I don't think this is a very fair situation.' We should have some practice or something. 'That stuff right there shouldn't be going on – especially in the Chase. 'We ain't got no practice, so we don't really know what to do. ' kind of threw us under the bus there with that change,' said Earnhardt, who qualified 33rd. doesn't think NASCAR should have made the change. 'From a driver's standpoint, we're all going in the same direction, so there is no speed that is too fast,' said Jeff Gordon, who starts fourth in Sunday's race.ĭale Earnhardt Jr. One driver had no idea they were traveling that fast, while another wasn't too happy with the decision. Some quick math shows that the comfort zone ends at around 195 mph. Pemberton added that while a car is spinning out of control, it usually scrubs 20 mph off its original speed.

In explaining what that zone was, Pemberton said that when a stock car is not traveling in the direction in which it is intended to travel – in other words, in an accident situation – and its speed is in excess of 175 mph, it is likely to become airborne. NASCAR director of competition Robin Pemberton talked about the speeds being beyond NASCAR's 'comfort zone.' 20s, we knew that something would be done.'Īnd indeed, a change was made, as NASCAR mandated the use of restrictor plates with smaller holes in them, thus further restricting air flow and reducing horsepower and speed.

'We saw a 48.30 come up on the screen and we knew that was fast,' Parrott said. Polesitter David Gilliland's crew chief Todd Parrott could see the plate change coming from a mile away. 'I saw those speeds and I told my coach driver, 'We'll not be using those restrictor plates in the race,'' Jarrett said. That all changed when Jeff Gordon ripped off a 198.689-mph lap during Friday's practice session here at Talladega.Īt the end of the day on Friday, it seemed everyone in the Cup garage knew there was a change coming – even though NASCAR officials told reporters that they weren't planning one.ĭefending race winner Dale Jarrett had his suspicions. This was supposed to be just another edge-of-your-seat restrictor plate race for the Cup teams. – Between Juan Pablo Montoya's stock car debut, Mark Martin's announced defection from Ford to Chevy, NASCAR changing the restrictor plate for Sunday's UAW-Ford 500, Richard Childress announcing a major change in primary sponsors and David Gilliland winning the pole for Sunday's race, it's quite possible to forget that there still is a Chase going on.

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