NASCAR officials announced the carburetor restrictor plate openings for the July 3rd Coke Zero 400 at Daytona would be the largest in NASCAR history.
The restrictor plate openings for the Sprint Cup event will be 1 1/32 inches up from the previous plate at Daytona in February of 63/64 of an inch.
Restrictor plates were introduced over 20 years ago to slow down the stock cars at NASCAR’s superspeedways after Bobby Allison almost crashed through a fence at Talladega.
Each restrictor plate contains four openings which restrict air flow to the engine, thus slowing cars. Larger openings mean more air, producing more horsepower thus more speed.
According to NASCAR “the 1 1/32-inch size openings will be the largest since the one-inch mandate in 1988, the first year the horsepower-reducing plates were mandated for yearly use in NASCAR Sprint Cup competition at Daytona.
Teams used openings of 15/16-inch for this season’s spring race (April 25) at Talladega. That size was determined following a March 16 test at Talladega that helped answer several mechanical questions, among them, spoiler height and the restrictor-plate openings.”
"We think this will be a needed boost due to the additional drag we've picked up since switching from a rear wing to a rear spoiler," said NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton.
Rule changes, announced Jan. 21, mandated switching from a wing mounted on the rear deck lid of NASCAR’s new car, back to a more traditional stock-car spoiler. The March event at Martinsville Speedway marked the first race for the new spoiler.
Monday’s announcement pertains only to next month’s Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola – the last NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event on the current Daytona asphalt. The 2.5-mile, high-banked superspeedway will be repaved prior to the 2011 Daytona 500.
“The upcoming Coke Zero 400 has the potential to be one of the most competitive races in track history,” Daytona International Speedway President Robin Braig said. “Having a larger size restrictor plate will give the stars of NASCAR even more horsepower to showcase a thrilling competitive race that our fans have come to expect at Daytona.”
The restrictor plate openings for the Sprint Cup event will be 1 1/32 inches up from the previous plate at Daytona in February of 63/64 of an inch.
Restrictor plates were introduced over 20 years ago to slow down the stock cars at NASCAR’s superspeedways after Bobby Allison almost crashed through a fence at Talladega.
Each restrictor plate contains four openings which restrict air flow to the engine, thus slowing cars. Larger openings mean more air, producing more horsepower thus more speed.
According to NASCAR “the 1 1/32-inch size openings will be the largest since the one-inch mandate in 1988, the first year the horsepower-reducing plates were mandated for yearly use in NASCAR Sprint Cup competition at Daytona.
Teams used openings of 15/16-inch for this season’s spring race (April 25) at Talladega. That size was determined following a March 16 test at Talladega that helped answer several mechanical questions, among them, spoiler height and the restrictor-plate openings.”
"We think this will be a needed boost due to the additional drag we've picked up since switching from a rear wing to a rear spoiler," said NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton.
Rule changes, announced Jan. 21, mandated switching from a wing mounted on the rear deck lid of NASCAR’s new car, back to a more traditional stock-car spoiler. The March event at Martinsville Speedway marked the first race for the new spoiler.
Monday’s announcement pertains only to next month’s Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola – the last NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event on the current Daytona asphalt. The 2.5-mile, high-banked superspeedway will be repaved prior to the 2011 Daytona 500.
“The upcoming Coke Zero 400 has the potential to be one of the most competitive races in track history,” Daytona International Speedway President Robin Braig said. “Having a larger size restrictor plate will give the stars of NASCAR even more horsepower to showcase a thrilling competitive race that our fans have come to expect at Daytona.”