Drivers also complained of catching the car in front of them at a surprisingly faster rate. That problem persisted in the practice session with the smaller restrictor plate but at slower speeds. Rusty Wallace had the fastest lap in that session at 192.703 mph. Gary Nelson, Cup series director, said that those plates were taken from the wrong group. The error was quickly fixed.
Cars run faster running nose to tail because of aerodynamics than a single car by itself.
That's why Labonte's speed in practice was more than 8 mph faster than Joe Nemechek's pole speed Friday. Passing won't be easy but some drivers say that it might be best to be second on the last lap instead of first. In recent restrictor plate races, the leader on the last lap has won. Despite the slower speeds, drivers remain concerned about closing on one another and then having nowhere to go to avoid contact. There's always big wrecks.