Daytona

[Rick Parker]

Early in the telecast today they showed a Tach reading of 8200 RPM's for the car the announcers had a link with. The indicated RPM would fluctuate about 100 RPM's at various places but it just amazes me to think that they are able to run these 358" push rod V8's engines at that speed for hours.
To put it in perspective, imagine running one of our engines at that RPM for a few even a few brief seconds. I can't even dream of it. AMAZING!

[Mark IV]

You mean in one of those V8, pushrod, carburated, two-door Toyota Camrys?

I may have watched at least 20 minutes of the "Great American Race" today, and I actually went to Kleinhans Music Hall, circa 1969 for a "closed circuit, pay to see, grainy-image projection video" live broadcast to see a Torino Talladega and a Charger Daytona change leads 6 times on the last lap!

Sorry, they lost me at the first time they said "Stock Car".............

[Bob In Ct]

They're not "Stock" Cars. they're "Silhouette" Cars. At 8,200 RPM the pistons are going up and down about 135 times per second. About 550 power strokes per second.

Bob

[LoBelly]

In Aust the premier racing class is called V8 SuperCars. The biggest event of the year is in/near a country town 'Bathurst' on a tourist road that goes up and down a (very small) mountain (Mt. Panorama). It's about a 6hr race.

I caught a bit of the telecast and they had an in-car camera in the engine bay of one of the cars. These cars turn similar rpm's although they do tend to go up and down a lot as they go round the track.

Anyway, the camera in the engine bay showed the headers going from black to red hot and then beginning to look a bit translucent as the cars powered down the main straight. It was a very impressive insight into what's going on as they circulate.

LoBelly

[Dwight]

NASCAR motors cost $60,000


Dwight

[Jerry Clayton]

that's for a 3 hour lease isn't it?

[WildBill3]

That RPM is really lower than what they normaly run because of the restrictor plate 7/8 in for this years 500,its been talked about that the harmonics at that rpm is tearing up lifters ther normal rpm is 9200 and above.With the egines came a pushrod thats only about 4 inches long that helps sustain this type of revs for so long, neat stuff...WB3

[Don]

From AutoWeek.com

" Who's the happiest man in Daytona?

No, probably not NASCAR driver Ryan Newman, who drove his Dodge Charger to win the 50th annual Daytona 500. Probably not Roger Penske, his team owner. Our guess: It's Bob Nardelli. Before Sunday's race, the Chrysler chairman and chief executive officer ..."


Who's the happiest man in Daytona? - AutoWeek Magazine

[sirreal]

My guess Newman, Nardelli just gave Neuman a cool $1,000,000 bonus for winning the 500 that turns out to $2.5 mil for the day!!!!!!!!!!

[Don]

From MotorSport.com:

"Newman's win, which also marked Penske's first Daytona 500 crown after nearly 30 years of trying, awarded the team the $1 million bonus from Dodge for winning. This was in addition to the $1.5 million Newman collected in racing winnings from NASCAR, making it a very lucrative day for the team.

"We're going to spend it to make the cars go faster," Penske said of the bonus. "I'm sure that'll be the first thing we'll do. It was great. Bob Nardelli and I go back when I was at the Home Depot board. To see him as the CEO of Chrysler, he's really put some time and effort and gives us people to make this a much better program."

Busch came home second, making it a true team effort for Penske Racing. Starting dead last after using past champion's provisional, the No. 2 Dodge worked its way up the field. In the end, Busch was in the right place at the right time.

"To give my teammate a shot and to push him to victory makes me feel like we won this thing as well, right along with him," Busch said. "You have to have teammates when you are restrictor plate racing. You have to work together whether you are on the track or off the track. Penske Racing deserves this. It's our first ever restrictor plate win and we came through with a one-two finish."




Motorsport.com: News channel

[Don]

AutoWeek.com mentions the $1 million bonus for a Dodge Team winning the race was announced the morning of the race:

" On race morning, Chrysler Chairman and CEO Bob Nardelli announced Dodge Motorsports would award a $1 million bonus to the team that would put their Dodge in victory lane. Nardelli, the former CEO of Home Depot, felt confident of paying out the money. But many suggested the odds were stacked up against the Chargers

While the Gibbs Toyotas and Hendrick Chevys had mixed results, the surprise of the race came from the Dodges. Six Chargers finished in the top-eight, showing a turnaround in its superspeedway program. Chip Ganassi Racing's Reed Sorenson finished fifth while Gillett Evernham Motorsports teammates Elliott Sadler and Kasey Kahne came home sixth and seventh. Robby Gordon, who made the switch to Dodge just two weeks ago, finished eighth. Other strong Dodge runners included Bobby Labonte in 11th and rookie Sam Hornish Jr. in a third Penske entry finishing a career-best 15th. "

[Rick Parker]

It would seem that the logistics to change makes two weeks before the race would be insurmountable.

[mr bruce]

All they changed was the engine, the cars are Spec cars ,all the same. Only difference is the decal package. Once ford and dodge pull out, it will be a contest to see who supplies the engines, GM or Toyota. Low bidder to NASCAR wins.

[AC Cobra]

All they changed was the engine, the cars are Spec cars ,all the same. Only difference is the decal package. Once ford and dodge pull out, it will be a contest to see who supplies the engines, GM or Toyota. Low bidder to NASCAR wins.

mr bruce - There's a little more to it than changing decals and the engine. True, the chassis are the same. But the side windows are shaped a little different and the hood and noses are slightly different. This makes a different aero package.... even though they are supposed to be "like cars".

Robby Gordon had originally put a new Charger front-end on his cars. NASCAR made him remove it and put a current Dodge (not really Charger) front-end on the car before they let him on the track. So there must be some difference between the two.

I went through the pits Sunday and watched several cars having:

• shocks and springs being removed and replaced;
• ride height being adjusted;
• cross weight being changed;
• carburetors being replaced;
• etc.

So there are still a lot of "set up" techniques that the crew chiefs can do to make the cars run faster that their competitors.

I was surprised when I saw the Chevy R07 engine. They have moved the distributor to the front of the engine. Looks like our Ford engines.

[Don]

AC Cobra:

Additions to your list:

* Tire Pressure
* Adjustment to the splitter & rear wing
* Tape over the grille
* Rear sway bar adjustment

Believe the speed separation at Daytona qualifying from fastest to slowest was approx 8 mph. + or -

[AC Cobra]

They did that while I had my head turned away.