NASCAR plans to adjust the gear ratios rule for Las Vegas next season to prevent the engine failures that plagued numerous Sprint Cup teams last weekend.
Roush Fenway Racing lost three engines on Sunday, equaling the number of engines it lost all of last season. Doug Yates, who oversees the Roush-Yates engine program, said the situation could have been avoided had there been a more conservative gear ratio that would have reduced rpms that were much higher than expected with the new left-side tires and improved horsepower.
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“With all that stacked against us, we just weren’t ready for what we expected,’’ Yates said. “I talked to the NASCAR guys after the race and they said they probably will go back and evaluate the gear ratios. That particular race we were a lot above where we want these engines to be running.’‘
“We’re seeing 300 in the data we collect,’’ Cup series director John Darby said. “All things staying the same—the racetrack and the cars and the new tire—we’ll make a change in gear ratio.’‘
Yates commended the governing body for such a quick response.
“They don’t want us to, especially in these times, spend more money to make engines turn 10,000 rpms,’’ he said. “That’s not the intention of the gear rule.’‘
Yates agreed with Lee White, the president of Toyota Racing Development, that the engine failures that Ford experienced in the race were different than what Toyota faced in practice and qualifying. Those problems were fixed by using thicker lubricants and making a small mechanical adjustment.
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“I’m not going to blame not testing or NASCAR,’’ he said. “At the end of the day if we run in those type of conditions again it’s our job to make the engines stronger and more durable. I didn’t anticipate those type of things.”
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