Wouldn't it be helpful to have Don Wilshe's Faslap converted so that everyone
could have say ten laps at each track and have it record best lap. Then take
an average of all track speeds to give you one average racer index number. It
would be very helpful for determining the best classes to run with on NRO.
What do you think?
-/- BW
> Wouldn't it be helpful to have Don Wilshe's Faslap converted so that everyone
> could have say ten laps at each track and have it record best lap. Then take
> an average of all track speeds to give you one average racer index number. It
> would be very helpful for determining the best classes to run with on NRO.
> What do you think?
> -/- BW
I'd vote for your Idea... at least it's based on N2, and not N1 :)
--
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Handy^man
Hang in there Handyman, your getting some of the best practice available. I
certainly understand the frustrations of not running with folks in your own
skill level, running with the higher ups will do nothing but help you in
your progression. Very valuable experience for when the Nros does start,
plus you'll have a head start on a lot of others and will most likely move
up in skill level fairly rapidly!
Don Burnette
no because why rank people on 10 laps. im looking at races of 50% or more not 10
laps....
Speed does not always equate to competency. Sure, being fast helps a great deal
because we all know that the better you qualify the more likely you are to
avoid the early-race wrecks caused by overeager rookies and people who believe
that you have to win on the first lap. In the longer races that I believe we
will see in the NROS environment (after all, it won't be costing us our
firstborn like Hawaii is) the emphasis will be on strategy...saving the tires,
tweaking the setup, not making a foolish pass attempt on lap 2.....Just
because Joe Schmoe can turn a 168 at Darlington whereas I can only turn a 165
does not make him a better driver...it only makes him faster. It's not where
you start....it's where you finish...and if you have the other drivers
respect, you usually WILL finish.
I totally agree. I for one know that I have run in races on Hawaii where I was
definitely the slowest and I have finished in front of people who don't belive
the old addage "In order to finish first, you must first finish". I'm not even
talking about bonzai laps per se. What I am saying is that some folks out
there (I wish I was one) have lots more time to devote to race setups,
testing, and practicing. These guys will be (and are) much faster in these
practice laps. Others, like myself, don't have more than an hour a day at most
to practice and work on setups. Again, this will show in a ten-lap composite
of laps.
For example, I recently ran in a race at Loudon with 14 others. The top qual
speed was 130. My best was 121. I got lapped after 4 laps. I was able to keep
it clean the whole way and came home 12th, but let's face it, that's not the
best way to run. OK, maybe one could make the argument that with more practice
I could gain those aditional 9mph I needed to be competitive. However, I feel
quite sure that the advent of the NROS will bring people from all over to race
and many will be like me. A little slow. That brings us back to Faslap. With a
tool that creates a relative index, it would be much easier to find a group of
guys all within 1 mph of your indexed time. That WILL create parity much like
we see in the real Winston Cup division. And parity goes a long way towards
creating tight competitive racing (which I believe is still the goal here).
And if you don't want to go buy this index, so be it. Run all the pickup races
you wish. I'm not suggesting this be the official NROS ranking system, just a
tool to corral the herds.
One thing though - he is _definitely_ faster, but you don't
necessarily know that you are a better racer. If he's faster, that's
an advantage. If he starts closer to the front, that's another
advantage. These pretty soon add up.
I take your point, smooth and strategic driving will play a greater
part than hurling the car round a hotlap, but since oval hotlaps come
from smoothness and precise lines I'm sure the driving skills of
hotlappers are already pretty good. Setup is also crucial for hotlaps
and it takes only an adjustment of mindset to look at speed/wear/heat
instead of just pure one lap speed.
I'd reckon the hotlappers will be up at the front when racing - I've
never yet seen one that wasn't. Remember that they will turn hundreds
if not thousands of laps in search of a hotlap - that equates to a
looooot of practice.
Cheers!
John
