Jack Roush says new spoiler, looser cars should favor his drivers
Carl Edwards is one of the drivers expected to benefit from NASCAR's new rear spoiler. // Sam Cranston, NASCAR Illustrated
Team owner Jack Roush believes the new spoiler NASCAR plans to use this season will make Sprint Cup cars looser and harder to drive. At least he hopes so.
If it does, the Roush Fenway Racing teams could be in for a big season.
“It kinda favors all four of my guys, and excuse me if I take pride and satisfaction in that,” Roush said Tuesday. “These changes don’t always work in your direction, and I may look back on it and decide that it wasn’t in our favor, but our guys have historically liked to drive their cars looser than the average driver in the field and the fact that it is going to make the car looser and more in the driver’s control is certainly something that I look forward to.”
NASCAR plans to replace the rear wing on the Sprint Car with a more traditional spoiler. It tested a four-inch spoiler at Texas Motor Speedway Tuesday and the four drivers at the test seemed to like the way their cars drove, including
Roush’s Greg Biffle.
“I don’t want to jump to conclusions, but it may have had a little feel like the old car in some scenarios,” Biffle said.
Roush driver Carl Edwards has already said he hopes NASCAR uses a small spoiler that takes away downforce and grip. Teammate Matt Kenseth is also hoping his car is a bit more out of control.
“I hope it [is],” he said. “I’m really looking forward to that. One of the things about this car that I don’t like is that is really forgiving. Not that I like to wreck, but you can drive that thing off in there too hard and more times than not you are going to catch it because it’s pretty forgiving. You can slap it off the wall and still run the same speed.
“I would like a little bit of a reward if you don’t run it into the wall all day and you manage it all day and you don’t make a mistake, and you do have a little bit of penalty for the guys who do make a mistake and get over their head. We used to make up positions like that, but it’s getting harder and harder to do these days because the cars are hard to wreck and you don’t have a lot of people dropping out.”
News of the drastic change has drivers and crew chiefs debating how the spoiler will change the balance of the Cup car and which drivers and teams it may favor.
Richard Childress Racing’s Jeff Burton says he, too, hopes to have a little less grip. But he also says NASCAR must remain flexible if it doesn’t find the right balance right away.
“I like to drive a car that is loose and that is hung out,” he said. “But, on the other hand, form a competitive standpoint, more grip potentially makes a better race. I hear both sides of the argument and I understand both sides of the argument, and I think there has to be an understanding of flexibility.
“If we put a four-inch spoiler on the cars, and the cars don’t make enough grip, NASCAR is going to have to adapt quickly and go to a bigger spoiler. … It is going to require some flexibility and the willingness for NASCAR to look at it and be willing to change.”
Roush has never been a big fan of the rear wing, which has been on the new car since it debuted in 2007. He says it made the new car easier to drive, which is contrary to what NASCAR predicted when it switched to the new model.
“One of the complaints I have had against the car of the tomorrow is it is so easy to drive that there is a wider range of driver experience and capability that can manage the car just fine,” Roush said. “The harder the car is to drive, the better I like it, and I think the more keen the competition will be among the people who are most able with experience and ability.
“I think this is going to put the driving and the result of the race back in the hands of the drivers more than it has been in the recent past. Despite the fact that we had more lead changes and more different winners last year, I think the racing will be more interesting and will be easier to commentate on and be more exciting for the fans.”
Teams will have to purchase the rear spoiler from an outside vendor, but Roush expects the aluminum spoiler to be less expensive than the carbon-fiber wing.
He also says it won’t be the only change NASCAR makes to the new car, which has been widely criticized by fans and competitors.
“I’m always in favor of the simplest possible solution to any problem, and I think the rear spoiler will be a simpler solution than the wing,” he said.
“The fans are ready for some change in the car that will get people excited. The move from the spoiler to the wing is the first of those changes, and there will be more changes to come over a period of time.”
