Discussion
So who do you all reckon is going to be going to Victory Lane at the 500?.
I see Ford expect a cooling advantage for their cars:
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/97696
Fingers crossed the rain stays away.
I see Ford expect a cooling advantage for their cars:
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/97696
Autosport said:
Ford believes its cars go into the NASCAR Sprint Cup season-opening Daytona 500 with a crucial advantage as the FR9 engine's cooling system appears to be coping better with this year's rules package than rival motors.
Technical rule changes, designed to limit the tandem-racing that prevailed at restrictor-plate tracks last year, have made engine cooling more critical than ever in NASCAR's biggest race.
With a smaller and higher opening for the radiator, a lower pressure on its relief valve and a lower rear bumper, cars are unable to push each other for as long as before, some even struggling to do so for a full lap before overheating.
In the closing stages of Thursday's second qualifying race, five-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson pushed eventual winner Matt Kenseth until overflow started to erupt from underneath the hood of his Hendrick Chevrolet.
"We were right there on edge," said Johnson. "Even without pushing, we're right there on edge. And that's fine design by NASCAR. They don't want us to be able to connect and stay connected for long. But it keeps me worried all day long to see my gauges flash at me."
Although race day ambient temperatures are expected to drop between six and eight degrees celsius relative to Thursday's Duel races, Ford engine builder Doug Yates is confident of having a cooling advantage. A Yates Ford powered Trevor Bayne to victory in last year's Daytona 500.
"It seems like we are definitely doing a better job than our competitors in the cooling area," said Yates. "We saw last year with this engine that it does a really nice job.
"In a perfect world I think we would prefer the weather to be hot like it was earlier in the week. Who knows what we will get [on Sunday] with the rain coming in and everything. Either way, there is kind of a delta there and an offset between us and our competitors right now that we seem to enjoy and hopefully can keep pressing forward on and keep that for a while."
Ford-powered cars have been strong throughout the Daytona week, with Roush Fenway duo Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle claiming a front-row sweep in qualifying, then their team-mate Matt Kenseth winning Thursday's second Duel.
Three-time Daytona 500 winner Jeff Gordon, who drives a Hendrick Chevrolet, reckons being able to run at the front of the pack will be key to keeping temperatures under control. He said cooling may dictate how aggressively he races.
"Everybody is dealing with it," said Gordon. "What it does is it makes it that much more important to be in those first four or five positions. And even then, we looked at the data from the #48 car [Johnson] and their stuff was pretty hot, too, before he started pushing.
"So, it's just going to weigh more into our strategy for the race and how aggressive we're going to need to be when they drop the green.
"We're starting 16th so we know we're in a vulnerable position right from the start of the race of either being in the conserve mode or go into a high-risk type of situation where you've got to be super-aggressive."
Weather forecasts show a 50 per cent chance of rain for the start of the race and a steady 40 per cent for the reminder of the afternoon. Kenseth won the last rain-shorted Daytona 500 in 2009.
Technical rule changes, designed to limit the tandem-racing that prevailed at restrictor-plate tracks last year, have made engine cooling more critical than ever in NASCAR's biggest race.
With a smaller and higher opening for the radiator, a lower pressure on its relief valve and a lower rear bumper, cars are unable to push each other for as long as before, some even struggling to do so for a full lap before overheating.
In the closing stages of Thursday's second qualifying race, five-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson pushed eventual winner Matt Kenseth until overflow started to erupt from underneath the hood of his Hendrick Chevrolet.
"We were right there on edge," said Johnson. "Even without pushing, we're right there on edge. And that's fine design by NASCAR. They don't want us to be able to connect and stay connected for long. But it keeps me worried all day long to see my gauges flash at me."
Although race day ambient temperatures are expected to drop between six and eight degrees celsius relative to Thursday's Duel races, Ford engine builder Doug Yates is confident of having a cooling advantage. A Yates Ford powered Trevor Bayne to victory in last year's Daytona 500.
"It seems like we are definitely doing a better job than our competitors in the cooling area," said Yates. "We saw last year with this engine that it does a really nice job.
"In a perfect world I think we would prefer the weather to be hot like it was earlier in the week. Who knows what we will get [on Sunday] with the rain coming in and everything. Either way, there is kind of a delta there and an offset between us and our competitors right now that we seem to enjoy and hopefully can keep pressing forward on and keep that for a while."
Ford-powered cars have been strong throughout the Daytona week, with Roush Fenway duo Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle claiming a front-row sweep in qualifying, then their team-mate Matt Kenseth winning Thursday's second Duel.
Three-time Daytona 500 winner Jeff Gordon, who drives a Hendrick Chevrolet, reckons being able to run at the front of the pack will be key to keeping temperatures under control. He said cooling may dictate how aggressively he races.
"Everybody is dealing with it," said Gordon. "What it does is it makes it that much more important to be in those first four or five positions. And even then, we looked at the data from the #48 car [Johnson] and their stuff was pretty hot, too, before he started pushing.
"So, it's just going to weigh more into our strategy for the race and how aggressive we're going to need to be when they drop the green.
"We're starting 16th so we know we're in a vulnerable position right from the start of the race of either being in the conserve mode or go into a high-risk type of situation where you've got to be super-aggressive."
Weather forecasts show a 50 per cent chance of rain for the start of the race and a steady 40 per cent for the reminder of the afternoon. Kenseth won the last rain-shorted Daytona 500 in 2009.
Fingers crossed the rain stays away.
slothmeister said:
what time is this on in UK time?
Race start is 6:29pm our time. http://www.jayski.com/news/races/2012/story/_/page...DanDC5 said:
Anyone know where I can watch streaming of the Daytona 500 tomorrow night? I haven't got Premier sports.
I`ve signed up to NASCAR.com with no fee or any other charges and last night (Saturday) was watching the Daytona Nationwide race live for FREE!! Not sure about the 500 ? try it?? there are always lots of video`s to watch at any time. 
for free live streaming for any motorsports i cant watch (mainly Indycar and NASCAR) I use this website;
http://www.vipbox.tv/
Always been pretty good, very occasionally temperamental but does the job.....Just keep closing the adverts that try to pop up as the programme is first buffering / loading. I use it on a Mac and it works fine and dont need to load any additional software / programmes.
Enjoy
http://www.vipbox.tv/
Always been pretty good, very occasionally temperamental but does the job.....Just keep closing the adverts that try to pop up as the programme is first buffering / loading. I use it on a Mac and it works fine and dont need to load any additional software / programmes.
Enjoy
Autosport said:
Rain is expected to hamper the scheduled start for today's 54th running of the Daytona 500.
The rainfall started before noon local time and although there has not been a heavy downpour, the track is completely wet approaching the scheduled green flag time of 1:29pm US Eastern Time. Officials estimate around two hours to get the track in race-ready condition from the moment they start the drying process with jet-blowers.
Driver introductions are still scheduled to take place on time - around 50 minutes before the start - but depend on weather conditions.
Weather forecasts show the chance of rain reduces into the afternoon before increasing again into the night but officials hope to get a window big enough to get the race in today.
While there have been four occasions when the Daytona 500 has been shortened, the last in 2009 due to rain, the event has never been run on a Monday.
The rainfall started before noon local time and although there has not been a heavy downpour, the track is completely wet approaching the scheduled green flag time of 1:29pm US Eastern Time. Officials estimate around two hours to get the track in race-ready condition from the moment they start the drying process with jet-blowers.
Driver introductions are still scheduled to take place on time - around 50 minutes before the start - but depend on weather conditions.
Weather forecasts show the chance of rain reduces into the afternoon before increasing again into the night but officials hope to get a window big enough to get the race in today.
While there have been four occasions when the Daytona 500 has been shortened, the last in 2009 due to rain, the event has never been run on a Monday.
mistersi said:
for free live streaming for any motorsports i cant watch (mainly Indycar and NASCAR) I use this website;
http://www.vipbox.tv/
Always been pretty good, very occasionally temperamental but does the job.....Just keep closing the adverts that try to pop up as the programme is first buffering / loading. I use it on a Mac and it works fine and dont need to load any additional software / programmes.
Enjoy
Cheers, the Fox one seems to be OK for me, pity that I can't use AirPlay mirroring on this Mac, I've just got the Apple TV and the pre race stuff was working well on the justin app, ah well still beats paying for it on Skyhttp://www.vipbox.tv/
Always been pretty good, very occasionally temperamental but does the job.....Just keep closing the adverts that try to pop up as the programme is first buffering / loading. I use it on a Mac and it works fine and dont need to load any additional software / programmes.
Enjoy
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