There were a lot of engine problems at the Kansas race last Sunday. Also, a lot of theories as to why there were a lot of engine problems. Let’s start with the cooler-than-expected temperatures. […]
It didn’t take long after Brad Kezelowski pulled out his cellphone during the 2-hour-long Daytona red flag for the conspiracy theorists to leap into action.
The argument goes like this: Cellphones should be banned from the car because a driver could use his specially prepared cellphone to a) change the Engine Control Unit (ECU) and/or b) transmit data from the car back to his crew chief during a race. We will not address the suggestions that the driver could use the cellphone to talk secretly to the crew chief during a race because anyone who has been in a race car or worn a helmet knows that’s just plain dopey. […]
In my last post, I detailed how the relays in the ECU system allow the system to flip to a default engine map. This lets the team keep running, even when something fails, and it decreases the chances of the ECU doing something that blows up the engine. Here’s a short explanation of what exactly an ‘engine map’ is and what it does. […]
The race at Phoenix was the first non-restrictor-plate race. A number of drivers experienced engine-related problems, leading some media outlets to start blowing the “EFI problems” horns as loudly as possible. Mark Martin, the pole sitter, was an unfortunate casualties of a “flipped circuit breaker”. One of the most interesting exchanges to me was a series of tweets and a radio interview with Mark Martin’s Crew Chief Rodney Childers (@rchilders55) in which Childers repeatedly said it not “an EFI problem”, the radio commentators persisted in saying that it was. […]
Although there is a lot of science behind bump drafting, the act of bump drafting is an art. Even the experienced bump drafters are surprised by the touchiness of the cars this year. […]
One thing you will hear a lot as soon as coverage of practice starts Wednesday will be speculation about possible changes to the pop-off valve on the radiator. What is a pop-off valve and how will it affect the Daytona 500? Here’s the answer: […]
As we turn on the (new) engines to start the season, the twitterverse is getting even more full of people debating the NASCAR EFI system. Is it like the EFI in production cars? Is it throttle body? Is it multiport? Here are the answers: […]
The short answer: Carbs suck and EFI squirts.
The long answer can be found in the video that follows. […]
There is absolutely nothing magic about the 200-mph mark.
People have been treating the 200-mph number like it was handed down by a sacred oracle. […]
Thursday marks the first time we’ve had an open test at Daytona in a couple of years. With the myriad rules changes aimed at getting away from two-car drafting, the teams are going to need […]
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