Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 20, 1994 TAG: 9401210051
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Winston Cup team sources said Wednesday that NASCAR officials have told them the flaps will be required on all cars after they arrive at Daytona next month for Speedweeks.
Two carbon-fiber flaps, each about 15 inches wide and six inches tall, will be mounted across the back of the roof near the rear window. The flaps will lie flat on the roof during normal driving but will pop up when air gets under them as a car spins.
The flaps are designed to disrupt the air flow over the car and slow it more quickly, ideally keeping it from lifting off the track.
One of NASCAR's most serious problems in recent years has been cars flipping and crashing, sometimes into catch fences that protect the spectators, when air gets under the car and flows the wrong way across the rear spoiler during a high-speed spin.
One source said wind-tunnel tests showed the flaps may help keep a car on the ground at speeds as high as 180 mph. Without them, cars can begin to lift at speeds as low as 120 mph.
NASCAR last year ordered a similar, smaller flap for the cowl, an opening on the hood just ahead of the front window, that closes when the car spins.
The roof flaps reportedly are primarily designed to help prevent flips at the Charlotte, Atlanta and Michigan tracks and are not considered the solution at the Daytona and Talladega superspeedways, where average speeds are around 190 mph.
"Right now, the odds look real good that we'll try something along those lines starting with Daytona, but if we don't make Daytona we can still start somewhere else," NASCAR spokesman Chip Williams said.
He declined to be more specific about details of the new equipment and NASCAR's plans for it.
\ CONNECTIONS: Geoff Bodine said Wednesday that Hoosier Tire President Bob Newton was responsible for hooking him up with his new primary sponsor, Exide Batteries.
"Bob Newton actually brought this sponsor to me," he said at his shop in Concord, N.C., during the annual media tour sponsored by Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The deal with Exide, the oldest and largest battery maker in the world, is for one year.
With the sponsorship, of course, came a commitment to run Hoosier tires exclusively this year in the Winston Cup series, and Bodine said he agreed to that without actually testing the new tires.
"I didn't need to test before I signed," he said. "Call me crazy."
Maybe not. Preliminary reports out of Daytona testing have Hoosier tires two or three-tenths of a second faster than Goodyears.
\ ABOUT THOSE TESTS: Harry Gant, for one, has been quicker on Hoosiers. He was the fastest in practice Monday and Tuesday.
But not Wednesday. Dale Earnhardt led the General Motors cars in the final day of preseason testing at Daytona with a speed of 190.638 mph. Track officials said they didn't know what tire he was using.
Gant was second-fastest at 189.753 mph, followed by Darrell Waltrip at 189.274 mph, Terry Labonte at 188.957 mph and Kyle Petty at 188.679 mph.
All practice speeds are hand-timed, random and unofficial, which is another way of saying they may not mean much.
\ RUDD'S STRATEGY: The Fords arrive for their final three-day test on Monday, but Ricky Rudd may not show. He also skipped the first session this month. Rudd has a three-day test at Talladega beginning Sunday. He believes he can get more work done at Talladega because so many cars come to the Daytona test and NASCAR officials let only a few on the track at once.
\ NEWS FROM THE ICE: During his visit with the press, Bodine also fielded questions about his USA Bobsled Project. Two new tidbits: The U.S. sleds will be equipped with on-board cameras for their Olympic runs. The sleds and Bodine's race car will be featured in a new IBM advertisement to be aired during the Super Bowl.
by CNB