Nascar discussion *Contains spoilers*

Just read the Watkins race was cancelled due to rain.

With the amount of money in the series, and the amount involved isnt it about time they were able to provide cars to run in the wet? Jacques did a race in one of the series last year at Montreal and they ran in the wet then for the first time in a while or something like that. Whats the issue? Not knowing a single thing about the sport I can only suspect it is not generally good for one of America's most popular sports to simply cancel races?? How is it generally taken over there when it happens?

edit - I should add as ive only read about it I have not read much on how bad the rain was if at all.

---

"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/09/2009 11:42PM by chet.

They're afraid to run in the rain because they know Dale Jr would spin off

Well the track was completed flooded within minutes of the rain starting. So had they had wet tyres then it'd probably still have been a massive failfest anyway. 3500lbs stock cars, no downforce, huge amounts of standing water, and at the bottom of T1, massive flooded pools?

It makes no financial sense to make rain tyres. Montreal only had them because the race was in Canada and they couldn't postpone it till the Monday. Even then, Montreal was a mess, not least because the wipers didn't work properly either. You can't put the Nationwide tyres onto a Sprint Cup car. It isn't quite that simple. And do people really expect Goodyear to spend the money developing a new tyre and pumping out 200+ sets of them for a single weekend, only for it to not be used and then have to be binned?

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
theRacingLine.net
SportsCarArchives.com

First of all I think you should just confirm a few things for me becuase I dont know lol...

I guess they use specific tyres for ovals, so no tyre is the same as the other. Racing on ovals that just seems logical with the inner and outer temps. But what about the road courses where it does not need to be so specific? Is it a control tyre - the same tyre for each road course?

For wet weather when racing on a road course would it be possible to simple design and manunfacture 3 types of wet tyre each varying in compound, so simply a hard, medium and soft. Then whatever the track demands take the correct tyre? So throughout the year just the 3 compounds then just taking the correct compound to the track? Or is that done anyway?

What would be needed for a NASCAR sprint car to run in the wet? Wipers, heated screens? (both of which should be childs play for teams to get to work properly). As for the weight, aquaplanning happens when the tyres tread and cars weight can not displace the water quicker than the water builds up. If anyone's driven a kart in the wet you will know how difficult that is!!! I can only really see the weight as a positive rather than a negative provided it is distributed correctly (unless anyone can tell me how in relation to the cars dynamics in wet weather that it isnt the case). Obviously it would be too costly racing on ovals in the wet because of the tyre situation but could it, and should it happen on road courses where the tyre demands are rather less so, and the cars are not at 200+mph for much of the time. I am not talking about the race gone, if the conditions were too bad then thats fair enough. I saw pictures of Canada last year and the conditions were such that only a boat could navigate the track without punting a wall or another car!!!

In my first post I took NASCAR as globally popular sport, as much as F1. And that isnt the case. It is nationally popular and though watched world-wide it is not massive outside the states and so the issue of TV times would not be as great as it would for F1, so in that respect I can accept cancelling races is alot more viable. I guess there is only one TV provider providing the coverage in America so if my first post seemed abit blind its because I didnt really consider that!!

---

"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL

Is it a control tyre - the same tyre for each road course?

Infineon and Watkins Glen use the same tyre.

For wet weather when racing on a road course would it be possible to simple design and manunfacture 3 types of wet tyre each varying in compound, so simply a hard, medium and soft. Then whatever the track demands take the correct tyre? So throughout the year just the 3 compounds then just taking the correct compound to the track? Or is that done anyway?

It is possible. But don't you see what a monumental waste of money that is? There are TWO Road Courses a year. One is in the middle of California during the dry season. So you are designing 3 compounds of wet tyre for one event in Watkins Glen, that probably won't even need them anyway. It doesn't make sense on any level.

What would be needed for a NASCAR sprint car to run in the wet? Wipers, heated screens? (both of which should be childs play for teams to get to work properly).

Neither of which worked at Montreal. With teams like Earnhardt Ganassi and Petty struggling to fund cars, are you suggesting more development money is thrown away for a single event that may not be required?

I really don't think you understand what you are asking for. NASCAR is trying to keep costs down, keep the entries up, but yet you want them to develop all this special stuff for 1 race a year, which most of the time doesn't need these sort of developments anyway.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
theRacingLine.net
SportsCarArchives.com

I see your point. I didnt realize the road courses were run so little! So then yes I can imagine the huge costs, and pointless too. Why dont they just run ovals or more than 2 road courses, why just 2?

I would very much love to watch a road course event and if I had Sky Sports I certainly would, but are they as popular as ovals to the Americans?

Watching the leaderboard thingy now ive just JPM's name flick up from 15th when I last saw about half hour ago to 6th ! Heres hoping for another strong result!

edit - its hard to know whats happening with this leaderboard but he's 2nd now :D. Pits?

---

"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/10/2009 07:54PM by chet.

I see your point. I didnt realize the road courses were run so little! So then yes I can imagine the huge costs, and pointless too. Why dont they just run ovals or more than 2 road courses, why just 2?

It's just tradition. It's just the 2 courses they run.

I would very much love to watch a road course event and if I had Sky Sports I certainly would, but are they as popular as ovals to the Americans?

Plenty of streams every week on Justin.tv [www.justin.tv]

Leaderboards broken. It has been all weekend. Currently under red flag.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
theRacingLine.net
SportsCarArchives.com

Holly s***! What a huge crash!!!! O_o

I can't believe that no one got hurt in it. Especially Sam Hormish!

Very scary crash.

DaveEllis Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Well the track was completed flooded within
> minutes of the rain starting. So had they had wet
> tyres then it'd probably still have been a massive
> failfest anyway. 3500lbs stock cars, no downforce,
> huge amounts of standing water, and at the bottom
> of T1, massive flooded pools?
>

Man that race was fun to watch in Montreal.

NASCAR does need more Roadies though. Send those guys up round Road America (I know they used to test there) and call it all good. Now THAT would be something (Cmon, 43 cars rumbling up and over the crest on the front straight? You know you want it!)


The Flanker is gone.

They currently do tyre testing at Road Atlanta and VIR. Those are 2 of the best, and most under rated circuits in the world. It'd be fantastic to have Stock Car races there.

VIR Testing shots -




-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
theRacingLine.net
SportsCarArchives.com

They look like dragsters squatting off the line. :D

Now you say so, VIR looks like an immense track. I'll try it out in GTR2 Always thought it was somekind of ovall by the sound of it's name..





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/11/2009 10:36AM by Iceman-Kimi.

Didnt realize they were that stiff! Thats high!!

I bet they're awesome to watch around Road Atlanta!!

---

"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/11/2009 12:21PM by chet.

Iceman-Kimi Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Now you say so, VIR looks like an immense track.
> I'll try it out in GTR2 Always thought it was
> somekind of ovall by the sound of it's name..


VIR is, well.... A road racer's dream. Epic twisties and elevation changes. You cant not like it (Except the somewhat lack of scenery). Oh wait, so does Road Atlanta.

I still hate the fact that NASCAR goes to places twice, yet seemingly refuses to add more road races (There was a big push a couple of years ago, but, nothing). Screw it, here is where they need to go-

Road America.
Barber.
Laguna *Not likely the track could even hold 43 stockcars
Road Atlanta.
And for Epicness- Sebring.

Never happen though, for various reasons.


The Flanker is gone.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/11/2009 06:01PM by smorr.

VIR is awesome.



-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
theRacingLine.net
SportsCarArchives.com

Nationwide Impala at VIR.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
theRacingLine.net
SportsCarArchives.com

DaveEllis Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> VIR is awesome.
>


Very tempting to just go straight there and see how many rows of tires it's possible to drive through

Guimengo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Very tempting to just go straight there and see
> how many rows of tires it's possible to drive
> through

Thats what the safety rating is for I presume. Prevent the Gui's in the world from doing silly stuff like that


The Flanker is gone.

Just caught whichever bits I could of the race... Montoya was running okayish but when I stopped watching something happened, then just turned it back on again and finished 19th. Looks like he didnt lose out too badly against his rivals though. The bits I caught were good. Cars running 3/4/ and im sure 5 abreast using different lines! Gotta say Monty's certainly attracted me to the sport. Only one fault, and thats the amount of ad-breaks! But yeah I cant see no reason why I wont tune in next week! His battle for the chase has got me really into it, and it is probably very arragont to say so but if he werent in it theres little chance id watch.

---

"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL

Bristol should be a far more exciting race than today's!!! Although, to be fair, the last couple of laps were very interesting.......The "fuel saving" factor keeps you hooked all the way till the end!