Saturday Michigan Notebook
Notebook Items:
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Upcoming Kentucky test adds new variables to lower-downforce equation
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When it rains, Kurt Busch pours it on
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Short strokes
June 11, 2016
By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service
Upcoming Kentucky test adds new variables to lower-downforce equation
BROOKLYN, Mich. – For more than a third of active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers, there will be no rest for the weary.
One
driver from each Cup organization is eligible to participate in a test
of newly repaved Kentucky Speedway on Monday and Tuesday. The test is a
continuation of NASCAR’s proving-out
process for a new lower-downforce competition package earmarked for
2017.
Last
year, as the sanctioning body solidified the rules for 2016, races at
Kentucky and Darlington were used as benchmarks for the progression
toward lower downforce for the
Cup cars. This year, in selected events, NASCAR is taking an additional
500 pounds of downforce and 125 pounds of sideforce away from the cars
by chopping the size of the spoiler, reducing the surface area of the
splitter, tapering the rear deck lid fin and
eliminating rear axle offset.
The
new package was scheduled for use in the Sprint All-Star Race at
Charlotte in May, this weekend at Michigan and the July 9 event at
Kentucky.
It’s
important to note, though, that the Kentucky Speedway used as a proving
ground last year bears little resemblance to the Kentucky Speedway
drivers will visit on Monday and
Tuesday. Not only does the track have a new racing surface, but the
configuration of the track also has changed, with additional banking
that creates two distinct sets of corners, a la Darlington.
And then there’s the asphalt itself, which is a departure from the type of surface used in other recent repaves.
“We
have a way of measuring the roughness of the track,” says Gene
Stefanyshyn, NASCAR’s senior vice president, innovation and racing
development. “When I talk about the roughness
of the track, I'm not talking about the big bumps. I'm talking about
the actual very minute analysis of the asphalt itself, and we measure it
in micrometers from crest to trough, and the aggregate that they use on
this track is much coarser than traditionally.
“There
was a time that people were paving with asphalt to make the track last a
long time, like I-75 or something like that, and I think there's a
significant amount of evidence
now to suggest that that's probably not the right type of surface for
racing. It doesn't promote tire wear. It's very, very high grip… so what
we've done here is they've come together or created a very coarse
aggregate.”
Accordingly,
the new surface also presents a new challenge for Goodyear, which has
to build a tire to accommodate both the lower-downforce package and
coarser asphalt that exacerbates
tire fall-off.
The
14 drivers currently scheduled to participate in the organizational
test at Kentucky are: Jamie McMurray (No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing
Chevrolet), Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Stewart-Haas
Racing Chevrolet), Kasey Kahne (No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet),
Greg Biffle (No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford), Kyle Busch (No. 18 Joe
Gibbs Racing Toyota), Ryan Blaney (No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford),
Joey Logano (No. 22 Team Penske Ford), Paul Menard
(No. 27 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet), Chris Buescher (No. 34
Front Row Motorsports Ford), Aric Almirola (No. 43 Richard Petty
Motorsports Ford), Michael Annett (No. 46 HScott Motorsports Chevrolet),
AJ Allmendinger (No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet),
Martin Truex Jr. (No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota) and Matt
DiBenedetto (No. 83 BK Racing Toyota).
WHEN IT RAINS, KURT BUSCH POURS IT ON
Call him Rain Man.
Remarkably,
six of Kurt Busch’s 28 NASCAR Sprint Cup victories have come in races
that were either shortened or postponed by rain.
In
2002, he won a rain-shortened event in Atlanta. In 2007, he won at
Michigan on a Tuesday, when the race was postponed for two days by
rain—and then delayed for an hour from
its rescheduled 10 a.m. start by fog.
In
2008, Busch won a rain-shortened race at Loudon. Both his 2015
victories came in events affected by weather—in a race at Richmond
postponed by rain from Saturday to Sunday
and in a rain-shortened event at Michigan.
Earlier this week, Busch got his 28th NASCAR Sprint Cup victory in a race moved to Monday because of rain at Pocono.
So is it just coincidence, or does Busch have a knack for maintaining his focus in uncertain weather conditions?
“There
are quite a few rain-delayed wins that I have—and with all the
different teams I’ve been with, with Roush and Penske and Stewart-Haas,”
Busch told the NASCAR Wire Service.
“I don’t know. I watched ‘Rain Man’ a couple of months ago and I should
have practiced up on some of my quotes.
“The
rain is definitely something you have to be patient with. It’s
something you can’t predict… So you have to be ready at all moments,
whenever they’re going to drop the green,
and try to stay as levelheaded and focused as possible whenever we get
to go. You can’t challenge Mother Nature. It feels good to be able to be
ready, to be prepared, and to have a team behind you to go out there
and perform at any moment.”
SHORT STROKES
Hendrick-powered
cars turned in the top three 10-consecutive-lap average speeds in
Saturday’s first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice session at Michigan
International Speedway.
Jimmie Johnson paced the field at (195.394 mph), followed by Kevin
Harvick (195.256 mph) and Tony Stewart (194.638 mph). That bodes well in
particular for Stewart, who will start a season-best third in Sunday’s
FireKeepers 400. And it’s not bad news for Harvick,
who will have to come from 29th after two of his hot laps in the
opening round of knockout qualifying on Friday were interrupted by
cautions…
Track
temperatures clearly make a difference at Michigan. In cooler
conditions in Saturday’s first practice, Carl Edwards topped the speed
chart at 197.770 mph. When the track
warmed up for a second session at noon, Austin Dillon posted the
fastest lap at 194.301 mph.
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