When NASCAR built a three-week west coast run into their schedule, it was designed to make it easier on drivers, crews and team owners who had previously had to endure back-and-forth travel between the races. This also made it much more affordable for smaller teams who may not have had the funds to head out west on three separate weekends. One thing it didn’t do, however, was make it easier on the crew members tasked with preparing the cars.
Most fans know that their favorite team isn’t taking the same car to the track every single week, but they may not realize just how different the setup can be for tracks that are similar, but differ in length or banking. Las Vegas, Phoenix and Auto Club Speedway in Fontana all require their own special setup.
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas, like Atlanta, Texas and Charlotte, is a 1.5-mile banked oval. The setup here is more moderate than at either Phoenix or Vegas, which makes sense because the track size falls in between the other two.
LVMS, however, is significantly more banked than either of the other tracks the teams visit on their west coast run. A flatter intermediate track would require stiffer springs to prevent the car from rolling to the side too much through the flat turns. Because of the 18 to 20 degree banking in the turns at Las Vegas, though, softer springs can be used. At the same time, less camber can be used. This means the tire does not need to be tilted in at the top as much as it is at some flatter tracks.
Phoenix International Raceway
Phoenix, commonly known as PIR, is a one mile short track. At PIR, many drivers shift from fourth gear to third while going through turns 1 and 2, which means the teams must prepare an engine that can endure far more shifts than at a larger track. Proper gearing is crucial at many NASCAR short tracks. Choosing the right gear ratio means the driver can use them for speeding up and slowing down, which saves the brakes. This doesn’t mean as much at Phoenix as it will in two weeks at Martinsville, but it is still a consideration for teams.
At a short track, the camber and caster (the angle of the tire relative to the steering pivot point) are often different on each side. The top of the tire is leaned in on the right front, and it is shifted forward from the pivot point. On the left front, positive camber leans the top of the tire outward and negative caster moves it toward the back of the car.
Teams are also more concerned with air intake at Phoenix than at a larger track. Proper air flow will help to keep the engine and brakes cool on a short track, which is why fans may notice more open vents on the nose of the car.
Auto Club Speedway
Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, is a D-shaped two mile superspeedway. Perhaps the most important aspect of a superspeedway car — aside from having an engine that can hold up for so many miles at high speeds — is aerodynamics. With the current templates, this can’t be altered as much as it once could, but there are still ways teams seek to maximize the aerodynamics of their cars. One is through using duct tape to block the vents on the nose. Superspeedways typically don’t require much air to cool the engine, and the brakes are rarely used. This allows teams to block the airflow through the front of the car for added aerodynamics.
Caster and camber don’t play much of a role on most superspeedways as they do on short tracks. The tires on a superspeedway car are much more upright than those you see on cars at tracks under two miles. The wider turns make caster mostly unnecessary, although many teams run with slightly negative camber on the right front and slightly positive camber on the left front in an effort to help the car turn better.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup series wraps up its three week west coast run on Sunday in Fontana.