MovieChat Forums > Days of Thunder (1990) Discussion > Question on Stock Cars?

Question on Stock Cars?

posted 20 years ago by showstoppa621
6 replies | jump to latest

I just finished this movie and found it somewhat entertaining...However I know nothing about NASCAR and think if I did I could relate better. In the beginning scene when Cole shows up he explains how his ride was taken away and was fired and that he could win the Daytona 500 because all Stock Cars were equal. So does this mean every stock car must be tested to be equal? I thought that Harry(robert duvall) made the car to get an edge on other drivers? How exactly does this work?? thanks

[–] Zootles 20 years ago

Bascially Nascar cars have strict regulations which means all the teams have to follow tight specifications when building cars.

When Harry talks about setting the car up to have an edge he just means adjusting settings on the car ie tire pressures, wheel camber and castor, gear ratios and so on. (all things that are allowed to be changed)

Cole came from Indycars which also have very strict regulations so if he was as good as he says should have won in that series too.

One glaring problem with this film is that Cole mentions he has no clue about setting up cars. In reality, if this were the case, he would have never have got anywhere in a racing career without the knowledge of how to sort out a racing cars problems.

[–] mnmkodak 19 years ago

A driver doesn't necessarily have to be able to set a car up. What is the MOST essential is that he is able to communicate the car's actions on the track so that the proper adjustments can be made. That generally falls on the crew chiefs shoulders -- to understand what the driver is telling him and how to fix it. Now a driver should know the basics about how a loose or tight car feels, but knowledge on what to do to improve it is not a requirement. Some drivers, over time, develop this knowledge, so they do comment on the condition of their race cars and what they want done over their radios all the time.

[–] thedukebox99 20 years ago

NB01 was correct in the majority of what he said about stock cars. However, his knowledge of the film seems to be somewhat limited. Cole Trickle comes from open wheels and his father was the team manager. His father was commiting fraud and using his own son's superb racing skills on the track, to promote the fraud empire. When his father was thrown in jail, Cole lost his ride because the team was thrown out. Cole wanted to drive in stock cars because it would prove his prowess as a racing driver. He wanted to PROGRESS to Indy Cars.

[–] knightro81 20 years ago

You also need to take into account that there are two (major) types of races in NASCAR. You have restrictor plate racing, and non-restrictor plate racing. Restrictor plate is just what the name implies. A restrictor is a flat device with holes drilled in it designed to limit the amount of air that enters the engine. This effectively limits the horsepower of the engine and slows the cars down. The restrictor plates reduce the horsepower so much during plate races that aerodynamics often decide the winner instead of the engine. These races come down also to how the good the driver is. In non-restrictor plate races, nothing is placed on the engine, besides NASCAR restrictions, to let the engine get up to it's full horsepower potential. This is when it is a combination of the car and the driver winning a race. Hope that helps and makes some since.

[–] Topher88 16 years ago

Cole Trickle didn't come from Indy car racing. He ultimately wanted to end up driving there. At the time this film was made open wheel racing in North America was by far the biggest racing series. NASCAR was huge in certain pockets of the United States, but CART racing was massive. It featured all the well known drivers of the day: Andretti, Fittipaldi, Unser Jr, Mears, etc. etc. Cole Trickle came from the dirt track series called the World of Outlaws. In that series the cars run on dirt and as a result racing is very much about "getting in the car and driving the *beep* out of it." Set up is secondary.

In an asphalt series like NASCAR set up (which basically refers to how the car reacts to the different parts of the track) is extremely important. Cole's character basically didn't know how to communicate what was happening with his car because he had no experience.

NASCAR racing machines are very much designed to "run equal." But like any other sport there are good teams and there are bad teams and factors such as: money spent, driver talent and the depth and talent level of the support team very much play a role in the performance on the track. In NASCAR there are several big major teams that dominate the standings year in and year out: Hendrick, Roush, Childress, Penske and Gibbs. Each owner is allowed a maximum of four cars per race. Hendrick and Roush have four, Childress and Gibbs have three and Penske has two. With those teams you have 16 cars and 16 drivers. NASCAR gives the impression that its competition is wide open and that many different drivers win races every year, but essentially it's the same few teams winning events with different drivers.

[–] Mississippi20 16 years ago

Cole Trickle didn't come from Indy car racing. He ultimately wanted to end up driving there. At the time this film was made open wheel racing in North America was by far the biggest racing series. NASCAR was huge in certain pockets of the United States, but CART racing was massive. It featured all the well known drivers of the day: Andretti, Fittipaldi, Unser Jr, Mears, etc. etc. Cole Trickle came from the dirt track series called the World of Outlaws. In that series the cars run on dirt and as a result racing is very much about "getting in the car and driving the *beep* out of it." Set up is secondary.

Granted NASCAR is a lot more popular today, but no way was CART more popular - certainly not in 1990. NASCAR really started to flourish as an important American pastime in the 70's. I know the Indy 500 has always been well-known and Mario Andretti was a huge star, but open-wheel racing has never been a huge success in the United States.

NASCAR gives the impression that its competition is wide open and that many different drivers win races every year, but essentially it's the same few teams winning events with different drivers.

Competition is as stiff as it has ever been in NASCAR. You're always going to have the elite teams, but that's the case for any professional sports league.

To answer the question, are all stock cars equal? The simple answer is no.

NASCAR has specific regulations, but there are still many adjustments teams can make to their cars. You have to understand that the cars are on the absolute threshold of being out of control, so the cars are extremely sensitive - even the weather plays a factor in the handling of the car.....and we're talking about a sport where a half of a second can mean 20 positions in a qualifying session.

An intelligent crew chief and the communication with his driver plays a vital role in the handling.