Crew chiefs preparing cars but anticipate more changes to Daytona rules
Drivers practice running in a pack during testing at Daytona earlier this month.
// LaDon George, NASCAR Illustrated
When they weren’t talking to the media about their outlook for the 2012 season, Sprint Cup crew chiefs and their teams were working on getting their Daytona cars tweaked this week for NASCAR’s new rules package.
That package likely will change during Speedweeks, but teams at least know the size of the restrictor plate, the parameters for the engine cooling system and that they must extend their rear bumpers two inches closer to the ground.
NASCAR’s goal is to reduce the number of laps drivers can run in a two-car draft at Daytona and Talladega, where fans have come to expect racing in a pack. During the Daytona test earlier this month, NASCAR changed the rules several times to reduce speeds and the amount of time spent in a two-car draft versus a pack.
“We've made clear we're working hard to find rules packages that break up the tandem racing at Daytona and Talladega and return it to a more traditional style of racing on those superspeedways,” NASCAR Chairman Brian France said Thursday.
“We've had a breathtaking number of close finishes at those tracks, but the fans want a mixture of styles, including a return to that more traditional, more pack racing and that close side-by-side competition that's unique to Daytona and Talladega.”
The new rear bumpers will be the biggest adjustment since NASCAR didn’t make that change until after the Daytona test. It changed the restrictor plates, the grille size and the setting of the radiator pressure release valve during the three-day test.
Teams will go to Daytona in February with a restrictor plate that has holes 29/32nds of an inch in diameter. The pressure release valve will be set at 25 psi.
“They’ve definitely closed the gap and then some,” Kevin Harvick crew chief Shane Wilson said. “Whether these last batch of rules get us there or not will be really hard to tell until we’re there during it.
“I don’t know if anyone has that answer. There’s people that will speculate. But until we get out there and we’re doing it, we don’t know for sure.”
NASCAR likely won’t be able to get rid of the two-car draft completely because it is still the fastest way around the track. But they hope that a grille opening of only 50 square inches and a new front bumper-rear bumper combination will cause the car to overheat quickly in a two-car draft, forcing the drivers to swap positions more often.
“Once competitors learn that something is fast or there is an advantage to doing something, we can write rules until the cows come home with their mission being how can we get around this the best we can because we know there is speed there,” NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Director John Darby said.
“I think what we are going to see at the Daytona 500 is a mixture. … I can see the race starting with a large pack, maybe splitting up into two or three conventional-style packs, some tandem [drafting] here and there – if they should lose the draft maybe we can hook up to catch back up to the pack. It’s going to be a whole mix, all coming down to the last five laps when it’s time to pull the belts tight.”
The grille opening had been decreased to as small as 40 square inches during the test, and crew chiefs welcomed the increase back to 50.
“Them opening up the extra 10 square inches was something that was very much needed,” Denny Hamlin crew chief Darian Grubb said. “We got to where we were actually overheating in the big pack draft there at the end.
“We got a little bit more cushion with that opening to where we feel like we can go race and not worry about the temperatures.”
The changes were not unexpected and teams anticipate more changes during Speedweeks leading into the Feb. 26 Daytona 500.
“Whatever NASCAR needs to do to making the racing better – I think they made some big strides during the test but they told us at that point there was going to be more stuff coming once they get a chance to look at some more information,” Penske Racing Competition Director Travis Geisler said.
“They delivered on it and we got some more changes. And we’ll make it work. The biggest thing is that the fans get what they want to see when they go buy their ticket for the 500.”
