The current high RPM range allowed by NASCAR may have given Toyota its edge during the past 10 days of Daytona testing.

The Toyota engine is right at its peak at about 8,800 RPM, while Dodges, Chevrolets and Fords are struggling with more RPM than they can effectively use. Ford teams are particularly off. At this top-end RPM, Toyotas have a sizeable horsepower advantage, according to some rival teams.

So, will NASCAR slow the Toyotas for the Daytona 500 with a new rear-end gear?

Probably not. Toyota’s Michael Waltrip ran his fastest lap with the predicted new gear, and Toyota, in fact, has been among those politicking for the change.

Toyota’s top-end RPM edge is nothing new. That was evident early last season.

But, while such a top-end edge might be very good at Daytona and Talladega (where Toyota teams last fall were the class of the field in speed), it isn’t always so good at the tour’s other tracks, where mid-range torque is more critical.

That’s why Joe Gibbs’ engine shop, headed by veteran Mark Cronquist, is working hard to move the Toyota engine torque curve down to mid-range, which would suit driver Tony Stewart’s style.

Some rivals are starting to ask pointed questions about why Toyotas are so fast at Talladega and Daytona.

One top driver, who asked not to be named, said yesterday that he has never seen the playing field for the Daytona 500 so unbalanced: “Toyotas just make more power here. It’s not aerodynamics, it’s sheer power. Don’t make it any more complicated than that.

“I’ve never seen it this unequal. We saw that at Talladega last fall, and we were told right after that race (by NASCAR) that the problems would be addressed. But it doesn’t look like anything has changed.”

The new Daytona-Talladega engine, in theory, is an open, relatively unrestricted engine like those used at tracks such as Michigan. The old restrictor plate engines would make 420 to 430 horsepower, but these make as much as 675.

“When we all went to this car of tomorrow, NASCAR wanted the engines to turn more RPM, because these cars are bigger through the air, and they wanted the racing more like the trucks - with more throttle-response,” engine builder and team owner Doug Yates said.

“So NASCAR has pushed RPM up 1,000 more than we used to run here.”

One classic Daytona speed benchmark over the years has been the Yateses’ Ford operation, which last year swept the front row in 500 qualifying.

“I’m ticked off about it,” Yates said, “because we’ve been on three of the last four poles here, and now all of a sudden we’re six-tenths (of a second) off with the rules change. What they’ve done has played right into Toyota’s hands. At Talladega, it was just a Toyota qualifying day, and Toyota should have won the race; but the smartest guy won (Jeff Gordon).

“But this RPM is way over the peak power. We’re peaking at 7,800 (RPM) but we’re running 8,800, which doesn’t make a lot of sense. And it’s really hard on the engines.”

More at Winston Salem Journal

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