NASCAR: Taladega Weather Cheat?

I hate to release any trade secrets, but what is the deal with the track temp? At a low temp the field qualifies at 196 and I qualify at 189. At 120 degrees I qualify 194+ and the field is 193 or so at 100% competition. The tires don't even get hot in a race at 120 degrees track temp. I thought the point of "happy hour" was that the cars go faster in the 60-70s, why is 120 degrees the sweet spot? Glitch? JC

>At a low temp the field qualifies at 196 and I qualify at 189. At 120 >degrees I qualify 194+ and the field is 193 or so at 100% competition. >I thought the point of "happy hour" was that the cars go faster in the >60-70s, why is 120 degrees the sweet spot? Glitch? >JC I'd say so. The cars go faster in the 60's and 70's for two reasons: 1) the track is not as slick as it is in hot weather, and 2) the engine makes more horsepower in cooler, dryer weather. Every NASCAR speed record ever set at Talladega was set in April or May, not in July. Looks like Papyrus has got it working backwards. Pat ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Pat Campbell Go #6, #94 Huntsville, AL 1993-AttitUde; 1994-AUdacity; 1995-AUthentic War Eagle!!! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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>>At a low temp the field qualifies at 196 and I qualify at 189. At 120 >>degrees I qualify 194+ and the field is 193 or so at 100% competition. >>I thought the point of "happy hour" was that the cars go faster in the >>60-70s, why is 120 degrees the sweet spot? Glitch? >>JC >I'd say so. The cars go faster in the 60's and 70's for two reasons: 1) >the track is not as slick as it is in hot weather, and 2) the engine makes >more horsepower in cooler, dryer weather. Every NASCAR speed record ever >set at Talladega was set in April or May, not in July. Looks like Papyrus >has got it working backwards.

I think you're right. All fo the really fast IndyCar records are at high temps too. I am pretty sure that their sim does not take into account how much the track leaches out oil, and I suspect that temperature also does not factor into the turbo efficiency (obviously Indy only). -- Brian Wong Product Marketing Engineering