A recent article by Jeff Owens of NASCAR Scene got me thinking a bit more about NASCAR restrictor plate racing.
Love it or hate it, plate racing has been a mainstay in NASCAR Cup series as the braintrust attempts to keep the speeds at acceptable levels. Let’s face it, these are not Indy cars with all the down force they have. These boxy “stock” cars tend to get airborne easily when they get spun around at speeds close to 200 mph.
Additionally, plate racing keeps the cars in a pack since it is harder to pass with an advantage in horsepower. Most have to use aerodynamics in order to pass. Running in close order as they do, any miscue is likely to wreck many cars since reaction time is reduced to a minimum at the speeds they race at.
Until NASCAR comes up with something better than a restrictor plate, this is the kind of racing we will continue to see.
Owens contends that a late race does not belong in the Chase. I agree with him there. With all the variables that are inherent at a plate race, why put the eventual championship at risk with a race that is such a crapshoot? We should be rewarding the best driver, not necessarily the luckiest. I would rather see a road course than a plate race in the Chase.
Of the more controversial things Owens brings up, he contends that plate racing produces everything NASCAR is about. “…Talladega produced …thrilling bumper-to-bumper, side-by-side competition, spectacular crashes, outrageous controversy and a storybook ending.”
That got me thinking: is that true? Is restrictor plate racing at Daytona and Talladega what we all love about NASCAR? Thrilling finishes, drama and spectacular crashes?
Granted, we all love the controversy — but that can happen at any track at any given time. And just like any other sport, we celebrate the spectacular. From a big time linebacker hit to a great TD run, from a crushing home run to a dunk to a bench clearing brawl, a stand-on-your-head goalie stop to a hockey fight, we cheer the spectacular. NASCAR is no different. We cheer, or jeer, the cross-over move for the win as much as the bump and run or Talladega-style crash. And frankly, the Talladega-style crash happens less often than the bump and run.
But, since the new car has not improved the aero issues of the previous generation of car and has actually produced less quality racing, we do seem to celebrate the thrilling finishes that plate racing provides.
But in a time when the late, great David Poole questioned the sanity of plate racing and drivers complain about it the way they do, will anything be done when it has produced some of the most memorable finishes of the year?
For days after Carl Edwards went spinning into the fence at Talladega injuring several fans, many asked how much longer will NASCAR race this way before someone gets killed? “What can be done that has not already been done” they asked?
Drivers will race whatever they are given to drive. Teams will try to gain a speed advantage over other teams with whatever they are given. Fans want drivers race as fast as they can and give us a race and finish worth the money we plop down.
The drivers know that blocking at a plate race can end up with them causing a wreck for themselves or the other driver. And while that can happen at almost any track, it is particularly destructive at a high-speed plate race. Even knowing this, drivers still block and are thus, in my opinion, ultimately responsible for the crash at the end of a race. Just as bump drafting can cause wrecks when done inappropriately, the same can be said for blocking.
Owens also claims that “… if NASCAR wants to do something to entice and enthrall fans, it should find a way to add more restrictor-plate and short-track races to its Cup schedule, providing more events where contact and controversy are likely.”
Short tracks yes, but why restrictor plate races? If he believes that plate races are bad for the Chase due to their indiscriminant nature, then why race that way the rest of the season? Someone could be knocked out of the Chase because of a wreck as easily as lose a championship that way.
Sure, more plate races could potentially create more fantastic wrecks and dramatic finishes, but at what cost? One of the things I like about NASCAR is the array of tracks a driver and team must conquer in order to be crowned champion.
Decreasing the horsepower available at Robert Yates suggested won’t do much to change the landscape at Daytona and Talladega. Drivers have already rejected this idea (they want to go fast) and every level of racing that happens at these two tracks has high-speed, indiscriminant crashes collecting those responsible as well as the innocent. ARCA, Nationwide, Camping World – all three have the same issues of pack racing and bad wrecks even without restrictor plates. It is more the nature of high-speed, high-banked tracks.
Daytona and Talladega have always produced spectacular wrecks. If you reduce the horsepower to the level of the Nationwide series, why should we pay higher prices to basically watch a Nationwide race with a different set of drivers? And will we really see racing that is all that different? I don’t think so unless you dramatically lower the speeds to the 150-160 mph range.
Coming out of turn four with the race on the line, Kyle Busch will still try to block Tony Stewart no matter how much horsepower he has. And if Smoke is up on his quarter panel as he was the other night, Kyle still winds up in the wall.
That’s all for now. Let me know your thoughts.
Drive fast, turn left and keep the shiny side up.
Car search engines
For the most part I agree with your assessment, however I will offer a dissenting voice on the following statement:
“plate racing keeps the cars in a pack since it is harder to pass with an advantage in horsepower.
On the contrary NASCAR’s race cars have had nearly identical HP between brands and regardless of tracks run on, for at least a couple decades.
The major difference between cars at restrictor-plate tracks is the loss of throttle response not in differing HP.
The best example of this for someone not in the drivers seat is how long it takes the pack of cars to reach top speed at the green flag.
At both Daytona and Talledega it takes at minimum a lap and at times a lap and a half before drivers reach qual speeds.
This loss of throttle response also contributes to drivers being “afraid” to lift the Go Peddle at times when it otherwise might be necessary.
Very valid points sir. I think the difference in HP is more noticeable at other tracks and the plates make that difference minimal because of the restricted aitflow and loss of throttle response.
Please… there’s is no appreciable difference in HP on restricted or non-restricted tracks. Everytime they’ve dyno’d them they have come out to less the ten HP between brands.
For the MOST part you have me there. But I would take he extra 10 hp than not. And that is between the major teams too. Not all the Chevy teams are making the same hp, that is obvious. The basic engines are the, so it comes to lighter weight materials and a specific engine tuners tricks to eek out any extra hp in a given engine.