January 16, 2012
By Matthew Pizzolato
Matthew Pizzolato
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Over the past several days, NASCAR drivers and teams participated in the Preseason Thunder Sprint Cup test session at Daytona International Speedway.
The primary focus of the session was to find ways to eliminate the two-car draft that has become prevalent at both Daytona and Talladega since NASCAR changed to its new car design.
The tandem drafting has become quite unpopular with the fans and as NASCAR has proven in recent years, when the fans speak, they listen. Several different methods were experimented with from changing the size of the restrictor plates to changing the capacity of the radiator pressure relief valves. NASCAR even tried manipulating the size of the grill opening.
Reports from the test are that a lot of progress was made toward achieving that goal, but until the green flag drops on the Daytona 500, nothing will be known for sure. However, as a result of using larger restrictor plates, speeds edged upward of 200 MPH.
There are still a lot of variables that will be outside of NASCAR's control. Officials may be able to regulate the amount of time that two cars will be able to draft together by changing rules and technical aspects of the cars, but as long as the tandem draft is significantly faster than pack racing, what is to stop drivers from using the method to win the race?
The answer to fixing the two-car draft is simple. All NASCAR has to do is change the car so that the front and rear bumpers don't line up. If the car in the pushing position destroys the grill and risks damage to the radiator when it bump drafts, drivers would stop doing it.
Despite all of the testing, Jeff Gordon doesn't think the return to pack racing is imminent.
"I mean, I think we're always going to know that we can push and as long as the bumpers are lined up. If we had known this 10, 15, 20 years ago, we would have done it then, too, or figured out how to do it," Gordon was quoting as saying at a press conference at Daytona. "So I think that now that it's here, it's always going to be here."
Regardless of what NASCAR officials or the fans want, the teams will do whatever it takes to get more speed out of the cars. When it comes right down to it, speed is all that matters. Why wouldn't teams make adjustments so that they can run as two-car tandems for longer periods of time?
"I think that if we get it figured out how to maintain those temps, then you will, you'll see it all day long. But it looks like it's more challenging, more difficult, and especially if we're in a pack trying to do it," Gordon said at the press conference. "I'm not saying it's going to be eliminated, but I don't think it's going to be what we've seen in the past. I think you're going to see more pack racing, more cars driving in packs, and the 500 is a long race. Survival is important, and you've got to figure out what is going to get you there to the end so that you can hook up with somebody and win the race."
Any driver on the track will do whatever it takes to win the race, even if it means resorting to a little two-car tango. Gordon is no exception.
"But you cannot deny, whether it's for a lap, a half a lap, or three laps, when you can pick up 10, 15 miles per hour, then you're going to do it."
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