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hit a perfect .400 light, so the cars are often
"overtired" to produce a no-spin, dead-bog
launch. The downside of this approach is that you have
to carry these big tires all the way down the track, and
they act like huge flywheels that the engine must
accelerate. That's not a problem if you have enough
power to run the number, but if your goal is to run a
Quick 16 show, then the smallest tires that will hook up
the horsepower are almost certain to produce quicker
elapsed times.
Tires are just one element of the right combination.
As the technology of racing becomes more sophisticated,
racers need to be aware of weight distribution, engine
location, gearing, hood scoops, fuel systems and dozens
of other components. With the popularity of automatic
transmissions, torque converters have become as crucial
in sportsman racing as clutches are in Pro Stock. Often
the parts you overlook are the ones that ones that kill
performance. If the brakes are dragging or the rearend
housing is crooked, a stronger engine isn't going to
make the car faster than one that isn't wasting power to
overcome chassis problems. Some racers mistakenly
believe that computer programs that predict quarter-mile
performance are infallible, but my experience suggests
otherwise. Back in the days BC (Before Computers) we
used a power-speed calculator to predict elapsed times
and speeds. This device, which resembled a cardboard
slide rule, matched up horsepower and vehicle weight to
project performance. Today's software programs are more
sophisticated versions of the power-speed calculator,
but they suffer from the
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same limitations. They are based on values and
observations of the software programmer, and these may
not accurately reflect reality. We know from experience
that the condition of the track surface and starting
line temperature greatly affect performance; we know
that there are practical limits to the gear ratios you
can run. That's why I'm skeptical when a racer tells me
that his car's performance doesn't match the computer
projection.
The fact is that we race cars, not laptops. We race
them on good tracks and on bad tracks, we race at high
noon and at 10 o'clock at night, we race on chilly
January mornings and on scorching August afternoons. I
know that an engine isn't going to produce the same e.t.
in Madison in summer that it will at Maple Grove in
autumn, regardless of what any power-speed calculator or
computer software says. On my rare weekends at home, I
occasionally watch the NASCAR races on TV. The
importance of setup is obvious in oval-track racing. A
driver can lead 50 laps, make a pit stop for four tires,
and then go straight to the back. Even a small change in
tire stagger or chassis wedge can make a car a winner or
a loser. In general, I think that circle-track racers
and road racers are more aware of their chassis than
drag racers, who tend to be engine oriented. That's fine
with me; I'd much rather work on cylinder heads than
spring rates. But the fact is that the engine, chassis
and driver must all be in harmony. The combination is
the thing whether you're racing at the U.S. Nationals,
the Brickyard 400 or the U.S. Grand Prix.
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