iNSIDE SCOOP: Flat and Fast

Martinsville doesn’t have banks like Bristol and Richmond. It doesn’t have a built-in car-saver that can make a bad-handling car a little better.

It is, as they say, flatter than a pancake. That’s part of its charm.

What it will also be this weekend is a laboratory, as the teams and drivers get used to the zero ride-height rule on a flat track. This is the first time those rules will be in place on a track with little banking.

According to Jimmie Johnson, that will be interesting.

“The straightway height versus the corner height will change,” he said. “That gap will close up quite a bit. Some guys still may elect to let the nose pop up some and transfer weight to the rear tires for forward drive.”

Translated, that means the nose will come up a little so that the weight isn’t all on the front. That gives the weight a chance to cycle to the back, where the drive wheels are.

“In general, you will see the cars on the deck and sealed up straightaway and corner,” Johnson said. “It’s ultimately the goal. Every now and then, especially on a small track like this, you’ll allow the front to transfer a little weight to the back for grip but we’re just going to have to see how the day goes on. This is one of the tracks where you’ll notice a big difference in the car’s ride height.”

If you stand at the entrance to Turn 3 or Turn 1 at Martinsville, you’ll see the drivers brake hard. Usually, it’s a big transition for the nose. It goes from a couple inches off the ground down the back straight to right down on the ground.

There’s an anti-dive setting on the front of the chassis that keeps it from banging the splitter on the concrete, too. Getting that right, for the most part, is Job One in practice.

Hundredths of a second are very important at Martinsville. As Johnson says, “this is a track where a half-tenth per end of the race track is huge, and it’s so hard to even quantify that or see that.”

Getting the car lower to begin with means that half the work is already done, Johnson said.

“The biggest factor you have here working for you is your center of gravity height,” he said. “To be able to start the car inches lower will just help put grip and speed in the car. And of course, some small aero implications will come. I think braking will improve because you don’t have the cars that rely on the straights slamming down on the nose and then you’re able to get the whole car lower not only from the front ride height changes but also the open book we have with our rear heights now, you can get the car awfully low, and pick up a lot of speed.”

What the teams and crews call rake has changed for the better, in other words. That’s the angle at which the car is set, back to front, and there’s no penalty for setting it too low and not getting back to inspection height.

Denny Hamlin was under the track record in practice, so apparently it’s not going to be a big deal to figure it out…for a lap or two. Over 500 laps, that could change many times.