OK, trick headline but check it out: this from an interview Jarno Trulli gave Gazzetta Dello Sport (Italy) after his NASCAR test in Florida with Michael Waltrip Racing.Q. What was the biggest adjustment coming from F1?
JT. Getting used to fenders, a closed cockpit and of running such mass. The proximity to walls? no big deal, you get used to them.
Q. What struck you about the experience?
JT. The car management and the tuning, which allows for infinite possibilities, definitively superior to Formula1. To give you an idea, to have the same level of adjustment in Formula 1 as is available in NASCAR you would need to completely redesign the cars. Another thing that struck me is that you need to be extremely clean in your driving, something I'm good at.
Q. And what's missing in NASCAR compared to Formula 1?
JT. Aerodynamics are essentially non existent.
look, i have a lot of respect for trulli, very hard working driver who has enormous experience, some people will take his words as an expression of disgruntlement from the f1 world, especially after the back and forth contract negotiation action between him and toyota officials, not mentioning the fact that rumors have been circling around for the past few weeks about a possible pullout from f1.
ReplyDeletetrulli's comment was more technical than an avengful loathing statement against the cruel f1 world. yet, come to think of it, with all do respect to trulli and all nascar fans here at axisofoversteer, whoever thinks that nascar is superior to f1 can check himself into a mental illness clinic!!!!!!!!
Well, clearly the title was meant as a provocation but I found it interesting that many, myself included I freely admit, think of NASCAR as neanderthal tanks. Of course F1 will never have any bneed to run positive camber on one side and negative on the other... but maybe Ralf Schumacher should have.. :)
ReplyDeleteThe smooth driving bit is also interesting and certainly against the Cole Trickle image....
Anyone who dismisses NASCAR as simplistic or unsophisticated is showing a great deal of ignorance. While the technology and driving technique may be different, NASCAR requires no less skill to master. Take a look at Montoya....after several years he is just beginning to run with NASCAR's best.
ReplyDeleteI would challenge any "serious sports car driver" to drive an 800HP, 3400LB stock car around a superspeedway at 190 MPH for 2 hours. The fact is that 90% of the racer drivers in the sport wouldn't last 15 minutes.
Well....let's not get carried away. Let's see how your typical NASCAR guy handles driving 190 mph and braking at the 75 m marker with a pedal pressure of 140 kg and a 5g front load to then take a 4 g lateral load while making sure you don't tangle your open wheels with anyone. and do that for 60 laps or so. There is a reason why there are no 50 year old F1 drivers.
ReplyDeleteI'm not getting carried away. I am saying that there are 2 very distinct skill sets required.
ReplyDeleteVery few sports car/open wheel racers have had any exposure to NASCAR (beyond a few minutes' worth of accidental TV), yet they dismiss the drivers, cars and technology as inferior. It reveals a great deal of ignorance.
Like any type of motorsport, if it were so simple, everyone would be good at it. It is easily as complex as any Tier 1 motorsport series.
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