Big Joe's Backseat Driver: Who'd like to see Talladega or Daytona without restrictor plates?
Posted On: Monday, Nov. 2 2009 04:53 AM
I would, just once, to see what happened.
Race fans know the story. NASCAR mandates the use of horsepower-sapping restrictor plates at Talladega and Daytona.
They say it's a safety measure to keep the cars from going airborne at 200-plus miles per hour.
What it does, though, is put together those huge packs of cars that go round and round lap after boring lap, until the Big One happens.
Why do fans watch stock car races, either in person or on the tube?
A lot want to see
the wrecks, some stay tuned to find out if Mark Martin can catch Jimmie Johnson, while still others, and I include myself in this group, enjoy the competition. We wait for someone to put a magic move on the guy in front of him to gain track position.
In other words, we still think racing, with a capital R, should be the focus, and using restrictor plates at the superspeedways sure does restrict it.
What's in a name? The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing needs to remember that last word when it comes to those tiny pieces of metal that fit underneath the carburetor at 'Dega and Daytona.
People talk about the significant increase in speed that a plateless superspeedway race would generate and how danger could develop, such as flying cars. Now, I'm no aeronautical engineer, but isn't that splitter that hangs below the front bumper supposed to
create downforce and keep the cars from soaring off into the wild blue yonder? Let's put it to a real test and see if it's worth the metal it's made of.
You know what would be really cool? For me, it would be to hear the NASCAR powers that be make the following announcement:
"In view of insistent badgering by Killeen Daily Herald racing writer Joe Lombardi, NASCAR has decided to run the 2010 Daytona 500 without restrictor plates on a one-time, experimental basis."
Daytona without plates ... can you imagine the outcry, both pro and con?
Bring it on.
Even if it's a one-time thing, a no-plate race at these monster tracks would elevate the race car driver's mantra of "Go Fast, Turn Left," to a whole new level.
How about it, NASCAR?
No?
It was worth a try.