Interest builds around possible changes to NASCAR schedule

DAYTONA RC gonna be entertaining for us fans... torture for some of the drivers
 
FLRacingFan said:
Lots of uncertainty surrounding the future of Iowa Speedway right now, with rumors of the track being sold potentially to Roger Penske. A majority of the track staff was laid off earlier this year, they lost all of their Truck/Xfinity races to the pandemic, and the IndyCar races this past weekend were a track rental.

racer.com

Penske weighing Iowa Speedway purchase

The talk for the past couple years was that Iowa Speedway was bleeding money and either going to be put up for sale or shut down by its owners at NASCAR. Then, following last weekend’s IndyCa…
racer.com racer.com

theracinginsiders.com

Iowa Speedway to be Closed or Sold? - The Racing Insiders

"Thank you race fans for 15 years of world-class racing at The Fastest Short Track on the Planet! We appreciate our fans at Iowa Speedway." - Iowa Speedway
theracinginsiders.com theracinginsiders.com
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That'd be our luck my friend.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
Okay, why would they want to not use the chicane? Why would time be needed to 'incorporate shifting'?
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Gear timing I’m guessing. You don’t want them going slow as bleep on the road section of the course, they have to have that 750 HP.

Could be wild if you think about it, big spoiler allows for legit drafting on the road course. They should probably do at least testing there to ensure everything is good.
 
The teams probably already have road course cars set up would be my guess and they are going to be flying going into turn one. More grip in the infield can't hurt either.
 
it will be interesting to see the way the cars handle the speed/banking with setups which I imagine will be mostly built for the road course area inside the track itself...

sounds interesting anyway... still wild that the teams are just forced to throw something ‘under the car’ and take the green flag.
 
Chicane is still up in the air it looks like. I think that gives them another place to wreck myself, It sure did at the Roval.
 
FLRacingFan said:
Lots of uncertainty surrounding the future of Iowa Speedway right now, with rumors of the track being sold potentially to Roger Penske. A majority of the track staff was laid off earlier this year, they lost all of their Truck/Xfinity races to the pandemic, and the IndyCar races this past weekend were a track rental.

racer.com

Penske weighing Iowa Speedway purchase

The talk for the past couple years was that Iowa Speedway was bleeding money and either going to be put up for sale or shut down by its owners at NASCAR. Then, following last weekend’s IndyCa…
racer.com racer.com

theracinginsiders.com

Iowa Speedway to be Closed or Sold? - The Racing Insiders

"Thank you race fans for 15 years of world-class racing at The Fastest Short Track on the Planet! We appreciate our fans at Iowa Speedway." - Iowa Speedway
theracinginsiders.com theracinginsiders.com
Click to expand...
I think it bodes well that Roger likes the place and if he needs to buy it to keep it on the schedule for Indy, he's just the man to do it. It also stands to reason if he buys it, he'd want NASCAR to return and maybe even get it on the cup schedule.
 
StandOnIt said:
Chicane is still up in the air it looks like. I think that gives them another place to wreck myself, It sure did at the Roval.
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Whataminute, this isn't about the backstretch chicane going into oval 3? It's about adding a chicane off 4?

Seriously, NASCAR, have somebody test this layout, regardless of what it looks like. Best case would be three IMSA drivers (including JPM; he has stock car experience) so no Cup drivers get an advantage, each in a different make, but that ain't gonna happen. Rent the #62 and have Brendan Gaughan run a dozen laps; that team isn't going to run the R/C anyway, so it won't gain any advantage. Pay Jeff Burton to toss the NBC car around if you have to.

This is starting to look like NASCAR or Daytona want it to be a fiasco. They can say they tried it, it didn't work, so stop asking for it.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
Whataminute, this isn't about the backstretch chicane going into oval 3? It's about adding a chicane off 4?

Seriously, NASCAR, have somebody test this layout, regardless of what it looks like. Rent the #62 and have Brendan Gaughan run a dozen laps; that team isn't going to run the R/C anyway, so it won't gain any advantage. Best case would be JPM in a top tier ride but pay Jeff Burton to toss the NBC car around if you have to.

This is starting to look like NASCAR or Daytona want it to be a fiasco. They can say they tried it, it didn't work, so stop asking for it.
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I saw murmurs of this yesterday, why does the course need a chicane off 4? I don’t think the cars would be too fast off the front stretch right into that quick turn one. I’m glad I’m not the only one confused about this
 
Snappy D said:
I saw murmurs of this yesterday, why does the course need a chicane off 4? I don’t think the cars would be too fast off the front stretch right into that quick turn one. I’m glad I’m not the only one confused about this
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I have no objection to adding a chicane or changing the layout, but not having anyone test the final configuration looks like a epic FUBAR in the making.
 
Snappy D said:
I saw murmurs of this yesterday, why does the course need a chicane off 4? I don’t think the cars would be too fast off the front stretch right into that quick turn one. I’m glad I’m not the only one confused about this
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Top speeds would be somewhere in the range of 200 MPH leading into heavy braking zones if they run the usual 750 HP/small blade setup.

I’d agree 750 HP with a bigger spoiler would be ideal, a lot of passing takes place on the oval portion and the drafting could be really interesting.
 
Chicane in 4 is overkill, IMO. The Charlotte Turn 1 and Daytona Turn 1 are completely different. Charlotte Turn 1 has zero run-off and a brake failure there at 150mph would be catastrophic. Daytona turn 1 has a ton of paved run off and no walls/tires to hit. If a car lost it's brakes they'd be able to keep going around the oval.
 
Speedbowl14 said:
Chicane in 4 is overkill, IMO. The Charlotte Turn 1 and Daytona Turn 1 are completely different. Charlotte Turn 1 has zero run-off and a brake failure there at 150mph would be catastrophic. Daytona turn 1 has a ton of paved run off and no walls/tires to hit. If a car lost it's brakes they'd be able to keep going around the oval.
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There’s a concrete island padded with tires that separates the infield entrance and exit. They could add more tires but beyond that there’s no give to it and it’s not something you want to hit.

A car blasting around the oval with no brakes while cars are coming up out of the infield portion could be disastrous itself.
 
Snappy D said:
I saw murmurs of this yesterday, why does the course need a chicane off 4? I don’t think the cars would be too fast off the front stretch right into that quick turn one. I’m glad I’m not the only one confused about this
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most of the passing in the Rolex comes from the braking zone into turn one. I don't see how a chicane is going to help that. The IROC cars didn't have a problem there
 
Charlie Spencer said:
Whataminute, this isn't about the backstretch chicane going into oval 3? It's about adding a chicane off 4?

Seriously, NASCAR, have somebody test this layout, regardless of what it looks like. Best case would be three IMSA drivers (including JPM; he has stock car experience) so no Cup drivers get an advantage, each in a different make, but that ain't gonna happen. Rent the #62 and have Brendan Gaughan run a dozen laps; that team isn't going to run the R/C anyway, so it won't gain any advantage. Pay Jeff Burton to toss the NBC car around if you have to.

This is starting to look like NASCAR or Daytona want it to be a fiasco. They can say they tried it, it didn't work, so stop asking for it.
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yeah, this whole deal really seems like a red flag... it’s begging for NASCAR to have SOMEBODY go there and run a set of laps. Atleast get ‘someone’s’ feedback.

I really think the field needs 30 minutes to atleast wheel their car around the layout.

like was said earlier... exciting TV, but come on nascar... let someone run a lap or two there before the race weekend.
 
StandOnIt said:
most of the passing in the Rolex comes from the braking zone into turn one. I don't see how a chicane is going to help that. The IROC cars didn't have a problem there
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Upon further review the first IROC road course they didn't change anything, the second IROC they shortened up the course with a chicane.
 
JGR_20 said:
yeah, this whole deal really seems like a red flag... it’s begging for NASCAR to have SOMEBODY go there and run a set of laps. Atleast get ‘someone’s’ feedback.

I really think the field needs 30 minutes to atleast wheel their car around the layout.

like was said earlier... exciting TV, but come on nascar... let someone run a lap or two there before the race weekend.
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I'm kind of coming around on this idea of letting them get at least an hour of practice in. Its not fair to the drivers that they are going to this entirely new layout as well as now might be changing things up on them. I still think its going to be a great show either way and cant wait for the race but throw these drivers a bit of a bone here.
 
StandOnIt said:
most of the passing in the Rolex comes from the braking zone into turn one. I don't see how a chicane is going to help that. The IROC cars didn't have a problem there
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IROC had the cars outfitted with carbon brakes for that race IIRC.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
Whataminute, this isn't about the backstretch chicane going into oval 3? It's about adding a chicane off 4?

Seriously, NASCAR, have somebody test this layout, regardless of what it looks like. Best case would be three IMSA drivers (including JPM; he has stock car experience) so no Cup drivers get an advantage, each in a different make, but that ain't gonna happen. Rent the #62 and have Brendan Gaughan run a dozen laps; that team isn't going to run the R/C anyway, so it won't gain any advantage. Pay Jeff Burton to toss the NBC car around if you have to.

This is starting to look like NASCAR or Daytona want it to be a fiasco. They can say they tried it, it didn't work, so stop asking for it.
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That's kinda Debbie Drama with a bit of tinfolil added. Backmarkers are going to wreck no matter the course. They all have simulators to get them close. Most importantly It looks good on the Covid front to keep personel numbers down, and expenses down that a "practice", bring a backup car and all that entails. Can ya imagine if somebody wrecks out in practice and doesn't have one of those animals? Ya can't forget that a politition with a stroke of the pen can eliminate auto racing.
 
Yeah, parts of my last post do sound like I had a colander on my head. I retract the unsupported conspiracy theory.

Since there's no qualifying, the field's limited to the 40 entrants. Let 'em practice and if they wreck, give them credit (and earnings!) for having started and finished 40th, 39th, etc.

Nobody minded the expense of Xfinity teams bringing backups to test Indy. Nobody minded the expense of packing two cars for the Pocono Cup double-header, or Xfinity at Kansas last week. I don't know the relative expenses but I'd rather pay to prep a second car I can use later than pay to scrape one off the Turn 1 wall and get only 38th place money anyway.

As to simulators, didn't the iRacing games demonstrate that for many drivers there's not a lot of overlap between the skills needed for that vs. what's needed in a physical car?
 
Those aren't back up cars. They only got one car..IF it was damaged beyond fixing it was either a DNF or a wounded warrior for the current race. The crew that was there could roll out the second car but only for the second race the next day. If none of that happened, one car ran both races.
 
StandOnIt said:
Those aren't back up cars. They only got one car..IF it was damaged beyond fixing it was either a DNF or a wounded warrior for the current race. The crew that was there could roll out the second car but only for the second race the next day. If none of that happened, one car ran both races.
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Isn't the cost of preparing a second car to go in the hauler is the same, regardless of what the rules say it can be used for? But as I said, if they wreck in practice, pay 'em for 40th and send them home.

None of it is coming out of my pocket. As a fan, I'd like to see them put on the best show possible within the current constraints. Even if there's no practice, running just a single car with no skin in the game would tell everyone a ton about the track configuration and maybe reveal some safety issues. How old is data from IROC, a decade? NASCAR's gone through two revisions of Cup cars since then.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
Isn't the cost of preparing a second car to go in the hauler is the same, regardless of what the rules say it can be used for? But as I said, if they wreck in practice, pay 'em for 40th and send them home.

None of it is coming out of my pocket. As a fan, I'd like to see them put on the best show possible within the current constraints. Even if there's no practice, running just a single car with no skin in the game would tell everyone a ton about the track configuration and maybe reveal some safety issues. How old is data from IROC, a decade? NASCAR's gone through two revisions of Cup cars since then.
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I think having some sort of mechanism in place to get info to the drivers and teams make sense. It doesn’t have to be a big expensive production but something would be better then nothing. I would think for the sake of safety and to avoid a potential fiasco would be reason enough. So far I have been in favor of no practice or qualifying but this case is different.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
Isn't the cost of preparing a second car to go in the hauler is the same, regardless of what the rules say it can be used for? But as I said, if they wreck in practice, pay 'em for 40th and send them home.

None of it is coming out of my pocket. As a fan, I'd like to see them put on the best show possible within the current constraints. Even if there's no practice, running just a single car with no skin in the game would tell everyone a ton about the track configuration and maybe reveal some safety issues. How old is data from IROC, a decade? NASCAR's gone through two revisions of Cup cars since then.
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So two or three of the top runners tangle up in practice that nobody watches and you send them home with what pay? and then they don't race on Sunday. Aren't you going a little bit far with the strawman thing?
 
StandOnIt said:
So two or three of the top runners tangle up in practice that nobody watches and you send them home with what pay? and then they don't race on Sunday. Aren't you going a little bit far with the strawman thing?
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My point remains I think someone needs to run the course, even if (as I've said repeatedly) it's only a single car from a part-timer who won't be running the race. Obviously I'm not an owner or official, but that's never stopped anyone here from questioning NASCAR's or RTA's judgement.

I hope it's a spectacular success; you know yourself I've said for years they should run it. Maybe they found out from the X practice at Indy that the drivers really didn't need practice there, and by extension it's not needed at Daytona. If that's the case, I wish they'd say so.

I guess we'll let ARCA and the Trucks play guinea pigs.
 
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