Saturday night’s race at Charlotte had all the suspense of grass growing for the first 470 laps. Thank God there was Hockey, College Football and Major League Baseball Playoffs to get us through this snooze-fest.
Brad Keselowski did his best to entertain us for the final 10 minutes of racing. He posted his first victory of the season after one of the infamous NASCAR “debris” cautions kept Jimmie Johnson from winning the race by a half a track or so. Once again, clean air had the advantage over new tires on a 1.5 mile track.
It appears NASCAR is also aware of these 1.5 mile tracks putting many of us asleep and has begun work on solutions. Monday NASCAR brought 6 cars to Charlotte Motor Speedway to test its potential aerodynamic package for the 1.5 mile tracks.
Some of the new package ideas include a new front splitter with less of a curve, a larger rear spoiler, different roof wickers, and screens in sections of the rear bumper. All of these potential changes are designed to help make racing on the 1.5 tracks more exciting for the fans.
Each manufacturer has 3 cars at the test. Brad Keselowski and Trevor Bayne are representing Ford, Jeff Burton and Jamie McMurray are representing Chevrolet, and Denny Hamlin and Brett Moffitt are representing Toyota.
The goal of the test is to make it easier for drivers to pass by either increasing the rear downforce or creating more turbulent air.
Pat Suhy, Manager of Chevrolet Racing and NASCAR Group Manager said, “In every racing series, the second place car is always at a disadvantage. I don’t know how you make it not a disadvantage. If you’ve got a body traveling through air, it’s going to disturb the air somehow and some aspect of the car behind it is not going to be happy. It’s a daunting problem. It means you have to get out and be in front.”
Another idea that NASCAR may be looking at (but not telling anyone) is the elimination of the ride height limitations for the Cup cars.
The effort “to make it more exciting for the fans and to get them more engaged in the competition,” Roush Fenway Racing’s co-owner Jack Roush said, “is certainly a good motive.” Amen to that.
It’s refreshing for us fans to see NASCAR taking such an “outside the box” approach to improve racing, especially on its 1.5 mile tracks. There have been too many races this season and in years past where it’s been follow the leader. Clean air should be an advantage but the stronger car and more skilled driver should always be able to beat it. Let’s hope NASCAR continues to look for ways to improve the on track product.
Updates – Brian Vickers will miss the rest of the 2013 season after doctors found a small blood clot in his leg. Vickers missed the final 25 races of the 2010 season while recovering from blood clots and heart surgery. The doctors are confident that he will return for the 2014 season.
Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) announced this week it will move from a 3 car team to a 2 car team in 2014. The move was in response to losing the sponsorship money of NAPA when MWR purposely impacted the outcome of the race at Richmond. Martin Truex Jr. will no longer be driving for MWR. In addition several people have been told that their services were no longer needed at MWR. MWR reported that 85% of its employees will be retained.
On to Talladega we go. My picks:
1) Dale Earnhardt Jr.
2) Kurt Busch
3) Jimmie Johnson
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