Not Sure About This 2 Car Tandem Stuff..

[elevatorguy]

I don't know about the rest of you who watched the shootout but I am not sure about this 2 car tandem racing. It was good racing but not what we are used to. So I have not decided if I like the big drafting pack or what I just saw. It was a good finish and a Daytona kinda finish we are used to but only 4 cars not 15. Should make for an interesting 500 with 43 cars out there.

[gregg52]

ya i agree the jury still out on this type of racing

i'll be willing to bet it a green...white checkers...maybe a couple of times

[LMITOUT]

I have mixed feelings about this. While it's impressive to see two cars fly to the front, I enjoy the pack style racing which is more of a chess match where a driver picks his way to the front, finding the best line to advance his position.

I guess the test will be next Sunday night. I don't think that they were showing all their cards tonight and there are some moves up their sleeves yet. There was one time early on where the first car moved over in front of another two car tandem and then those first two cars took off leaving the third guy behind. I was expecting more of this to happen but it never did. I'd bet that'll be a move to watch next week.

[harvey lee]

I didn't care for it but it could help stop the big one.

I guess one will have to wait and see the race next Sunday as we may see a totally different race.

I think NASCAR may also do something with the top speed on these cars also. They are flying.

[jwhjr]

Plus you had a couple of them wreck each other when they were locking up into the turn. I don't know if that was a combination of the slightly different cars from last year and the new surface at Daytona (and the crazy speeds they could run), or the fact that they were trying things they wouldn't normally try because of fewer cars on the track. There were some pretty experienced drivers wrecking others out there.

[gregg52]

i'm wondering if it might get kinda boring mid race

why go nuts til the last 3-4 laps if even that

[Jeremy airjer W]

It seemed to me that the 2 car was working until the end of the race when the four lead cars all hooked up and took off. Was this because the tires had finally caught up with them and at that point a four car draft was faster?

If these guys are getting runs and slingshots there going to take a crack at first. Bonus points are precious! When was the last time you saw a group of drivers get a run and then decide to back off?

First place will be the sitting duck. Maybe we will see leaders trying to shake the lead as the end of the race nears in the hopes of getting the advantage on the last lap. Would that be fun to see 43 cars stopped on the back stretch because nobody wants to be in the lead on the last lap.

[LMITOUT]

I see that NASCAR is making the teams eliminate two of the air ducts that cool the engine so that they will be forced to pull out and let their engine cool down, thus breaking up the two-car packs.

[Johnsonator]

I see that NASCAR is making the teams eliminate two of the air ducts that cool the engine so that they will be forced to pull out and let their engine cool down, thus breaking up the two-car packs.

That will help cut down the tandems. I am also not too sure about the two car hookups, it is fine if it is short lived but seeing two car tandems all over the track got a little old.

[elevatorguy]

As for the racing I think it may get boring as they get strung out. As for the cooling ducts, that rule was in effect for the Shootout. Here is a blurp from an article.

On Saturday, NASCAR requested teams remove an auxiliary engine-cooling hose, in an attempt to minimize their ability to engage in two-car drafts in which the cars are literally constantly in contact, with the first car breaking the air-resistance and the second car taking advantage of that to push both cars more quickly around the track.

"Some teams didn't have it but some did, and we asked them to take it off to cut down on some of the cool air the engine gets," Tharp said. "It wasn't intended to reduce horsepower; it was something we tried to see if it would curtail the length of those two-car hook-ups."

However, as Shootout runner-up Jamie McMurray pointed out, his team doesn't even run the hose in question -- as a number of other teams don't -- and he was able to push Shootout winner Kurt Busch constantly for more than 12 laps Saturday night, when ambient temperatures were near 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

Which I just read that Nascar is now changing something with the pressures in the cooling system. Their hope is to only have them run 2 or 3 laps before they need air. I hope this works cause I think the racing is better when they are in a pack. Puts more on the drivers skill to manuver to the front. Either way I am excited.

[harvey lee]

I have talked with 3 others in regards to the boring racing and that is what they also thought.

NASCAR I believe knows they need to do something or noone will want to watch a super speedway race. I realize that they are trying to make it better but it seems it is going the other way.

Want good, fast action packed races, cut out the mile and a half and go to the shorter tracks.

More Bristol's for me.

[gregg52]

i agree harvey

but i think bruton smith would disagree with us

[harvey lee]

Thats fine.

I believe they need to give to the fans what they would like to see as of late, NASCAR has not made any great changes.

This is off topic but if NASCAR wants more fans, they need another Dale Earnhardt. That would fill the stands.

[gregg52]

i agree on that to

but i think thats a wish that just might never come true

sad to say

on the shorter track though i agree i went vegas and phoenix

i loved phoenix sitting in the stands give me that old elko feeling close to action and you could see every really good i dont think there is bad seat at that race track every body has their preference where they like to sit and i think you can find it there

[HOF#13]

It was a wierd, wierd race to watch. Not sure that I really enjoyed it more. The driver's seemed to like it more, but I am sure it was much less stressful that riding along in a big pack or cars for 500 miles.

It'll be interesting to see how it goes for the 500 now that NASCAR has taken away a couple of air cooling hoses and mandated a 33 psi pressure release valve on the radiator. Push too hard for too long this Sunday and you just might see an engine or two let go.

[LMITOUT]

As for the cooling ducts, that rule was in effect for the Shootout. Here is a blurp from an article.

On Saturday, NASCAR requested teams remove an auxiliary engine-cooling hose,

It was requested that they remove it, but it wasn't a rule. Further into the article it is mentioned that NASCAR asked them to do that as a test to see if it would help, since they saw the 2-car racing in practice and were already thinking ahead to the 500.

Sounds like many didn't have that auxiliary cooling hose anyway so now they're going to a reduced air inlet opening and the pressure relief on the cooling system.