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More downforce in new Nationwide car to make for a better ride compared to current Cup model
By Bob Pockrass - Associate Editor
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Penske Racing's Justin Allgaier will drive a Dodge Challenger in four NASCAR Nationwide Series races in 2010.
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As the new Nationwide Series car gets rolled out for four races in 2010 before a full season in 2011, fans will likely hear feedback from veteran drivers who say the new Nationwide car handles better than the new Sprint Cup car.
And that is how it is supposed to be.
“The design and the rules package is meant to be that the trucks are the easiest to drive – they’ve got the most downforce, are the easiest to handle. Nationwide is second, and the Cup has got the least amount of downforce and the most horsepower,” NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton said during the new Nationwide car test at Talladega last week. “Those cars will always be a little more difficult to drive. It’s easy to say this [new car] drives better than the old Nationwide car because we’ve worked on that, but it’s also just a known fact that with much more downforce, it will drive better than a Cup car.
“We won’t take the things that we learn out of this and go right to the Cup car.”
What Pemberton would like to do is try to get some of the car brand identity that the new Nationwide car has and bring it to the Cup level. He said that could happen in a few years.
The new Nationwide car will be used next July at Daytona, August at Michigan, September at Richmond and October at Charlotte. Teams will be allowed on track a day early for those events to test the new car, Nationwide Series Director Joe Balash said.
The new Nationwide car is similar to, but definitely different from, the new Cup car, which was introduced for a partial schedule in 2007 and has been used full time beginning in 2008.
The chassis is virtually the same, as is the greenhouse area. But the suspension pieces are different, bump stops are not allowed, there is a spoiler instead of a wing at the rear, and the front of the car juts out more than two inches farther than the Cup car. The spoiler also is different than the current spoiler, having a 12-inch-by-2-inch extension at each of the ends. That extension will mean there will be no roof strip needed at the restrictor-plate tracks.
The hood heights in the Nationwide cars are different, as is the template that runs from center line of the front bumper wrapping around to the top of the front tire. The lower section is similar, but there are unique openings for the radiator.
The Nationwide Series will have its own “claw” inspection template that will be placed atop the cars, similar to the Sprint Cup Series template. The tolerances are still being evaluated as some Nationwide Series teams fear that they won’t have time to get cars turned around after one event to be legal for the next one. Balash said there could be some leeway for teams.
“It [will be] an interpretation of whether you see a donut on the side of the car because the guy is racing that car week to week versus somebody trying to [manipulate rules],” Balash said. “We’re working on the procedures right now as we’re finalizing the rules.”
Pemberton said that NASCAR is considering limiting the number of cars a team can have certified at any one time. He didn’t say what that number would be. There has been talk of teams looking at using only four or five cars, but it could take as many as eight or more just with the logistics of racing all over the country on a variety of tracks.
Some Sprint Cup teams are back up to 15 or more cars per driver even though NASCAR had hoped the new car would be more of a universal vehicle, adaptable to a variety of tracks.
“Next year, with only running four [new Nationwide car] races in four months, we’ll get a better feel what we can do to help them with their budgets and their car counts,” Pemberton said. “In the Cup garage, their [old cars were] 21-22 car fleets. They were down to 10-11 [with the new car] and they get so used to building cars, they’re constantly building new cars and turning things over. If they’re up to 15-16 cars, it’s not out of necessity; it’s about luxury.”
2009 Sprint Cup Race for the Chase Standings
Driver Standings after the Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500
| 1 | Jimmie Johnson | 6492 |
| 2 | Mark Martin | -108 |
| 3 | Jeff Gordon | -169 |
| 4 | Kurt Busch | -211 |
| 5 | Tony Stewart | -285 |
| 6 | Juan Pablo Montoya | -289 |
| 7 | Greg Biffle | -321 |
| 8 | Denny Hamlin | -352 |
| 9 | Ryan Newman | -411 |
| 10 | Kasey Kahne | -476 |
| 11 | Carl Edwards | -520 |
| 12 | Brian Vickers | -666 |
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8 responses to "More downforce in new Nationwide car to make for a better ride compared to current Cup model". Post a Comment.
deyanak said:
Nov 12, 2009 at 4:09 PMwhen is naxcar gonna learn the splitter needs to be trimmed on the outside edges so it won't cut down a tire on another car...looseing it all...
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» Confirm Abuse Reportgojeffgo said:
Nov 12, 2009 at 4:13 PMI agree with you #1, plus Nascar needs to give the cup cars the downforce the drivers been asking & begging for!!
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» Confirm Abuse ReportWerner said:
Nov 12, 2009 at 6:42 PMPemberton states in the article that NASCAR wants the Cup car to be more difficult to drive...that's why the Truck and NW Series were meant to be the stepping stones to the Cup Series...
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» Confirm Abuse Reportsundaemunny said:
Nov 12, 2009 at 6:47 PMWell, if the NW and Truck series are supposed to be stepping stones, they better put more young drivers in them and keep the Cup drivers out of the cars.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportkeith308 said:
Nov 12, 2009 at 8:43 PMThe Nationwide cars are 10 times better looking than the winged cup cars. NASCAR needs to make cup like Nationwide and get rid of the IROC clones all the fans complain about.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportb48orr said:
Nov 12, 2009 at 9:56 PMI agree with Mr. Pemberton that cup cars should be the hardest to drive, by far. Its the final proving ground. And I'm not sure and maybe someone can help me here but is that the idea behind the bump stops? To liteally turn the big heavy cup car into a huge go Kart. Once your on the bumps in affect you have bottomed out your ride height and taken away all suspension. The only spring your working with at that point is the tire correct? This is the way they Keep the splitter off of the track, which when does hit the track you lose steering and any spring rate you have. So with more down force and having to use spring and shock to keep the nose off of the track the new nationwide car seems like it is going to present a whole lot of challenges to crews and drivers. For a while the new nationwide cars might make for some exciting races. Or real boring ones. Does the nationwide series use bump stops now? Or is it the teams choice to use coil bind or use bump stops? I think suspension racing is a better show and bump stops should be gone in the cup. Am i wrong here? Any ideas?
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» Confirm Abuse Reportb48orr said:
Nov 12, 2009 at 10:03 PMI would also like to learn about the new NW cars spring rules. Mandatory spring heights? Mandatory spring rates? When I was racing part of the fun was getting that right front spring just right and they would'nt let us cut them short, which makes them a better spring rate but also is easier to get suspension heights right. Anyone know the rules on this yet in the NW new car? Heck Nascar probably doesnt yet.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportgrumpyjim52 said:
Nov 13, 2009 at 9:27 AM"What Pemberton would like to do is try to get some of the car brand identity that the new Nationwide car has and bring it to the Cup level. He said that could happen in a few years."
Report as AbuseWhy wait, you're losing fans with this mess you call "racing" in Sprint Cup. Ditch that front splitter, and "rice rocket" silly rear wing.
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» Confirm Abuse Report