Fueling NASCAR

There is so much talk about all the new changes this season. There are new rules for the Chase, new points system, a host of new driver/team configurations, and a new manufacturer. Testing at Daytona recently concluded and left many questions on these changes.

One change that has garnered little attention is the new fuel Sunoco is bringing to the Nextel Cup this season. After some strong results in the second half of the Busch and Craftsman series last year, Sunoco will bring it’s new, 96 octane unleded fuel to the Cup. This will happen full time at California, the second race of the season.

Applause will surely ring out for Sunoco and NASCAR over this. It is something that environmentalists have been calling for for some time now. NASCAR has been the last racing series in the world still using leaded fuel. This fuel has been linked to many greenhouse gases.

The reason it has stayed around so long has been it’s importance in helping engines last so long. The idea that NASCAR powers its racers with an old fashioned push rod motor and get’s almost 800 horsepower has baffled engineers for years, especially those from the ranks of Formula One. An even more amazing thing has been that a motor basically lasts the whole year with only minor repairs after a race. This has been due in part to the led in the racing fuel, which acts as a lubricant.

NASCAR has used this week’s test session at Las Vegas as a chance to see if the unleaded fuels are ready for the season. Word has it that NASCAR and engine builders are both happy with the results. Therefore, beginning at California, it will be the fuel used at every track. This puts it one year ahead of schedule. Cudos to Sunoco.

Now the real test will be how many teams blame motor failures this season on the new fuel. I’m sure in time, it will be one more thing that is looked back on with wonder. Wonder at why it took so long to get to this point.

Cinch up those belts and let’s go racing.
JR

New Points System

The quandry in NASCAR for as long as I can remember has been, should NASCAR reward consistency or winning? There have been arguments on both sides of the question. There are those who feel that a true champion will be a consistent driver and team. There are those who feel a champion should do everything possible to win and never be satified with second place.

The first points system of the modern era, was drawn up on a dinner napkin and survived almost 30 years. It produced some great champions. Some years those champions won the most races, some years they didn’t. It was always the driver who took care of his equipment and made sure it was running at the end of every race, as close to the front as he could manage. Then, a few years ago, we got the first major overhaul.

This overhaul came in response to a runaway season by Matt Kenseth. He had such an incredibly consistent season that he had it locked up well before the last race of the season. NASCAR officials became concerned for attendance figures for end-of-the-season races if this became an every year occurance. So, they decided to change the format, while they left the points awarded virtually unchanged.

The result of the overhaul was that the winner of a race would get an additional five points, thereby placing a little more importance on winning. But, to keep the championship close to the end, they would reset the points with ten races to go, bringing the final ten into a “playoff” situation. This has made for an interesting end to the season, and most likely changed the outcome of the ultimate winner of the championship. Problems still persisted, though.

In two of the three years, big stars were on the outside looking in at the Chase. Again, NASCAR feared the loss of viewers if their favorite was not in contention. So, it became time to tweak it again. This time, the tweak was more significant.

Starting this season, winners will again receive a boost in points awarded by ten. Therefore, a winner who leads the most laps could receive twenty-five points more than second place. This will place even more significance on winning. Then, instead of ten drivers, it has been expanded to twelve. This will most likely ensure the popular drivers will get into the Chase. To continue to show an importance on winning, when the points are reset, rather than the reset favoring the one in the lead, it will favor the one with the most wins. This will result in a form of seeding. Using the idea of a playoff, this is not such a far fetched idea.

It will be interesting to see what people have to say about this new seeding format. It will definitely dispell the idea of consistency to a point. While you will still need to be consistent to make the Chase, if you do not have the wins to go with it, you will be at a disadvantage to start the Chase. Of course, as they say, “When the green flag drops, the bull stops.”

Cinch up those belts and let’s go racing.
JR

Car Of Tomorrow

There has been a lot of talk in the garage area since last fall about the Car of Tomorrow, COT. Many drivers have been very vocal against it while some have said they want to see more testing data. Kurt Busch may have made the biggest statement about it to date.

Today, NASCAR.com is reporting, Kurt Busch became the only drive of preseason testing to top 190 mph. He did so in a COT. He, too, had his doubts, but appearantly put those to rest today.

There is no doubt there will be a learning curve for the drivers and teams. It will shake some things up, possibly give someone a chance at a win who might not otherwise have a chance, but if it makes for safer, closer racing, then I say, bring it on!

Cinch up those belts and let’s go racing.
JR

Upcoming Season

It’s no doubt there will be a lot of surprises and interesting things to watch this coming season. Preseason Thunder continues at Daytona and some things are as you’d expect. In Craftsman Truck testing this past weekend, the number six truck that Mark Martin drove last year was atop the charts all weekend long. The truck is being piloted this year by Travis Kvapil, but with Roush power and engineering, that truck will be a force to be rekoned with all season long. I often thought last year that Todd Bodine should have sent a thank you gift to Martin every week he didn’t race.

This year should bring back some of the excitment that may have been missing from some years past. The expansion of the Chase, Toyota’s entrance into the Cup series, a rookie class that may be anything but, and some names trying to get back to the top after being left out last year. All this is not to even mention the introduction of the Car of Tomorrow. It’s interesting that the year TNT leaves the sport is when the drama may be really heating up.

Probably the most hilarious thing going this year will be the yellow tape on the rear bumper of Juan Montoy’s car. This guy has won the Indy 500 and in Formula One. To call him a rookie is laughable. He’s taking it all with good grace, claiming that he has a learning curve. I’m sure though, he’ll make a splash often and early. His only drawback may be the Ganassi team. Chip has done some wonderful things in IRL, but has yet to make a big impact in NASCAR. Could it be that Dodge still hasn’t found the right stuff to be super competitive? Could it be that his drivers have been a little below the ranks of “great?” Could it be that he’s spread too thin with IRL and NASCAR?

The Car of Tomorrow, COT, has received a lot of attention. March at Bristol will be the debut, and the review in the garage seems mixed: some hate it, some have complete contempt for it. What will fans think? There lies the most important question. If fans like it and it brings a new level of safety and competition, the drivers will just have to suck it up and learn to drive it. In the past, they have hated “improvements” to the cars, restrictor plates, larger spoilers, roof tabs, etc. They have complained and talked about how those things made the cars more difficult to drive, yet they haven’t gone away and the drivers have just learned to live with them.

My only problem with the COT is that NASCAR is using cost to the teams as one excuse for switching to it, yet this year teams have to use both, effectively doubling their costs. By the time it’s phased in over the next three seasons, there may not be any low level teams to benefit from it’s cost reduction. I think they should just make the switch this year, or if they are still not completely satisfied with it on the larger tracks, wait a year until they have it right.

So, as the “offseason” continues, and the excitment and drama build, I’m looking forward to what the season will bring. Who will stand at the podium in December, holding the trophy? Who will make the Chase and who will be on the outside looking in? I have no doubts Toyota will win a race, but will they win over the fans? I just love a season with so many exciting questions. The answers always come at the speed of Bill Elliott turning a hot lap at Talladega.

Cinch up those belts and let’s go racing.
JR

Preseason Thunder

So, two days of testing are over and the third is well under way. There really have been no surprises so far. The cars of Tony Stewart and Jimmy Johnson are fast. Fords and Chevys are dominating the top of the speed charts. A few names are absent from the top, though. Dale, Jr. and Kevin Harvick seem mired in the middle of the charts, but again, who knows what they are showing or what they are testing.

I guess if there is a surprise, it’s that Tony Raines has been a consistent name toward the top. Not that he isn’t a good driver, but the team is only two years old and not run by typical NASCAR guys. It seems that Aikman and Stabach have put some quality people in place. Could this be a year that this team makes a splash? Only time will tell. The team did show some brilliance toward the end of the season.

The Toyota teams have struggled with speed, but they don’t seem to be worried. Maybe they shouldn’t. There is still one month left before the 500. They may yet find some things. Toyota is not known to enter anything in a small way. With drivers like Dale Jarrett and Michael Waltrip, they may even win a race or two this year.

So, there are a few days left this week, and later in the week a new batch of cars hits the track. I can’t wait to see what shakes out. Then, it’s all talk until Speedweeks.

Cinch up the belts and get ready to race.
JR

Daytona Testing

The second week of January. That can only mean one thing; testing at Daytona for all three of NASCAR’s top series. It’s the time when the grey, unpainted cars show up, with only numbers on the side, they hit the track and start to see just what the cars will do. There are stopwatches everywhere.

Nextel Cup cars will hit the track starting today. About half the teams will be there for testing today, tomorrow, and Wednesday. Each team will set up their car for certain situations, some for drafting, some for racing, some for qualifying, and they’ll make multiple adjustments throughout the sessions. No one knows what anyone is really capable of, though. Could someone be holding back so as not to alert the competition that they’ve found something special? Are they letting it all hang out, trying to find every ounce of speed they can?

Every year, Daytona brings with it some special circumstances. Only the top two qualifiers are guaranteed a starting spot on 500 day. The rest have to race their way into the field on the Thursday prior to the big race. Some make it, some go home. It’s hard to tell a sponsor that they won’t be on TV during the biggest race of the year. It can literally make or break a team.

In Nextel Cup, the top 35 in owner points are guaranteed starting spots in each race. In some years, that didn’t cause a problem. Last year, it meant that about 3 or 4 regular teams had to go home each week. The race for the 35th spot had just as much excitement as the race for the championship. This year things will get very crowded, though. With Toyota bringing in at least 6 new teams, there will be a lot of high dollar teams going home each week. Sponsors will be disappointed on a regular basis. Drivers will be frustrated, owners will be aggrivated, and teams will be searching for more speed like never before.

So, as testing kicks off, look for it to be more exciting than ever before. With Juan Montoya holding rookie status and Toyota trying to prove they can be ubersuccessful in any series, interesting just doesn’t seem like enough of a word. We’ll just have to see what the posted times read come Wednesday.

Cinch up the belts and let’s go racing.
JR

Welcome

Greetings race fans! Welcome to my blog on the world of NASCAR racing. I hope you get a few laughs, learn some things, and can catch up on one of the most popular sports in America through this blog. The world of NASCAR is changing at a pretty fast pace these days and I hope I can provide a little insight into those changes and place them in their historical perspective and shine a light on the future of the sport.

A little background on me and why I’m qualified to write a blog you’ll want to read. I grew up in a household with a father who was a fan of racing that dated back to the beginnings of NASCAR. He remembered the early icons of the sport such as Freddy Lorenzen, Fireball Roberts, Ned Jarrett, Junior Johnson and Lee Petty to name a few. He took me to local short tracks to stir my interest and when we moved to the south, we started going to races at Talladege and Atlanta. We watched every race, every weekend on TV.

I still remember the first race I watched on TV. It was the ‘76 Daytona 500. What could be more memorable than watching Petty and Pearson come out of turn four, side by side, racing for the win on the final lap. They touched, they spun. Pearson was able to limp his car across the finish line to secure the victory. Ahh, they just don’t race like that any more. Let’s not forget the Brawl on the Backstretch between Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough, either. Honor was meant to be defended!

So, with the exciting things coming up this year, I hope you’ll check back here periodically to check out my take on this season. Juan Montoya as a rookie, changes in the Chase for the Cup, and the Car of Tomorrow all ensure there will be plenty to talk about. I look forward to your input as we discuss this most popular of racing sports.

Cinch up the straps and let’s go racing.
J.R.