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Birdcage timing is one of those things that is driver/team specific.
The text book way of doing it is that the center of the of the top radius rod bolt and the center of the bottom arm bolt run 180 degrees of each other and intersect through the middle. Guys used to use plumb bobs to check for accuracy and that is why cages have bubble levels in them.
The cars rear geometry basically connects to the birdcages and as the car travels up and down, it travels in an arc and by being level on both sides the car travels in basically an identical arc without binding up.
As long as there have been these types of cars, there has been the argument of what is the best way for it to be done. Some people like them level and some like the RR top to be rolled forward. Just yesterday Steve Stapp was in here discussing basically the same thing and he said that when he drove,they would leave the RR top radius rod nuts loose and reach out twist rod and rock the cage forward during a race, but today he said he likes it more level.
I know several guys who run the RR forward, but I know others who run well who don't.
Late Models use a ton of rear steer, but they also use a driveshaft w/u-joints on both ends. A sprint car uses basically a fixed driveline that limits such motion. Sprint guys used to use open drivelines and torque arms, but when they broke they destroyed guys legs.
I'm sure guys like Coons,Tracy Hines,Briscoe and Stanbrough all have their opinion and I know it is probably more reliable than mine since I have never driven. I can tell you what it looks like, but I don't know what it feels like.
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