On the Draft and Dirty Air

Okay, you're aware that there are two tracks on the circuit - Daytona and Talladega - where drivers use the draft to help them race and pass other cars. You've seen and heard numerous explanations from broadcast analysts attempting to explain just why and how the draft works, but to this day, do you understand any of it? Probably not, and that's where I come in with a simple scenario that will leave you an all knowing expert.

Imagine you're at a small social gathering. You've mingled a little, and are now in an interesting conversation with a few of the other guests when suddenly, the bean burrito you had for dinner makes a return visit in the form of gas, and is being pretty persistent about using the back exit. Realizing that you need to do something to avoid this becoming an embarrassing situation, you politely excuse yourself from the others and head off in search of the nearest bathroom.

Once safely inside the bathroom and behind a locked door, you let loose with something sounding like a fog horn on a docking ship and smelling like last week's garbage, dutifully turn on the room's overhead exhaust fan to help clear the air and nonchalantly return to your previous conversation. But to your shock, dismay and horror, you realize that the smell from hell has followed you and is now threatening the air supply of everyone in the room.

How did this happen? Well, on your walk back, your body basically cut a path through the air, and left a smooth slipstream in its wake. Being a die hard racer, the noxious brown cloud used that slipstream to not only follow you, but to catch up to you and say hi to the others. In a nutshell, it used the draft.

We all know how this is going to end: Everyone will be aware of the new presence in the room and will awkwardly try to carry on the conversation. You'll feel safe in the knowledge that no one knows you were the source of the offending fumes until some loud mouthed guy who has had a beer or two asks, "Shoooooooooooo! WHO FARTED???", at which point you'll find yourself involuntarily red faced, which will expose you as the one who introduced the new visitor to the room.

So, the next time this happens to you (and don't even try to tell me it hasn't ever happened to you), instead of feeling embarrassed and wishing you had never been born, take the opportunity to explain to the group how the draft works in NASCAR racing. Or, the next time you hear someone who has a question about how the draft works, just invite him or her to pull your finger and give a first hand demonstration. After all, you are the resident expert on the topic.

On The Wings of Goodyear?

Have you heard about the new state of the art hammer from Stanley Tools? It's superior to every other hammer in every way imaginable, and should never need to be replaced. One thing, though, it is recommended that you not strike any objects with force. Just tap them a little or the hammer could fail.

Or how about the new toothbrush from Oral-B? With a totally unique bristle pattern, and a strategically developed handle, this is the best toothbrush ever designed. However, brushing with vigorous strokes is discouraged, as it can shorten the life span of the brush.

These were the thoughts (the printable ones, anyway) that went through my mind when I heard Goodyear's explanation for the high number of tire failures at Pocono last Sunday. A Goodyear spokesman said - and I'm paraphrasing here, because I don't feel like looking up his exact quote - that there was nothing wrong with any of the tires, but rather the failures could be attributed to excessive use of camber, lower than recommended air pressure and hitting the curbs in the turns.

Two of those I can somewhat buy. Teams are well known for starting a set of tires with very low pressure, so no surprise there. Camber I question a little, because I can't imagine that teams were that aggressive on camber at this particular track to begin with. (For the uninitiated, camber speaks to the vertical alignment of the tires. At tracks with high banking, teams will set camber in a fashion where the front tires are leaning toward the inside of the track, with the idea that through the turns, the tires will make maximum contact with the pavement.) Two of the three turns at Pocono are basically flat, and the one that is banked isn't significantly so. I can go along with those two explanations, though.

But don't hit the curbs? Huh? News flash for Goodyear: those curbs are not new, and cars have been hitting them for as long as they've been there. Why should it have been such an issue this year? Maybe some of the blame lies with Goodyear after all, since this was a tire compound previously used only a couple times, and on tracks with higher banking? And how about good old NASCAR? Allowing the use of a tire with very little testing at this track on an "impound" race weekend was certainly not the brightest of moves.

So, what have we learned? We've learned that nothing is ever Goodyear's fault, basically. Anything that goes wrong is because of something the teams did, and NASCAR evidently agrees.

I can just imagine the instructions at the drivers' meeting before the Pocono race next month: "Okay, guys, let's go out there and have a fun, exciting and safe race. Race hard, but try not to go above 65 miles per hour if you can help it, don't hit the curbs and try to come to a complete stop before taking a turn. And for God's sake, when pitting, don't lock up your tires! Hit the car in front of you to help you slow down. These tires are fragile, guys, let's be careful out there."

I wonder if NASCAR has any interest in a new hammer?

New Stuff

You'll notice some new stuff on the right side of your screen (that's if you're a returning visitor, if this is the first time you've been here, you probably won't notice anything new). I've added some news links*, and will probably be trying some other things over the next couple days. I'm in the process of moving to my own website, and this is just a way to try a few things out so I know if I want to integrate them into the new site. Comments are welcome, as always.

Oh yeah, I should have a new post or two up within the next 24 hours. Possible topics? Well, Goodyear comes to mind right off the bat...












*When clicking on a link, right click and choose "Open In New Window". Left clicking will still take you to the linked site, but will take you out of this one.