Dale Jarrett and Elliott Sadler depend on Yates engines, but smaller motors could be more productive. Credit: Autostock

RYR: Smaller engines would benefit racing

Unleaded fuel a great move, but less horsepower would be better

MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- Robert Yates built his career on his association with master engine building, but he wants NASCAR to take a step back when it comes to horsepower.

Robert Yates wants smaller engines for better racing. Credit: Autostock

Yates has owned a team at NASCAR's top level for nearly 20 years, and during that time, he has seen horsepower levels increase by 25 percent. It is time, Yates said, to return to the days of 600-horsepower motors.

"Look at what the kids are doing with these four [cylinder motors] that are making serious horsepower," said Yates, speaking Tuesday on Day 2 of the Nextel Cup Media Tour. "It is time to move the thing back to half the size."

Nextel Cup teams use 358 cubic-inch, eight-cylinder motors that produce more than 800 horsepower. The basic design of the motors has gone unchanged for decades.

"I want my kids working on something that takes a gallon of fuel and makes the car go a long way," Yates said. "I think that would be more exciting than slamming a restrictor plate on it, which we are going to have to do. We'll have better racing."

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Yates has wanted NASCAR to reduce horsepower for quite some time. His son Doug is the head engine builder for Robert Yates Racing, and while he is happy with NASCAR's decision to move to unleaded fuel in 2008, he said it isn't enough.

"They need to look at taking some power away from these engines," Doug Yates said. "The easiest way to do that is by decreasing the stroke in the engine."

The move to unleaded fuel is a welcome one at Yates. It was tried experientially in the Busch Series, but Doug Yates said the technology wasn't present at the time to make it work.

"Unleaded [fuel] should not be a huge issue," he said. "We did a lot of testing about three or four years ago. It's not a power loss at all. Leaded fuel has lubricity to it, and unleaded is abrasive. You have to make changes to the engine so you can deal with that."

While reducing engine size would be an enormous cost to the teams, Doug Yates said that reducing engine stroke is something that can easily be implemented, even for a smaller two-car team like RYR.

"We buy new cranks every year," Doug Yates said. "If they gave us a year to mileage out the cranks we have now, we can phase that in."

Dale Jarrett, who has driven for RYR since 1995, said the racing would improve considerably with smaller engines. He said the tires have improved to the point where two-wide racing can be achieved in places like Dover's treacherous Turn 2, but cars need a smaller engine to fully achieve the right package for side-by-side racing.

"Because now you have to have 850 horsepower to have a good engine; that's 200 more horsepower and that's where the speed is coming," Jarrett said. "Therefore, we need all of this racetrack and all of that air and all the grip of the tires to even go out there and run that speed by ourselves."