NASCAR Rules Changes for 'Dega

It was announced earlier today that NASCAR will change two rules for the Talladega Chase race designed to break up the multi-lap two car tandem drafting that's come with both this track's and Daytona's smooth resurfacing jobs.

First, the restrictor plate openings will be slightly larger (1/64th of an inch). This will yield from 7-10 more horsepower. I'm not sure how this translates to miles per hour or fuel mileage but I'm sure the former will go up and the latter will go down. How much of an effect this has remains to be seen, but it became obvious that the cars and driver skills were capable of safely running at increased speed as two car tandem racing speeds were up to 10 MPH greater than were single car qualifying speeds. I'm thinking the two car tango was actually much more dangerous than normal single car racing just based on the fact that the driver in the push car couldn't see what was happening up front. I know they tried to have radio communication between the two drivers hooked up, and it helped, but we all know how fast bad things can happen and we witnessed some accidents that normally wouldn't have happened.

Second, and the change most likely to break up the drafting, the cooling system's pop-off valve will be set to release water vapor at a lower temperature than before. In other words, the car doing the pushing won't be able to maintain a long-term draft like before. We've seen the two car hook-ups last as much as ten laps (in cool weather) before the trailing car had to get fresh air through it's radiator. The new valve will go off at 8 pounds per square inch less pressure than the old one and according to David Reutimann's crew chief Rodney Childers that change will drop the tandem run's durations down to 1 lap at the most.

A crew chief's nightmare?

We all know the drivers aren't going to give up a procedure that gives them more speed and because of this the rule changes will result in more pusher / pushee switching which, in terms of safety, may not be such a good thing either.

So what kind of speeds might we see considering more horsepower combined with the shortened draft durations? 220 MPH?

Talladega Trivia Quiz

The races at Talladega, just as at Daytona, have become highly anticipated events. Here's a little quiz concerning the track's past history and what you think may happen this Sunday. ______________________________________________ The Really Big “Big One”! The 1973 Winston 500 at Talladega

______________________________________________ 1. Okay… What percentage of the starting field got taken out by that huge wreck on the 11th lap? A. 15% B. 21% C. 32% D. 27% ______________________________________________ 2. Following along, what percentage of the starting field actually finished that race? --A. 46% B. 52% C. 33% D. 28% ______________________________________________ 3. Since 1969 there have been 83 Cup races at Talladega. Which of the following manufacturers are correctly matched up to their number of wins at Dega? ______________________________________________1. Buick-- 2 - 2. Chevrolet-- 3 - 3. Dodge-- 36 - 4. Ford-- 3 - 5. Mercury-- 7 --6. Oldsmobile-- 6 - 7. Plymouth-- 18 - 8. Pontiac-- 6 - 9. Toyota-- 2 -______________________________________________ 4. How many races were run at Talladega before a Chevrolet was driven to victory?-- A. 11 B. 18 C. 3 D. 15 ______________________________________________ 5. Following along, who drove the first Chevrolet to Victory Lane at Talladega? ------A. Darrell Waltrip B. Dale Earnhardt C. Donnie Allison D. Cale Yarborough ______________________________________________ 6. Do you know what Talladega means in the Choctaw Indian language? ______________________________________________ Concerning the Aaron’s 499 race this Sunday… ______________________________________________ 7. How many lead changes will there be at the Aaron’s 499? _____________________________________________ Last year’s Aaron’s 499 set a new record with 88 lead changes but it was set due to extra laps on three tries at the green-white-checker finish. Last year’s Amp Energy Drink 500 in October had 87 lead changes in the regulation number of laps. _____________________________________________ 8. How many cautions will there be? _____________________________________________ Here are the last 4 races and the number of cautions at Talladega – _____________________________________________ 2010 AMP 500 – 7 Cautions --- 2010 Aaron’s 499 – 8 Cautions --- 2009 AMP 500 – 6 Cautions and 1 Red Flag --- 2009 Aaron’s 499 – 9 Cautions _____________________________________________ 9. Here are the makes of the last 10 Cup race winners at Talladega – -Aaron’s 499-----------UAW Ford 500--------Amp Energy 500 _____________________________________________ 2006 ------Chevrolet--------------- Chevrolet ------------------------------2007-------Chevrolet--------------- Chevrolet ----------------------------2008-------Toyota---------------------------------------------Toyota ---2009------- Chevrolet-----------------------------------------Ford ----2010------- Chevrolet-----------------------------------------Chevrolet- _____________________________________________ Will Chevrolet’s dominance continue this Sunday? ____________________________________________ 10. Will there be any en mass green flag pit stops this Sunday? _____________________________________________ 11. These are the last 10 race winners at Talladega – Alphabetically--------------------- Clint Bowyer, Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Jamie McMurray, Tony Stewart and Brian Vickers (Gordon won 2 times in the last 10 races). _____________________________________________ If you look at that list, there are two pairs of teammates. Knowing the importance of having a good draft partner at Talladega, do you think the Bowyer/Harvick or Gordon/Johnson combination will result in a winner? _____________________________________________ And finally, 12. Will Sunday’s race have a new face in Victory Lane like the Daytona 500 did? _____________________________________________ Knowing the NASCAR knowledge capabilities of all of you Lug Nuts... The answers will be posted only if necessary. Enjoy!