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JENSEN: The Answer Man
By popular demand, The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com....
Tom Jensen  |  Posted June 19, 2008   Sonoma, Calif.
The Answer Man on SPEEDtv.com - the Online Motorsports Authority

Note: By popular demand, The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. I will be answering questions during every race week and look forward to hearing from you as the season goes on.



If you have a question, please e-mail it to – Tom Jensen

Hey Tom: Grand Am was supposed to pair with Champ Car at the Monterey Festival of Speed at Laguna Seca on May 18th. We all know what happened to those plans. I noticed that the NASCAR Nationwide Series didn't have a race that weekend. I enjoy the road course races for Sprint or Nationwide at Watkins Glen, Sonoma, Mexico City and Montreal. Sprint Cup and IndyCar are not leaving Infineon any time soon. What are the chances Nationwide would want to add another road course for that Grand Am weekend in May at Laguna Seca? — Paul Ingram, Carmel, Calif.

Hello, Paul, and thanks for the excellent question. I’ve tried to learn to never say never in NASCAR, and while road racing is a lot of fun to watch, I find it doubtful that NASCAR would add a road race at Laguna Seca for the Nationwide Series. As it is, road racing is an expensive proposition for the Nationwide teams, who have to purpose-build cars to turn left as well as right. In addition, traveling cross-country costs megabucks, too, so when you combine the two, I just don’t see it happening anytime soon.

After having watched the finish of the truck race at Michigan, am I to assume that the apron is off-limits except for the last lap at the finish line? Had Johnny Benson won the race - by diving below the line - what's the likelihood he would have been penalized for improving his position? — Scott, Bargersville, Ind.

Another good question, Scott. Benson would not have been penalized. Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway are the only two tracks where drivers are not allowed to go beneath the line and onto the apron to pass.

When they change tires, are the lugs preinstalled on the wheels? Why don't they cross-thread? Having done thousands myself, seems impossible. Can you run through the drill? Thanks. — Bryan Lillard, Westminster, Md.

Glad to be of help, Bryan. Teams use contact cement to glue the lugs onto the wheels a couple of hours before the start of the race. The contact cement is lightweight and flexible, giving just enough adhesion to remain attached while the tire changer hits them with the air gun.

I just read your response to the question regarding the motors used in NASCAR. Now that the COT is used today and every team uses the same car, and next year motor specs “make the engines virtually identical,” what makes the race car a Ford, Dodge, Chevy or Toyota? The decals they place on the hood or is it just the money the four manufacturers supply? Does this mean that the manufacturer who throws most money at the “sport” will inevitably end up on top? Where is the innovation, the interest and the relevance to the real stock cars we drive? Will we end up with a spec series similar to the IRL where one supplier provides the “stock cars” and another supplies the motors and a third supplies the decals? — Don Bascom

Don: I have said this before and will repeat it again: Chairman and CEO Brian France has publicly stated on several occasions that NASCAR does not want anything mechanical deciding the outcome of the race — they want bodies to all make the same downforce regardless of brand, and engines to all make the same amount of horsepower, or as close to it as possible, etc. From that respect, it already is a spec series. NASCAR’s theory is that if everyone has identical cars and engines it will keep one company from coming in and spending a disproportionate amount of money to dominate the series. It also means races will be decided on driving ability and pit strategy, not an advantage in aerodynamics or horsepower.

Tom: All the major league sports have players associations. How long you think it will be before NASCAR drivers start protecting their interests with an association of their own? Michael Balton, Brooklyn, NY Hello, Michael. How soon will NASCAR drivers start protecting their interests with an association of their own? When pigs fly, that’s how soon. Drivers have tried to organize before with disastrous results – most notably with Curtis Turner, Tim Flock and the Teamsters in 1960, and Richard Petty and the Professional Drivers Association at Talladega in 1969. It’s not going to happen. Besides, what interests do they really have to protect? They’re making more money than every before and the cars and tracks are safer than ever before. I’m not saying the drivers have it easy – they don’t – but they have it better than they’ve ever had before.

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