Each month, Stock Car Racing asks a set of readers' questions to a different professional in the racing industry. If you have a question, send it to Stock Car Racing, 5555 Concord Pkwy. South, Suite 330, Concord, NC 28027, or via e-mail to stockcar@primediacmmg.com.
Q: How does a night race change a car's setup as compared to a day race at the same track?Eddie WilliamsBennettsville, SC
A: Normally the track is a little bit tighter for a night race than it is in a day race. What happens is the sun shines on it during the day and pulls oil and petroleum up out of the track. At night that stuff doesn't come up as much as it does during the day, so you end up having more grip with the cars.
Q: I read somewhere that carbon fiber seats are being developed for Winston Cup. Is that true?Zachary MiddleburgYorba Linda, CA
A: That is true. PPI Racing (which fields the No. 32 Winston Cup Ford) has made one. They presented it to us up at an Indianapolis test. As far as where it's at right now in the development stage, I don't know. Personally, I was really impressed with it. I think it has a lot of potential, but I think there are some issues with it that need to be worked out.
Q: What are the challenges involved with setting a car up for a road course?Willie BartonHartford, CT
A: A road course is left and right turns, not just one way like we do on an oval course, so you've got to make sure the car is working both ways. One thing that's important is you've got to have very good brakes, and they've got to be very balanced. And you've also got to make sure your car turns good. Those are probably your biggest things.
Q: Would the elimination of wind tunnel testing be a legitimate way to reduce the cost of competing in NASCAR?Monty CombsBaltimore, MD
A: Yes it would reduce cost. But what the guys would do is try different approaches that would probably end up costing you just as much money. Wind tunnel testing is not all that expensive compared to what you can learn and the information and data you gain from going to the wind tunnel. You could go to a test, like at the DPG (Desert Proving Grounds) in Arizona, and spend a week out there doing the same thing you do in the wind tunnel. But you've got to consider the cost of housing all your personnel and the expense of transporting your equipment to try and get the same thing you get from wind tunnel testing.
Q: What does it mean when teams take out or put in a round of wedge?Brad WilsonPilot Rock, OR
A: When you put in a round of wedge, that means you move your bite (the car's grip to the track) around. You make the left rear and the right front weigh more when you put in more bite. The opposite of that, taking bite out, would be making the left front and the right rear weigh more. A key to a basic understanding of wedge is that it works in a diagonal, not from side to side.
Q: At superspeedway races,what exactly does a restrictor plate do to an engine?Judy JoinesTraphill, NC
A: A restrictor plate, which we use only at the Daytona and Talladega superspeedways, restricts the fuel and air flow, but mainly the air flow, to the intake manifold on an engine. This cuts down on an engine's horsepower tremendously. It also moves the rpm range down much lower than what we normally run.