Restrictor Plates at Lowe's Motor Speedway?

[Elwood]

From Jaski.com

 

Restrictor Plates at Lowe's Motor Speedway? With less than rave reviews of the ever-changing track surface at Lowe's Motor Speedway from Chasers Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle and Mark Martin afer a test last week, NASCAR officials are considering running restrictor plates on the cars in the October 15 race at Charlotte. Stewart and Biffle wrecked two cars apiece during the tests. After plowing his car at 170 mph into the Turn 2 wall, Biffle felt the aftereffects last weekend at Dover. "From the eye, the track looks good," Biffle says. But the tire compound doesn't work well with the track's new surface. NASCAR doesn't expect any relief until the track is repaved after the race.(Sporting News/Lee Spencer)(9-26-2005)

 

 

Lowe's Motor Speedway to be re-paved: Lowe's Motor Speedway president H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler said Thursday that despite a crash-marred, two-day NASCAR Nextel Cup test session this week, he thinks "everything is going to be OK" for UAW-GM 500 weekend on Oct. 13-15. But, Wheeler said, there's "no question" the track will need to be repaved next year. There was a Cup Series record 22 yellow flags in the May Coca-Cola 600 race at Lowe's Motor Speedway, the first Cup event held after the track's surface was smoothed out using a diamond-grinding technique called levigating. Since May, areas that had been ground were reground, and additional areas - primarily in the low groove on the exit of Turn 2 and the frontstretch - were ground for the first time. Six cars crashed in two days of testing, with points leader Tony Stewart and Greg Biffle, who is second, each wrecking twice. Mike Bliss and Boris Said also wrecked Tuesday. Wheeler said when teams return next month, they might have to scuff in their tires - run a couple of laps to break them in - set their cars up a little tighter than they're used to and take a lower line into Turn 1. Levigation was used as an alternative to repaving, which is expensive and often leads to a one-groove track for at least the first couple of years. Because all areas of a repaved track have practically the same amount of grip, drivers choose the low groove because it's the shortest way around. That limits passing. "I think there's no question sometime in 2006 we will be repaving the track," Wheeler said. "We need to make sure when we do it we make the right mix. There are new asphalt polymers that are doing for race tracks what Tifton Bermuda grass has done for golf courses. We will also look at the possibility of changing some of the banking. The challenge is how we can create a second groove that's as fast as the first groove, and we need to find out if there is a way to do the second groove and make it just as fast."(ThatsRacin.com)(9-23-2005)

 

 

 

Man, I hope they come up with something better than this for a solution.

[burgundyz71]

That would be just another reason to quit watching the races all together. At Daytona and Talladega the floorboard it the whole time I can't imagine somewhere like Charlotte where they have to lift into the corner and whomp on it coming out...It will look like cruising on the Interstate.

Thank goodness for Penn State Football, NFL, and NHL. I was a diehard season ticket holder to Martinsville and made several trips to Dover and Richmond but with Chase and all the tracks starting to look alike and doing away with short tracks they can have the Nextel Cup.

[MS3DALE]

Man,Restrictor plates at Lowe's would suck

I've been a season ticket holder there for 12 years for all the races and they just seem to get more and more boring every year,not to mention the ticket prices keep going up and up

I don't know why NASCAR thinks the cars need to be in big groups all the time,The racing at Daytona and Talladega have gotten soooo boring its not even funny anymore

[budhayes3]

That would totally suck I went to the Loudon, NH race that they ran restrictor plates...it was like watching Lionel trains go around in circles, Jeff Burton lead every single lap

[MS3DALE]

Yep,I remember that race,That was the most boring race I remember watching,They put the plates on the cars in hopes of slowing them down after Adam Petty and Kenny Irwin was killed there practicing in the summer of 2000.

[Elwood]

TO the best of my understanding this would only be for the one race this fall; until they can fix the track. It will suck if it happens, but as long as it is only a one time deal I can live with it. If it becomes permanent then I'll be upset.

[MS3DALE]

Yea,I guess I can handle it for one race.

My question is,Why did they even mess with the track in the first place? I thought it was fine.

[antig24]

With plates, they would run basically the same speeds, faster/wide open in the turns, and slower on the straights, so it would all balance out.