Filed under: Motorsports, Trends
NASCAR moves to control bump-drafting
Following last weekend's Budweiser Shootout, where the bump-drafting madness moved Tony Stewart to predict that
someone would get killed if NASCAR didn't get a handle on the practice, series officials have leapt into action.
Perhaps impressed by the popularity of Olympic short-track speed skating in which judges frequently
disqualify skaters based on their opinions of the "fairness" of bumping during competition, NASCAR is
establish establishing "no-zones" at Daytona International Speedway, policed by judges
"spotters" who are to report bump-drafting incidents to race officials, who in turn will hand out
penalties as they see fit. Or not. We'll get to see this in action for the twin 125 mile qualifying races and the
Daytona 500. Ought to be interesting.
(More ranting after the jump!)
Everybody understands the real problem of course - superspeedways like Daytona and Talladega were built when cars
were simpler and slower (and closer to "stock"... but that's another rant) and tracks were designed by the
seat of the owner's pants. When technology and race car engineering really took off, speeds shot over 220 mph, and
NASCAR (rightly concerned about driver and fan safety) slowed the cars back down by restricting engine power. But of
course, NASCAR has even more technology and engineering, so the new-era superspeedway cars can virtually be driven
100-percent wide-open all the way around the track. Want to go faster than wide-open? You have to draft... and the
closer the better. Lots of cars drafting closely in single file works better still, and bump-drafting becomes the
only way to fly.
Want to make bump-drafting in the corners go away? Fire up the bulldozers and flatten the
banking. Make the drivers drive through the corners, not just ride around. No "judges," no ad-hoc penalties
= no problem.
[Source: Speedtv.com]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Brad Barnett 4:58PM (2/15/2006)
I can't wait until 2007 when Toyota enters the Camry into NASCAR. Can you imagine?! A CAMRY! Who can't get excited about watching a CAMRY race?! Woo-hoo! And it's STOCK CAR RACING, which means you can go to your local Toyota dealership and buy a Camry that can race in NASCAR! YAY! GO NASCAR!
(Only three more weeks until SPEED airs the Grand-Am Cup GS/ST race that was run on January 27. Maybe by then I will have forgotten who won and it'll be new all over again! Yipee!)
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Racing? 5:02PM (2/15/2006)
Tony is one of my favorite drivers, but really. This is racing!
They should open up the restrictor plates and give some more power to pass. Can you imagine how boring Restrictor plate racing will get if they outlaw bump drafting? 500 miles of single file racing.
At least they are only restricting it to the corners.
NASCAR needs to let drivers "fight it out" get spun out? you better watch out! :)
BRING IT ON! lol
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Proud Japanese 5:18PM (2/15/2006)
You call going around in a circle racing?
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Rich 5:45PM (2/15/2006)
You sure are a positive guy, PJap....
Slow day flaming other sites?
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Ian 6:19PM (2/15/2006)
it 'aint bumping, it 'aint nudging, it's rubbing. and rubbing son is racing....
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Mike from Scarborough 7:09PM (2/15/2006)
For the Record,the Japaneese don't have anybody famous in racing past or present,to be proud of.And yes circle track racing is popular.Out of the top 20 most spectated sports in the world,nascar has the top 17 events....
Finaly as for Bump drafting!!! It is Dangerous..And I agree with Tony Balony.In saying, that the real problem is tires( They last only 25 hot laps),and that #$@&ing restrictor plate!!!!!!!!Althought Talladaga and Daytona have huge speeds,they also have house airial collisions and the Fans Love it!!I don't I'd take Michigan,Charlotte,texas, any day.Bumping used to be a polite " Get the hell out of my way" , but when it becomes a strategy it might end up in Tragety..
By the Way Roberto Garrero still holds the fastest speed at Michigan 249.85 MPG in 1995??Wow another Circle track.The Same Track that Takkagi never finished a race in......
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Steve B. 7:54AM (2/16/2006)
I used to watch NASCAR until I realized several things:
1. It's really boring watching cars go in a circle.
2. The automakers don't even pretend that they're racing stock cars anymore.
3. It's about as legitimate as WWF, er WWE, or whatever they're calling Vince McMahon's sideshow this year. The whole thing is rigged.
So, it's catching whatever rally races I can on SpeedVision for me. You get to see:
1. Cars racing on wild, offroad tracks that require more talent than turning left.
2. Cars that are modified versions of the cars you can buy in showrooms.
Seriously, I know some people really love NASCAR, but its not like its an actual sport. It's an entertainment program BASED on a sport... Y'know, like the Harlem Globetrotters, or Monster Truck rallies.
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theburn16 8:42AM (2/16/2006)
"3. It's about as legitimate as WWF, er WWE, or whatever they're calling Vince McMahon's sideshow this year. The whole thing is rigged."
that's about the most brilliant thing i've heard all year, never thought i'd hear someobdy say something so dumb. its impossible to rig anything that has a motor, tires, hundreds of other working parts and a handful of drivers that have no business being on the track. if it were all rigged then why the heck did they have their top 2 stars finish outside the top 10 which meant they were racing for almost nothing the last 10 races of the season.......but thanks for the comment, just know what you're talkin about next time
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jj48fan 9:26AM (2/16/2006)
NASCAR is great except for the winers. Like Stewart, he was shown bumping in last weeks race and plenty more and he has nerve to coment about it. Plus you never see him with a girl! Does he keep his guy friend in the back ground out of site.
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theburn16 9:33AM (2/16/2006)
haha, that's funny...a jimmie johnson fan talking about whiners. him and gordon are the 2 that think they never do anything wrong and when they do it was just an honest mistake, but let somebody else to something and they need to be fired, suspended or something else
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Whydrive 9:55AM (2/16/2006)
F1 has a higher probability of being rigged than Nascar. Only an idiot with nothing better to do would enjoy watching an F1 race. Actually, they can't even be considered races since all they do is drive single-file 99% of the race.
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Proud Japanese 10:31AM (2/16/2006)
#11 - When they DO pass, you get gems like this
http://videos.streetfire.net/search/f1/2/42BF4CB9-E6FF-44E3-93A5-A2D57663DEC8.htm
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Whydrive 1:35PM (2/16/2006)
Proud Jap, that doesn't happen during every race. Pretty much 9 out of 10 races, you know who's going to win within the first 10 laps.
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