Heat on Sunday & could be an issue not just for the drivers, but for the race cars as well. Engines overheating are a concern because NASCAR has mandated changes to the cooling systems to prevent tandem-style drafting, just as they did for the Daytona 500 in February. ‘I don ‘t think you can stay together at all,’ #18-Kyle Busch said after practice. ‘We ‘re running 230, 240 [degrees water temperature] just pack drafting and then once you get pushed from behind or you have somebody close to you, it kind of moves you forward a little bit to the car that’s in front of you. You ‘re already 245, 250. That’s already border line for our engines. With temperatures being as hot as they are, the ambient track temp being way up from what it was in Daytona, it’s just a lot harder to keep your car cool enough and not let it get heat soaked that you have an amount of time that you can push. You ‘re just kind of limited on what you can do based off water temp.’ Without tandem racing, that means pack racing will be back at Talladega just as it was at Daytona. That suits many in the garage. ‘To be honest, I really enjoy the pack racing a lot better,’ #56-Martin Truex Jr. said. ‘I feel like your destiny is in your own hands a little bit more. There’s still a lot of risks out there with things happening, which always is at plate tracks. I just never was a fan of having to have somebody push you, having to rely on somebody all the time to stick with you and make the right moves.(NASCAR.com)(5-5-2012)
