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NASCAR facing questions about its integrity
SBNation ^ | 09/13/13 | Jordan Bianchi

Posted on 09/13/2013 7:28:46 AM PDT by Doogle

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To: Ol' Dan Tucker

Restrictor plates are another pointless “safety” device.

Look at Michigan. They’re running considerably faster top speeds than at the restrictor plate tracks and doing it with considerably less banking. 215+mph into turn one with 18 degrees banking yet the track is notorious for having a minimal number of caution flags. The drivers are restricting themselves.


21 posted on 09/13/2013 8:35:39 AM PDT by cripplecreek (REMEMBER THE RIVER RAISIN!)
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To: Doogle
Backgrounds aside, what Johnson wants is for the sanctioning body to take even greater control. He would like to see races stopped if there is question about scoring so officials can implement instant replay. Although he understands team orders can never be completely eliminated, he's in favor of tougher penalties when teams abuse the system like MWR did at Richmond.

And no restart if you see a spotted owl.

22 posted on 09/13/2013 8:37:25 AM PDT by frithguild (You can call me Snippy the Anti-Freeper)
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To: Tenacious 1
Anyone caught cheating has to ride a bycicle around the middle of the track at Talledaga with headphones and blinders during a long green flag run.

Or through pit lane at Bristol, during a caution.

23 posted on 09/13/2013 8:38:38 AM PDT by tacticalogic ("Oh, bother!" said Pooh, as he chambered his last round.)
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To: maineman

Very good analogy. I had not thought of it that way.


24 posted on 09/13/2013 8:43:09 AM PDT by cld51860 (Oderint dum metuant)
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To: McGruff
It was also the intentional spin out and subsequent restart that got ‘em bent out of shape.

“I got a tir goin down, coming into the pits”

But dat ain't what was caught on radio traffic.

Carl Edwards should have been put to the back of the field for jumping the last restart of the race just like they did Jimmie Johnson a few weeks back.

25 posted on 09/13/2013 8:51:47 AM PDT by TexasCajun (Creepy-Ass Cracka -- Don't Call Me Cracker)
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To: shotgun

26 posted on 09/13/2013 8:58:18 AM PDT by gura (If Allah is so great, why does he need fat sexually confused fanboys to do his dirty work? -iowahawk)
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To: IamConservative

I think what’s happening here is that the PC press has decided its time to destroy NASCAR. There have always been “alliances of opportunity” that form and break during races. When it comes time for the big money (like qualifying for the ridiculous “chase”) there is more motivation to make them happen.

Lib writers are shocked, SHOCKED, to discover this is happening, and the shakedown process begins. They know that by impugning the integrity of the sport, sponsors may be less willing to get involved. (Why open a PR can of worms when you can just sponsor women’s soccer and no one will object?)

Well, NASCAR should just be saying “Well, yeah, so what? That’s how the sport works.”


27 posted on 09/13/2013 9:14:30 AM PDT by motor_racer (Who will bell the cat?)
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To: cripplecreek

The problem is this idiotic race to the chase format.

Bingo!!

Nascar has gone ‘Obama’ and transformed itself into a major mess.. Maybe we need a Nascar Czar.


28 posted on 09/13/2013 9:22:04 AM PDT by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi --)
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To: shotgun

Remember the special rear window for the Chevy Monty Carlo in the late 80’s?
NASCAR has always favored GM.


29 posted on 09/13/2013 9:28:31 AM PDT by axxmann (If McCain is conservative then I'm a freakin' anarchist.)
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To: Ol' Dan Tucker
Actually, wind tunnel testing showed that when cars exceed 200mph, they have a stronger tendency to go airborne when air gets underneath them.

200 MPH isn't necessarily a magic number. Many small and not very small airplanes rotate (lift off) at speed lower than 200 MPH. The angle of the vehicle, or if a corner is lifted enough, aerodynamic principles take over and the car will go up regardless of safety devices and speeds.

I think your point, however, is that the slower the speeds, the more manageable it is for NASCAR safety to prevent aero-induced flying race cars. They won't go as high or as far in the air.

This has been a concern for years at IMS with Indy Cars. It was a large part of the new chasis design. Those cars travel down the long straightaways at over 230 MPH. It was suggested that at the right angle of launch, those cars only needed to be going about 150 MPH to get lift enough to clear the fence. At 230 MPH, if two cars were to touch wheels just right, he/she might have a chance to clear those towering grandstands and make a mess of 16th street. The new cars are supposed to prevent the wheels from touching at the angle that launches one or the other.

BTW - Has anyone been watching IRL? Holy Moses! Now that's exciting racing. Rubbin is racin this year in open wheel. These guys are nuts. Bonzai corner passes and all. That Baltimore street race and this years Indy 500 may have been the two most exciting auto races I have ever watched.

30 posted on 09/13/2013 9:55:17 AM PDT by Tenacious 1 (Waiting for next tagline.)
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To: tacticalogic

If Bowyer spun out intentionally, there needs to be a penalty because he risked his and others’ lives pulling the stunt.

If there is nothing in the rule book about intentionally causing a crash, then he gets a pass this time, but it needs to be in the rule book starting next season.


31 posted on 09/13/2013 10:08:24 AM PDT by Cyber Liberty (It's hard to accept the truth when the lies were exactly what you wanted to hear.)
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To: cripplecreek
Look at Michigan. They’re running considerably faster top speeds than at the restrictor plate tracks and doing it with considerably less banking. 215+mph into turn one with 18 degrees banking yet the track is notorious for having a minimal number of caution flags. The drivers are restricting themselves.

Actually, it's the track itself that limits the speeds.

Compare Michigan to Daytona & Taledega:

Michigan:
Track Shape: D-Shaped Oval
Track Length: 2 miles
Front Stretch Length: 3,600 feet
Back Stretch Length: 2,242 feet

Banking:
18˚ Turns
12˚ Frontstretch
5˚ Back Straightaway

Daytona:
Track Shape: Tri-Oval
Track Length: 2.5 miles
Front Stretch Length: 3,800 feet
Back Stretch Length: 3,000 feet

Banking:
31˚ Turns
18˚ Tri-Oval
3˚ Back Straightaway

Taledega:
Track Shape: Tri-Oval
Track Length: 2.66 miles
Front Stretch Length: 4,300 feet
Back Stretch Length: 4,000 feet

Banking:
33˚ Turns
16.5˚ Frontstretch
2˚ Back Straightaway

As you can see, not only is the banking at Taledega almost twice that of Michigan, but the backstretch is almost twice as long.

At Michigan, they have to stand on the brakes at the end of the straights to slow the cars down enough so they don't go careening off into the outside walls.

At Taledega, they run wide open with no braking whatsoever.

With no restrictor plates, I believe the cars at `Dega would reach almost 300mph at the end of the backstretch.

32 posted on 09/13/2013 10:20:25 AM PDT by Ol' Dan Tucker (People should not be afraid of the government. Government should be afraid of the people)
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To: Ol' Dan Tucker
With no restrictor plates, I believe the cars at `Dega would reach almost 300mph at the end of the backstretch.

Actually they tested without plates at Dega a few years ago and got 222mph out of them.
33 posted on 09/13/2013 10:26:54 AM PDT by cripplecreek (REMEMBER THE RIVER RAISIN!)
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To: Cyber Liberty
If Bowyer spun out intentionally, there needs to be a penalty because he risked his and others’ lives pulling the stunt.

Agreed.

34 posted on 09/13/2013 10:27:27 AM PDT by tacticalogic ("Oh, bother!" said Pooh, as he chambered his last round.)
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To: cripplecreek
Actually they tested without plates at Dega a few years ago and got 222mph out of them.

Yes, you're right. 300mph would probably be a high estimate.

I believe the test Rusty Wallace did in 2004 is the one to which you're referring:

Rusty Wallace tested a car at Talladega Superspeedway without a restrictor plate in 2004, reaching a top speed of 228 mph (367 km/h) in the backstretch and a one-lap average of 221 mph (356 km/h). While admitting excitement at the achievement, Wallace also conceded, "There's no way we could be out there racing at those speeds... it would be insane to think we could have a pack of cars out there doing that."

It was Bobby Allison's crash at the 1987 Winston 500 at Talladega Superspeedway that forced NASCAR to mandate restrictor plates:

Allison's Buick LeSabre blew a tire going into the tri-oval at 200 mph (320 km/h), spun around and became airborne, flying tail-first into the catch fencing. While the car did not enter the grandstands it ripped out nearly 100 feet of fencing and flying debris injured several spectators.

Just like Carl Edwards' crash, the cars were doing 200mph in the tri-oval and when they spun around they got airborne, going straight into the fencing.

In both cases, debris went into the stands injuring spectators.

35 posted on 09/13/2013 10:49:58 AM PDT by Ol' Dan Tucker (People should not be afraid of the government. Government should be afraid of the people)
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To: Doogle
Not enough "diversity" either?

I gave up on Nascar in the 70's. Too many pretty boys driving rolling bill-boards all stamped out of the same cookie-cutter. Way over-commercialized these days.

36 posted on 09/13/2013 11:21:17 AM PDT by Minutemen ("It's a Religion of Peace")
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To: tacticalogic
what we look at here is the $$$$$...who will gain ,,,who will lose.Look at dale,johnson in thier past close races.With the chase points and the way they are stacked and earned.It is a staked deck between 12 individuals.Most money,,rest of the money pooled,not a bad paycheck for anyone in the top 12 who takes out any nonbelivers. Only remaing factor is the pissed off 32 drivers who got shafted through the season who wants a little payback.Maybe no money.....but just satisfaction through 10 races of mayhem.Look out for Gorden to be a little pissed at a few people
37 posted on 09/13/2013 12:20:04 PM PDT by VF-51vnv
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To: Doogle
Within the last 30 years, NASCAR has taken major strives to disassociate itself from the image that it is a backwoods sport more akin to professional wrestling than stick-and-ball sports like football and basketball.

Which is exactly why I don't watch it anymore... : (

38 posted on 09/13/2013 12:39:27 PM PDT by roamer_1 (Globalism is just socialism in a business suit.)
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To: NormsRevenge

Wow, breaking news on FOX Sports 1.

NASCAR adding a 13th position to the chase to get Jeff Gordon in.


39 posted on 09/13/2013 12:59:55 PM PDT by cripplecreek (REMEMBER THE RIVER RAISIN!)
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To: Doogle

A 13th position is added to get Gordon into the chase as a result of a bad NASCAR decision. I wouldn’t worry too much about integrity.


40 posted on 09/13/2013 1:09:15 PM PDT by cripplecreek (REMEMBER THE RIVER RAISIN!)
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