The Strategic Elements Of NASCAR


Watching a NASCAR race can be one of the most entertaining and exciting ways to spend a Sunday afternoon (or in some cases a Saturday night). Every race on the Nextel Cup schedule has its share of drama and strategy that provide the fans with an enjoyable, dramatic experience.

What makes NASCAR worth watching? How about the strategy and planning that each race team employs in their attempts at victory.

When a caution flag is waved during a race, the crew chief must decide whether or not to bring his driver in for a pit stop. If you decide to come into the pits and other teams follow, well great. If you decide to pit and others stay out on the track, then you can fall behind very quickly. You better hope that the fresh tires on your car allow you to catch up with the guys that didn’t come in for fresh tires of their own.

A crew chief must evaluate how race tires have been performing throughout each race. As a race nears completion, a race team may decide to put only two fresh tires on their car. They may even elect to add fuel only and not change tires at all. This strategy saves valuable time, and gets a driver back out on the track quickly. The gain in track position can send a driver to victory, or send a driver to the back of the pack, surpassed by cars with fresh tires.

During pit stops as a race nears completion, crew chiefs must constantly decide whether or not to change two or four tires, or add fuel only, and whether or not to pit at all. One of the most dramatic events within a NASCAR race occurs when a crew chief decides to gamble and not bring his car in to the pits near the end of the race-thinking the car has enough gas to finish. This strategy often results in victories and probably equally as often results in cars running out of gas-unable to finish.

Additional important strategic elements in NASCAR racing are the adjustments made to the car throughout the race. Depending on how a car is handling, a crew chief may decide to add or reduce air pressure in the car's tires, based on the feedback the driver is giving him. Make the right adjustments and your car improves and you’re a contender for a victory. Make the wrong adjustments, and you have a miserable day. It has to be very frustrating to drive four or five hundred miles knowing you have no chance to win.

To pit or not to pit? Gas or no gas? Two tires or four tires, or how about no tires? These are just a few examples of the many decisions each race team has to deal with. The strategy involved makes watching a NASCAR race a fun and entertaining way to spend an afternoon.

Pro Racing Has A New Darling


Time passes, people change and we get older. Every New Year brings hopes and dreams, but reality sometimes takes the wind out of our sails. We just need to keep a positive outlook on ourselves and our community and reap the benefits of our hard work.

The recent movie Talladega Nights was a bit of a surprise to me. The lead character(Will Farrell) has a nemesis...a French gay race car driver. The stereotype is there (he is a queen), but the reality is not. I know it is a comedy (and it is pretty funny), but the point is that people relate fiction to our community. I am trying to change the public perception of what a “gay” person is. I want to show the public that there really is no “gay” issue, just diverse types of people.

There is also a real problem with suicide among gays and gay teens. Many of us have had an upbringing where we were told that we were NOT gay, those people made bad decisions, etc. It is a very difficult time in anyone’s life (the realization that you are different), and to have the pressures of parents and communities telling you that something is wrong with you can be difficult. The pressure from parents, community, churches and television can sometimes become too much, and lives are lost.

The image of a person’s doing something in a straight-oriented market like pro sports should show that we are all really just the same. If one person can be saved from killing themselves, we did well by being ourselves and proud of who we are. As time moves along we will gain more and more acceptance and our quality of life will continue to improve. I want to go into the pro arena as a person that is not afraid of who I am. Most pro athletes come out of the closet after retirement as the pressures of being out in a team environment would be too difficult and have a detrimental effect on their career.

I have researched many companies and am targeting GLBT businesses with the opportunity of televised advertising. I have sent off a lot of information to many celebrities in hopes of garnering support for our community and my racing. I am looking for public and private support. The racing schedule this year is pretty hectic, and I would like to start working on my racing...not fundraising!

Evan Darling evan@edarlingenterprises.com

Cadillac XLR - New Supercar


Clearly influenced by the styling the Mercedes-Benz SLK, the new Cadillac XLR shares the squared off look of other recent Cadillacs. It doesn’t look bad at all, although the headlamps look as if they have been squeezed to fit alongside the wide grille. The performance puts it up in the supercar class.

Top speed is limited to 155 mph, and it can get to 60 mph in about 5.7 seconds – that's slightly quicker than the Jaguar XK, thanks to the larger engine. Other competitors include the Mercedes-Benz SL and Porsche 911.

Looks can be deceiving. The car is wide and low, and looks big. In fact, it is quite compact, just 177.5 inches long and 72.2 inches wide. The car looks pretty good, particularly from the side. And you get a very practical SLK-lookalike opening roof. I guess most convertibles will be ‘metal’ convertibles soon, and the rag tops will disappear – maybe not on all supercars. To save weight, the roof of the XLR is aluminum and magnesium.

Good power output

Also, the XLR has quite a lot of power: 326 bhp at 6,500 rpm and 312 lb ft (423 Nm)at 4,400 rpm from GM’s Northstar 4.6 liter V-8, which could work a bit harder – 350-360 bhp, which would not be difficult to get from this engine, would make things more interesting.

As it is, it is enough to give the car quite a shove, and as the Northstar has an aluminum block and head with dohc and four valves per cylinder, it revs well. Variable valve timing improves the spread of power, too.

The engine is coupled to a rear mounted five-speed automatic transmission – 5 speeds put it at a disadvantage against the European supercars which mostly have six-speed automatics, but it is designed to give sporty shifts. Because the box is rear-mounted and the engine is fairly well back, front/rear weight distribution is 50/50.

New frame concept

Based on GM’s new platform for sporty cars shared with the Corvette, the XLR has a fairly light frame of hydro-formed steel tubes. Hydroforming changes the shape quite dramatically, putting in bends, changing the section to a rectangle and so on, making a lightweight frame. The passenger compartment is aluminum, and the body panels are composite plastics. This is a structure that can compete with many a supercar.

This is a fairly light structure, and despite the high level of equipment, the car weighs a healthy 3,643 lb (1,654 kg) which is just 130 lb more than the new lightweight Jaguar XK, and of course quite a bit more than the Corvette which has a lower spec but bigger engine.

Double wishbone suspension

Suspension is the familiar Corvette design of double wishbones front and rear with transverse leaf springs. The result is a simple, lightweight system that gives more roll stiffness - resistance to roll - than coil springs. Also, the spring rate is progressive, so it irons out big bumps in the road almost as easily as little ones. There is also a front anti-roll bar.

To save weight, the double wishbones front and rear are aluminum; of course, the composite leaf springs are light, too. Leaf springs of this type - just one leaf - are actually quite advanced technology as they don't locate the wheels, and involve some clever manufacturing techniques.

The dampers are the new continuously variable electro-magnetic type, and the steering is speed sensitive, so you get more assistance at low speed.

As this is a Cadillac, it comes with a high specification. For Europe, navigation, and heated/cooled seats are standard as are adaptive speed control and a head-up display. The interior, with its wood, leather and aluminum trim is quite pleasant

On the road

Built in the same plant and to the same concept as the Corvette, the Cadillac XLR is best thought of a softened up Corvette intended for those who want a better ride.

Visibility is good thanks to slim pillars in the opening roof, and the almost flat hood. Like the Corvette both the instruments and driving position are good. There is also a head-up display which shows only the speed and which gear you're in, and you don't seem able to switch off. Pity. I did not find it useful.

The steering is not bad at all, and the XLR turns in well, as you'd expect with that weight distribution, but once you start pressing, you start to feel a little understeer coming in, which is not a bad thing for the market this is aimed at – more the luxury sports car that the hard charging supercar driver. But the car does not corner as fast as you could with more neutral steering.

The automatic is good. In D, the performance is not bad at all, and the kick-down is quite aggressive. There's also a manual mode. Push the lever across to the left, and then nudge it forward for up, and back for down. This works extremely well, and actually is a manual. I mean, some of these actually shift up when you hit peak revs. Not this one; it just lets you stay there till you're ready.

Overall, the Cadillac XLR is a good addition to the ranks of sporty two-seater luxury cars, but not up to the standard of the Jaguar XK nor the Aston Martin V8 Vantage. Others to consider include the more powerful and sportier Corvette and Viper SRT-10. Too new to rate is the Audi R8