Charlotte, N.C. — In the week that separated the Richmond International Raceway and New Hampshire International Speedway events several NASCAR NEXTEL Cup teams tested the 2005 aero recipe at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
These testing chores were handled by Ford driver Greg Biffle and Dodge pilots Casey Mears and Ryan Newman. The cars that were run were trimmed to ‘05 specifications, including a one-inch shorter spoiler. Mears upped the ante, driving one of the new ‘05 Dodge cars during the test. Goodyear engineers were also on hand with several of their ’05 tire packages, testing to see if the computer simulations used to design tires were as accurate as Goodyear engineers’ predictions.
This test, the second of three planned, gave the Vegas track it’s chance to shine. Earlier this month tests were performed at Bristol Motor Speedway. A test was scheduled the week before the Richmond event for Lowe’s Motor Speedway, but rain caused a reschedule for sometime in the immediate future.
Biffle told www.teamfordracing.com at NHIS that he found the new configuration incredibly different from what's being run this year; and he has concerns that perhaps the cars were tossed into a performance area where none but the most sound drivers will be able to handle the machines.
“It was wild loose getting in, then bad tight from the center, off,” reported Biffle. He and Crew Chief Doug Richert were able to regain some of the feel of the car by adding rear spring to the car, with most of that going in the left rear to balance the car back out. But even with the adjustments Biffle said the configuration required his full and undivided attention to navigate LVMS’ corners.
“Right now we’ve completed tests at Bristol and Vegas with the new aero configuration,” explained Goodyear senior tire engineer, Mark Keto. “We tried some different designs in combination with the new package to see what will create some improvements in handling. The tests we did at Bristol, the aero changes weren’t that noticeable. They didn’t make that much of a difference. We didn’t really expect that it would.
“In Vegas there was a big difference,” noted Keto. “There was a big shift in the balance.”
Proving that tires are a vital part of the chassis equation Keto added, “There were some different tires that the drivers liked that helped. The biggest changes were on the left side tire. Some construction changes that took out some of the looseness and improved the balance.
“We’re not going to be able to take [all the differences] away with the tire,” warned Keto. “What we can do is improve it. The teams are going to have to work on their setups.
“They’ve got some work to do.”
Keto says that while the two complete tests of the ’05 recipe are important it’s the upcoming test at LMS that will send Goodyear engineers on the narrow path to the ’05 tire sets.
“That’s going to be a very important test. Speeds are higher and aero is very important. That’s a big test for us.”
With the new car configuration will likely come change. Keto said, “We’ll probably have to make some changes and adjustments to the [tire] grouping.” Explaining the groups Keto added, “We’ve got five major tire groups. You’ve got the Martinsville style. You’ve got the short track, which we use here [New Hampshire]. You’ve got the Vegas, Bristol and intermediate, the one-and-a-half and two-mile tracks. Atlanta has their own specific tire. It’s very punishing on the left side there. So we have a special tire at Atlanta. And we have a special tire for Texas.”
Martin is NASCAR’s choice for the LMS test; and he is a great choice as he’s long been a proponent of taking downforce off these cars. Plus, he remembers well the days when the cars were closer to plane wings, complete with lift, than the current configuration, which generates between 1600 and 1700 pounds of downforce.
