AutoRacing1.com - NASCAR Good O'l Boys Page

[../Old_MainStuff/menu_index.htm]

Good Ol' Boys - NASCAR
Will Restrictor Plates work at New Hampshire? By Frank Ryan September 13, 2000		Our ranking out of 750 NASCAR websites since joining on 7/3/00 Moonshine to Madison Avenue List Price: $49.95 Our Price: $49.95 1 Week Inside A Winston Cup Team List Price: $14.95 Our Price: $11.96 You Save: $2.99 (20%) Woman's Guide To Auto Racing List Price: $5.95 Our Price: $4.76 You Save: $1.19 (20%) Official NASCAR Trivia List Price: $9.95 Our Price: $7.96 You Save: $1.99 (20%) Behind The Scenes of Nascar List Price: $13.95 Our Price: $11.16 You Save: $2.79 (20%) Greatest Days In NASCAR List Price: $24.95 Our Price: $17.47 You Save: $7.48 (30%) NASCAR for Dummies by Mark Martin List Price: $19.99 Our Price: $15.99 You Save: $4.00 (20%) Definitive History of NASCAR List Price: $50.00 Our Price: $35.00 You Save: $15.00 (30%)
Go to our forums to discuss this article	Other Ol' Boys Articles
This weekend's race at Loudon, New Hampshire will feature 1" restrictor plates being used as a safety measure on the Winston Cup cars. After nearly two months of contemplation, NASCAR issued this mandate in an attempt to minimize the chances of a serious accident occurring at the 1-mile speedway. But in an attempt to solve one problem they may have created another, even worse than the first. Restrictor plates are made for a single purpose, to restrict the air and fuel mixture into the engine, thereby reducing horsepower. On a track like Daytona or Talladega this idea works as designed to reduce the speed and hopefully improve safety. But on a track like Loudon it creates other problems. The horrific accidents that claimed the lives of Adam Petty and Kenny Irwin were not necessarily the result of excessive speed on the track, but instead caused by a stuck throttle. Looking at the racing line at Loudon, there is a point before entering the turn where the driver lifts off the throttle and brakes. Since the maximum speed a car can travel through the turns is a constant, the speed of the car traveling down the straightaway will determine the lift point off the accelerator. But as the straightaway speeds are reduced, as with the restrictor plates, then the lift point will move deeper into the corner. If the throttle hangs open at this modified lift point it gives the driver much less reaction time to try to correct the problem or stop the car. How much will the restrictor plates affect the cars this weekend is yet to be seen? Johnny Benson, driver of the Aaron's Rents #10 Pontiac had these thoughts on the restrictor plates. "We don't know what the speed difference is going to be, they tried to calculate on computers to try to figure out what the speed difference is going to be. I estimate it is going to be a 9-10 MPH difference instead of a 10-15 mph difference on the entrance speed and that's a positive. We all want to race well and go as fast as we can, but the issue in front of us is that they changed the rules, we are still going to go out there and run as fast as we can. The challenges are still the same; the speed is going to be just a little bit less as far as entering a corner. The interesting part on this is those speed calculations are estimated at lifting on the accelerator at the exact same spot. I have a feeling that with less horsepower and less speed at that particular section of the track, we are going to be on the throttle a little bit longer to try to make up time, and in reference to that the reaction time if something happens is roughly about the same, it is still not enough time to actually be able to do anything if something were to happen, but we live with that fact every day that we are on the race track, every place we are on the race track. It's not just because it is Loudon, I don't think that's the issue." Is there much of a difference between hitting a wall at 140 mph or hitting it at 150 mph? Would you rather know the throttle is stuck 300' from the wall or 400' away? Either way seems to be a no win situation, if the throttle hangs you are going into the wall hard, plain and simple. Which brings us back to soft walls and the need for NASCAR to thoroughly evaluate the alternatives. After all, racing is dangerous business and it is human lives we are talking about here. Go to our forums to discuss this article Comments can be sent to the author at contacts@autoracing1.com.	Monte Carlo 400 Richmond - Saturday Night Special Frank Ryan 9/10/00 Southern 500 - The battery bunch tames the lady by Jon Osborne 9/3/00 Bristol - Wallace brings a broom to Bristol by Jon Osborne 8/26/00 Bristol - Go chasing, Rusty wins Bristol by Frank Ryan 8/26/00 Camping at The Glen - A weekend of camping at The Glen by Doug Belliveau 8/21/00 Rain Tires - Will Goodyear's Eagles fly n the rain by Frank Ryan 8/17/00 Watkins Glen - Park the car in Victory Lane by Frank Ryan 8/13/00 Brickyard 400 - Labonte's win solid as brick by Frank Ryan 8/5/00 Pennsylvania 500 Race report by Frank Ryan 7/23/00 Pennsylvania 500 Pre-race report by Frank Ryan 7/20/00 Name that NASCAR sponsor by Doug Belliveau 7/13/00 ThatLook.com 300 - Rain sweetened victory for Tony Stewart by Frank Ryan 7/9/00 Pepsi 400 - Jeff Burton leads Ford sweep by David Cipolloni 7/1/00 Rainbow Warrior wins this battle by Doug Belliveau 6/29/00 Sears Point by Frank Ryan 6/26/00 Mid-Season review by Mark Baudermann 6/23/00 Aged to perfection by Doug Belliveau 6/21/00 Michigan Kmart 400 - Stewart is the Rain Man by Frank Ryan 6/11/00 The Farewell Tour by Doug Belliveau 6/7/00 Dover MBNA 400 - Tony Stewart dominates The Monster Mile by David Cipolloni & Frank Ryan 6/4/00 World 600 - Rain doesn't delay Matt Kenseth's Reign by Frank Ryan 6/1/00 Memories of Speedweek at Charlotte By Mark Baudermann 5/26/00 Don't order the crown. Yet! by Doug Belliveau 5/24/00 Nothing lasts forever by Frank Ryan 5/23/00

e-mail us:
contacts@autoracing1.com

Back to the top

AutoRacing1 is an independent internet online publication and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by CART Inc., NASCAR, FIA, FedEx, Winston, or any other series sponsor. This material may not be published, broadcast, or redistributed without permission.
User agreement & disclaimer