Widespread complaints prompted NASCAR switch from wing to spoiler
NASCAR unveiled the spoiler during on Thursday. // Sam Cranston, NASCAR Illustrated
CONCORD, N.C. – Complaints about the rear wing on NASCAR’s Sprint Cup car started once the new car hit the track in 2007.
“Some people would say – I wouldn't say this – but some people would say that it started after the first race,” NASCAR President Mike Helton said.
The constant complaints from competitors and fans led to NASCAR doing away with the wing and replacing it with a more traditional spoiler beginning later this season.
“We went in and put the wing in for all of the right reasons, and over the course of two complete seasons that this car has been on the race track, the general acceptance of the wing didn't grow past the point we thought it should have,” Helton said. “So the move now is to go back to a more traditional‑looking NASCAR‑type Sprint Cup car, which includes a spoiler.”
NASCAR tested the spoiler in the wind tunnel during the off-season and four teams tested a four-inch spoiler Tuesday and Wednesday at Texas Motor Speedway. All Cup teams will get a chance to test it March 23-24 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but NASCAR has not yet decided when the spoiler will make its return.
NASCAR Chairman Brian France said NASCAR made the move to improve the look of the car and to make it drive and handle better, hopefully producing closer racing. He said NASCAR is also looking at the front end of the car, but has no immediate plans for changes there.
France said drivers and competitors asked for the return of the spoiler in a series of meetings he and NASCAR officials have had with teams.
“We got some different … input of what they thought the spoiler was going to do and how it might improve things, including racing up to one another, and being able to have a little bit more control over the car,” France said. “So we felt a little bit more confident about that. If it doesn't make racing better and open things up a little bit, we wouldn't have done it.”
Helton said NASCAR has made more than two dozen changes to the new car, which debuted in 2007, but that the switch from the wing to the spoiler is the most visible.
He said one of the reasons NASCAR decided to use a wing was to attract a younger audience.
“Regardless of the reason we did it, we’re ready to move back to the more traditional spoiler,” he said.
NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton said initial driver reaction to the spoiler has been favorable.
“The guys who were at Texas at the tire test, their first impression was that the car drove at least as good, if not better,” Pemberton said. “There is a little bit more downforce with the spoiler, depending on their setups. Within two or three laps from the wing to the spoiler these teams were right up to speed, which tells me there is a lot of potential there.”
