Roush Fenway Racing's Jamie McMurray led the final of six test sessions held at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Monday and Tuesday. Has he adjusted his car so that it is yawed out like Carl Edwards' has been running his on those mile and a half tracks where he has been successful?
Crew chiefs and engineers took the yawn out of Sprint Cup testing at Lowe's Motor Speedway (LMS) and put in the yaw. The hope is to close the gap between Roush Fenway Racing's Carl Edwards and the rest of the field at 1.5-mile tracks such as LMS. Edwards' car, according to several crew chiefs and drivers, has been dominant in part because he has been able to handle a setup in which the rear housing is turned to the right, making it appear the car is going sideways down the straightaways. This gives Edwards more yaw -- movement in the back end -- that creates more downforce and allows him to make a better transition going into the corners.
"I think everyone sees it, even on TV," said Denny Hamlin, who is sixth in points. "It's very, very noticeable for us drivers. To those that don't really know the nuts and bolts of the cars, they don't really see it. We see it, the attitude of his car is a little bit more I guess 'yawed out' more than everyone else's. There are reasons for that. We as a team are starting to pinpoint that and really starting to show up."
Many teams used the two-day test at LMS to experiment with setups similar to what they believe Edwards has. NASCAR allows only a quarter-inch adjustment in the rear housing and monitors it with gauges. Tony Eury Jr., the crew chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr. can't go quite that far without making the car tough for his driver to handle.
Earnhardt crashed during Monday's practice sessions at Lowe's.
Four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon said that much yaw makes his car very tough to handle. Two-time champion Tony Stewart said everybody is trying to get a feel for it.
Now we know whats been bugging Jeff.
"It's a driver feel, there's no doubt," Eury said. "Some drivers like it. Some drivers don't."
Edwards apparently does. He's used it to win at 1.5-mile tracks at Las Vegas and Texas and the 2-mile California Speedway. He was headed for a win at 1.5-mile Atlanta before his engine expired late.
This is something I wasn't aware of. 1/4 inch sure doesn't seem like a lot. But I think it really highlights the disparity between drivers who need a nuetral-to-tight set-up vs. the loose camp. I still think the bump stops need to go and bring more variability to the shocks and springs. Seems to me the "comfort" in the corners are really highlighted by rear spring sets.
Remember tow in and camber. Last week, or the week before when Rousch cars blew alot of tires. I think some of the other cars, not Edwards tryed his set up, and missed. Will be fun to watch and see if the test helps..
Thanks for the comment and the additional technical comments. It's interesting how many women on message boards talk about how cute their favorite driver is but how few men get into the technical aspects of racing.
Yeah, I'm no gearhead per se. But I have always been fascinated by what makes a race car go faster than others. I started watching Indy Cars in 1977 - Al Unser was the man, but that doesn't mean I change my own oil filter.
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