Power of Caring
  presented by CIGNA

Engine stress

Click here for more on this story

Posted: Thursday September 23, 1999 11:35 AM

NASCAR Know-How CLICK THE IMAGE TO LAUNCH CLIP Engine stress Start (210K .wav) Archives • Click here for past editions of Rusty Wallace's NASCAR Know-How

Just because we go almost 200 mph at Daytona and Talladega, most people automatically think that those big two-and-a-half -mile tracks are the toughest on engines, but that's actually not the case.

The big tracks are actually perhaps the easiest tracks from an engine stress stand point. That's because the restrictor plates only allow engines to turn about 5,500 RPM. Because of that low RPM level the engines don't really work that hard, even though the cars are going nearly 200 mph.

The two worst race tracks for engine stress? Martinsville, oddly enough the slowest race track we visit, and Sears Point. Martinsville is especially tough on the power plants because of the RPM range.

There, an engine will turn from a low of 3,000 RPM in the center of the corner to a high of 9,000 RPM on the straightaway. Remember, you do this 1,000 times over the period of a race.

At Sears Point, the range is the same, but the engine at least has a little time to breathe when you're going down one of the straightaways.

Even though Martinsville and Sears Point are tough on engines, they haven't been tough on me. Those are two of my favorite race tracks.

 

Related information
Multimedia
Visit Multimedia Central for the latest audio and video
Search our site	Watch CNN/SI 24 hours a day
	Sports Illustrated and CNN have combined to form a 24 hour sports news and information channel. To receive CNN/SI at your home call your cable operator or DirecTV.