NASCAR - RP Racing at Daytona

NASCAR CUP Racing has 36 points races each year and four of them are at tracks that require the use of carburetor restrictor plates (RP) that limit airflow into the engines; thus reducing horsepower from the normal 850 to something more in the 400+ horsepower range.

Engines that are throttled back with restrictor plates aren't very responsive and function more like a big ol' lazy truck engine just chugging along around the track at a measly 185 miles per hour and a bit higher when they are running nose to tail with another car or cars (the term 'drafting' is used to describe this effect).

Typically a single car doesn't have adequate power to escape the draft of following cars and pull out ahead of the pack as normally happens on non-restrictor plate tracks. Hence; 43 cars circling the RP tracks at Daytona and Talladega almost represent a rolling parking lot.

Given this rolling parking lot effect, racing at RP tracks isn't really racing, it's basically an accident waiting to happen. TV executives and NASCAR executives LOVE this concept. It's a reality show that could be titled 'The Big One'. Somewhere before or near the beginning of each RP race, a TV commentator will mention that everyone is just waiting for 'The Big One' to happen.

At tonight's Daytona episode of 'The Big One', the TV audience will be waiting with bated breath for 'The Big One' to occur. TV will replay from multiple camera angles all the gory detail of 'The Big One'. If the TV and NASCAR execs are lucky, the race will have miltiple 'Big Ones'.

At the end of the race the hoopla will ensue and the winner will be crowned in Victory Lane, but the next day replays on TV sports programs all around the world will mention the winner but will replay in detail 'The Big One'. The four NASCAR exhibitions at Daytona and Talladega each season are TV shows. They aren't real racing; they're just a grandiose TV reality show named 'The Big One'.

JD

PS - I personally don't enjoy 'The Big One'. I'll TiVo the show and skip the gory replays. It's bad enough that tonight's episode doesn't begin until after 8 PM on the east coast. I'll be ready for bed before the Victory Lane celebrations ensue. And of course I can watch replays of the big one on Sunday's sports reports.