Diamonding the corner?

Question

most places i've read or heard talk about "diamonding the corner" claim that it is slower than "hugging the line" (or "ridin' high wide and handsome" along the outside).

at least twice last year, jimmie johnson had fallen waaaay back and would come on a late charge, and they'd show him running down low in, say turn one, high in the center, than back down low out turn two, sliding slowly back up to the high side down the backstretch.

then someone would come on and say he's really "diamonding those corners." and he was FLYING while doing it - he usually came from way back to win. i've seen kyle doing the same thing now and then. it does look odd when they show it from the blimp.

my questions:

1) is that diamonding the corner? if not, could you tell me what it is?

2) why do i hear and read about it not generally being desirable? does it wear out the equipment faster?

3) why don't more drivers do it more often? is it a driver thing? or is it more of a track-by-track thing?

Answer 1

1) Yes that is diamonding the corner. It is where you go in the corner low, let the car drift up in the middle, and come back down to the bottom upon exiting the turn. If you plan on watching the prelude at Eldora you may see it done quite a bit, and it can be very effective

2) I'm not sure about that but I think when letting the car drift up in the middle of the turns it could possibly wear the tires out faster than usual. Diamonding the corner is very common on some of the flatter dirt tracks around the country, as well as some NASCAR tracks like Richmond and Martinsville. I think it would only wear the tires out quicker, but when done properly can help you make up a lot of ground at certain tracks.

3) I think it is more of a track by track thing. I also think it is more difficult with pavement cars than Dirt cars because in NASCAR, the cars aren't sliding around in the turns and it is harder to make them diamond the turn while still being fast. Diamonding the corners is probably more common at shorter tracks with not a lot of banking. You probably wouldn't see it at the long tracks where you don't need to let off much. I also think it can be a driver thing and Dale Jr. has been known to do it a lot, as well as Kyle Busch as you mentioned. I mostly think that it is a combination of track/driver though and just depends on the setup as well. I've seen it a lot in dirt racing because those cars are mostly sliding anyway and it seems easier for them to do it, whereas a NASCAR is usually pointed straight and it's amazing that it can work as well as it does with those cars.

Answer 2

Diamonding the corner is usually done when your car isn't handling right and won't turn correctly. Some tracks you can't do it on, but it works great on short tracks. Instead of taking one long arc through the turn, you change it into two short straight lines. In a car that won't handle, you can still turn a little bit late, drive it straight to the bottom, let it go up the track a little, and either crank the wheel or work the throttle to pivot the car, and then drive straight off the turn. Nowadays the cars are usually handling pretty good, and diamonding the corner isn't used as much, but almost any dirt late model race you'll see some drivers doing it.

Answer 3

I can't top that..

Answer 4

Well, I think TheBestAnswer pretty much covered it. Do we really have anything left to say?....lmao