Monday, February 11, 2013

NASCAR tightens up rules on race car communications

In a technical bulletin issued on Jan. 30, NASCAR officials made some more changes to what is and is not allowed in regards to in-car communications.

The changes include:

• In-car communications will be permitted only between team members of the same car number. Translation: A spotter for, say Kevin Harvick, cannot communicate with his Richard Childress Racing teammate Jeff Burton.

• Direct vehicle-to-vehicle communications will not be permitted. Translation: Drivers cannot communicate with each other directly, even if they are teammates.

Last January, NASCAR altered its radio policy to prohibit drivers from communicating with other drivers during the race. The communication was used primarily at Daytona and Talladega when two-car drafting tandems became commonplace.

Wood Brothers' winning car on display at Speedweeks


During Budweiser Speedweeks at Daytona, race fans will be able to take a special glimpse into the storied history of Wood Brothers Racing as a replica of the 1963 Daytona 500-winning car -- the No. 21 Ford Galaxie driven by Tiny Lund -- will be on display in the Sprint FanZone.

The replica car was constructed by Leonard Wood, who was recently inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

The car, which was part of Wood's induction ceremony, will be on display for the next year at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte.

Before the 1963 Daytona 500, Lund didn't even have a ride for "The Great American Race." Ten days before the Daytona 500, Marvin Panch suffered severe burns when he crashed a sports car during testing for the 250-mile American Challenge Cup race. Among the first to arrive on the scene was Tiny Lund, who helped Panch escape from the burning car. For his efforts, Lund, along with several others, received the Carnegie Medal of Heroism.

Following the crash, Panch was unable to race in the Daytona 500 so Glen and his brother Leonard selected Lund to be his replacement. Lund went on to capture the Daytona 500, which was the first win for Ford in "The Great American Race."