'Crabby' cars may be scaled back by NASCAR UPDATE:: Expect NASCAR to tell Sprint Cup teams that they've gone far enough - and in some cases, too far - with making crooked cars. Sprint Cup Series director John Darby said Saturday that teams will get a memo, likely this week, telling them to "clean up" the way they're turning their wheels to help the cars handle better. "They need some of that, but there are some of them that have pushed it," Darby said. The rear wheels on some of the cars were turned to the point that some were having difficulty being pushed onto the scales used in inspection.(Charlotte Observer)(5-18-2008)
UPDATE: NASCAR sent a memo to Sprint Cup teams this week putting a limit on the amount of rear adjustment being made to create more sideforce. The adjustment basically has the back tires turned to the right with a rear toe adjustment, allowing the car to enter the turns with more speed. It's not visibly noticeable on the turns, but on the straightaways the car appears to be crabbing down the track sideways. Darby said teams have been adjusting the rear end in excess of two degrees. NASCAR limited the adjustment to one degree.(ESPN.com)m this rule takes effect as of the race at Dover next weekend.(5-22-2008)

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Rome did not create a Great Empire by having meetings--- They did it by killing all people who opposed them!

Aw, I always had to laugh at these sideways cars... oh well, gotta hand it to the teams for trying... hehe

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Go, Rowdy, Go!!


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By Ricky Craven, Yahoo! Sports
May 29, 2:39 pm EDT

Normally I’d say that at this point in the season, 12 races in, teams absolutely must have everything in place if they’re going to contend. Normally. But this year is different.

You see, NASCAR is changing things up. For weeks we’ve seen teams set up their cars to look like they’re driving sideways. It’s been likened to how a crab walks. But NASCAR, sick of teams trying to gain an aerodynamic advantage with the set ups, has decided to restrict the degree teams can steer the rear tires, and this weekend’s race at Dover International Speedway is the first when the rules come into effect.

Teams have been working everyday since the start of the season (and even before) to find speed, be it through testing, experimenting and even using computer software to simulate how different changes affect the race car.

There’s usually one team that figures something out better than the others, and that team exploits that advantage until NASCAR determines it’s either too expensive or too extreme. In the case of the crab car set ups, it’s the latter.

Why were teams using this odd set up?

Well, it starts with side force, which helps keep the rear of the car more stable, which in turns allows teams to be more aggressive to help the front turn. With the old car, teams could alter the shape, position and location of the rear quarter panel – they’d flare out the sheet metal – and rear bumper to generate more side force.

But with the strict rules NASCAR has in place with the CoT, where even the slightest body adjustment isn’t allowed, teams don’t have the liberties they once did.


As a result, they had to find a unique way of creating more side force, and what they came up with was the crab set up, which creates a tracking affect (or “yaw”).

And, like the old adage says, “if a little is good, than a little more should be better,” teams started applying more and more yaw to create more and more side force. At the Coca-Cola 600, Sam Hornish Jr.’s car looked like a dirt track car, and it was fast.

This week, however, NASCAR has said no more.

As I understand it, the new rules will limit teams from applying more than one degree of angle. Though that may seem minimal, based on some of the numbers shared with me that is roughly one half to one third the measure of what existed with many cars at the Coca-Cola 600 last week.

So, now it’s back to the drawing board, which is why I say this year is different.

We’re going to find out just how dependant each driver has become on these creatively-engineered side force affects. I’m going to suggest that it will be very difficult for some, at least in the short term. If you disagree with my thinking, ask yourself this one question: If there was no clear advantage to tracking the cars sideways around the entire track, why did so many cars appear to be using it?

I’d say because drivers sitting in comfortable cars go faster, and teams will go to any lengths to give them that comfort.

Side force has always been a way to stabilize the cars on corner entry, which in turn gives drivers more comfort and confidence to driver deeper and more aggressively into each turn.

Still, drivers differ in their feel for a race car and require a different balance. Some drivers prefer their cars balance a certain way, while a teammate might call for something completely different. But both could battle one another for the win week after week.

I make this point only to emphasize that this rules change will not affect each driver the same. Those who benefit will be the ones who succeeded without the yaw affect, and those who struggle will be drivers having used it to gain control and confidence in their race car.

So, with the teams heading north to Delaware to compete on the very aggressive, very fast, high-banked track nicknamed the “Monster Mile,” I will be paying extra attention to teams I feet utilized this application the most, expecting they will suffer for it.


Ricky Craven is Yahoo! Sports' NASCAR analyst.

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Ryan Newman, Daytona 500 Champion!!
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