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NASCAR needs to alter testing restrictions
Jul
28
So is there anyone left who needs to be convinced that NASCAR needs to significantly change its Sprint Cup testing restrictions? If so, please watch the videotape of the Allstate 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway again, no matter how painful the experience may be.
NASCAR may have made the best of a horrible situation by running the series of 10-lap sprints that made up this year’s race at Indy, but officials must accept full responsibility for the debacle in the first place. Putting the new model cars on the highly abrasive track after only one three-car test was a huge mistake, especially since that test revealed significant tire problems.
No matter how much NASCAR might want to save teams money by restricting testing, officials with the sanctioning body have to understand that racing is an engineering-based sport. Engineers can’t truly understand how any change will affect their cars until they test them under the exact conditions they’ll compete in.
Testing may be boring, tedious and expensive, but a large-scale test with multiple tire compounds might have saved NASCAR, the track and Goodyear from the Indy embarrassment. And in the long run, that could save everybody money.
Sadly, the Indy mess isn’t NASCAR’s first encounter with tire woes this year. Anyone who has forgotten the March 9 Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway needs to watch that race again, too.
In his July 16 blog here on SceneDaily, NASCAR Scene’s Bob Pockrass urged the sanctioning body to at least shift a scheduled September test at Lowe’s Motor Speedway to Atlanta. That's a good idea, but it may be too little, too late.
NASCAR is considering proposals to allow significantly more testing with actual race tires on actual Sprint Cup tracks next year, and that’s also a positive step. But it's also way too late.
The last motorsports series to encounter massive tire problems at Indy is no longer running there. If NASCAR doesn’t want to go the way of Formula One and abandon the sport’s largest and perhaps most hallowed venue, officials need to abandon their restrictions on testing. And they need to do so right now, so Goodyear and the teams can figure out what it takes to put on a decent – and still safe – show with actual racing going on.
NASCAR may have made the best of a horrible situation by running the series of 10-lap sprints that made up this year’s race at Indy, but officials must accept full responsibility for the debacle in the first place. Putting the new model cars on the highly abrasive track after only one three-car test was a huge mistake, especially since that test revealed significant tire problems.
No matter how much NASCAR might want to save teams money by restricting testing, officials with the sanctioning body have to understand that racing is an engineering-based sport. Engineers can’t truly understand how any change will affect their cars until they test them under the exact conditions they’ll compete in.
Testing may be boring, tedious and expensive, but a large-scale test with multiple tire compounds might have saved NASCAR, the track and Goodyear from the Indy embarrassment. And in the long run, that could save everybody money.
Sadly, the Indy mess isn’t NASCAR’s first encounter with tire woes this year. Anyone who has forgotten the March 9 Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway needs to watch that race again, too.
In his July 16 blog here on SceneDaily, NASCAR Scene’s Bob Pockrass urged the sanctioning body to at least shift a scheduled September test at Lowe’s Motor Speedway to Atlanta. That's a good idea, but it may be too little, too late.
NASCAR is considering proposals to allow significantly more testing with actual race tires on actual Sprint Cup tracks next year, and that’s also a positive step. But it's also way too late.
The last motorsports series to encounter massive tire problems at Indy is no longer running there. If NASCAR doesn’t want to go the way of Formula One and abandon the sport’s largest and perhaps most hallowed venue, officials need to abandon their restrictions on testing. And they need to do so right now, so Goodyear and the teams can figure out what it takes to put on a decent – and still safe – show with actual racing going on.
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Comments
6 responses to "NASCAR needs to alter testing restrictions"
del brown said:
Jul 28, 2008 at 12:41 PMI agree. Granted it's expensive and time consuming, etc. But there are ways to offset at least part if those factors. Using an available driver that doesn't have a ride. Combining a team test with a tire test and sharing data. There are other ways that would also yield more data with a less concentrated impact on teams. I'm certain that, given the opportunity both the teams and Goodyear could find efficient ways to gain a lot more data.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportSteve C said:
Jul 29, 2008 at 6:30 AMI agree, I very suprised that the crew cheif's did not pick indy as a test track this year, with the COT never running their before. They picked tracks that the COT ran on last year? I don't understand the crew Cheif either with that point being made. NASCAR should have taken evey track the COT has not run on and they should run an open test at these tracks. I know it is expensive,but it wold prevent another Indy.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportSteve C said:
Jul 29, 2008 at 6:33 AMI agree, I very suprised that the crew cheif's did not pick indy as a test track this year, with the COT never running their before. They picked tracks that the COT ran on last year? I don't understand the crew Cheif's either with that point being made. NASCAR should have taken evey track the COT has not run on and they should run an open test at these tracks. I know it is expensive,but it would prevent another Indy.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportAaron Blakney said:
Jul 30, 2008 at 1:07 PMThe Indy race was a disgrace. Watching the 10 lap heats reminds my of my local short track with all the sprints before the featured events. If NASCAR wants to keep getting more fans, they need to preform better races than this.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportPhil Siders said:
Oct 17, 2008 at 1:26 AMIts true that tire testing is probably the most beneficial way to determine the best tire for the tracks that are next scheduled. I think that things by todays standards should have progressed much further than that though. The right tire for that certain track? Surely there is a tire compound that can be used for more tracks on the circuit at a time. Too hard, too soft, it's ludicrous that with our technology these days Goodyear cannot mandate a tire that will resist tire wear and give top traction. Maybe the resolve isn't in the tire, but in the tire company. Maybe the resolve isn't in the tire, or the company, but in the track surface itself. Surely someone out there has a miracle coating that resists tire wear, speed, gives good traction, and is compatible with all racing surfaces. I know that this is thinking outside of the box but maybe that's what is needed. If you put the surface down on the ground, a true racer will find a way to race on it! Try recycled tires, anything but what we've been having to deal with lately.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportJohn Cook said:
Oct 21, 2008 at 6:59 AMAgreed. Testing is needed.
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