Although I agree that this would get an engine over the RPMs chipped in the rev limiter, I’m not buying this, especially for an oval. Do you have any idea how badly that would upset the chassis entering a corner? You wouldn’t have to worry about blowing the engine because you would already have wrecked the car. Engine braking is taken into account in the braking balance of a race car. Grabbing a gear would give you significantly more rear braking, likely spinning the car out.
Now you’re probably thinking, Rogue, they used to downshift all the time at Pocono. They did that with transmissions with very little difference between drive and overdrive. They were also downshifting smoothly. What you’re implying is grabbing a gear to try to get as many RPMs as possible to wreck an engine. Pure fantasy and shit you see in the movies.
butler1850, sorry to hijack slightly, but you mentioned Paul Menard in your very informative post. I’m somewhat new to NASCAR, and I find this guy utterly fascinating (he actually raced pretty well this past weekend, but that and a top-five in an earlier Busch-series race are about all Menard has done).
How true is it that a fellow like Paul Menard can “buy a ride” in the Nextel cup? I heard what Tony Stewart had to say about him, but given how dangerous the sport can potentially be, his story makes it sound as though NASCAR doesn’t have any basic driver-qualification requirements, and that just doesn’t sound right to me.
Paul (and his cousin Charlie Menard) started racing at a local level. He worked his way up through the various classes. That said, having a big sponsor in your back pocket definitely opens doors.
RogueRacer - I’m not saying that it WOULD be done, but that’s how you COULD do it if you were so inclined. (I can’t imagine a professional doing it on purpose) Once up to speed, I don’t think they shift on any ovals (could be a few, but I’m not sure) any more. Yep, I know about Pocono, and IMO, I think they should bring back the shift. I wasn’t implying that they would do it on purpose, just giving the details to refute the ‘impossible’ claim based on the rev limiter. (great detail on how it works by the way) I agree the upset to the chassis would be terrifying, and you’d be just as likely to roll the engine backwards in the spin(which has happened to Jr at least once this season as well) anyway.
CJJ see RR’s post for the ‘how to buy a ride’. I’m certain that many drivers have gotten their deals at new raceteams simply based on what sponsor they can bring over… or at least it helped. It’s a complex formula that determines which driver gets a ride. As an example, Ward Burton used to drive the #22 for Bill Davis Racing, and was replaced by Dave Blaney. Somehow, they think that Blaney is more marketable, but I’d argue that in the same equipment, W. Burton would drive (and has driven) better. He’s a bit tough to listen to in an interview though. (Plenty of other examples also abound) Menard is a good driver for the Busch series, but I don’t think he has the ‘stuff’ for the Cup series.
Spit he’ll retire that move when he either ‘breaks himself’, or Mark Martin does a better one, without a stunt double. Stewart will stop climing fences once he slips as well. (Or gains another 40 lbs) Hopefully, Kurt Busch will never do a ‘snow angel’ again. It was funny on the snowday, it was sad in the grass. Granted his brother can’t figure out that his sunglasses are even uglier than he is (though he IS a very talented driver), so the chances of any of that are slim. They should stick with the burnout, and get that engine ‘on the chip’ while doing it.
butler1850, it sounds like we actually agree on most things. The point I was trying to make is that I don’t believe that Dale Jr. is to blame for his engine problems. A case could be made for the one road course race (Watkins Glen I believe), but not for the oval races. DEI’s engine shop has just had a terrible season.
Since you mentioned burnouts, I have to say that Jimmy Johnson has been doing some awesome burnouts lately. I loved the one where he grabbed the flag in the middle of the burnout. Of course, he’s getting a lot of practice lately, so I guess he should be good at them.