Llinyn Daytona 2011, drafftio eithafol

Rydym i gyd yn gwybod mai mater i NASCAR yw drafftio, ac yn enwedig drafftio ar gyfer ' bwmp '. Ond yr hyn oedd yn ddiddorol yn y blynyddoedd hyn Daytona round, ras swyddogol gyntaf y tymor, oedd bod y drafft yn esblygu i ' r hyn y gellid ei alw orau i yrru ar y cyd.

Mae ' r gosodiadau cyntaf yn gosod yr olygfa. Wrth fynd i mewn i 2011, mae ' r chassiss yn y bôn yn cael eu matio bellach â ffasgia blaen a Chefn sy ' n fwy priodol i ' w gwneuthurwr. Mae hyn yn helpu i wneud yr holl gwneud (Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford a Toyota) yn edrych yn debycach i ' w hysbrydoliaeth car stryd. Cafodd uchel-fanciau chwedlonol Daytona got ffres o asffalt. Ond roedd y ceir yn mynd yn rhy gyflym, felly cafodd y plât cyfyngder ei newid i dorri 10 Marchnerth ychwanegol neu felly-dim byd mwy na gwefus-wasanaeth, mewn geiriau eraill.

Er hynny, trodd allan y ffordd gyflymaf i fynd o gwmpas y tri-hirgrwn oedd trwy hoocio ' n llythrennol gyda char arall. Fe aeth yn wirion, mewn gwirionedd, gan fod y cyhoeddwyr yn defnyddio cyffelybiaethau dawnsio.

Yn y cyfamser, Dyma rai pethau roeddwn I ' n meddwl amdanyn nhw tra ' r oeddwn I ' n gwylio hyn i gyd yn ddi-ddiwedd o ' m blaen.

-Felly mae dau gar yn gysylltiedig, un yw ' r arweinydd a ' r llall y pusi. Mae hyn yn amlwg iawn, ond mae ' n anodd dirnad pa mor fach y mae ' r wddw ' n gweld a faint y mae ' n rhaid i ' r unigolyn hwnnw ymddiried yn yr arweinydd a ' r holl spotwyr sy ' n gysylltiedig. Dros y radio tîm benthycwyd i mi gan dîm Penske/Pennzoil, roeddwn i ' n gallu clywed y gyrrwr Kurt Busch a ' i brif griw Steve Addington yn siarad gyda thimau lluosog wrth iddynt lywio allan pa strategaeth i ' w wneud. Roedd eiliadau wrth i chi wrando ar y radio, rydych chi ' n sylweddoli bod yr arweinydd mewn gwirionedd yn gyrru dau gar. Mae lefel ffactor a sgiliau ' r Ymddiriedolaeth yn uchel gydag arweinydd da/yn gwthio pâr.

-Unwaith eto, rhywbeth a ddylai fod yn amlwg: pan mae ' r pusyn, ieueinc ddim yn amlygu eich injan i lawer o aer oer i gadw eich injan ar dymheredd cyfforddus. Mae ' r Guys yn Penske yn hoffi meddwl mai ' r olew modur o ' u teitl newydd noddwr Pennzoil a helpodd i gadw eu peiriannau Dodge yn rhedeg yn dda hyd yn oed pan yn cael eu defnyddio fel pusi. Ni fyddwn yn ei wrthbrofi, yn enwedig pan fydd Shell, Pennzoils rhiant-gwmni, yn mynd i drafferth fawr rhwng eu Formula1, MotoGP, ALMS a NASCAR cysylltiadau technegol i wneud y mwyaf o rannu gwybodaeth.

We all know drafting, and in particular bump drafting, is a matter of course for NASCAR. But what was interesting at this years Daytona round, the first official race of the season, was that the draft evolved into what could best be called tandem driving.

First lets set the scene. Going into 2011, the essentially spec chassiss are now mated to front and rear fascias that are more appropriate to their manufacturer. This helps to make all the makes (Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford and Toyota) look more like their street car inspiration. The legendary high-banks of Daytona received a fresh coat of asphalt. But the cars were getting too fast, so the restrictor plate was resized to cut an additional 10 horsepower or so–nothing more than lip service, in other words.

Added up, though, it turned out the fastest way to go around the tri-oval was by literally hooking up with another car. It got kind of ridiculous, really, as the announcers were using dancing analogies.

Meanwhile, here are some things that I was thinking about while I was watching all of this unfold in front of me.

- So there are two cars involved, one is the leader and the other the pusher. This much is obvious, but whats hard to grasp is just how little the pusher sees and how much that person must trust the leader and all the spotters that are involved. Over the team radio graciously loaned to me by the Penske/Pennzoil team, I was able to hear driver Kurt Busch and his crew chief Steve Addington speak with multiple teams as they figured out what strategy to do. There were moments were as you listen to the radio, you realize the leader is actually driving two cars. The trust factor and skill level is high with a good leader/pusher pair.

- Again, something that should be obvious: When youre the pusher, youre not exposing your engine to a lot of cool air to keep your engine at comfortable temperatures. The guys at Penske like to think its the motor oil from their new title sponsor Pennzoil that helped keep their Dodge engines running well even when being used as a pusher. We wont refute it, especially when Shell, Pennzoils parent company, goes to great lengths between their Formula1, MotoGP, ALMS and NASCAR technical relationships to maximize information sharing.