Don't expect Talladega to break out at Daytona

Sporting News, The, Feb 19, 2001 by Lee Spencer

The Daytona 500 is stock car racing's version of the Super Bowl, but race fans don't want their Super Bowl to be as boring as the Ravens' blowout over the Giants last month. Or even as boring as last season's Daytona 500.

Remember, there is no halftime show to save the day in auto racing. No Aerosmith. No 'N Sync. If O-Town singing the national anthem before the 500 is as good as it gets on race day, that's trouble.

NASCAR has taken steps to spice up the competition, but the question remains: Will the Daytona 500 live up to its hype and its billing as the Great American Race?

Yes, but there's a catch. The cars will be using a similar aerodynamics package to the one used for the first time last fall at Talladega, where there were 49 lead changes among 21 drivers. In the Daytona 500 last season, there were only nine lead changes among seven drivers.

That doesn't mean we'll see as many lead changes at Daytona as we did at Talladega. We won't. Even though the tracks are similar in size, they're different in nature. Daytona is much more narrow. But the racing will be better simply because drivers will be able to pull out of the draft and pass without fear of being shuffled to the back of the pack.

On the surface, Talladega and Daytona appear very much alike. Talladega is 2.66 miles with 33 degrees of banking in the corners; Daytona is 2.5 miles with banking of 31 degrees in the corners. Drivers can hold the throttle wide open on the straightaways at both tracks, but when the cars get into the corners, distinct characteristics emerge.

Talladega's wide, sweeping turns invite drivers to keep their pedals to the floorboards and continue racing three- and four-wide through the corners. It's commonplace to run a lap at Talladega without lifting.

The turns at Daytona narrow dramatically, leaving the drivers with the decision to ease off the gas and perhaps relinquish track position or risk setting off the "big one" as the cars squeeze into the corner.

After last year's two lackluster Daytona events--there were only 10 lead changes in the July race--NASCAR changed the aerodynamic package and enlarged the holes on the restrictor plates to fifteen-sixteenths of an inch before the October race at Talladega.

Among other changes, a spoiler or deflector was added across the top of the roof, the rear spoiler shifted from 45 degrees to 70, and a 1-inch wicker bill was added to the spoiler to give the cars more downforce and drag.

Drivers used the package last Sunday in the Bud Shootout, and there were 19 lead changes over 70 laps. Rusty Wallace thinks the Talladega rules will translate easily to Daytona, but the narrowness of the track might offset some of the benefit.

"The racing (in the Bud Shootout) was dose, but you couldn't nm on the top or the bottom as easily as you wanted because the momentum seemed to stay up top," Wallace says. "The cars weren't really handling well enough to stay packed up really tight like they were at Talladega.

"Three-wide racing here isn't easy. Daytona doesn't have as much grip as Talladega. Here, you've got to handle good when you get in the center. You really feel the air and turbulence too much. A guy can't hang in the center."

Because of the "dragginess" of the cars, Wallace says teams must set a lower gear ratio and offset that deficit with horsepower.

On fresh tires, drivers with the perfect setup and a strong engine can mash the gas, run side by side through the corners and race for the lead. With the new aero package, as the tires start to fade after about 25 laps, expect the best-handling cars with sufficient muscle under the hood to break free of the draft and pass without being hung out to dry.

That sounds like racing--something we didn't see last season at Daytona.

RELATED ARTICLE: Looking through D.J.'s windshield

Climb behind the wheel and take a fast lap around Daytona International Speedway through the eyes of Dale Jarrett. TSN's Lee Spencer did that last week--well, sort of. She asked Jarrett what he looks for when he's driving a lap on the 2.5 mile superspeedway.

"You want to get your car down at the bottom of the race track, the shortest way around with the restrictor plates we run. The problem with the bottom of the track is that it's worn out. It's very rough down there and the car wants to bottom out, particularly between Turns 1 and 2. Usually the wind is blowing across Turn 2, and that makes it a difficult place to maneuver, especially if you're racing someone. The car tends to want to lift the front end there and push out toward the wail.

"Down the backstretch it's just wide-open and headed for (Turn) 3, where again you want to get to the bottom of the race track. There are some bumps there, but they are more toward the exit of Turn 4, and this can upset the car. That's why handling and getting the shock package right here is very important.

"Then you're right out against the wall. The track flattens out in a hurry--the banking leaves you totally--and this makes the car almost want to move and change lanes on its own. That's why you have to be careful if you're the guy on the inside of not crowding the guy on the outside. And if you're the guy on the outside, realizing that you've got to give the other guy room.