Restrictor Plates

One part of a NASCAR car engine that was implemented for safety reasons is now being pointed at as the cause for many of the multi-car accidents during races. Restrictor plates are used at NASCAR's super-speedways, including Daytona and Talladega, to slow cars down. The New Hampshire International Speedway was recently added to that short list of restrictor-plate tracks following the deaths of Adam Petty and Kenny Irwin on that track within months of each other.

A restrictor plate is a square aluminum plate that has four holes drilled into it. Hole size is determined by NASCAR and varies between 0.875 inches and 1 inch (2.2 to 2.5 cm). Restrictor plates are placed between the carburetor and the intake manifold to reduce the flow of air and fuel into the engine's combustion chamber, thus reducing horsepower and speed.

Restrictor plates were implemented in 1988 following Bobby Allison's crash into a retaining fence at 210 mph (338 kph), which endangered hundreds of fans. Also in 1987, Bill Elliott set the track record by running a lap around the track at 213 mph (343 kph). Some believe that if restrictor plates weren't used, NASCAR cars could race on super-speedways at speeds in excess of 225 mph (362 kph) due to the improved aerodynamics of the cars over the past decade.

While NASCAR officials contend that restrictor plates are needed to prevent high-speed crashes like Allison's, many drivers complain that restrictor plates are the cause of multi-car accidents. Restrictor plates reduce speed by about 10 mph, leaving the field of more than 40 cars bunched tightly as they race around the track at 190 mph. If one of these cars crashes, it usually causes several other cars to crash along with it.

[Rufus Rhastus J]

However, that being said, i know nothing about a restricter plate but, if the author's discription is correct, i see little differance between a wreck (on the track) at 190 VS 210mph. The idea is for the car to go fast....slowing them down takes the "race" out of the race....at least to me. :cheer:

[Shaun]

they are a necessary evil because at tracks like Talladega (My Fav. ) the cars would be lifting off the ground Rusty Wallace just a couple years ago went out for a test without a plate and went above 220

[ALR]

But probably only in clean air,it would probably sring em out and be less big ones. Then drafting would really become into play.
I'M NOT TAILGATING,I'M DRAFTING!

[Jesse]

Originally Posted by Bulletproof

One part of a NASCAR car engine that was implemented for safety reasons is now being pointed at as the cause for many of the multi-car accidents during races. Restrictor plates are used at NASCAR's super-speedways, including Daytona and Talladega, to slow cars down. The New Hampshire International Speedway was recently added to that short list of restrictor-plate tracks following the deaths of Adam Petty and Kenny Irwin on that track within months of each other.

A restrictor plate is a square aluminum plate that has four holes drilled into it. Hole size is determined by NASCAR and varies between 0.875 inches and 1 inch (2.2 to 2.5 cm). Restrictor plates are placed between the carburetor and the intake manifold to reduce the flow of air and fuel into the engine's combustion chamber, thus reducing horsepower and speed.

Restrictor plates were implemented in 1988 following Bobby Allison's crash into a retaining fence at 210 mph (338 kph), which endangered hundreds of fans. Also in 1987, Bill Elliott set the track record by running a lap around the track at 213 mph (343 kph). Some believe that if restrictor plates weren't used, NASCAR cars could race on super-speedways at speeds in excess of 225 mph (362 kph) due to the improved aerodynamics of the cars over the past decade.

While NASCAR officials contend that restrictor plates are needed to prevent high-speed crashes like Allison's, many drivers complain that restrictor plates are the cause of multi-car accidents. Restrictor plates reduce speed by about 10 mph, leaving the field of more than 40 cars bunched tightly as they race around the track at 190 mph. If one of these cars crashes, it usually causes several other cars to crash along with it.

I was a huge fan of NASCAR and also a fan of Bill Elliott who in the mid-'80's before the restrictor plates were added, was KILLING the competition. I always thought it was a bad rap for Elliott and the rest of the drivers who suffered from that stupid "regulatory rule" just because Bobby Allison couldn't drive. When the restrictor plates were added, I quit following NASCAR. If they drop the restrictor plates, I'll be back!

I don't like Restrictor Plates at all :jaw:

[practical]

It takes the fun out of it when all the cars are so limited that it becomes completely even. Round and round and wait for crash. Super speedway races would be so much better. They've taken the super-speed out of them.

[whirlwind]

this is one of the things ill never get about nascar. all the cars have the same shape body just painted differant,all the cars have to have close to the same horse power,...just doesnt make sense to me. im sure some of you remember when nascar was a show room/research lab for the car manufacturers. i was a fan back then. now its down to driver skill being most of the formula for winning. if all i wanted was to see who the better man was i could just watch power lifting or chess matches. i want to see the cars go as fast as they can make em go! i say lose the cookie cutter rules and let the engineers have their lab's again. ill never forget richard petty smokin' the rest of the field in his daytona charger!...now that was racing at its best in my opinion. if a car can be engineered to run 250MPH it seems to me it can be engineered to do so safely.

They wanted a shootout in the third annual running of The Winston.

They got it. And an argument or two. And some blown tempers. And a fistfight. And a lot more.

In a wham, bam, controversial 10-lap dash to the finish, Dale Earnhardt spectacularly avoided disaster and withstood the rage of his rivals to record the victory worth $200,000 at the 1.5-mile Charlotte Motor Speedway. In so doing, Earnhardt became the third different winner in the three-year history of the event and spoiled what had been the perfect dominance of Bill Elliott, who humbled the field in the first two segments of the special race by leading 121 of the 125 laps therein.

So it came as no surprise that Elliott was frustrated after his loss. But beyond that, he was furious with what he felt were Earnhardt's unsportsmanlike and dangerous tactics en route to the victory.

The scenario:

In the first segment of the race, Elliott led 71 of the 75 laps in his Melling Ford Thunderbird. Only Geoff Bodine in the Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and Kyle Petty in the Wood Brothers Ford managed any time at the front of the field with Elliott.

In segment two, Elliott was even more dominant. He led all 50 laps, and when it ended, Earnhardt was running second. Then came the 10-lap trophy dash.

Under the new format of The Winston, these 10 laps must be run under green. Cautions do not count. It's what everyone had been waiting for.

Elliott started on the pole, ahead of Bodine and Petty, whose spots were determined by having led the race. Earnhardt was fourth.

On the start, Bodine nudged ahead of Elliott. But going into the second turn, Bodine's Chevrolet turned sideways after contact with Elliott's Ford. Bodine looped his car, but remarkably, no one made contact.

As that happened, Earnhardt, who had moved into third, shot to the inside and found himself in the lead. The complexion of the race changed dramatically.

The caution was displayed, and Bodine made a pit stop to change tires. Elliott recovered to run second to Earnhardt. There is no doubt that Elliott had enough strength in his car, but Earnhardt's team had made enough adjustments during the two 10-minute stops between segments to ensure that it, too, was stout.

Elliott immediately rode Earnhardt's bumper. Just seven laps from the finish, it became clear the war was for real. Coming out of the fourth turn, their cars make contact, and Earnhardt was sent into the infield grass at the front trioval.

In a remarkable display of driving, Earnhardt kept the car on a straight line through a 150-foot plowing job and roared back onto the asphalt, holding his advantage. But, as he later explained, his hackles were up.

One lap later, as the duo raced into the third turn, Elliott came to the outside of Earnhardt. Clearly displeased with what transpired earlier, Earnhardt squeezed Elliott to the wall. He claimed he never made contact. Elliott said otherwise and allowed that it was at this point Earnhardt's maneuver crumpled the left-rear fender onto the tire. The damage was sufficient to cut the tire, resulting in its demise just a lap later.
While the two drivers indulged in this episode, Terry Labonte snaked into the lead in his Junior Johnson Chevrolet. But his advantage did not last long. Earnhardt roared past by the time the field raced into the first turn. He went on to win by 0.74 second.

Elliott, after a pit stop to change tires, came home 14th.

That was far from the end of it. On the cool-down lap, Elliott's displeasure became obvious. He blocked Earnhardt coming out of the first turn. On the backstretch, he turned toward Earnhardt and forced him to hit the brakes so hard smoke billowed from the tires. He cut his rival off at the entrance to pit road, and then, at the entrance to the garage area, he once again turned toward Earnhardt and forced him to move to the outside of pit road.

This was done in the presence of Earnhardt's crew, who were pitted just one space away from Elliott's team. Words were exchanged; fists shook. And it wasn't over.

In the garage area, Petty and Rusty Wallace, driver of the Blue Max Pontiac Grand Prix exchanged blows and were separated by Kyle's father, Richard.

After the race, Elliott accused Earnhardt of trying to force him into the grass at one point and into the wall at another. "He hit me several times," Elliott said. "The fans saw it. You saw it.

"Yes, when the race was over, I was still ticked off. I admit it. If a man has to run over you to beat you, it's time to stop. I'm sick of it. Everyone knows his style. I am sick and tired of it. If that is what it takes to be the Winston Cup champion, I don't want it. This aggressiveness has gotten out of hand. This is not Saturday night wrestling."

Earnhardt displayed some sympathy but wouldn't back down.

"Bill got frustrated," Earnhardt said. "Look, if I had done what he had through the first two segments of the race only to lose it in the last 10 laps, I would be frustrated, too. He waited on me after the checkered flag and tried to run me into the wall. That was very unsportsmanlike. After that, I tried to stay away from him ...

"I'm not mad at Elliott. I know he was frustrated. If he wants to carry this on, then we will. I will stand flatfooted against him."

[rebel727]

Never did care for Earnhardt much or Jr. now. But the one I Ireally can't stand is Jeff Gordon.

Originally Posted by rebel727

Never did care for Earnhardt

seems like he has alot more fans dead than he ever did alive..alot of fans hated him when he was alive..all is forgiven when you die, I reckon :right:



Changing rules to please fans has tragic consequences

February 18, 2001
BY DAVE VAN DYCK
FOXSports.com

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — And now we know the cost of trying to script a show in what is a serious sport:

# The sport’s greatest star is dead, the fourth death in one year;

# One of its greatest young stars is in the hospital, lucky to be alive;

# Nineteen drivers-almost half the field in Sunday’s Daytona 500 at the time-were involved in one accident that left their cars smashed as if they were being prepared for the recycling factory.

And that’s what NASCAR gets for staging a show for the fans instead of the sport.

[Apollyon67]

Originally Posted by whirlwind

this is one of the things ill never get about nascar. all the cars have the same shape body just painted differant,all the cars have to have close to the same horse power,...just doesnt make sense to me. im sure some of you remember when nascar was a show room/research lab for the car manufacturers. i was a fan back then. now its down to driver skill being most of the formula for winning. if all i wanted was to see who the better man was i could just watch power lifting or chess matches. i want to see the cars go as fast as they can make em go! i say lose the cookie cutter rules and let the engineers have their lab's again. ill never forget richard petty smokin' the rest of the field in his daytona charger!...now that was racing at its best in my opinion. if a car can be engineered to run 250MPH it seems to me it can be engineered to do so safely.

I agree, I would love to see racing with actual cars you can find on the showroom floor again with a minimum sale numer to be sold. Seems like this was a rule somewhere once, but I never was much into sports. When I grew up there wasn't anything on TV about my sport, shooting.

[rebel727]

Originally Posted by Apollyon67

When I grew up there wasn't anything on TV about my sport, shooting.

When I was a kid my favorite thing was when Wide World of Sports came on they showed a clip of a ski jumper busting his butt. That was my favorite part of the whole show.

[lefty o]

who cares, as far as nascar is concerned the racing has gone in the toilet. talladega was run at 219mph in 1970, by a dodge daytona. whats that tell you, they've been making the rules to keep the cars slow for a long time. sorry, nascar just irritates me- there just aint a thing stock about a stock car anymore.

[rebel727]

Dirt track, now there's some action for ya.

[MAX7.62]

Why don't they just go the last step and have everyone just purchase a "spec" car from NASCAR and paint 'em different colors and go race. that's probably where they're going with this before it's all over.
I pay much less attention to cup racing and F1 because of all the rules they come up with - it's about the same as the assault weapons ban in a sense.
I realize that the "NEXTEL" cup deal is a huge money hog and can never be changed at this point on history, that's fine leave it like it is, rules, restrictor plates and all - - - a "spec" class where there is no engineering, mechanical, or design talent needed, take it out of the box and play.
BUT!
For people like me who believe that racecars are built to go faster than the other guy through skill, craft, engineering. mechanical talent. and a creative interpretaton of the rules, we need an open Grand National class in NASCAR:

500 cubic inch engine limit
open aerodynamics - (no rules, put sprint car wings on it if you want to)
open tires - (no rules, make 'em as wide and sticky as you want to)
Place the driver in the middle of the chassis for an extra safety barrier.
If the rules makers are worried about safety, put up big screens outside the track and leave the grandstands empty - - - they like to be liberals and protect ourselves from each other anyway.
Take a car like that and put a driver in it - a REAL driver who will take a machine like this and DRIVE it, figure it out, beat the snot out of it and tell the crew chief that it still ain't good enough - after making a 300 mph lap at Talladega.
Now THAT's good 'ol Southern boy racing!

Oh, and by the way, Dale Earnhardt won the WINSTON cup championship 7 times, not the friggin nextel cup. Hasn't anyone got the cajones to tell those jerks that they may have bought a lot of things but they didn't by God buy Dale Earnhardt, he was gone before they showed up, he was a WINSTON competitor, PERIOD!

Originally Posted by MAX7.62

Why don't they just go the last step and have everyone just purchase a "spec" car from NASCAR and paint 'em different colors and go race

sounds like IROC to me :right:

[lefty o]

thats IROC, draw straws to see who gets which car.

that "Pass in the Grass" kicked...:spaceship

[fordruid]

In this weeks 'NASCAR This Week, Monte Dutton said; (and I quote) "I've said it many times. NASCAR isn't fixed. It's manipulated."

Sounds like Sports Entertainment (read; WWE) to me.