With the major improvements in car and track safety, why does nascar still use restrictor plates?

Answer 1

To keep speeds down.Todays technology and the knowlege that crew chiefs have the cars would be topping 220 or 225 and this is not a safe speed for most of the drivers and cars.
Though the cars and tracks maybe safer the human factor is not.Until something is developed to govern the cars restrictor plates will be used.

Answer 2

Speed. Could a driver come out better in a 215mph crash today than they could 20 years ago when they implemented the restrictor plate? Obviously, but at 215, or with the way the cars are, a much higher speed, the moment the car goes sideways, it will be like a piece of paper by a fan, that car will fly. They have roof flaps on the car, but the flaps can only do so much. Catch fences could contain a car hitting it at 190, but at 220 or higher, a stock car will rip right through the fence, and if NASCAR allowed that to happen, they would be screwed.

The restrictor plate, if you can call it (due to the massive wrecks that happens with the cars bunched up), is a safety feature on the car.

Answer 3

NASCAR still uses restrictor plates to slow the cars down. An unrestricted Cup car would probably run somewhere between 230 to 235 mph on the back stretch at Talledega. As much as I love sheer speed, that is way too fast for a Cup car. I bet that if they took the plates off and let them "run what they brung" at Daytona and Talledega, there would be an unofficial race to see who could break 250 in the back straight.

Also, remember that fans in the stands do not normally wear any safety gear. Do you really want to be sitting there when a 3600 pound stock car comes through the fence at 220 mph?

Answer 4

Good question, without a good answer from me. It doesn't make sense to run over 200 at Atlanta and Michigan, but keep 43 cars all bunched up at 198 at Talladega. It must be for exhibition purposes. 43 cars stretched out over 2 1/2 miles might get pretty boring to some people. The only other thing I can think of is insurance purposes. Maybe the cost of insurance takes a big jump near 200 mph, but that doesn't completely make sense to me, either. I don't see why they can't run around 205 to 210 at Talladega, and maybe 200 to 205 at Daytona. The cars might not be so bunched up if handling becomes more important.

Answer 5

Have you lost your mind, they really need to have them restrictor plates on the cars especially at Talladega and Daytona I have seen it with my own eyes at Dega, a car hit the wall and got caught in the fence and part of the car came in the stands on some fans and it is really scary to be running from flying debris. I know I was scared.

Answer 6

For the safety of the drivers and the fans. Even with all the new stuff, it is still possible for the cars or pieces of the car to go over the catch fence and hurt a fan at 200MPH plus.

Answer 7

It slows the vehicles down. the main argument is that with the plates there are 40 3 vehicles bunched together at one hundred ninety mph is way less risk-free than 40 3 vehicles opened up at 210 mph. those 4 races are my least widespread. to quote the previous due Dale Earnhardt, "That ain't racing".

Answer 8

Because the speeds would be around 220 mph. The problem with that is that these cars will get airbourne at around 170mph when turned around at speed. The cars could become airbourne and fly into the stands. Plus we have already seen how nasty of crash it is when cars get airbourne.