When it comes to winning a race there are numerous areas that are critical for it to happen, driver skill, race strategy, luck but chief amongst them is reliability and to have a fast car made possible by having a powerful engine. One of the best known engine manufactures in NASCAR is Toyota Racing Development (TRD) and many Toyota fans will admit that those last two have let them down this season.
Mar. 3, 2013; Avondale, AZ, USA; Crew members change engines in the car of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kyle Busch in the garage prior to the Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Joe Gibbs Racing and Michael Waltrip Racing are two of the top teams that both use those engines but there will no doubt be some head scratching going on in regard to some of the race results that their drivers have had due to the engines. On the one hand they are providing race winning competitive engines, Matt Kenseth has won three races and Kyle Busch has won two and they have led more laps than any other engine manufacture this season. But on the other hand they have cost drivers the chance at a win, Matt Kenseth’s engine blow up at Dover after dominating part of the race is a prime example.
It wasn’t just Kenseth who suffered at Dover, fellow TRD user Martin Truex Jr’s engine also ‘let go’ while running near the front. The week before at Charlotte it was Kyle Busch’s turn to suffer engine failure while running second. Both Busch and Kenseth even suffered from engine failure at the season opener at Daytona and Clint Bowyer’s engine failed him during the race at Fontana. There have also been failures during race weekends in practice for Denny Hamlin, Michael Waltrip and Truex Jr.
However the main talking point came after Matt Kenseth’s victory at Kansas when after a standard engine inspection by NASCAR it was found that one of the connecting rods in the engine was 2.7 grams underweight. As a result of this the 20 team were handed out massive fines (which were subsequently reduced on appeal) it cost Kenseth the victory and 12 championship points. Part of the uproar from the fans was that the 20 team had no involvement with the engine, it was delivered to them from TRD’s factory and installed in the car and therefore they had no knowledge of specific engine parts and their exact specifications. But credit to TRD who admitted fault, TRD President Lee White saying
"Totally our fault. … We’ve never, ever, never, not once, discussed going under the minimum weight on con rods. There is no reason to. This is an accidental occurrence."
While many people might be wanting their teams to jump ship from using TRD engines, TRD have recognised that there is an issue and with the next two races at Pocono and Michigan, tracks that are notoriously hard on the engine, they can not afford for their customers to suffer more engine failures and have therefore confirmed that they will be making some changes to their engines for these races. Four of the engine blow ups have come from valve spring failures something that TRD’s senior vice president David Wilson agrees need to be looked at
"“With the architecture of this engine in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the valve spring is probably one of the most heavily stressed parts, and most engine builders would tell you, that’s our Achilles’ heel. On the best of days, that’s in most cases the weakest link. While we’re thrilled with our performance and our go-fast quotient, we’re less than thrilled with our overall record of durability. So we need to look at how we might be able to mitigate some of the loads and make sure that we have cars that can finish races.”"
Although the teams will no doubt welcome more durable engines they may not be so pleased that this increased durability is going to be at the expense of engine power.
"There likely will be some sort of a performance penalty that we’ll have to pay. Just realistically, with the time that we have to work with, we’re going to need to be a little conservative here. The good news is that I think our record of performance the first 13 races would qualify that we have some room to pull back if we need to. And so that’s kind of what we’re looking at the next two weekends.” Said David Wilson"
If you are a fan of any of the drivers using TRD engines these next two races could be a nail-biting affair, will the reduction in power mean that the teams can do nothing but run with the mid pack cars? But at the same time if we see a car with a TRD engine in Victory Lane on Sunday than I think it’s time for rest of the field to be nervous as TRD will have worked out to not only be durable but will still have a fast car with room to make it even faster. If that’s the case then few might bet against them dominating the rest of the season but this time backing it up with wins and possibly a Championship.