[Shotimes] Daytona 500 & NASCAR HP

[Mark Nunnally]

>Usually cars don't make peak torque at max rpm. 

race cars do :)  or at least much closer to it than a street engine...

>So it doesn't make sense to calculate TQ from 850HP @ 9000RPM, unless we know that the car makes max TQ at 9000RPM.

No, you are right (at least in street engine applications), and peak torque probably is slightly lower in the rpm band with a cup motor as well, but I bet it's not much lower.  They are gonna be set up to make their peak torque (or as close to it as possible) in their operating range (7k-9k on a typical track)

>I guess I should have been more specific and asked what is PEAK torque for the Nascars?

I doubt you are gonna find an exact pubished number on that, at least from a top running team.  They stay pretty tight lipped on such numbers.

500 ft/lb from a 358 cub engine is like 1.4 ft/lb per cub, which is probably about as effecient as you are gonna get on a 12:1 CR pushrod V8 with a carb.