Track Prep ?

[BOO BOO]

NHRA preps the track before the race. Tons of runs in both lanes before Sat rain. It rained on both lanes all day. NHRA preps both lanes before race day Sunday am. So why was there suck a big difference in the lanes once racing started sun?

 

[T.Smith]

NHRA preps the track before the race. Tons of runs in both lanes before Sat rain. It rained on both lanes all day. NHRA preps both lanes before race day Sunday am. So why was there suck a big difference in the lanes once racing started sun?

I wasn't there this past weekend, but I can remember back in 2012 when it rained so much Sunday afternoon thru Monday morning, the rubber was separating from the racing surface and once the rained stopped and it was going to be an all day process of completely scraping the track and re-applying new rubber. So the race was canceled until the next weekend.

Why one lane was so good and the other was so terrible was kind of mind boggling to me as I watched round 1 unfold.

A couple random thoughts I've had are, I was told awhile back when a concrete racing surface is poured, there is no way to insure that both concrete pads are poured the same way. After a lot a rain, maybe the right lane or the whole track has an adhesion problem.

My other thought would be, was there some type of event (oil, diesel fuel, antifreeze) that happened in the right lane at a prior race. Could a large amount rain pulled some type of prior fluid up?

Again, just some random thoughts. I'm not a track owner or track prep guru.

 

[Huge]

I wasn't there this past weekend, but I can remember back in 2012 when it rained so much Sunday afternoon thru Monday morning, the rubber was separating from the racing surface and once the rained stopped and it was going to be an all day process of completely scraping the track and re-applying new rubber. So the race was canceled until the next weekend.

Why one lane was so good and the other was so terrible was kind of mind boggling to me as I watched round 1 unfold.

A couple random thoughts I've had are, I was told awhile back when a concrete racing surface is poured, there is no way to insure that both concrete pads are poured the same way. After a lot a rain, maybe the right lane or the whole track has an adhesion problem.

My other thought would be, was there some type of event (oil, diesel fuel, antifreeze) that happened in the right lane at a prior race. Could a large amount rain pulled some type of prior fluid up?

Again, just some random thoughts. I'm not a track owner or track prep guru.

I remember that one. I spent 3 weeks in Indy for that race.

 

[Cliff]

One year, early 70's, Pomona took 3 weeks to finish cuz of rain. Yes I was there all 3 weeks. heh That was the year Clive Skilton & Dennis Priddle came from England to race.

 

[mick]

interesting thoughts tony on why the rt. lane was bad early on sunday........ kind of related ......
didn't recall any testing at indy the week prior to race? most years teams leave brainerd on sunday or monday and are setup again in indy by wednesday/thursday. not this year.
in fact, pretty sure i've read there was some pro testing at brainerd on monday following race

 

[Pete]

I rememe

I wasn't there this past weekend, but I can remember back in 2012 when it rained so much Sunday afternoon thru Monday morning, the rubber was separating from the racing surface and once the rained stopped and it was going to be an all day process of completely scraping the track and re-applying new rubber. So the race was canceled until the next weekend.

Why one lane was so good and the other was so terrible was kind of mind boggling to me as I watched round 1 unfold.

A couple random thoughts I've had are, I was told awhile back when a concrete racing surface is poured, there is no way to insure that both concrete pads are poured the same way. After a lot a rain, maybe the right lane or the whole track has an adhesion problem.

My other thought would be, was there some type of event (oil, diesel fuel, antifreeze) that happened in the right lane at a prior race. Could a large amount rain pulled some type of prior fluid up?

Again, just some random thoughts. I'm not a track owner or track prep guru.

I was going to mention that, but couldn't recall the year. Same issues with Phoenix more recently and Seattle in the 90's, early 2000's had one lane race tracks during certain parts of the day, primarily the hottest for Seattle and coldest for Phoenix

 

[PJ]

Two of the biggest crowd reactions yesterday was when Todd ran down Campbell and the side by side pedal fest with Billy and Doug. I love full pull strong passes but maybe a little less prep and a little more driver would be fun as well. Of course two many pedals can also lead to damage so it's not the perfect idea.

 

[mick]

give me evenly matched lanes with great grip all day long.
may the best man/woman win who's crew chief is able to apply clutch the best over the entire 1000'.
sunday winners sometimes get lucky with one pedal job for a win, usually not 2 or more.
clay's wheelie @ indy Q was terrible luck. he hooked hard off the line.

 

[Pete]

Two of the biggest crowd reactions yesterday was when Todd ran down Campbell and the side by side pedal fest with Billy and Doug. I love full pull strong passes but maybe a little less prep and a little more driver would be fun as well. Of course two many pedals can also lead to damage so it's not the perfect idea.

that was awesome

 

[Pete]

give me evenly matched lanes with great grip all day long.
may the best man/woman win who's crew chief is able to apply clutch the best over the entire 1000'.
sunday winners sometimes get lucky with one pedal job for a win, usually not 2 or more.
clay's wheelie @ indy Q was terrible luck. he hooked hard off the line.

A few years ago, it was determined that the 'super teams' were destroying the fields with 'too much grip', which is why NHRA changed the prep. Supposedly it was to put the driver back into it. I read recently that this may have changed and the prep has increased? Bad move in my opinion. If you look a the new cars that have come out since the change, most feel they can qualify, make 7500-10K (depending on the race) and possibly win a round or two...
less prep = levels the playing field to an extent. superior tuners and experienced drivers will always persevere

 

[mgty3whlr]

When they went with less glue on the track, Everyone was up in arms about it but, Since it has been done, everyone cooled down and now it's nice to see the under funded teams actually upset the big funded ones.

 

[T.Smith]

interesting thoughts tony on why the rt. lane was bad early on sunday........ kind of related ......
didn't recall any testing at indy the week prior to race? most years teams leave brainerd on sunday or monday and are setup again in indy by wednesday/thursday. not this year.
in fact, pretty sure i've read there was some pro testing at brainerd on monday following race

Yes, some teams stayed at Brainerd and tested on Monday. I didn't hear of anyone testing at Indy after Brainerd.

 

[T.Smith]

Two of the biggest crowd reactions yesterday was when Todd ran down Campbell and the side by side pedal fest with Billy and Doug. I love full pull strong passes but maybe a little less prep and a little more driver would be fun as well. Of course two many pedals can also lead to damage so it's not the perfect idea.

If I remember correctly, there was also a lengthy clean up after Billy and Doug. You can't have it both ways.

 

[T.Smith]

A few years ago, it was determined that the 'super teams' were destroying the fields with 'too much grip', which is why NHRA changed the prep. Supposedly it was to put the driver back into it. I read recently that this may have changed and the prep has increased? Bad move in my opinion. If you look a the new cars that have come out since the change, most feel they can qualify, make 7500-10K (depending on the race) and possibly win a round or two...
less prep = levels the playing field to an extent. superior tuners and experienced drivers will always persevere

I don't remember that being the reason for less track prep. I do remember it being for safety reasons because of escalating speeds and E.T.'s in 2017. Closer competition and extended parts life was the byproduct.

After some really crappy Friday sessions earlier in the season, I could understand if the tracks are being prepped more in preparation for the Friday evening single nitro session.

I think there are a number of reasons why some new teams have been formed. Stability in the rules, access to good parts, teams not stretching their budget to run more races and a little assistance from the larger teams or crew chiefs has helped a lot.

 

[P-Dogg]

I've always wondered why the lanes aren't tarped when it rains. I'm NOT saying the entire 1320 but at least part of it.

 

[T.Smith]

I've always wondered why the lanes aren't tarped when it rains. I'm NOT saying the entire 1320 but at least part of it.

Even half the track is still a lot. 660 feet is about 200 meters. An average high school athlete sprint of that distance is about 25 - 30 seconds. Plus where would you store it? How would you over the walls onto the track?

A lot of the older tracks suffer from bad drainage. So the water comes up through the surface from underneath because of ground saturation.

 

[PJ]

If I remember correctly, there was also a lengthy clean up after Billy and Doug. You can't have it both ways.

I don't remember a clean up after it, but like I said in my post. 2 many pedals can lead to damage and cleanup so while it's nice to see them the more likely we'll have cleanup.

 

[Pete]

I don't remember that being the reason for less track prep. I do remember it being for safety reasons because of escalating speeds and E.T.'s in 2017. Closer competition and extended parts life was the byproduct.

After some really crappy Friday sessions earlier in the season, I could understand if the tracks are being prepped more in preparation for the Friday evening single nitro session.

I think there are a number of reasons why some new teams have been formed. Stability in the rules, access to good parts, teams not stretching their budget to run more races and a little assistance from the larger teams or crew chiefs has helped a lot.

You are correct sir! My mistake