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Revising restarts; big COT on pit road
FOX Bite
The NASCAR on FOX crew jacks up the new Nextel Cup Car of Tomorrow and compares it to a current car.
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COT on pit road
Jo from Rock Hill, S.C.: Larry, one thing I haven't heard in the discussion of the Car of Tomorrow is how those larger cars are going to do on pit road. Since NASCAR is phasing them in at a number of tracks with the craziest — and tightest — pit roads like Bristol (where the car will make its debut on March 25) and Martinsville, are the tracks and officials doing anything to prepare for what could be even more dangerous conditions for guys going over the wall?Larry McReynolds: That's a great question, but I don't know if it's going to be wide enough to make a difference. It's not actually any longer either. It's taller, and the tread width is an inch wider. But I would be willing to bet that nothing will be addressed as far pit road boxes being marginal for some of the cars.
Double-file restarts
Ron from Townsend, Ga.: Larry, can you possibly explain the process of lap down cars for restarts? I have noticed in several races where cars two or more laps down start in front of those only a lap down. How does this happen?Larry McReynolds: The rule is lead-lap cars to the outside, and cars one or more laps move down to the inside. If a driver is two or three laps down, and he wants to let a driver one lap down go by him, there's no rule against it. NASCAR just says lap-down cars have to go to the inside. It's no different with 10 laps or fewer to go. Lead-lap cars go to the front, and lap-down cars go behind them in the order that they were when the caution came out. If a driver does let another competitor go by, he has to go by to the right side. He can't pass on the left side when it comes down to one to go.
Lap-down line obsolete?
| Speed Mail Larry McReynolds |
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Larry McReynolds: Lap-down cars on the inside on restarts is something that competitors have always questioned, but that's just the way it's been done. One time at Martinsville, NASCAR put the lap-down cars on the outside. We thought it worked awfully well, but it was a one-and-done deal. It gave those drivers a better chance to race and get a lap back, but I agree with you. With the free pass, maybe NASCAR needs to look at revising this rule.
FOX race analyst Larry McReynolds has more than 25 years of NASCAR experience as a mechanic, crew chief and broadcaster. He and his fellow Crew Chief Club members take you behind the wall at www.crewchiefclub.com.
"How to Become a Winning Crew Chief" is on bookstore shelves, or you may order your own autographed copy from www.DWStore.com.
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