I hear a lot of comments on this board that have made me cringe lately. The thing we MUST remember in NASCAR is that it is not like basketball or football. What I mean by that is a comment like " Well, Jeff Burton has fallen on some bad luck and he is due for a good race." Or Johnny Benson is racing way over his head and will fall back" The thing about NASCAR is that if a car is good, then well, it is good, and there is only so much that a driver can do. Granted, Kevin Harvick is a talented race car driver, but the reason he is able to contend is because he inherited a very very good race car with a very very good pit crew. It is apparent that FORD has a very large disadvantage due to aerodynamic rules, and the only FORD that has been able to run well consistantly is Dale Jarrett. Ricky Rudd at times as well. This is no coincidence, FORDS just cant run at the front. The physics of the whole thing just wont allow it. FORD drivers know this as well, Wallace, and even Jarrett have been noted as saying that ford cannot win a race until things are changed. I agree. So there is no law of averages that applies to racing. You are either good, or you are not, and right now, Burton, Martin, Wallace, Mayfield, and any other high valued FORD driver is a great go against, until they prove me wrong.
One very important thing to remember....
- Thread starter The Big Tease
- Start date
I do not disagree with your thouhts. But this track will even things up a little. This track they can not run 180 all day. Drafting not as important. Good driveing skills are a must here. Were getting down close to a mile here. You better be able to bang alittle to. Some those Ford teams working hard to get as good as they can. But some the engine problems and cut tires won't last forever. Practice will help tell us more. You could be on the money. It may take 1 mile tracks or smaller to even it up.
Have to agree about track differentials. Atlanta is one of the fastest courses in Winston Cup and the particular aerodynamics made quite a bit of difference in the outcome of the race. Darlington is extremely different, and I think the aerodynamics will play a much smaller role.
May want to note this as well.....
The race has been won from the pole on 19 occasions at Darlington, the most of any starting position (20 percent). The furthermost back that a race winner has started at Darlington was 43rd in the inaugural Southern 500 in 1950 by Johnny Mantz. Since 1955, only Bobby Labonte (37th in the fall of 2000) has won at Darlington from a starting position further back than 15th.
The race has been won from the pole on 19 occasions at Darlington, the most of any starting position (20 percent). The furthermost back that a race winner has started at Darlington was 43rd in the inaugural Southern 500 in 1950 by Johnny Mantz. Since 1955, only Bobby Labonte (37th in the fall of 2000) has won at Darlington from a starting position further back than 15th.
Martin and Kenseth blew engines at Atlanta. Add Burton's broken valve spring, and the normally rock-solid Roush engine program had three busts. There's a mitigating factor, though: The high-speed Atlanta race was uncommonly tough on engines. Eight of them gave way.
Burton points to the balance racers are always trying to strike between speed and reliability. "It's a constant battle for lightest parts, for optimum horsepower and also reliability," he said. "It's been like that since racing started, and it's the reason we break engines."
Roush, a hands-on engine mastermind, is already redesigning the pistons used in his cars.
Burton could turn his season around Sunday. He swept the Darlington's two 1999 races, and he has scored eight consecutive top-five finishes at the track. Then again, he was the two-time defending champion going to Las Vegas two weeks ago. He wound up 39th there.
Roush Racing will win races this year. Its hopes for a championship, however, may depend on whether NASCAR makes a rule change to boost the struggling Fords. Chevy has won the first four races and appears to have gained an advantage with the two-inch front air-dam extension granted early last year.
"We can't achieve the same level of downforce," Roush said. "The thing that No. 29 Chevy 1/8Harvick3/8 was doing at Atlanta, you can't do that with a Ford. You can't make enough downforce to be able to turn it down and drive with tires that are hot."
Burton points to the balance racers are always trying to strike between speed and reliability. "It's a constant battle for lightest parts, for optimum horsepower and also reliability," he said. "It's been like that since racing started, and it's the reason we break engines."
Roush, a hands-on engine mastermind, is already redesigning the pistons used in his cars.
Burton could turn his season around Sunday. He swept the Darlington's two 1999 races, and he has scored eight consecutive top-five finishes at the track. Then again, he was the two-time defending champion going to Las Vegas two weeks ago. He wound up 39th there.
Roush Racing will win races this year. Its hopes for a championship, however, may depend on whether NASCAR makes a rule change to boost the struggling Fords. Chevy has won the first four races and appears to have gained an advantage with the two-inch front air-dam extension granted early last year.
"We can't achieve the same level of downforce," Roush said. "The thing that No. 29 Chevy 1/8Harvick3/8 was doing at Atlanta, you can't do that with a Ford. You can't make enough downforce to be able to turn it down and drive with tires that are hot."
"Darlington is a great track for me," said Wallace, who drives the No. 27 Pontiacs of Eel River racing in NASCAR's Winston Cup series. "I love the atmosphere down there. It's a hard track to get around, but I've always seemed to like the challenge. I like trying to figure it out."
Wallace has done a good job of figuring out "The Track Too Tough To Tame." He has posted three top-10s and six top-15s and is looking for his first top-10 of the 2001 season.
Wallace has done a good job of figuring out "The Track Too Tough To Tame." He has posted three top-10s and six top-15s and is looking for his first top-10 of the 2001 season.
Ford contends it's at a disadvantage under the current aero package rules.
Jimmy Spencer, who drives the No. 26 Kmart Taurus, doesn't have any hard feelings about NASCAR deciding not to allow changes to the Ford aero package. OK, no really hard feelings.
"I think they want Dodge to win the race and the Dodge is about 40 horsepower more than a Ford or a Chevrolet," Spencer says. (A garage insider counters this point by saying the largest difference between the cars tested Saturday was four horsepower.)
Jimmy Spencer, who drives the No. 26 Kmart Taurus, doesn't have any hard feelings about NASCAR deciding not to allow changes to the Ford aero package. OK, no really hard feelings.
"I think they want Dodge to win the race and the Dodge is about 40 horsepower more than a Ford or a Chevrolet," Spencer says. (A garage insider counters this point by saying the largest difference between the cars tested Saturday was four horsepower.)
"I believe the fastest cars are the Dodges," he says. "They're sitting out there on cruise control. The Pontiacs are really good, too. The Ford is at a disadvantage right now. We can mix it up with them, but we can't maintain that lead."
