The restrictor plate has forever changed the way NASCAR races at Daytona and Talladega. The big packs of cars and the advent of using the draft to get to the front of the field have become common place at both facilities.
Through the years, many changes to the cars and the rules have made the racing different and sometimes exciting. The spoilers alone in the mid-1990's were set to 45 degrees, as low as they could go. Come the turn of the millenium, that was changed to 70 degrees, with a wicker on the back, and a bar across the roof.
One year of those rules saw another change, down to 65 degrees and no bar or wicker bill on the spoiler. When NASCAR had the wing, it was just flat plates on either end.
Now, NASCAR mandates the spoilers to go on the car, the shocks and springs, the fins and many other parts.
Drivers have adapted to the changes over the years to make restrictor plate racing different than any kind of racing on the planet.
Unfortunately, this year's rendition of restrictor plate racing has taken an entire new look, one that some like but others despise. With all the changes NASCAR made during the off-season to the cars, when teams arrived at Daytona, it saw the introduction of these "two-car tandems" where two cars would draft together, bumper to bumper, and work together to the front.
At that moment, restrictor plate racing this year became more about dancing than winning. Right away, everyone knew that one driver would be left out of the loop, as 43 cars meant 21 pairs and one wallflower.
The concept has come with mixed reviews from fans, media, and even drivers. Teams now put radio dials in the cars so if one drafting partner doesn't work, or falls out, they can try to find a new one.
Before, teams would negotiate to draft together coming on and off pit road so that they don't lose time to the field. Now, the tandem packs mean that it's about sticking together the entire time to make it to the front, or in some cases ride around in the back waiting for the call to go forward.
Even the teams prepare for such drafting, as through the first three plate races this season it was a tube of grease or a can of non-stick spray being used on the bumpers to prevent sticking. The grease was deemed illegal on Sunday at Talladega, but the non-stick spray was allowed, and teams even began using sliding tape over the usual decals to assist the pushers.
Is this really racing, having to rely on someone else to push a driver to victory?
Sure, seeing Trevor Bayne win the Daytona 500 and Jimmie Johnson win Talladega by 0.002 seconds is exciting, but the real winner is the driver pushing.
It's a form of racing that is just uncharacteristic for these two tracks. NASCAR has done everything they could to prevent such tandems from staying together for long periods of time. A bigger restrictor plate and a lower pressure setting on the cooling relief valve were made for Sunday's Talladega race, but teams still found a way to make it work the same way in the previous three races.
It's just not natural to put someone else in control of another driver's destiny. When Johnson won at Talladega, he was trying to give the checkered flag to his teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr, who was the one pushing him to victory.
It's just not a form of racing that comes natural to drivers, or is natural to watch for the fans.
NASCAR now has four months to consider what to do for Daytona Speedweeks when the 2012 season kicks off, but there's no question that the drivers and teams will find a way to make it work the same as they have this season.
What happened to the restrictor plate racing that fans remember, where one driver used many drivers late in the going to get to the front and win (ala Dale Earnhardt in 2000)?
Seems now that kind of racing is long gone.
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