It’s a bit of a weekend off for teams, as even though we will be at the track this week for the All Star and Truck races, at least we get to sleep in our own beds. If you are in Charlotte for the races, don’t forget that the Pit Crew Challenge is tonight at Time Warner Cable Arena in Uptown Charlotte! Before it kicks off though, here is the 75th edition of ATIW to help you get through your hump day. If you don’t know what this post is, we answer any and all reader questions every Wednesday, right here. So if you’ve got one, click on the ”Ask the Insiders” tab at the top of the page and send one to us. On to the questions…
1. From Ron:
Excellent site. Withthe new spoiler package they are controlled and dispensed at each event by NASCAR. How is it that some cars have their’s color matched if they are distributed randomly? I would think the teams wouldn’t know what spoiler[s] they would get each race.
Unlike the now extinct wing, NASCAR does not issue the spoilers to the teams. They are put on at the shop and then teched when they get to the track, just like they used to be. That’s why some teams have color matched pieces. - T.C.
2. From Jerry:
Guys what happens if Brian Vickers car owners points make the chase but his own drivers points don’t. Are Chase births given to the car or the driver.
Great question! There are actually two Chases. One for the driver championship and one for the owner championship. It’s no different then when Carl Edwards won the Nationwide Series driver championship in 2007, while RCR took home the owner championship. We don’t often see another driver run a car that is so high in points, so to this point, it hasn’t been an issue. - T.C.
3. From Kim:
This may be the silliest question you’ve gotten, but when a driver like Casey Mears subs for different drivers, what firesuit do they wear? Do they quickly doctor up a suit with the appropriate sponsor logos?
There are no silly questions here. Casey actually wore a generic firesuit at Dover. I would imagine if he continues to drive the #83 that he would have a Red Bull firesuit going forward. It really depends on how much time the team has. If they have some advance warning, they can get a firesuit ready. If not, the sub driver either has to wear one of their own, or hope they fit into one of the current driver’s suits. – T.C.
4. From Christopher:
At Darlington, Jeff Burton was penalized for running over the air hose. I’m curious- what is the rationale behind this type of penalty? I understand speeding on pit road- it’s a safety issue with other drivers, and it gives you an unfair advantage. But driving over a hose doesn’t give you any advantage, and can only really hurt yourself.
Running over an air hose is a definitely a safety concern. The combination of an impact and the hose getting kicked up by the tires can be very dangerous. If an impact were to hit someone, it could do some serious damage, and the air hose is connected to a Nitrogen bottle that has 2,500 lbs of pressure in it. – T.C.
5. From Kyle:
What do you know about the ownership situation at Red Bull Racing? There are rumors the company wants to move into a sponsorship only role. Any idea what team the sponsorship would go to if this were to happen?
The team is wholly owned by Red Bull owner (or perhaps more accurate, majority stakeholder) Deitrich Mateschitz (just like the Red Bull F1 team). So short of Red Bull deciding, without Mateschitz, that they no longer want to be in the NASCAR sponsorship business, it’s not too likely. Though I suppose if you looked at it from it’s purest form Red Bull really is just a sponsor now (albeit a very large one). – Journo
6. From Christopher:
When people talk about start-and-parkers, they often complain that they’re keeping better (serious) drivers off the track. If money and sponsorship were no issue, which drivers could be competing well in the Sprint Cup?
That’s a good question (it’s not something I necessarily buy into). Start-and-parkers are filling a void. Certainly there are exceptions every now and then but in the absence of the start and park teams we would likely have less than full fields. If money and sponsorship were no issue? That’s tough and I’m no driver development expert – this is something even the best driver development people have failed at (ex. Reed Sorenson, Casey Mears). Sorry. – Journo
7. From Allen:
Who makes the call to hand down penalties or park a car in the middle of a race? Brian France? Mike Helton?
Those calls generally come from the series director – Wayne Auton in the Truck Series, Joe Balash in the Nationwide Series and John Darby in the Cup Series. When drivers get to the trailer though, they sometimes get to meet with both the Series Director and Mr. Helton. – Journo
8. From yankeegranny:
Ok, what’s the story; was there a steering problem with the 88 at Dover, or not? If there was, what was it, and if there wasn’t has my fav driver become delusional? Seriously, what could be wrong with the car to make a driver say he had to turn the wheel 90 degrees to the left to get it go straight on a straightaway? Did he hit something/someone early in the race to knock something loose?
It is my understanding that there was, in fact, no problem at all. The marbles at Dover can be pretty bad, and if a driver picks them up on his tires, he can think all manner of things are wrong. It is not uncommon for drivers to think they have a flat tire or some mechanical issue. That’s why you see drivers swerving back and forth under caution to clean their tires. Dale Jr. isn’t crazy, and he wasn’t the only victim of the marbles this weekend. It’s just another example of the horrible luck and circumstances that continue to keep this team down. – T.C.
9. From Sann:
With all the drivers that get right front flats and smack the wall, would it be possible to run a liner in just that tire to prevent hitting the wall?
At Dover, Goodyear runs inner liners in all of the tires. When a tire blows out though, there isn’t much that is going to stop a car from heading straight for the wall, inner liner or not. The inner liner may make the hit not hurt so bad, but it’s inevitable. – T.C.
10. From yankeegranny:
In this age of mega teams with mega bucks, simulators, windtunnels, and 7-post whatever they ares, how can a team unload a car that misses the needed race setup completely. Some cars seem to be pure garbage from the time they come off the truck and nothing seems to improve them. On whose shoulders do we lay the blame..somehow it seems that this is one that we can’t blame on the driver?
Well it depends what team/s you’re talking about. Lesser funded teams don’t have the resources to spend a lot of time at the wind tunnel or at the 7-post – many of those teams are also running sub-par and used engines. When you see these teams run like garbage it’s often because their using sub-par equipment (having Chad Knaus on the box and Jimmie Johnson in the car wouldn’t do them any good). In the case of well funded teams you can blame the driver and/or the crew chief for missing the mark. Something to consider too is changing conditions. If a team practices in sunny/hot conditions and they race in cold/cloudy conditions their setup is going to get messed up. – Journo
11. From Walt:
When a driver says that they are tight or pushing in one corner and then tight or pushing in the next corner how can you adjust for both corners?
Usually, just adjusting for the overall tight condition will help in both corners. At a place like Darlington, where 1 and 2 are different then 3 and 4, a happy medium has to be found. It’s very difficult to make the car run well through both sets of corners. – T.C.
And that brings yet another “Ask The Insiders Wednesday” to a close. Thanks to everyone who sent in questions. And remember, if you’d like to be a part of next week, click on the ”Ask the Insiders” tab at the top of the page and send your question in!
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