2017 NASCAR Discussion threadNASCAR

[mwoodski]

The jackman position wouldn't be going away though. They'd make him the guy in charge of plugging the air line in.

 

[catamount39]

Exactly, people forgetting that that is actually a job. Because that guy could then repair something or make an adjustment.

Now, if we could get that, and just change over from 4 lugs to 1...and composite bodies...making progress?

 

[Eva]

Exactly, people forgetting that that is actually a job. Because that guy could then repair something or make an adjustment.

Now, if we could get that, and just change over from 4 lugs to 1...and composite bodies...making progress?

Don't get ahead of yourself. NASCAR has to keep itself 15 years behind everyone else minimum.

 

[BKGlover]

Stuff from Jayski:

Jimmie's and Denny's Darlington cars have been revealed.

Furniture Row will take over its own pit crew management.

The Hamlin's have had their child.

Monster may cut back on sponsorships.

 

[catamount39]

Don't get ahead of yourself. NASCAR has to keep itself 15 years behind everyone else minimum.

But those are all 20 years old.

 

[Anathema]

Not surprised about the 2nd item on that list.

 

[mwoodski]

Keep the five lugs, that rules.

 

[IforceV8]

Lose the air guns.

 

[catamount39]

Keep the five lugs, that rules.

Five lugs, with only 3 or 4 actually tight?

 

[AnthonyD1993]

Five lugs, with only 3 or 4 actually tight?

Wish NASCAR would just use the put how many you want on yourself rule again. I understand the safety argument of not having all lugs on or all lugs tight, but that one pretty much policed itself since the teams that really gambled during that period lost way more time than they gained when they had to pit again for loose wheels. Besides, I think most of the teams just put all 5 on anyway during that point.

 

[Blood Eagle]

Wish NASCAR would just use the put how many you want on yourself rule again. I understand the safety argument of not having all lugs on or all lugs tight, but that one pretty much policed itself since the teams that really gambled during that period lost way more time than they gained when they had to pit again for loose wheels. Besides, I think most of the teams just put all 5 on anyway during that point.

Me too. I actually was excited about that rule but it wasn't a put how many you want rule it was 4 had to be secure. They went back on that rule so fast after Tony Stewart said it was unsafe. I really wish they didn't cave like that and now they are out of control with the 5 have to be tight rule.

 

[RACECAR]

Well boys & girls, BKR is done. And with that, goodbye Ford Racing in Trucks (basically the only chance they had)

Guess now it'll be KBM's turn any day now.

 

[AMPMROCKETFANN]

View attachment 667363

Well what do you know, in the face of the biggest freefall ever, NASCAR seems to be slowly coming around. This is long overdue and will be a good first step to putting NASCAR in a better place with regard to the greater motorsports community. Next step should be single lugs and electronic pit road speed limiters.

 

[BKGlover]

Am I the only one who doesn't care for the pit limiters? These are the best drivers in the world, they can't hold it at 50? And F1 is included in that.

I'm also on the fence with the composite bodies. Are they cheaper? What happens when Reed Sorenson destroys his composite bodied car? What is it even made of?

Well boys & girls, BKR is done. And with that, goodbye Ford Racing in Trucks (basically the only chance they had)

Guess now it'll be KBM's turn any day now.

So much so that I can't access the webpage. It already looked like this season was just going with the flow, I'm not to surprised Mr. Ed is closing shop.

 

[RACECAR]

Am I the only one who doesn't care for the pit limiters? These are the best drivers in the world, they can't hold it at 50? And F1 is included in that.

Thing is, drivers are still human in the end. The pressure of trying to get out before everyone else is almost always gonna present the chance that someone will get it wrong. The Pit Limiter gets rid of that.

I'm also on the fence with the composite bodies. Are they cheaper? What happens when Reed Sorenson destroys his composite bodied car? What is it even made of?

Yes actually, the idea is that they are suppose to reduce costs with producing bodies and by having the body in panels (Think like the removable front facia, front bonnet and rear hatch on the Corvette C7.R) as opposed to one whole welded body of sheet metal, repairs can be effected much faster and cheaper. Also saves a lot on turnaround time as well. I don't know the exact material, but its a flange fit and every piece is bolt on.

So much so that I can't access the webpage. It already looked like this season was just going with the flow, I'm not to surprised Mr. Ed is closing shop.

The portion about "Losing Money" is what tells me all I need to know. Seems to tell me that even a Cup star had a hard time retaining sponsorship for this team (which spells doom for the sport as a whole). Its also ironic that NASCAR's stubbornness to get with the times In terms of technology is really biting them when it comes to costs.

 

[AMPMROCKETFANN]

Stuff from Jayski:


Monster may cut back on sponsorships.

Aw c'mon!! Don't tell me Brian France tanked them too!!! I really enjoy seeing Monster in more and better places than NASCAR!

EDIT: @BKGlover I think you might be alone on the speed limiters IIRC

 

[RACECAR]

Suddenly, I begin to wonder if this is what might be responsible for Kurt not having his option renewed at SHR.

 

[Adamgp]

Am I the only one who doesn't care for the pit limiters? These are the best drivers in the world, they can't hold it at 50? And F1 is included in that.

You are not alone with this.

Also not crazy about getting rid of the jack man, or (if they ever do it) the 5 lug wheels.

 

[RACECAR]

Also not crazy about getting rid of the jack man, or (if they ever do it) the 5 lug wheels.

Technically, it wouldn't even be removing the Jack Man entirely. Just getting him out of the most dangerous spot on pit road while giving him a new intensive straining job. I know this NASCAR and whateves, but whats the point in keeping pit road old school if NASCAR isn't even keeping anything else old school? the car itself barely has anything old school left and its more or less a Road racing car and less of the Oval specialized machine previous incarnations once were.

 

[Adamgp]

Technically, it wouldn't even be removing the Jack Man entirely. Just getting him out of the most dangerous spot on pit road while giving him a new intensive straining job. I know this NASCAR and whateves, but whats the point in keeping pit road old school if NASCAR isn't even keeping anything else old school? the car itself barely has anything old school left and its more or less a Road racing car and less of the Oval specialized machine previous incarnations once were.

Dangerous job is dangerous, I am shocked by that. Maybe they should eliminate pit road altogether and make the drivers take the car behind the wall to refuel and change tires? That way the whole crew would be out of danger. 💡

As for the pit road limiters, forgive me for thinking the drivers should... you know... drive the car. That includes maintaining pit road speed without aid of electronic limiters.

 

[RACECAR]

Dangerous job is dangerous, I am shocked by that. Maybe they should eliminate pit road altogether and make the drivers take the car behind the wall to refuel and change tires? That way the whole crew would be out of danger. 💡

What's with the sarcastic response? Where exactly am I saying Pit Road is too dangerous? You seem to be reacting as if I'm attacking you or something when I'm not. All I said was the Jack Man wouldn't be gotten rid of so much as have a different, more simplified job and be placed in a position not directly in the path of other cars while still jacking up the car (just with less work). Considering I acknowledged there's no way to replace the tire changers in an earlier post since literally every series with pit stops has one, that'd be a pretty silly mindset to have.

 

[Adamgp]

What's with the sarcastic response? Where exactly am I saying Pit Road is too dangerous? You seem to be reacting as if I'm attacking you or something when I'm not. All I said was the Jack Man wouldn't be gotten rid of so much as have a different, more simplified job and be placed in a position not directly in the path of other cars while still jacking up the car (just with less work). Considering I acknowledged there's no way to replace the tire changers in an earlier post since literally every series with pit stops has one, that'd be a pretty silly mindset to have.

That was not my intention, for that I am sorry. I guess I get that way when I am exhausted. I didn't think you were attacking me personally either.

I said originally that I wasn't crazy about getting rid of the jack man, as in jacking up the car as they do now. Not plugging in an air hose. I'm sure every jack man on pit road knows full well that their job is dangerous. Yes, tire changers (5 lugs or 1) are still necessary, but you are ok with them being in harm's way but not the jack man? All I said was why not move everybody out of danger? After watching for many years, it seems the tire carriers/changers get hit most often by cars entering/leaving the pit boxes, not the jack men.

 

[MustangRyan]

Please, no pit road speed limiters. This is one of the few places that the drivers can still separate themselves from the pack with their skill. I really enjoy when Fox/NBC show the two lap total times for in lap, pit road, pit stop, and out lap to see who does it best. A pit road speed limiter would just be one more thing that makes it harder to pass anyone else during the race, as it would eliminate driver variance. I'm not ok with that.

 

[EngieDiesel]

Please, no pit road speed limiters. This is one of the few places that the drivers can still separate themselves from the pack with their skill. I really enjoy when Fox/NBC show the two lap total times for in lap, pit road, pit stop, and out lap to see who does it best. A pit road speed limiter would just be one more thing that makes it harder to pass anyone else during the race, as it would eliminate driver variance. I'm not ok with that.

I doubt it'll happen anyway, since that's another component that would add to the cost of building a car, and another thing that would have to be monitored to make sure it was actually being used, and goes against NASCAR's current cost-cutting mantra.

I don't really see the five-lug wheels going away anytime soon either, because NASCAR's been using those wheels since at least the '70s and probably have a lifetime supplier contract with the manufacturer. Not to mention it's one of the very few things that still holds any direct similarity to road cars, which they're still trying to at least maintain the illusion of.

 

[RACECAR]

That was not my intention, for that I am sorry. I guess I get that way when I am exhausted. I didn't think you were attacking me personally either.

All is good 👍

I said originally that I wasn't crazy about getting rid of the jack man, as in jacking up the car as they do now. Not plugging in an air hose. I'm sure every jack man on pit road knows full well that their job is dangerous. Yes, tire changers (5 lugs or 1) are still necessary, but you are ok with them being in harm's way but not the jack man? All I said was why not move everybody out of danger? After watching for many years, it seems the tire carriers/changers get hit most often by cars entering/leaving the pit boxes, not the jack men.

I'm not saying I'm ok with tire changers being in the danger zone (ideally, I've love for there to be a way to get the entire crew out of that), I simply suggested the Jack man would be one less guy to be in it. Granted its not as much a walking disaster waiting to happen as the gas man (another thing I think should at least be considered being replaced just for the sake of reducing cars leaving with Fuel cans stuck in the cars as well as minimize the fire hazard). As much as I would like to also have the Tire changers out of harm's way, there is no current way to replace tire changers at this point in time for a race that is long and requires stops.

 

[MustangRyan]

I wondered if the reduction in the field from 43 cars to 40 might have been used to make pit stalls longer, increasing safety for the pit crew. From what I understand, they didn't even change the sizes of the pit stalls at most tracks (Dover being an exception); they just removed three stalls from the selection process. Are there any other racing series that would use more than 40 pit stalls at any track other than Daytona (24 hour race)?

Pit Stall Selections: The selections of pit stalls for the FireKeepers Casino 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway have been made.
With the field downsized to 40 cars, three pit stalls (41,42,43) have been eliminated, are not in play and don't count towards driving through more than three pit boxes.

Source

With the reduction of the Sprint Cup field from 43 to 40 maximum cars, Dover has reduced to the number of pit stalls accordingly, while increasing the size of all pit stalls.

Source

 

[catamount39]

None, at the moment.

 

[Northstar]

I wondered if the reduction in the field from 43 cars to 40 might have been used to make pit stalls longer, increasing safety for the pit crew. From what I understand, they didn't even change the sizes of the pit stalls at most tracks (Dover being an exception); they just removed three stalls from the selection process. Are there any other racing series that would use more than 40 pit stalls at any track other than Daytona (24 hour race)?

Source


Source

Well, with the exception of Dover all the tracks you've used as examples have road courses attached to the oval, so they could be leaving the pits the way they are for smaller regional and local series'. Of course the more probable answer is that they are just too cheap and/or lazy.

On a side note, when looking up what tracks have infield courses, I discovered Las Vegas has a dedicated road course across the street in addition to the roval.



Obviously it's not meant for anything more than club racing and track days, but it's still not a bad looking course.

 

[MustangRyan]

The other thing that probably prevents them from changing the lengths of the stalls is the existing openings in the pit wall. They would probably have to rebuild all of the inside walls and move the openings to truly optimize the newer stall sizes. I'm sure the cost is a consideration, but it shouldn't take precedence over crew safety.

 

[Dylan]

So Kyle Busch won again in dominating fashion. Leading stage 1, getting a speeding penalty under caution, leading stage 2, and then winning the race.