NASCAR TECHNICAL BULLETIN UPDATE

NASCAR TECHNICAL BULLETIN UPDATE  09/06/2012

NASCAR issued a technical bulletin Thursday, Sept. 6 that reconfirms the limits NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams can go in setting up their rear end suspensions in their race cars. Effective Sept. 12, the truck trailing arm front mounting bushing assemblies may be built to allow a maximum of ¼ inch of total movement in one direction only. Truck trailing arm front mounting bushings must be designed to move freely throughout the ¼ inch of approved travel. Previously approved front truck trailing arm bushing assemblies which allow more than ¼ inch of movement or that do not move freely throughout the ¼ inch travel will no longer be permitted for use in competition. Approved front truck trailing arm bushing assemblies must not be altered after being approved. Wheelbase, rear axle location (parallel), offset and rear axle housing alignment will be inspected both pre-race and post-race.

"This doesn’t change any rules that we’ve already had," said John Darby, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Director. "It reconfirms how far teams can go with their rear suspension setups. Teams have found that with a car’s rear axle steer more is better as it helps with aero and gets the cars through the corners faster. We are just reminding the teams what the limitations are and that they cannot go past these limitations. We will likely address this further in our 2013 rule book."

NASCAR technical bulletin

 9/2012
NASCAR  passed a rule that will curb the ability of teams to set their cars up in a way that gives the driver easier rear steer.
The technical bulletin issued by NASCAR goes into effect next week at Chicago, when the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship begins,
Drivers have alleged for months that Hendrick made gains in the rear housing this season that gave its cars an aerodynamic advantage. NASCAR has maintained through the complaints that the Hendrick teams weren't breaking any rules, which four-time champion Jeff Gordon reiterated.
"When we presented it to NASCAR for approval, they didn't act like it was something they had never seen before," Gordon said. "I don't even think we were the first ones to do it."
Gordon also alleged most everyone in the garage is doing the same thing now, which Kyle Busch confirmed -- with a caveat.
"We all started working on it once we saw what they were doing," Busch said. "It's follow the leader. You really don't have many secrets here in the garage area very long. We started going to work on those kind of things, too, and trying to manipulate some of the same things they were doing."
Starting next week, NASCAR is limiting the amount of movement of the bushings located in the rear suspension to a quarter of an inch. The bushings are sleeves made of rubber or other materials located near the rear mounting points. Hendrick teams found a way to make them softer and softer in an effort to let the truck arms move and help steer the rear of the cars in the turns.

NASCAR confident in pit road timing system

NASCAR confident in pit road timing system: When it came to pit road, all Sunday's Pocono 400 presented by #NASCAR lacked was a fleet of cop cars with flashing lights and sirens. All told, NASCAR handed out 22 pit road speeding penalties, with most offenders clocked too fast at the exit from pit road. That easily eclipsed the Sprint Cup Series record of 14 speeding penalties at Kansas in 2006. #48-Jimmie Johnson was convinced there was something wrong with the final segment (or timing loop) on pit road. Nothing wrong, says NASCAR, just different. NASCAR measures pit road speed from the yellow line at the entrance to pit road to the yellow line at the exit. The full distance is divided into segments, and drivers must average the speed limit (plus a tolerance of 4.99 mph) through each segment.
The 2.5-mile race track was repaved this year, and pit road was lengthened. The number of segments grew from 10 to 11, and the length of the final segment increased from 56 to 83 feet. NASCAR provides specific information on the pit road configuration to any team that wants it. The changes from one year to the next, however, seems to have confounded more than one driver/crew chief combination, but NASCAR stood by the accuracy of its measurements.
"Our position is like it's always been -- yellow line to yellow line," said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR's vice president of competition. "This track's gone under a lot of reconfiguration since last year. It's all brand-new pit road, all brand-new loops. Positions have been changed since last year. Sections are smaller than they were last year throughout pit road -- and actually, the last section's a little bit bigger. But the bottom line is, every week when we go into a race track, there's maps that are printed back here for the crew chiefs to come get. Some choose to get 'em, some choose to measure their own lines, and some go off of last year's measurements

NASCAR to implement new rules for less downforce: Trying to reduce downforce and the chance of cars becoming airborne, NASCAR will implement a pair of rules changes for Sprint Cup teams that may also produce more passing. One change will go into effect starting next week at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The side skirts-the body of the car between the wheels-will be higher above the ground, meaning more air will run underneath the car. Currently, the skirts must be 3 to 4.5 inches off the ground on both sides of the car. Starting next week, they must be 4 to 4.5 inches off the ground on the right side and 4.5 to 5 inches on the left side. Teams tested with the shorter side skirts during recent Goodyear tire tests. For tracks 2 miles or larger, NASCAR will use its longer "shark fin"-a panel that runs alongside the rear window and decklid of the car-that has been used at Daytona and Talladega to keep cars from getting airborne. On the short tracks, it will remain a minimum 17 inches long while they must reach all the way from the top of the car to the spoiler on tracks 2 miles or longer. This also will decrease the potential of car liftoff, which could have been an issue at some of the most recently repaved tracks-the 2.5-mile track at Pocono and 2-mile track at Michigan