Bristol Inspection Going Slow
Nextel Cup teams are going through the car of tomorrow inspection process slowly today at Bristol Motor Speedway. And what is good today might not be good in the future.
NASCAR is trying to work with the teams and educate them about the car, said Nextel Cup Series Director John Darby, and that education could mean giving teams some wiggle room if they are off on a template that would have no bearing on the high-banked concrete half-mile track this weekend at Bristol.
That's why NASCAR opened the garage a day early. About eight of the 50 cars entered were through the templates and scales after nearly three hours of inspection Thursday as part of the first car of tomorrow weekend. From start to finish, it was taking 80-90 minutes for a car to go through the templates and scales before getting the engine and safety inspections done while teams are working on their cars in the pit stalls.
When the cars go through the initial template inspection, they don't have wings on them. NASCAR issues the wings after the cars are through that section. "We're ready to go run," said Petty Enterprises Executive Vice President Robbie Loomis, whose car was one of the first through the templates. "Being everything is as new as it is, I think everything has gone pretty well."
NASCAR opened the garage at 10 a.m. today and is scheduled to continue inspecting cars until 7 p.m., although most teams are guessing it will be 9 p.m. or later before NASCAR completes inspecting all the cars. Many team members watched the inspection process intensely, looking at other cars. Many teams also brought extra fabricators to the track in case they needed to work on the cars.
"We're looking at how the templates are fitting and how close they are with the competitors' cars and how much tolerances are they giving," Loomis said.
One of the big parts of the learning process is how much a car changes from week to week and if a piece moves or gets bent whether it will be illegal the following week.(scenedaily.com)
Nextel Cup teams are going through the car of tomorrow inspection process slowly today at Bristol Motor Speedway. And what is good today might not be good in the future.
NASCAR is trying to work with the teams and educate them about the car, said Nextel Cup Series Director John Darby, and that education could mean giving teams some wiggle room if they are off on a template that would have no bearing on the high-banked concrete half-mile track this weekend at Bristol.
That's why NASCAR opened the garage a day early. About eight of the 50 cars entered were through the templates and scales after nearly three hours of inspection Thursday as part of the first car of tomorrow weekend. From start to finish, it was taking 80-90 minutes for a car to go through the templates and scales before getting the engine and safety inspections done while teams are working on their cars in the pit stalls.
When the cars go through the initial template inspection, they don't have wings on them. NASCAR issues the wings after the cars are through that section. "We're ready to go run," said Petty Enterprises Executive Vice President Robbie Loomis, whose car was one of the first through the templates. "Being everything is as new as it is, I think everything has gone pretty well."
NASCAR opened the garage at 10 a.m. today and is scheduled to continue inspecting cars until 7 p.m., although most teams are guessing it will be 9 p.m. or later before NASCAR completes inspecting all the cars. Many team members watched the inspection process intensely, looking at other cars. Many teams also brought extra fabricators to the track in case they needed to work on the cars.
"We're looking at how the templates are fitting and how close they are with the competitors' cars and how much tolerances are they giving," Loomis said.
One of the big parts of the learning process is how much a car changes from week to week and if a piece moves or gets bent whether it will be illegal the following week.(scenedaily.com)
