Plate Racing Rules: Getting Ready for Talladega

 Cooling, Engines, radiators, Talladega  No Responses »
May 032012
 

Most of the issues we were talking about at the start of the year regarding the measures NASCAR has taken to eliminate or reduce the two-car draft are still in play, so I thought I’d put the most important in one place as you start getting ready for Talladega this weekend.

One of the major changes is the radiator: The water capacity was decreased, which means that it can’t cool as effectively as it could with a larger volume of water. That limits how long cars can draft together in close formation, where the trailing car’s radiator is blocked and doesn’t get as much air circulating.

A related issue is the small, but extremely important limiter on the radiator called a pop-off valve This is one of the easiest last-minute changes NASCAR can make to adapt to changing temperatures — and new innovations teams have made to get around the current rules.

Finally, it seems as though bump drafting has gotten harder to do correctly. It’s all a matter of preventing cars from getting torqued. Literally.

What’s a Pop-Off Valve — and Why You Need to Know for the Daytona 500

 Cooling, Daytona, Engines, NASCAR  3 Responses »
Feb 212012
 

Note added 14:14 2/22/12:  OK, I did predict that this was likely to change.  You can look at the chart on the video and see that the temperature at 28 psi is about 271 F.

One thing you will hear a lot as soon as coverage of practice starts Wednesday will be speculation about possible changes to the pop-off valve on the radiator.  What is a pop-off valve and how will it affect the Daytona 500?  Here’s the answer:

One of the reasons for the focus on the pop-off valve is that it’s one of the most easily adjustable pieces of the strategy to prevent tandem drafting.  If the temperatures are warmer, NASCAR can raise the pop-off valve pressure if they think there might be a need for more cooling.  EFI makes changing restrictor plate sizes a bigger deal than it used to be – so if there are changes, this (and the size of the grill opening) are the most likely places for them to happen.