Jumping to conclusions, Daytona 500

Looking at the results from the Daytona 500, BOP is alive and well.

I did not watch any of the race, this is meant to be sarcastic, tongue in cheek, ect, ect, ect.

Scott

?BOP

Well, it is NASCAR.  BOP is pretty much the only reason why it is still around.

In reply to OHSCrifle :

Balance of Performance 

In reply to OHSCrifle :

Balance of Performance, also known as "make all the cars run the same so there is actual racing with no one having an advantage even though this will never be true".

It helped Ford immensely that Brad K took out almost every Chevy or Toyota that had a shot.

Watched the end, and it was really funny that one of the crew chief's interviewed before the end mentioned luck to win the race.  Yup.  If you are so lucky to be up front, you can win.

Even though it was really close, I didn't see it as some kind of amazing race.  The guy who won almost didn't because he was hit from behind in a hard bump draft, which was the cause of the accident at the end.  There's no way to actually pass by pulling off line to go around someone, leaving a hard bump draft "pass".  

racerfink said:

It helped Ford immensely that Brad K took out almost every Chevy or Toyota that had a shot.

Do brands still matter?  They all look the same to me. 

It was Daytona.  Talladega and Daytona are always like that.  Let's see what happens when they get to the other tracks.

I am a bit curious about why the Chevrolets outpaced the Fords quite badly in single car qualifying,  but put four Fords nose to tail and the berkeley off over the horizon.  I presume either an aero thing, or an enforcement of team play.

All in all, it was a pretty calm super speedway race.  Fully a quarter of the field was not damaged at the checkers.

The NASCAR publicity machine is declaring the new car a success after yesterday's race.  They had problems that should have been revealed in all the test sessions they've reported over the past year.   Problems with wheel nuts.  I know formula one gets it right just wondering what the difference is.  I don't like the cars but I'm an old guy so there's the natural resistance to change.  My impression is the the car's design is less robust than previous generations and may not stand up to punishment as well.  What issues with the old car were they trying to address?  Other than style and fashion?  Photos below of the last real stock cars in NASCAR.  Hoping the new car soon goes the way of the '08 Car of Tomorrow and we can get back to these.

The results would the same but the broadcast many hours shorter if they ran the event on a figure 8 track.

It looked like the cars didnt hold up as well as the testing sessions said they would.

Wheel issues, all the cars getting stuck when they had a flat, and it seemed to me alot of broken rear suspension components. 

In reply to SuperDave :

Cost for the team owners mainly influenced the new cars. 

SuperDave said:

The NASCAR publicity machine is declaring the new car a success after yesterday's race.  They had problems that should have been revealed in all the test sessions they've reported over the past year.   Problems with wheel nuts.  I know formula one gets it right just wondering what the difference is.  I don't like the cars but I'm an old guy so there's the natural resistance to change.  My impression is the the car's design is less robust than previous generations and may not stand up to punishment as well.  What issues with the old car were they trying to address?  Other than style and fashion?  Photos below of the last real stock cars in NASCAR.  Hoping the new car soon goes the way of the '08 Car of Tomorrow and we can get back to these.

 

 

Even the vaulted F1 teams have issues with wheel nuts from time to time. They have been doing it at least 50 years longer than NASCAR.  

Funny watching them try to change the wheels on the winner to roll into victory lane and they couldnt get the wheel nut to go on lol.

I didn't get to watch the race, but typically Daytona is always a demo derby at 200mph. I'm really interested in seeing how cheap and/or expensive IRS for the masses gets from the development of this new car. Nascar parts bins seem to always be the place to grab parts 

In reply to Nick Comstock :

Agreed, cost for owners is a valid consideration.  My observation, over a really long time of following motorsport is rules designed to make the show better for team owners provide a less interesting race/series for spectators.

Anyone know if the teams construct these cars or if there is a NASCAR approved supplier(s).

One crash caused by a rear toe link failure.  The 8 car went around, and it was pretty obvious in the slo-mo that the toe was wonky. 

I'd probably be more concerned by the inability to move the car with two flat tires.  It's a bit odd that they would move on flat 15's, but not on low profile 18s.  Something is sitting pretty low, now.

The tires seemed very sturdy, lots of fuel only or two tire stops.

It might take a while to figure out the single lug thing.  I presume that will come with time.

All in all, the cars race well, they didn't break too much, and the glowing exhaust pipes are cool.

In reply to SuperDave :

Single source for the parts.  The cars are assembled by the teams, but they don't have much fabrication anymore.

There's quite a few guys out of work around Charlotte these days, I imagine.

In reply to SuperDave :

Approved suppliers. Although they haven't been able to keep up with demand so parts are in short supply.  The front and rear modules bolt to the center section.  And the bodies are also bought from suppliers.  

Streetwiseguy said:

I am a bit curious about why the Chevrolets outpaced the Fords quite badly in single car qualifying,  but put four Fords nose to tail and the berkeley off over the horizon.  I presume either an aero thing, or an enforcement of team play.

All in all, it was a pretty calm super speedway race.  Fully a quarter of the field was not damaged at the checkers.

From what I read, Chevrolet has the horsepower and Ford has the aero advantage.

Did not watch though, all based on commentary I read.