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The restrictor plate limits air into the engine, reducing horsepower and speed at these tracks from 230-240 mph to 195-200 mph. At these races, in addition to the restrictor plate, there are a variety of other technical rules and regulations to keep the cars stable and on the track.
Artist rendering of a NASCAR restrictor plate. A restrictor plate or air restrictor is a device installed at the intake of an engine to limit its power. This kind of system is occasionally used in road vehicles (e.g., motorcycles) for insurance purposes, but mainly in automobile racing, to limit top speed to provide equal level of competition, and to lower costs; insurance purposes have also ...
This is the largest carburetor restrictor plate opening since the one inch (25.400 mm) mandate in 1988, the first year the horsepower-reducing plates were used in the Cup Series at Daytona. [18] Unfortunately, the restrictor plates have an unintended effect on the race. Because of the reduced horsepower of the cars, the cars form large packs.
The restrictor plate limits air into the engine, reducing horsepower and speed at these tracks from 230-240 mph to 195-200 mph. At these races, in addition to the restrictor plate, there are a variety of other technical rules and regulations to keep the cars stable and on the track.
The first win of a restrictor plate race during the fuel injection era would go to Matt Kenseth. [20] However, Kenseth simply could not keep the consistency to win any other restrictor plate race during the current fuel injection era. Roger Penske would become the first person to win the owner's championship while fielding cars with fuel injection.
NASCAR eventually adopted a restrictor plate to limit top speeds for the 7.0L engine as teams switched to small-block 358 cu in (5.9 L) engines. NASCAR edited the rules in a way that they hoped would make the cars safer and more equal, so the race series would be more a test of the drivers, rather than a test of car technology. [21]
Teams could run a restrictor plate-equipped 7-liter engine or a 5.9 liter engine without restrictor plates. A decade later, Petty's over sized engine at the same race resulted in new NASCAR rules being implemented against oversized engines, including the possibility of twelve-week suspensions for the offending engine builder, driver, and car owner.
For the race, NASCAR mandated a series of rules regarding the aerodynamics of the cars. Restrictor plates had to have an opening of 7 ⁄ 8 in (22 mm) in every car, and their air dams were extended to 1.5 in (38 mm) forward on the front bumpers.