Rule changes resolve little in aero debate

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Depending on which lap you checked the rundown Sunday at Michigan International Speedway, you were apt to see General Motors cars or Fords holding sway in the top 10. Cars from three of the four manufacturers led some of the 200 laps.

So the jury is still out on the one-inch and half-inch nose kick-out granted to teams using the Chevrolet Monte Carlo and Pontiac Grand Prix, respectively, in a one-race concession at the Pepsi 400.

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The rules break will be analyzed and, according to NASCAR Winston Cup director John Darby, probably will be in effect for the Sept. 1 Mountain Dew Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

"I don't think it mattered which manufacturer's hat you were wore today -- you had to be excited about the way the race was," Darby said. "For the entire race each make took their turn showing their strong points. As the race grew older and everybody kept working and adjusting, it came back down to that final 30-something lap run and we didn't know who was going to win the thing until the final laps.

"They were all coming to the front (and) it was time to turn the horses loose, so to speak. It stayed mixed and it stayed exciting, right until the end."

Dale Jarrett, on the strength of a four-tire change with about 36 laps to go, won the race. Tony Stewart was second and Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton and Mark Martin rounded out the top five.

Sterling Marlin in a Dodge, Jimmie Johnson in a Chevrolet, Johnny Benson in a Pontiac and the Chevrolets of Jeff Green and Dale Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the top 10.

Jarrett, who has experienced a lot of rules changes from both sides of the book, said he felt the change would be carried forward.

"It's all about balance," he said. "I'm sure they're appreciative of what they were given and I'm sure that it helped some of them to be more competitive than they were here the first time, but it's still about balance.

"This was supposed to be a one-race deal (but) I can't imagine it's gonna be taken away because they didn't go win or anything -- so I'm sure it will stay the same."

Tony Stewart finished 16th at Michigan in June, when Fords swept the top-three spots and seven out of the top-10.

Ford and Chevy ran close together most of the day Sunday at Michigan. Credit: Autostock

"It didn't look like the Fords and Dodges dominated as bad as they have here in the past," Stewart said. "Whether it was enough or whether it was the right amount or what -- I don't know. Like I've said, my job is to drive race cars -- I've never gone to a wind tunnel in my life, so I honestly don't know what the numbers say.

"But, it seems like it was a pretty good mix of cars all day up front. Junior led a lot of laps, Kenseth ran up front, Mark Martin ran up front -- Jeff Burton, Ryan Newman ran strong -- a lot of really good cars. Dale Jarrett there at the end, obviously (was strong) -- but, it seemed like every make had some cars that really ran up front all day.

"It seems like it's better than it's ever been here, so I'd say NASCAR did a good job."

Four-team Ford owner Jack Roush said his gut feeling was that strategy and set-ups played more into the results than aerodynamics, but he planned to review the tape before passing final judgment.

"Unless I see something different when I watch the tape, I don't think the rule change had a big effect on the outcome of the race," Roush said. "The bigger factor was when people stopped, whether they took two tires or four and the changes they made.

Darby said all that would be taken into consideration before any announcement was made on whether the changes would be carried forward.

"I think we'll leave Bristol alone, for a lot of reasons (but mostly) to give us a lot more time to analyze the data," Darby said. "From race speeds and lap speeds for all the makes today and plugging all of our wind tunnel projection numbers back into the thing and revisiting the whole formula -- Darlington wouldn't be out of the question, if our findings are similar to what we had before the race.

That could have a compelling effect on the championship, Jarrett felt.

"If it does (get carried on), then each week they'll just become more and more familiar with how it affects their race car and that will make them hard to beat," he said.