After weeks and months with a steady steam of news about changes within all three of NASCAR’s top series, fans are now anxious for the season to officially begin with The Great American Race, the Daytona 500 on Sunday, February 26th.
Over the past weekend, fans were reeling in delight as we watched Sprint Cup drivers racing on the high-banks of Daytona International Speedway with the Budweiser Shootout on Saturday night! The 25 Sprint Cup drivers involved in the 75-lap Shootout met and exceeded fans’ anticipation of pack racing’s return to the track.
The red marker on the other side is not good for a 500 mile race |
Well, not exactly. From drivers there was one common thread of concern expressed about cars overheating even when drivers were not pushing another car on the track. The rule changes are designed to make cars overheat to minimize two-by-two drafting to just a couple laps. However, it’s also created overheating conditions when driving in packs on the track – and apparently even when not drafting in some cases. So this is something for NASCAR to review over the week to decide if further changes of the rule package are needed before the green flag drops on their premier event this weekend. In all honesty, we should expect some changes to alleviate this concern for drivers.
Drivers sometimes will do this because their cars are overheating and they want to get air into their grill to ease the problem. With just two cars drafting together, there’s no issue with this technique. However, doing so at 195 mph in a pack creates a different aerodynamic pattern and in essence will cause the front car to loose it’s downforce and spin, creating havoc for those behind unable to check up in time to avoid the ensuing chaos.
Kyle Busch, the eventual winner with an amazing save on the track |
When it happens, most drivers are just along for the ride with no control over the consequences. The only exception is Kyle Busch who made a few exceptional saves on Saturday night, while the others were left in his dust – or some may say flying sparks!
Although, drafting on the left rear quarter panel is not a new lesson in pack racing, it is a drivers’ instinct to test their limits with the new rule package, just in case they can find an advantage. And in this case, it’s just a matter of re-learning what can and cannot be done to keep them in the race.
With the safety features implemented within NASCAR, many are comfortable with testing their limits to the max. Thankfully, there’s not been a serious injury for quite a while in NASCAR’s top series, which just further increases the confidence of drivers to test their boundaries whenever the opportunity exists. The Bud Shootout is exactly that perfect opportunity.
Last year’s Sprint Cup championship was unknown all the way to the last lap of the last race. Tony Stewart tied Carl Edwards points when he passed him on the track taking first place and leaving Edwards with a second place result. That one position, was just one point that created the tie. In the end, it was Stewart’s five wins compared to Carl Edwards one win, that determined the Sprint Cup championship in 2011.
Not exactly…Drivers test the limit to know their limitations on the track |
The reveal for fans in all of this is that while drivers will test their limits in non-point events, we should not expect the same risks throughout the entire season. There may be a few exceptions when the opportunity exists, but drivers understand to win the championship they have to be smart about what they do on the track over 36 point-paying races and every single point can mean the difference in earning the 2012 title.
And while this year’s Bud Shootout left less than half the entire field in the game at the end of the race, it did prove to be an amazing testing ground and prelude to The Great American Race – The Daytona 500.