A Mechanic’s Perspective On Plate Racing

                  In Memory of David Poole, Charlotte Observer, 1959- 2009

                                               “See You At The Finish Line”  

                (Be sure to check Patrick’s post today remembering Mr. Poole)

Race fans, I gotta tell ya, I love having former NASCAR mechanic Patrick Reynolds giving of his time and efforts to lend his technical perspective and passion to this blog. When it really comes to knowing the ins and outs of the machinery, the truth is most of  us media types don’t know our butts from a bell housing.

I rarely provide much guidance to Patrick because his posts are like Christmas morning. I don’t know what’s in the box, but I know it’s gonna be good.

Today- Reynolds shares his technical and fans perspective on what is without a doubt THE hot topic of the week.

RESTRICTOR PLATE RACING IS A TOPIC WITH MANY LAYERS

by Patrick Reynolds

Do those words grab your attention? They usually do to anyone involved in racing. From fans to NASCAR executives. All have opinions on plate racing. But plate racing is not just a black or white, make a decision, do you like it or do you not type of subject.

There are aspects of plate racing that become debated. This is not a topic that is discussed in the same vein as downforce racing. Competing at the Texas, Michigan or Kansas tracks in Cup cars can bring up a bench-racing debate. But lets chat about restrictor plate competition, in particular Talladega, and our talk has grown from a newspaper article into a short book. Plate events just offer much more material.

I have seen super speedway races in person and many more on television before anyone had ever heard of a restrictor plate. The racing bared resemblance to modern day contests. Some were exciting with heart pumping finishes. Others, not so much.

February 1987 featured Bill Elliot on the Daytona 500 pole with a speed over 210 miles per hour. I was a high school senior and witnessed the fasted officially clocked Daytona qualifying lap. Several other teams posted time trial laps in the 200 mile per hour range.

Phil Barkdol crashed in his Thursday qualifying race; three days after Elliot set his blazing lap, in a scary sight that was a precursor for things to come. Barkdol got turned around backwards in Daytona’s tri oval area, landed on his roof, and skipped like a stone on a smooth pond surface. The rear of his bright yellow car crashed into wall past the start/finish line and a fuel fire erupted. Barkdol was uninjured but the airborne NASCAR machine was a scary sight to witness.

Fortunately he was on a “down” trajectory, from my stone skipping analogy, when he made his brutal wall impact to where he posed no danger of clearing the barrier and possibly entering the grandstands. I was thankful the laws of physics had not lined up differently. From my grandstand seat on that sunny day, it looked like the car was high enough during times of the crash that he could have cleared to frontstretch wall.

Elliot won the famed 500 the following Sunday and this was the last event that is not mentioned in our restrictor plate evolution.

May 1987 brought Bobby Allison’s much referenced crash at Talladega during the Winston 500. The film of his floating Winston Cup machine turning backwards and ripping away a large section of catchfencing has been replayed many times over. This particular crash was the catalyst for slowing down the NASCAR stockers on superspeedways.

Allison’s frightful accident started with a blown right rear tire. The sequence occurred very early during the race while working the twenty-second lap. After lengthy repairs to the fence the race resumed and, in a darkness-shortened meet, Davey Allison, Bobby’s son, earned his first career win at this level.

Competing teams and drivers understand and accept the risks involved in motorsports. However the situation’s bottom line is that we can not allow racing cars to enter the grandstand.

NASCAR started slowing the cars at Daytona’s steamy July event by requiring a smaller carburetor. Coincidentally the Allison name made its mark again. Davey won the pole and Bobby the race when the annual 400 miler was traditionally green flagged during the July 4^th morning. Ken Schrader, driving Junie Dunleavy’s Ford, had a barrel rolling crash in the tri oval area coming to the checkered flag. Schrader did not get into the fence, but his on-track height could have proposed a “what if” scenario.

During this time frame NASCAR began mandating different aerodynamic additions and the right side window.

Carburetor restrictor plates have been a constant ever since although their size has varied over the course of time as deemed fit by NASCAR. Basically they are a machined aluminum piece that is installed under the carburetor. They each have four holes, one for each barrel that restricts the airflow into the intake manifold. This reduces horsepower and throttle response of the engine. Imagine trying to move from a standing stop in your personal car by starting out in third gear. That is a similar feeling to drivers.

Daytona International Speedway is narrower and has two less degrees of banking in its corners. Add in the fact the pavement is worn and you have a track where handling comes into play. Talladega is a track where everyone handles about the same, and a strong engine and a slick body usually prevail- in qualifying. Put the other forty-three competitors on track and a ‘Dega race is anyone’s to claim. Brad Keselowski can verify this.

Near the end of the pre plate era the Talladega race winner was often the team that built the fastest engine and body combination. With the plates being a great equalizer, all have the fastest engine and body combination.

Our sport had cars that went too fast and were getting airborne and possibly getting into the grandstands. So the plates were installed to slow the cars down to prevent that. Now we have a cluster of automobiles that cannot escape from one another.

Right side windows, roof flaps, and a variety of aerodynamic packages have also been implemented to keep the racers from a lift off when turned around. NASCAR’s C.O.T. has a rear wing to apply downforce. When that same car is reversed it applies lift.

There is a yellow line rule with its intent being to prevent the possible makings of a big crash. The use and enforcement of that rule has come up in driver’s explanations of some accidents.

Speedways have strung steel cables along fences to contain out of control airborne race cars. Sections of infield grass have been paved which will help a sliding racecar slow down. A braking tire can grip asphalt much better than sod. In short many safety measures have been taken.

Bobby Allison’ 1987 crash could have been far more disastrous for the sport than any of us will ever realize. Twenty-two years later Carl Edwards has a similar crash.

Medically, we as a society, have access to greater healing technology for injuries. However, we as a society, live in a far more litigious world that could have far-reaching and immensely negative results for motorsports.

When I grew up strictly filling a spectator role at auto racing events Talladega was a must watch event. For the most part there was an afternoon filled with drafting and slingshotting with a darkhorse stepping from the shadows into center stage.

As the plate era began, the excitement became breathtaking as all forty-three cars stayed in a pack three and four wide. The lap after lap action was second to none. I have never ever hoped to see a crash, but when they did happen figuratively your heart went into your throat. As long as nothing went wrong, that infamous gaggle of 190 mile per hour steel was a work of art to me.

When I finally went to work in the race shops near Charlotte, NC I absolutely despised restrictor plate racing. As a learned first hand how many hours people, including myself, applied themselves to making as perfect of a racing machine that was possible, it is disheartening to know that all that work could be destroyed in an instant.

We are well aware that a crash can happen at any track at any time. But Talladega is different. We all know how it is. I have spent many late nights, early mornings, Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays fine tuning every last piece on a car designed for plate racing. Everyone on every team I was with put forth great efforts.

Finally as a Talladega green flag waved, my stomach was in knots and I felt great anxiety for the next few hours. Knowing that in reality all that extra effort could be crumpled in to pile of scrap metal in seconds. I never had that feeling at any other track.

The spring 2009 Cup race brings up a lot of points to debate. Should we get rid of the plates? Is the yellow line rule working? Should Talladega lower the banking? Is the new car where it needs to be in design?

When nothing bad happens, Talladega offers racing that is as exciting as anything I can find. But when something goes wrong it is usually on the catastrophic end of the scale. Can someone keep the excitement and lower the gauge on how bad things can get?

I don’t think continuing on how we are, is the right course of action. I readily admit I do not know the safest way to approach the racing situation and still not lose the character and racing action this 2.66 mile oval is known for. There are multiple ways to change things to help the racing and safety aspects. But there are some changes where a new unforeseen problem is lurking, waiting to pounce. That is why knee jerk reactions are uncommon among tracks and sanctioning bodies.

There is no one to blame and back the bus over. Talladega was built as a very exciting, very fast track. International Speedway Corporation wants it to be as action packed and safe as possible. NASCAR wants its races and cars to be as exciting and safe as possible.

Fans can not be put in a dangerous situation to view a race. I don’t want to wait until something more than racecar pieces get up into the stands to make a policy change.

A lot of time has passed between in Allison’s 1987 and Edward’s 2009 catchfence damaging crashes. The racing community needs to be concerned about the same situation. Although after all this time we shouldn’t be.

Patrick Reynolds is a former NASCAR mechanic, most recently employed by Germain Racing on the team of Mike Wallace and the #7 Geico Toyota. Reynolds is an aspiring writer/broadcaster living in the Mooresville, North Carolina area. Reynolds also contributes for Race Talk Radio, dot com, The Bleacher Report and Spin Out Zone dot com.

PHOTO CREDITS- All photos by Walter G. Arce. More of his work may be found at flickr. com, or by clicking on the hyperlink.