ESPN NASCAR

ESPN.com's NASCAR Icons took some readers' questions and went to JR Motorsports' Nationwide series crew chief Chad Walter for the answers.

After studying mechanical engineering at Cornell, Walter started working his way up the racing ladder by sweeping floors at Joe Nemechek's NEMCO Motorsports.

His career has taken him to Bobby Labonte Racing, Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Hendrick Motorsports in such jobs as general mechanic, tire specialist, shock builder and shop foreman. He also took on dual responsibilities as a rear-tire carrier on race day during his first stint at Hendrick.

He served as engineer for Nationwide and Cup car teams for DEI and head engineer for DEI before returning to Hendrick in 2005 to become engineer for the No. 5 and No. 25 Cup cars. Later that year he took on crew chief duties for the No. 57 Nationwide car.

In 2006 he became crew chief for the Nationwide series No. 5 car driven by Kyle Busch and last year was crew chief for the No. 24 car driven by Casey Mears and Landon Cassill.

Walter currently is the crew chief for the No. 5 Chevy driven this season by Cassill, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, Ron Fellows and Adrian Fernandez in the Nationwide series.

You can also hear Walter during ESPN2's coverage of the Nationwide series race Saturday [9:30 p.m. ET start] at Gateway International Raceway in St. Louis when Cassill will be the in-race reporter.

Here are your questions and Walter's answers:

Chad, I'd like to know if NASCAR has given your team a reason why they are holding off approval of the new R07 engine in the Nationwide series?
Terri,
Palm Bay, Fla.

Walter: We really don't have a reason why our National Guard Chevrolets aren't using the new R07 engines yet. We just want to compete with the other manufacturers on an even playing field within the current rules. The R07 does that while the SB2 does not.

Also, the RO7 comes at a higher price tag than the current SB2. With all of the other proposed changes [COT style chassis, most notably] that NASCAR is reviewing for the Nationwide series, the RO7 would really hit some of the under-budgeted teams hard.

Hi, Chad. Is the weight and/or material of the flywheel mandated by NASCAR? How much leeway do you have to alter its size, mass and weight distribution [whether the weight is more centered near the crankshaft or toward the teeth]. Thanks.
Doug,
Johnson City, Tenn.

Walter: The material must be ferrous metal. There is no limit on weight. The size of the flywheel is usually mandated by the clutch size, which does have a minimum.

The Hendrick Motorsports engine department works closely with the flywheel manufacturers to come up with the best possible design criteria for the specific engine packages we run in our No. 5 National Guard Chevrolets. They may be different based on superspeedways, intermediate, short track or road course configurations.

I see a lot of engineers rising to crew chief positions in NASCAR. Why do you think that is? Do these guys really have anything to offer that makes them more qualified than, say, a race car mechanic with 15 years of experience?
Bob H.,
Greenville, S.C.

Walter: I can really relate to this question. I graduated college with a degree in engineering and worked as mechanic for seven years in NASCAR, before taking an engineering position.

Quite honestly, I don't think that you have to be an "engineer" to be a crew chief. As engineers come up through the ranks these days, they are involved with wind tunnel projects, seven-post projects, mechanical design projects, and also sit on the pit box on race days to calculate fuel mileage. This probably exposes them to more areas of the complete race car, and it might develop them more quickly than a race car mechanic.

Some of the most successful, most respected, "smartest" crew chiefs I know aren't [weren't] engineers. Paying attention to detail, always having an open mind, surrounding yourself with dedicated racers, and never being satisfied -- that is what makes you a better crew chief than the next guy ... engineer or not. I learned a lot from being both a mechanic and engineer in NASCAR and this helps me today as the crew chief for the No. 5 National Guard Chevrolet team. Great question.

I see you guys wrestle with track bar adjustments, going up, down, in, out all during a race. It seems to be a simple mechanism. Why couldn't teams have a simple crank [a cable and lever mechanism would do] so that the driver could adjust as he drove?
Russell,
Port Orchard, Wash.

Walter: The reason why we don't have a component like that in our National Guard Chevrolets nor do you see it in other race cars in the sport is because NASCAR mandates that there are no driver adjustable chassis adjustments allowed -- this is noted in the NASCAR rule book.