waltrip, 752; Dave Blaney, 745 and Ken Schrader, 733. (Salem-Journal)

April 11, 2005

McMurray Best Dyno Numbers: Dodge's Jamie McMurray has surprised everyone by winning NASCAR's post-race chassis dyno testing at Atlanta two weeks ago. The test is designed to compare engine power at the rear wheels, using cars fresh from the track. Among the highlights: McMurray's car topped the charts, Elliott Sadler's Ford was better than winner Carl Edwards' Ford, and Jimmie Johnson's Chevrolet was noticeably off from last year's dyno testing at Michigan. (Winston Salem)

April 4, 2005

Engine of the Future, Three maybe Four Years: Chevrolet engineers are expected to have their first version of NASCAR's proposed "engine of the future" ready for dyno testing by Christmas, according to Detroit sources.  And Ford's Robert Yates and Jack Roush have started laying the groundwork for a new engine-development operation that would start work on a Ford version of that engine of the future.  But Roush said Ford couldn't meet a deadline of having such a new engine ready for the 2007 Daytona 500, as NASCAR has proposed. It would have to be 2008 at the earliest, Roush said. (Winston-Salem)

March 29, 2005

National Pit Crew Challenge:  Mooresville Mayor Al Jones proclaimed the week of May 2 - May 9, 2005 as the National Pit Crew Championship Powered by Tyson Week. The proclamation took place at Pit Instruction and Training (PIT) facility in Mooresville, N.C., where the National Pit Crew Championship Powered by Tyson will take place on May 9, 2005.  This competition is a bracketed event where the 40 top pit crews have been invited to compete to win $100,000, with four teams having the chance at a $500,000 prize in the final bonus round, "The Powered by Tyson Pit Stop." Mooresville town officials and event organizers outlined plans for making sure the event runs smoothly and has easy access for all fans. All proceeds from the event will go to Second Harvest and The Victory Junction Gang Camp. (FoxSports)

March 21, 2005

Dynos in Atlanta: NASCAR tested the cars of Johnson, Dave Blaney, Michael Waltrip, Mark Martin, Edwards, Elliott Sadler, Kahne, Ryan Newman and Jamie McMurray on the chassis dynamometer, which measures rear wheel horsepower. Ken Schrader's team also volunteered for the test. (ThatsRacin)

NASCAR and Pit Road Data: One day after ThatsRacin.com reported NASCAR was receiving criticism because it failed to provide "real time" speeds of pit road violations to teams or the media, officials appeared to alter their policy in Sunday's Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.  After speeding violations dropped off significantly a week ago at Las Vegas, more than half a dozen drivers were nabbed for speeding Sunday, including two penalties each for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Dale Jarrett.  Also, several team officials said Sunday that Nextel Cup Series director John Darby or another official relayed speeds of violating drivers to their respective crew chiefs after the penalties were called. (ThatsRacin)

March 14, 2005

Car of Tomorrow News: Robin Pemberton, NASCAR's vice president of competition, says the "car of tomorrow" — the next form of stock car — could make its debut as early as 2007. However, the adjustments to the cars will be made gradually so "we're not tearing up everybody's fleet of chassis and bodies" at excessive cost to the owners, Pemberton says. He added that NASCAR is brainstorming with manufacturers and teams along the way. One major move in the next few years will be the use of unleaded fuel, a topic that had been dormant since 1998. (FOXSports)

March 12, 2005

NASCAR Likely to Keep Rules Package: NASCAR said on Friday that it would probably leave the current rules package in place for the remainder of the 2005 season.  This weekend's UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 is the third race under the new rules, which included sweeping changes to tires (softer), gears (shorter), spoiler size (smaller) and pit road speeds (stricter enforcement).  Las Vegas' 1.5-mile oval is just the second non-restrictor-plate event of the year, but most Nextel Cup teams already have a thousand miles of data concerning the new rules.  Put together, the rules have created cars that are much looser than in years past, and drivers who can adapt to that hang-onto-the-car style are the ones that have succeeded in early downforce tests.  NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton said he likes the current package and will try to use it all season. (NASCAR)

March 6, 2005

Drivers Not Happy With Rules: So far, not too many drivers are happy with NASCAR's new aerodynamic rules.  Beginning with last Sunday's race at California Speedway, the Nextel Cup cars had a new aero package in place that included a shortened rear spoiler and softer tires. The new spoilers and tires will be used everywhere except Daytona and Talladega, the only tracks where NASCAR slows the cars with horsepower-sapping carburetor restrictor plates.  NASCAR's intention in sawing off an inch on the rear spoilers -- down to 4 1/2 inches -- and asking Goodyear to provide tires that wear quickly is to create less of a dependence on downforce while placing more of an emphasis on a driver's ability to race his car, especially through the turns.  John Darby, NASCAR's Nextel Cup director, said one race is too soon to tell if the changes will work. A lot of drivers were certain they won't. (Post Gazette)

Feb. 25, 2005

No More Spoiler Cuts: Don't expect any more spoiler cuts this season, Nextel Cup Series director John Darby said. NASCAR considered making incremental changes to spoiler size throughout the season, but abandoned that idea last season for a 1-inch reduction in the off-season for non restrictor-plate tracks. Any additional changes will likely not take place until after this season, Darby said. "The teams came and asked if we would just roll it over and do it all at the end of the year so they could build their cars, wind tunnel them once," he said. (TheState)

Feb. 21, 2005

Cars to Dyno: NASCAR took nine cars to the engine dyno following the race: the top five finishers — Gordon, Busch, Earnhardt Jr., Riggs and Johnson — along with Blaney, Kevin Lepage, Rusty Wallace and Martin. The engine dyno, which NASCAR uses to measure rpms to find out who is generating the most horsepower, is used a few times a year at bigger tracks such as Daytona, Talladega and Michigan. (FoxSports's Spence Lee)

New Measurements: Nextel Cup teams were given a new "X-measurement" across the roof of the cars that lines up with the original X-measurement that stretches across the rear windows. Before the change, teams could lengthen the right side of the car, which would give the driver an aerodynamic advantage, especially in the corners. (FoxSports's Spence Lee)

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