NASCAR officials have announced reducing the size of the restrictor plate on engines from 30/32 inch to 29/32 inch for the upcoming open test at Daytona International Speedway next week.
The NASCAR spec engines are normally aspirated V-8 motors which will use a metal plate to reduce the amount of the air into the carburetors thus reducing horsepower at Daytona (and Talladega) to about 450-500 horsepower. The smaller opening might take away another 20-25 horsepower.
As speeds of cars, running in the draft, approached the unwritten 200mph limit rule at the first test on Daytona newly repaved high-banked 2.5 mile oval NASCAR wants to slow down the cars.
Pat Tryson, the crew chief of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota driven by Martin Truex, Jr. agrees with the decision to reduce the size of the restrictor plate.
“I think the decision was made to slow down the speeds because the speeds were too high at the first test. It’s a good move on the side of safety because no one wants to see a car go airborne at the potential speeds that could be generated with the plate they had last month. It will be better for the driver and better for the fans in the stands. Safety always comes first,” said Tryson.
“By slowing down the cars, it will make the draft bigger and tighter. Before with a little more power, the cars would spread out a little bit. I think now, we can expect to see the cars a lot closer together and more in one pack versus two, three or four. It’s going to make for some great racing for sure because I expect to see more three, maybe four-wide racing at Daytona, which is exactly what we saw at Talladega Superspeedway. It’s going to be a lot of fun for everyone to watch,” Tryson added.
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| The infamous restrictor plate. (Photo: NASCAR/Sherryl Creekmore) |
The NASCAR spec engines are normally aspirated V-8 motors which will use a metal plate to reduce the amount of the air into the carburetors thus reducing horsepower at Daytona (and Talladega) to about 450-500 horsepower. The smaller opening might take away another 20-25 horsepower.
As speeds of cars, running in the draft, approached the unwritten 200mph limit rule at the first test on Daytona newly repaved high-banked 2.5 mile oval NASCAR wants to slow down the cars.
Pat Tryson, the crew chief of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota driven by Martin Truex, Jr. agrees with the decision to reduce the size of the restrictor plate.
“I think the decision was made to slow down the speeds because the speeds were too high at the first test. It’s a good move on the side of safety because no one wants to see a car go airborne at the potential speeds that could be generated with the plate they had last month. It will be better for the driver and better for the fans in the stands. Safety always comes first,” said Tryson.
“By slowing down the cars, it will make the draft bigger and tighter. Before with a little more power, the cars would spread out a little bit. I think now, we can expect to see the cars a lot closer together and more in one pack versus two, three or four. It’s going to make for some great racing for sure because I expect to see more three, maybe four-wide racing at Daytona, which is exactly what we saw at Talladega Superspeedway. It’s going to be a lot of fun for everyone to watch,” Tryson added.