Craig from Cornelius, N.C.: What will you be watching for during preseason testing? Do you think we will see sandbagging? And if the new Dodge Charger is fast out of the gate, will NASCAR make changes to even the playing field?
Darrell Waltrip: Craig, like everybody else, I'm going to be watching to see how the new Dodge Charger performs.
If you think back to 2001 when Dodge came to Daytona with the Intrepid, they had been working on that car for quite awhile. That car was built for the aero package at the time. If you recall, that's when we had the wickerbill on the spoiler, and we had the little fin on the roof. It was quite a different package than they ever had before so it gave Dodge a chance to develop a car around that package.
Always, without fail over a period of time, the engine builders produce more horsepower. If Dodge's new Charger is a pretty good piece aerodynamically, and they come up with a little more horsepower, the Dodge boys could certainly be a serious threat at Daytona.
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SPEED testing shows
(All begin at 7 p.m. ET) |
| Series |
Date |
| Nextel Cup |
Jan. 11-13
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Jan. 18-20
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| Craftsman Truck |
Jan. 16 |
| Busch |
Jan. 24 |
As far as sandbagging goes, everybody always sandbags. Each manufacturer will get together with its teams, and the factory representatives will tell them not to show all of their speed. They'll kind of even bait the trap a little bit. If the other manufacturers think the Dodge is better than what they've got, they'll hope and pray that one of the Dodges runs really fast so the other manufacturers can start lobbying for a change to slow down the Dodges.
Whenever somebody shows up with something new, everybody his eye on it. Back to 2001, most of the Dodges were smart. They didn't test all that well. They didn't practice all that well. But the top three cars in the Daytona 500 starting lineup were Dodges as Intrepids swept the front row — Bill Elliott and Stacy Compton — while Sterling Marlin, who qualified third, won the pole for the Pepsi 400 in July 2001.
We'll just have to see. Everybody plays the same game every year. If you've got something that you think will give you an advantage, you're sure not going to pull it out and use it until the time comes.
What to watch, part two
New spring rule: We're going to show up at Daytona this year, and the rear springs will be stiffened up a little bit — I think they went from 350's to 375's minimum. And NASCAR will give them to the teams. They started that procedure last year at Talladega, and it's a different rule than they had at Daytona last year so that's going to have some effect. Of course, the new gear rule won't have any affect at Daytona. The restrictor plates pretty well limit the RPM the engines can turn.
Qualifying procedures: I'm anxious to see how they're going to lock in the top 35 drivers in 2004 owner points at Daytona with the qualifying races. Normally, you would take 15 out of each qualifying race and then the rest of the field on speed and provisionals. I'm not sure if NASCAR will still use that formula at Daytona or not. But I assume NASCAR will start off the year with the top 35 in points locked in so that's something they've got to sort out.
Fuel in Duel at Daytona: Obviously NASCAR added 10 more laps — 25 more miles — to the qualifying races. A lot of people are going to say, "So what?" But it's going to affect pit strategy and guys who topped up with a little fuel just to get to the finish may have to reconsider that strategy. Ten laps at Daytona is forever on tires, which usually give up big time. Instead of a gas-and-go pit stop, you're going to have to consider whether you want to take two or four tires. In most cases, it'll probably be four.
Expanding small cell: NASCAR cut the fuel cells from 22 gallons down to 13 1/2, and when they did, teams couldn't run 30 laps. All of the sudden now, they can run 50 laps and almost 100 miles. Something had to change. You can improve fuel mileage, but that would be a pretty dramatic change. If you can go that much further, you must have a little more fuel than 13 1/2 gallons. I'm going to check into that discrepancy and find out how they got from where they were with that little cell to where they are now because it's puzzling to me.
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