Nascar: 2010

[Ron61]

Wayne,

All types of racing is hunting for any sponsor they can get. Just wait until they recall all of the dragsters for quick acceleration.

Ron

[Don]

Initial reports from the spoiler test at Charlotte as mentioned by the drivers is positive, minimal or no impact on handling characteristics that they would have to adapt to. What did change with the increase drag on the straights reducing the speed. The next series of races will be a good indication when the qualifying speeds are compared to last years speeds with wings, especially at the 1.5+ mile tracks.

Did not save, but a Ford aerodynamics engineer mentioned that contrary to common thinking, the wing had minimal impact on the cars becoming airborne.

The May edition of Grassroots Motorsports has a layman's explanation: " Wing It Proven Aero Methods " . Five page article written by a Toyota aerodynamics engineer. The word spoiler is mentioned a few times, but the article is primarily regarding wings, splitters, drag, downforce, aero wake, frontal area, ducts, suspension movement, car design, under car air flow, etc along with maintaining overall balance on the numerous factors.

[Ron61]

Don,

Did not save, but a Ford aerodynamics engineer mentioned that contrary to common thinking, the wing had minimal impact on the cars becoming airborne.


I question that as the wing was designed to work with the car going forward and every time one of them gets turned around going backwards, if you look the rear wheels will lift off the ground. They don't always go up into the air, but that wing in my opinion does have an effect on it. And yes the other series all use wings, but I have also seen their cars go into the air if they get turned at high speed. A wing is designed to create down force when going in one direction.

Ron

[Don]

Retrieved the comment from Sports Daily, quoted by the Ford " aerodynamicist " , he must have the experience and credentials to make the observation.

If the wing was a bad idea, however, NASCAR's new racecar in its entirety was an exceptionally good one. The enhanced safety features speak for themselves, from the first real test—Michael McDowell's 2008 qualifying crash at Texas Motor Speedway—to the most recent—Brad Keselowski's airborne excursion March 7 at Atlanta, with an assist from Edwards.

In truth, the return to the spoiler has everything to do with the appearance of the car and little or nothing to do with safety. Though intuition might suggest otherwise, a car is only marginally more likely to become airborne with a wing (as Keselowski's did at Atlanta) than with a spoiler (as Matt Kenseth's Nationwide Series car did at Talladega last year).
The difference between the two is so small, says Ford aerodynamicist Bernie Marcus, that it becomes statistically insignificant.

"It's not the wing," says Marcus, who has spent countless hours observing wind tunnel tests with both wing and spoiler. "It's the air trapped beneath the car (as it spins and travels backwards) that creates liftoff."

So when NASCAR sets out to keep cars on the pavement, it's not a wing-vs.-spoiler issue. That's not to say, however, that switching to the spoiler doesn't create its own unique set of challenges.

The endplates on the rear wing gave the cars substantial sideforce and consequent stability in traffic. Since a spoiler provides no sideforce, NASCAR has compensated with rear quarter panel extensions and a 3.5-inch "shark fin" that can run the full length of the rear deck lid. Marcus says the combination of those two features will reinstate the sideforce—and stability—lost with the removal of the wing endplates.

[Don]

*** " Bristol, TV rating of 4.2 or 3.2 million households, plus 2% from last year." " The spin on the spin: Despite CBS NCAA tournament as well as news channels getting a rating bump Sunday from the health-care debate, NASCAR hangs on "

NOTE: so there is no confusion, above is not a NASCAR press release, but from USA Today, same for below

*** " No Worries. Waltrip ( Darrell ) wasn't so concerned by a smaller crowd at Bristol, which was 20,000 short of its 158,000 capacity. All these tracks are overbuilt he says. When demand was there, they kept building. And if the demand went soft, we'd see this. We're still in great shape "

[Ron61]

Originally Posted by Don

*** " Bristol, TV rating of 4.2 or 3.2 million households, plus 2% from last year." " The spin on the spin: Despite CBS NCAA tournament as well as news channels getting a rating bump Sunday from the health-care debate, NASCAR hangs on "

NOTE: so there is no confusion, above is not a NASCAR press release, but from USA Today, same for below

*** " No Worries. Waltrip ( Darrell ) wasn't so concerned by a smaller crowd at Bristol, which was 20,000 short of its 158,000 capacity. All these tracks are overbuilt he says. When demand was there, they kept building. And if the demand went soft, we'd see this. We're still in great shape "

And you would expect that paid mouth piece to say anything negative about NASCAR. He doesn't have to be concerned as he gets his pay regardless. The drivers winnings are down as they are based on the crowds and viewers. As for the wing versus spoiler, The flaps used to keep the cars pretty well on the ground. Then NASCAR started designing things and controlling every little thing and everything got worse. The car they drive now is safer but it in in no way, shape, or form a car that any manufacturer had anything to do with.

Ron

[Got the Bug]

Saw this cartoon today about the new spoiler and got a kick out of it.

http://api.ning.com/files/HD6acClQx5...poiler_eng.jpg