HAPPY HOUR

The last practice before the race. Most always run after qualifying to give the crews the chance to perfect the race setup on the car.

HANDLING

How a race car "Handles" is determined by a whole bunch of factors. It is all about weight and geometry. Stock cars are setup so the weight can be moved around to the various corners of the car. This is done by adjusting the suspension, track bar (wedge) springs, shocks, spring rubbers, tire pressure and so forth. Conditions at the racetrack are always changing so the setup on the car has to be flexible within certain parameters. The track might cool in the afternoon with cloud cover or it might get hot in the middle of the day. A lot of times the crew might have the car dialed in for practice and then find that come race time the track has changed a whole bunch. This is where a crew chief earns his money. He has to be able to adjust the handling on the car as conditions change.