Nextel Cup "Car of Tomorrow"

Hard to know why NASCAR is about 30 years in the past when it comes to engines.

Little bit longer than 30 years in the past, small block Chebby has been around since 1954 for the 1955 model year.

Even sadder then

Even though the cup cars are a small block, try to put a nascar block in a 55 chevy and see if all the other 1955 vintage engine parts fit. Its a different dog.

You have to get past the point of NASCAR being "stock cars". back in the

60's maybe. Modern nextel cup cars are spec built race cars. nothing more. Tube chassis. custom bent sheet metal. not even the same dimensions. Front drive street vs rear drive cup. The decals on the cars for headlights and such are the closest thing to being "stock".

Try to find a stock street car that spins 9000 RPM.

Why carburetors? because they are afraid they cannot "Police" the electronics on the cars if they go to fuel injection. Traction control is a felony in cup you know........

Bob

I suppose theres no point in them advancing when they already need restrictor plates, and if your running at full speed all day you dont need a car that accelerates any faster.

And it is sponsored by Ford, GM, Chrysler or Toyota.

That's right: Nextel of Tomorrow has Toyota as a manufacturer.

Jeff

Easy. Look for the piston bits on the road next to it.

Carbs keep it fairer for all.

Jeff

Except for a few tracks, the cars accelerate a lot off the turns.

In addition, drivers seem to find acceleration helpful when leaving the pits and after braking for the driver in front who just spun a bit or during the restart.

The restrictor plates are for safety so that the cars don't kill anyone, like the drivers or fans.

Jeff

Well, i didnt think I would have to point it out, on here... but a restrictor plate doesnt care what the fuel system is.

For that matter, NASCAR COULD have a 'regulation throttle body' (or two, the other for the short tracks) which they controlled and distributed to the teams... let the various teams and mfrs do whatever else they can to improve the performance otherwise

Why don't other racing regulating bodies have problems "policing" fuel injected engines then?

Simple. While other types of racing are about racing, NASCAR is ALL about absolute parity (whether it really exists or not). Cars are made to go slower not faster. there are more templates in the garage than Cheereo's in a cereal box. Nascar inspectors could put the Department of Homeland Security to shame. Some of the cheating in the past was worthy of NASA involvement.

They know they can stick templates on a carburettor and see if its modified. But how would they check doctored fuel injectors at the track quickly? Especially modern port injection with injectors on a high pressure fuel rail. Some brain surgeon would figure out how to make one flow more and the rest would be crying fowl. That's the nascar way.

And then theirs the electronics. Unless nascar handed out the fuel injection computers at every track they would not have a 100% way of knowing some funny business has not taken place. NASCAR has a colored past of creative bending of the rules. Fuel injection and computers would just be another challenge to be broken for some team.

In the not so distant past there has been accusation of some teams using some form of traction control Via the ignition box. Nothing was every proven (AFAICR), but they clamped down on that too and now there are more rules on the ignition systems.

The sad thing is for as much as NASCAR stresses parity, there is a still large difference between the haves and have nots. The Hendrix's and Rouch's will spend millions for a few tenths of a second lap time improvement. Other low budget teams would just like to have a few more people in the shop to get the car to the track. Or to even find a sponcer that will allow them to be competitive.

Nascar is much like the WWE now. Its not a sport, its entertainment.

Bob

Still doesn't explain why other racing bodies dont have the same problems. I mean if you look at F1, they are always trying to slow them down.

So NASCAR can't figure out what almost every other race body in the world has figured out? They aren't that dumb are they?

F1 is a very high dollar elitist series with not that many teams.

Nascar, although it started out with modest home boy roots, is now just big business.

You can look what the indy racing league is doing. limit choices and change engine and chassis specs every year or two. And lease the engines. People used to care about that series. Now, its just more racing chaff and the TV screen. Even the

500 does not have the glamour it once had.

You want to cut back on the NASCAR cheating? make a common chassis and single supplier for bodies. Then lease engines from a central source. But don't count on that every

happening in the near future in NASCAR. NASCAR likes some diversity, but its a high

cost to maintain it. Other wise, you might as well just make it a glorified IROC series with identical cars with different decals on them.

We will see how much Toyota stirs the pot this year. NASCAR has not been a true stock car series since they outlawed the Superbird and 426 Hemi.

I'll bet DE jr toilet seats are a popular item this Christmas....... ;)

Bob

This, IMHO, had a lot more to do with the split between IRL and CART several years back. I lost interest around the mid-90s. I got interested in NASCAR when the company I used to work for fielded the 24 car. I lost interest in the car when just before they fired Burton as their driver. I still like Nascar, and miss the days when Mike Andretti and Al Unser, Jr. where driving in Indy. But I have no interest in Indy.

They also limited the number of teams that one owner can field.

NASCAR stopped growing as fast as it once was.

Still, a lot of people will buy things because they see it advertised on NASCAR or has the NASCAR label on it. I mean there are people who will use Tide because there is care with it on it in NASCAR.

And NASCAR won't be moving to NYC.

Jeff

As far as I understand...the technology has been kept simpler in the interest of keeping cost down. It's not that they couldn't go high tech, they choose not to.

Compare the cost of a Nascar stock car to that of an F1 car...not even in the same league. The average steering wheel in an F1 car approaches $40,000 (because of all the electronics involved).

(*>

What do they check on a carb?

What difference does it make what injectors and what fuel pressure?

I've never about heard them worrying about anything but air intake capacity.. that's the restrictor plate, and like I say, that would be easy.

F1 is just one example. There are plenty of others like SCCA, IMSA...etc.

F1 is just one example, there are plenty of other raceing bodies out there. Yes F1 is high money, but they aren't the only ones to use fuel injection.

I can't stand NASCAR because oval track racing is boaring.

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Bigger flow injectors = more HP.

Bob