Just a reminder, that the annual Bill Krause Relays are coming up. The annual rite of spring will take place in a couple of weeks, April 21st, actually, at Tiffin Stadium.  It regularly attracts some of the top high schools boys and girls track and field teams around.

They come from an area roughly in a triangle bounded by Toledo, Cleveland and Columbus and each year the event is a great show.  The preliminaries start at 9:30 and the finals about noon.

NASCAR drivers have for a long time complained about restrictor place racing. They may be getting ready to do something about it and they may have help.

At its two fastest tracks, Talladega and Daytona, the organization requires restrictions between the carburetor and intake manifold to limit the amount of fuel/air mixture that can get into the engine. They’ve been doing it since 1988.

The intent is to slow down the cars. Otherwise, at the two and a half mile long, high banked, sweeping turned ovals, they would be traveling well over 200 mph and loss of control would most likely be pretty catastrophic.

However, what it also seems to do is to equalize the cars. It cuts down the power and makes it harder for a faster car to get around another car it has caught up to. It results in the competitors remaining in a clump. Then, when trouble occurs, a greater percentage of the field is right there.

The results, while not necessarily catastrophic, can ruin the afternoon for a lot of people.

Cary Estes, writing for rpm.espn, says that the drivers are talking seriously of striking if NASCAR doesn’t come up with a different solution for the problem of controlling speed. Although Estes says that a strike for next month’s race at Talladega is not likely, drivers may be getting some backing that should get NASCAR’s attention.

Bobby Labonte, the defending Winston Cup champion, says that sponsors seem willing to at least sort of go along with a strike. At least, it looks like they won’t put pressure on drivers against a possible job action.

It would be reasonable to assume that sponsors might support drivers in a boycott … at least those who are far sighted enough to see beyond their bottom lines. If the restrictor plate problem is solved, it would be a good thing in the long run. Sponsors also are cognizant of the power of public opinion and fear the backlash of sentiment possible if someone is killed or maimed in a crash which can be blamed on the circumstances of restrictor plates.

Sponsorship money attracted by television is what has made NASCAR what it is today … and it can make it listen.

So, what can be done to keep speeds at a reasonable limit?

NASCAR has tried this year with extra aerodynamic spoilers that allow a little more power with a little less speed. They seemed to work adequately at Daytona but did not totally removed the self-destructive, 190 mph “clumps.”

It seems that the uproar against restrictor plates may well drive another nail in the coffin of the venerable carburetor. Detroit doesn’t build cars with carburetors anymore. It’s much easier to meet anti pollution standards by using more precise fuel injection.

So, why does NASCAR race cars with carburetors and tout them as representations of the cars in our driveways? We would suggest changing Winston Cup specifications to permit fuel injection. The resulting precision and computer chip control could hold down speeds and still allow the acceleration needed to make a safe passing maneuver.

The only other thing I can suggest would be speed bumps.