Testing at Daytona in January has always been pretty important. Teams go there with clean slates, everybody is undefeated as the new racing season starts, and are eager to find out if the changes they did to their cars will gain them the much needed speed to compete for the win.
Importance of testing at Daytona increases with rule changes
This year however, is a little different for the teams testing on the high-banked ‘Birthplace of Speed’, not only are they on a quest for speed but they have to now deal with several rule changes that will not only effect the speed of the cars, but also the way in which they handle.
The new rules package includes:
· Smaller radiators
o Maximum of 2 gallon capacity
· Smaller overflow tank
o Maximum capacity of ½ gallon
· Radiator inlet is moved up closer into the front center bumper area
· Rate reduction in the springs – softer springs
· Smaller rear spoiler
· Base line restrictor plate of 29/32 inch (1/64 inch larger than plate size for the 2011 Daytona 500)
The larger multi-car teams may have an easier time getting a handle on this new rules package since they have many cars to do various set-ups on and then share the collected data (remember these guys can have performance data collection devices on their cars during testing) amongst the rest of the ‘team’ whereas the smaller pocketed single car teams might struggle trying to find the right set-up for these changes in the rules.
See More:
