PawPaw_n_Gram wrote:
It is difficult to know the exact allowances.
The NASCAR rule book is only available to registered car owners, is a few thousand pages, and costs over $1,000. And allowances for different for different tracks.
I would assume the offsets are minimal on road courses, but as I mentioned - driver preference has a lot to do with settings.
Two drivers with identical cars with identical setups will usually perform differently.
And as we’ve seen in the first stage of the race - the aggressive setups that helped Harvick and Kurt get on the front row in qualifying are apparently a dis advantage in race traffic.
It is difficult to know the exact allowances.
The NASCAR rule book is only available to registered car owners, is a few thousand pages, and costs over $1,000. And allowances for different for different tracks.
I would assume the offsets are minimal on road courses, but as I mentioned - driver preference has a lot to do with settings.
Two drivers with identical cars with identical setups will usually perform differently.
And as we’ve seen in the first stage of the race - the aggressive setups that helped Harvick and Kurt get on the front row in qualifying are apparently a dis advantage in race traffic.
I'm thinking NASCAR pinched down on how much axle offset, skew, is allowed. A few years ago it was crazy, cars looked like crabs running down the straights.
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Ironically, 'skew' is what 'encumbered' Logano's win at Richmond a year ago. It was a funny sight, cars 'crabbing' their way around the track. Reminded me of an aerial ladder truck I drove in my fire service days. The trailing rear axle (as I recall) would skew left or right depending on steering wheel input to tighten up the turning radius of the rig, then return to a neutral position as the truck straightened but I wasn't driving it like a bat out of hell...........
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So when we're talking about offset and skewed, what I'm imagining is the axle is sitting sideways. In other words it's closer to the front of the car on one side as opposed to the other. If that's so, is the engine and driveline skewed? I can't imagine the engine and transmission being square in the frame and the driveshaft and u-joints having to compensate for the axle not being perpendicular to the driveline.
Help me out here fellas....
The components of the NASCAR can handle the offsets. The time needed to run a race is short enough that wear and stress doesn’t present a problem.
During one of the slow segments of Sunday’s race one of the announcers mentioned that NASCAR had removed the ability of the driver to adjust the track bar while on the track racing. Because the drivers were using that adjustable item to change the movement of the axles.
While the original purpose of the Pan-hard bar was to minimize lateral movement of the axles, race car builders quickly realized adjusting the length and mounting is a great way to change the normal position of the axles.
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On the NASCAR Cup level even the worst car out there is a tens of thousands of dollars precision machine. And the worst driver is still an incredibly talented individual who could totally dominate a regional series or short track.
I mean, does one or two pounds of air pressure change in one or two tires make that much difference? It apparently does because we see it every race. A few hundredths of an inch in something can take a car from a last place dog to a top ten contender.
Heck, I know I can't drive a race car well even on a local level. I certainly can't tell the difference between 5 pounds of air pressure.
Many short track cars have valve adapters called 'bleeders'. These are built so that if the air pressure in the tire rises to a certain level when the tire heats up on the track, the excess pressure bleeds off. One popular kit includes six bleeders and a pressure adjustment tool to set them for different pressures. The pressure can be adjusted in one or two pound increments from 3 to 38 PSI. About $250.
I've seen some sprint car guys with 10 sets of quick change bleeders set at one pound differences. $50 sets - $500 worth of bleeders - $750 invested in the system. Running for $1,000 to win a 20 lap race.
Imagine the equipment Cup level cars have where they can change the tire pressure in 1/2 PSI increments. I certainly don't own a tire gauge with that level of precision.
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