The 25-car pileup at Talladega this weekend shows the results of “leveling the playing field.” The addition of restricter plates in NASCAR was touted as a safety measure to keep the cars, some of which could reach 220 mph, from breaking through guard fences and careening into the stands.
But the carburetor-covering, horsepower-sapping plates also insure that no one has a mechanical advantage and that everyone stays in one tight, dangerous pack most of the race.
