DAN'S DAYTONA DIARY
Tuesday, February 6, 2001
Wow! The first day of Daytona Speedweeks 2001. Everyone on the team is pumped up about the start of the new season. No matter how many times you've been to Daytona, when you enter the track the adrenaline just starts flowing. The track opened at 10:00 AM this morning, the car haulers entered the speedway and were placed in their assigned positions
in the garage area. The cars were unloaded and car preparations began. No practice today. All day is spent prepping the car and getting it thru tech.
The first thing on the agenda is to remove the fuel cell from the car. It has to be completely drained of fuel and the inner bladder is removed. The fuel cell is inspected by ARCA officials. When approved, the bladder is reinserted, the cell is sealed and reinstalled in the car.
The car is then inspected for safety. Team Member Gary Buchan sat down with Dan and discussed Day 1 at Daytona....
Q. What are some of the safety measures that are inspected?
They are checking for protruding metal or aluminum. They check to make sure all parts are properly fitted, no aluminum in place of required metal parts. They are checking fuel line attachments, the driver compartment, driver seat installation, that the belts are valid and not out of date. They check the window nets, the steering column, fire
extinguisher, and helmet. After the safety inspection, the gas tank is refilled and the car can proceed to the engine inspection line.
Q. What is checked at this inspection station?
They check the cubic inches of the motor, making sure it does not exceed 357 inches. They check the compression ratio. It has to be 12:1. They inspect the manifolds. They check the inserts in the manifolds to make sure there are no modifications have been done to the manifolds. Carburetors are inspected for the proper CFM (the amount of air flowing
through the carburetor) . The instruments and gauges are inspected. All these have to be in working order.
After passing through the engine line, the car proceeds to the template line. It is now 5:00 o'clock and that's where the car is in line waiting to be inspected. The inspection may not be completed today and will have to be finished in the morning. The car has close tolerances and has to match the approved templates. There are about forty different
templates, fitting all the body parts, including the front and back bumpers, the windshield, hood, quarter panels, the roof , the sides and the rear spoiler. The spoiler is very critical. They measure precisely the fit, the shape, the height and the angle.
After passing through the template line, the car is weighed. The minimum weight for ARCA cars is 3400 pounds. The wheelbase is measured, and the height and ground clearances are measured, There are close tolerances that have to be met on these measurements. Once you pass all these inspections, you receive a sticker placed on the windshield, and you
are allowed on the track during practice times. If you fail any of the inspections, you have to make corrections and reenter the inspection line.
Q. When the car first came off the hauler this morning, a lot of work was being done. What was being done.
When the car goes through inspection, the carburetor and air cleaner have to be off the car. Also, the fuel cell is reinstalled and has to be filled with fuel, and leaked checked. The tires have to be properly inflated and ground clearances have to be checked. If the proper clearance is not made, adjustments to the chassis are made. The proper
amount of lead weight is installed.
Q. How much lead weights are on the car.
A good racecar has about 200 to 300 pounds of lead installed. They are placed on the frame rails underneath the cars. The lead is distributed to properly balance the car.
Q. Does car weight fluctuate between cars to compensate for different drivers?
No. Not in ARCA. The car has a minimum weight of 3400 pounds. Of course, a lighter driver has a little better advantage,
Q. Does temperature affect the speed of the cars?
Yes. Tomorrow morning, it will be cooler and the cars will be a little faster. The engine man will have to adjust the carburetor to compensate for the changes in temperature.
Q. How many horsepower does the engine produce?
With the restrictor plate, it is about 440 horsepower. It is about 410 horsepower to the rear wheels.
Q. Do you brake at this track?
No. You are wide open all the way around the track at Daytona. If you have to lift you are not going to have a good lap. It pretty important to stay on the bottom line here at Daytona. You need a good line here to have a fast lap. The bottom line is the good line. If the car runs high you will lose about a half a second a lap.
Q. Will the rain cleaning off the track, affect speed?
No. Here at Daytona these cars have so much down force, they really handle good, so track conditions don't play a big part in it.
Q. What is your top speed down the back stretch?
It is about 195 mph.
Q. Do you get an adrenaline rush going that speed?
Nah! It's like driving down the interstate. :)
Tomorrow, Dan takes his JJM Outdoor Channel Chevy for a cruise.
Day One
Day Two
Day Three
Day Four
Day Five
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