Print
E-mail
Share
delicious
digg
Newsvine
Facebook
Stumble
Technorati
reddit
Fark
twitter
A story in Tuesday’s USA Today reported that the number of wrecks and spins during Sprint Cup races declined in the 2008 season. There were 211 on-track incidents in 2008, which was a 12 percent drop from the previous season, and it’s the lowest total since 2004. The number of accidents during this year’s Chase also dropped to 60 from 89 in 2007.
Does this mean that the COT’s design makes it easier for drivers to avoid wrecks, or has the drivers’ increasing familiarity with the car allowed them to avoid on-track incidents? I don’t have the answer to that and we probably need to see data from more than one season to come to a conclusion. Carl Edwards commented on this in USA Today: “Guys are realizing how to race and not make mistakes, so I think part of this is the sport changing a little bit, and I think part of it is the car. But it’s hard to put your finger on (the exact reason).”
There may be one aspect of the vehicle’s rear wing that could contribute to a driver’s ability to avoid getting into a spin. The vertical pieces at each end of the rear wing provide wind resistance once a car begins to spin. This could provide a little more stability and could give the driver a little more control once a car begins to spin. I think we saw this principle in practice this year at some of the faster tracks on the circuit.
Kyle B. hung the rear end out many a time without wrecking early in the season; I think your end plate theory has merit. If the Goodyear's stop exploding next season, then the number or wrecks may go down even further.
The boring brick - the car of tomorrow - actually makes Michael Waltrip look like a safe driver.
You are correct about Kyle. I wanted to use him as an example of a driver who benefits from the side pieces on the rear wings, but I try to keep these posts as short as possible.
The tire failures could continue as long as the teams continue to run the cars on the bump stops with the front springs fully compressed. With those front springs compressed the only flexibility left in the front suspension is the tire sidewalls. And those sidewalls can't stand the punishment. But don't expect this to change anytime soon as the teams need to run these setups to keep that splitter close to the track surface.
Does Michael Waltrip even drive fast enough to be considered dangerous?
Watching these cars on sundays is almost like watching drift racing as they come out of the turns, and it is obvious that the drivers who were the most successful were the ones who could exploit the added handling of that unique, wing shapped airfoil on each side of the spoiler. And yes sweeper, any driver is dangerous at any speed, just look back at Buckshot Jones.
Unlike two years ago, when the Biff had a nasty crash when his tire blew between turns 1 and 2, the recently completed tire testing at LVMS was without incident. This suggests that maybe they're headed in the right direction.
Your theory on the rear wing is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard.
It is just me or was last season boring?
The cars are setup that whoever gets in front has a clear air advantage that makes it hard to lose the lead unless during restarts and pitstops.
The cars do so much better in clean air.
I think it comes down this:
1) Good consistent driving to get into the chase (boring....boring....boring)
2) Owners must have the money to buy the best engineers to get the extra horsepower and "cheats" on suspension and "cheats" on weight and "cheats" on wind advantage. This makes only 5 to 7 cars that are really championship material.
3) Drivers who know how to drive in more than one lane (not Dale Jr..Mr Top Lane Only Dude) and can talk with their team about their car during the race (not Dale Jr) and drivers who know that they must drive on most tracks like it is a dirt track (Dale has no dirt track experience and that is why he loves the top lane)
I saw lots of good racing last year and attended, once again, the race at LVMS. Had a great time. If you think Na$car is boring, try F1...or curling.
List of winners of Na$car Sprint Cup events for 2008: Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Denny Hamlin, Ryan Newman, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Jeff Burton, Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer, AJ Almendinger, Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle, Tony Stewart. source:http://www.jayski.com/pages/2008cupresults.htm