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Move should lessen turbulent air impact at intermediate tracks

CONCORD, N.C. — NASCAR Sprint Cup Series cars competing on the series’ intermediate tracks this season will be doing so without the familiar roof camera, beginning with Sunday’s Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.

According to series director John Darby, the removal of the camera (for approximately two-thirds of this year’s points races) is just one of several moves made during the offseason as officials worked through changes on the new Generation-6 car. Of primary concern was how to lessen the impact of turbulent air that previously hampered side-by-side competition at the series’ intermediate tracks.

What officials found was that changes made underneath the car “seem to stay more consistent, whether you are out front by yourself or seventh in a pack of cars,” Darby said.

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“Those are the kind of enhancements that we were looking for. Typically a spoiler would … give you more (downforce). The problem with the spoiler is the guy out front gets more value from that than the guy that’s seventh trying to come through traffic.”

Likewise, he said, roof cameras can provide as much as 80-90 pounds of downforce on a car, but are much more beneficial to the race leader.

“The old way of thinking was, if that’s the case then … make sure everybody has got one on the car so everybody’s the same,” Darby said. “But in reality the downforce is toward the 80-90 pound range for the leader that’s out front by himself. But going back to (the car) in seventh place, you’re not getting (any benefit) off it because the air is too turbulent.

“It’s not just about having them all the same, it’s removing stuff like that that gives the leader even more benefit than he used to have.”

Roof cameras will continue to be used at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway, the road courses at Sonoma Raceway and Watkins Glen International, as well as the series’ smaller venues.

“We want the air messed up (at Daytona and Talladega),” Darby said. “The short tracks are slow and small enough that it doesn’t affect it as greatly.”

Television partners FOX, TNT and ESPN will continue to have cameras in various locations inside the cars. Among the new pieces for FOX, which opened the season with coverage of The Sprint Unlimited and Daytona 500, was the Gyro Cam, a center-mounted camera that rotates to remain level with the horizon as a car speeds through the turns.

According to Rich Feinberg, vice president of motorsports production for ESPN, the same company provides the in-car camera systems for ESPN, FOX and TNT.

“And we are in the process now of developing new options to replace (the roof camera),” Feinberg said. “Perhaps behind the rear-view mirror, various places inside the car.

“We try to be at the forefront of creating new elements. So we’ll get to see what happens over the next few weeks; we’ve begun the conversations about alternate locations inside the car because that seems to be the area in which we can have the most significant conversation with the teams and with NASCAR.”

Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Chad Knaus, fresh off a victory with driver Jimmie Johnson in the Daytona 500, said the removal of the roof camera isn’t that much of a concern for teams.

“It’s minor,” he said, “and everybody has the same thing so it’s not a huge, huge deal. It’s not a big change.”

Knaus said the Hendrick organization had been aware of the change, and tested its intermediate-style cars with that in mind.

“So that’s the way all of our cars are now baselined,” he said.

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Riding a high he hasn’t experienced in his NASCAR career, Sam Hornish Jr. heads to Phoenix International Raceway for Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series Dollar General 200 Fueled by AmeriGas (4:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2) with something he’s never had before — the series lead.

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His runner-up performance in last Saturday’s DRIVE4COPD 300 at Daytona International Speedway was his best finish at the 2.5-mile superspeedway in NASCAR’s three national series. Because NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regular Tony Stewart won the race and was not eligible to receive championship points, Hornish was the lucky benefactor of the points lead leaving Florida.

And Hornish couldn’t ask for a better track at which to defend his first points lead.

"We had a good run in Daytona, which we feel good about," said Hornish, the driver of the No. 12 Penske Racing Ford. "Now we are getting to a track where we feel that we are capable of running well. So I feel great."

In the fall 2011 race at Phoenix, Hornish beat Brad Keselowski to the checkered flag by 0.553 seconds, his first and only victory in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

In Hornish’s last three starts at Phoenix he has an average starting position of 5.0 and an average finishing position of 7.0, proving that despite rough outings in his first two races (36th- and 39th-place finishes, respectively) and the one-mile track’s tricky configuration, he’s learning the secrets of mastering the Southwestern track.

"I’ve always enjoyed tracks that are very different from end to end," said Hornish. "Of course, some of that success is also having equipment and a team that is capable of winning, which we have with our Penske Racing Ford Mustang."

With another solid performance this weekend, Hornish should expect to increase his one-point lead over Sunoco Rookie-of-the-Year contender Alex Bowman, who finished third in the Daytona race.

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Still celebrating Daytona 500 win, Johnson among biggest threats

No one can blame Jimmie Johnson if he seems a little tired when he first arrives at Phoenix International Raceway for Sunday’s Subway Fresh Fit 500 (3:00 p.m. ET, FOX). After all, he’s been touring the country celebrating his victory in last Sunday’s Daytona 500.

However, don’t think for a second he won’t be ready for the green flag to drop on Sunday’s race at the one-mile track. He’s also making a rare start in the NASCAR Nationwide Series on Saturday, driving the No. 5 JR Motorsports Chevrolet.

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"He’s going to be pretty busy," said Chad Knaus, crew chief for Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet. "But he’ll be on point when it comes time for Phoenix."

And Johnson has the résumé at Phoenix to support Knaus’ claim. Johnson leads all NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers in laps led (931) and wins (four) at Phoenix. He also has the best average finishing position (6.7) among active drives.

After making stops in Charlotte, New York City, Los Angeles and Dallas earlier in the week, Johnson and 42 other drivers will descend upon Phoenix, a track in which many say will be the first true test for the Gen-6 race cars. 

"I think everybody is holding tight to see how the car races at Phoenix, Vegas, Bristol, Fontana, to get back into the type of racing we see on a regular basis," Johnson said. "Driving the car, there’s so much grip in it, it’s going to promote aggressive racing."

Phoenix will provide a better understanding of which teams or manufacturer have an early edge in development of the new car. Racing on superspeedways like Daytona and Talladega are sometimes considered anomalies compared to the one- and 1.5-mile tracks that dot the NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule. Therefore, drivers, teams, manufacturers, NASCAR and fans are looking forward to seeing how the new cars perform during the race.

The Phoenix race could provide great insight into how the championship battle plays out. Or, which teams still have some work to do.

"I think at Phoenix, there’s gonna be an acclimation period for all the teams," said Knaus. "I think you have the potential for somebody to break out and be really dominant, but you don’t know until we get out."

The track also presents a unique challenge, especially from those found at Daytona. The different bankings on the opposite ends of the track often force teams to decide on setting up the race car to handle Turns 1 and 2 (11 degrees) at the sake of Turns 3 and 4 (9 degrees), or vice-versa.

"It’s unique and totally different on both ends of the race track, so it’s almost like two race tracks in one," said Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet. "It’s definitely a driver’s race track. The driver really has to drive and hustle the car a little bit and still be smooth."

"Of all the tracks we go to, this is one of the most technical and challenging," stated AJ Allmendinger, who will drive the No. 51 Phoenix Racing Chevrolet this weekend. "It takes finesse and you have to hit your marks nearly perfect every time."

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NASCAR Mexico Toyota race at Phoenix the reward for big-picture plan (OCESA Photo)

The historic first appearance of the NASCAR Mexico Toyota Series on United States soil — Friday night at Phoenix International Raceway — completes a circle that started with the NASCAR Nationwide Series’ first trip south of the border in 2005.

"When we first decided to take the Busch (now Nationwide) Series to Mexico more than eight years ago, it was part of a broader strategic plan to, among other things, help with our Hispanic marketing efforts here in the United States," said George Silbermann, NASCAR vice president of regional and touring series. “Roughly a decade later, things have come full-circle."

The NASCAR Mexico Toyota Series race will feature the top driving talent in Mexico competing over 75 laps broken into two segments of 50 and 25 laps — a special format that will introduce the series to American fans.

"I think some fans will really be surprised how deep the talent pool is in the Mexico Series."

— George Silbermann, NASCAR vice president of regional and touring series

Make no mistake. Stock car racing is enormously popular in Mexico, fueled by an oval-track building boom that has transformed what was once a road-racing culture into one where the NTSMx is truly a national series and the most popular form of motorsports in the country.

"The series started out predominantly on road courses," Silbermann said. "If I’m not mistaken, in the first season, all the races were on road courses except one oval race. Then you flash forward today in Mexico, and in a very brief time, it’s just the opposite. Today, all the races that we run with the series in Mexico, they’re all on oval courses with the exception of one road course.

"In a very short time, a whole stock car racing culture has erupted in Mexico. If you attend an event down there, you find the grandstands packed with very passionate fans. You would think you were at Talladega or Daytona, just seeing the enthusiasm in the very large crowds they draw. But if you got to the broader picture, with the series now coming to the United States for the first time, that seed that was planted eight, nine years ago has now sprouted and grown."

The defending series champion is Jorge Goeters, a one-time pole winner in the NASCAR Nationwide Series — in 2005 in the first NNS road-course race in Mexico City. Goeters left the Caneles team after last year’s championship to form his own organization.

Taking his place with Caneles is Ruben Garcia Jr., who won the NTSMx rookie-of-the-year title at age 16. Daniel Suarez, one of NASCAR’s Next9 up-and-coming drivers, will compete at Phoenix. So will Rogelio Lopez, the first Mexican driver to win a NASCAR K&N Pro Series East event (2007 at Nashville).

"Keep in mind, NASCAR fans here in the United States have already seen some very talented Mexican drivers competing in our U.S. series," Silbermann said. "You’ve got folks like the multi-time series champion, German Quiroga, competing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. You’ve got Daniel Suarez who’s been identified as one of NASCAR’s Next9 drivers; he’s making a name for himself in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series.

"Just less than two weeks ago, you had the reigning series champion, Jorge Goeters, compete in the inaugural UNOH Battle at the Beach. Some Mexican drivers already are making a good name for themselves in the United States, but I think some fans will really be surprised how deep the talent pool is in the Mexico Series."

Logistically, it’s no easy task to transport an entire series across an international border, but by Tuesday night just after midnight, Silbermann said all the haulers had arrived in the United States, with the first ones expected to arrive at PIR later that day.

"There are some logistical challenges we’re overcoming, just as we did when we were going in the opposite direction, taking our then-Busch Series down to Mexico City," Silbermann said. "I will say that a lot of the agencies on both sides of the border — customs, immigration, the entities that deal with all the paper work and logistics — have really gotten behind this event to try to make the transition across the border as smooth as possible.

"The good news is all the haulers are in the United States."

And fans will soon understand the significance of the NASCAR Mexico Toyota Series’ inaugural visit to the United States.

"This event’s going to have an impact on many different levels," Silbermann said. "First of all, the race will open the door for new fans, but, at the same time, existing NASCAR fans are really going to like what they see.

"The series features very talented drivers who, as we say, are not afraid to have at it. But also, this event helps serve as a focal point for the diverse array of Latino endeavors by the NASCAR community across the board here in the United States."

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We apologize. We are having technical issues with our comment sections and fan community and it is temporarily unavailable. We are actively working on these issues and hope to have it up and running soon. We are also working on enhancements to provide a better forum for our fans. We appreciate your patience and apologize for the inconvenience.