Changes in gears rules for Vegas in 2010? NASCAR is considering an adjustment on the gear rule for Las Vegas next season to prevent the engine failures that plagued numerous Sprint Cup teams last weekend.
Roush Fenway Racing lost three engines on Sunday, equaling the number of engines the team lost all of last season. Doug Yates, who oversees the Roush-Yates engine program, said the situation could have been avoided had there been a more conservative gear ratio that would have reduced rpms that were much higher than expected with the new tire and improved horsepower.
He said weather conditions — only 15% humidity — also may have contributed to the failures. “With all that stacked against us, we just weren’t ready for what we expected,” Yates said. “I talked to the NASCAR guys after the race and they said they probably will go back and evaluate the gear ratios. That particular race we were a lot above where we want these engines to be running.” Yates said several of the Roush and Yates cars reached 9,800 rpms on the front stretch — about 400 more than where he and NASCAR would like the reading to be. “NASCAR is addressing that,” he said. “They don’t want us to, especially in these times, spend more money to make engines turn 10,000 rpms. That’s not the intention of the gear rule.” Yates agreed with Lee White, the president of Toyota Racing Development, that the engine failures that Ford experienced in the race were different than what Toyota faced in practice and qualifying.
Those problems were fixed by using thicker lubricants and making a small mechanical adjustment. But he agreed all teams are pushing limits on the engines, and that these problems likely would have occurred had there not been a ban on testing. “I’m not going to blame not testing or NASCAR,” he said. “At the end of the day if we run in those type of conditions again it’s our job to make the engines stronger and more durable. I didn’t anticipate those type of things.” Yates doesn’t expect the high rpm rate to be a factor this week at Atlanta because the tires will fall off faster and keep speeds slower. That doesn’t mean he’s not a bit worried.(ESPN)(3-4-2009) Comment here