Plate Gets Smaller As Speeds Get Bigger At Talladega

 

NASCAR changes restrictor-plate size
SCENEDAILY - BY BOB POCKRASS - ASSOCIATE EDITOR

TALLADEGA, Ala. - NASCAR will issue restrictor plates with smaller holes for the rest of the UAW-Ford 500 weekend as teams scrambled Saturday morning to get their cars ready for qualifying.

The new restrictor plates will have four holes of seven-eighths of an inch in diameter, one-64th of an inch smaller than the ones used in practice Friday when Jeff Gordon reached a speed of 198.689 mph in the opening session at Talladega Superspeedway.

The change should slow the speeds by 2-5 mph, according to crew chiefs,.

Teams were informed of the change Saturday morning. There are no practice sessions left on the schedule - qualifying begins at 12:10 p.m. ET today and the cars will be impounded after qualifying.

Kyle Petty must make the race on speed, and the late change concerns Petty Enterprises Executive Vice President Robbie Loomis.

"My gut was telling me [they would change] halfway through the first practice," Loomis said. "Unfortunately, it took a lot longer to make the decision. ... It would be OK if we all had Ford engines or all had Dodge engines.

"They all react to something different. I guarantee you that the restrictor plate will not [have] the same [effect] for all of the manufacturers."

NASCAR officials are expected to address the media concerning the change later this morning.

Philippe Lopez, crew chief at Hall of Fame Racing, which gets its engines from Joe Gibbs Racing, said a practice with the new plates would have been helpful.

"They're wearing out at Gibbs right now trying to give us the best engines they can," Lopez said. "There's no replacing [time] on the race track.

more on smaller restrictor plate at Talladega