Team owner Richard Childress looks over his No. 07 car. Credit: Autostock

NASCAR: New rules package likely to remain

LAS VEGAS -- NASCAR said on Friday that it would probably leave the current rules package in place for the remainder of the 2005 season.

This weekend's UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 is the third race under the new rules, which included sweeping changes to tires (softer), gears (shorter), spoiler size (smaller) and pit road speeds (stricter enforcement).

Las Vegas' 1.5-mile oval is just the second non-restrictor-plate event of the year, but most Nextel Cup teams already have a thousand miles of data concerning the new rules.

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Put together, the rules have created cars that are much looser than in years past, and drivers who can adapt to that hang-onto-the-car style are the ones that have succeeded in early downforce tests.

NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton said he likes the current package and will try to use it all season.

"We have to listen to our competitors. We're not going to make mid-year rule changes," Pemberton said. "You always get criticized the first 3-4 races of the year of a rule change and it always takes the competitor 3-4 races.

"The same guys are going to be happy and the same guys are going to be mad every year, no matter if you have a rules change or not."

NASCAR is pushing to reel in costs for already strapped teams, and keeping a rules package for the entire season can save millions.

Pemberton also said that NASCAR is trying to phase in the practice of impounding the cars following qualifying.

Currently, a little more than half of the 2005 races use this rule, but this weekend at Las Vegas is using the old system, where cars practice before and after qualifying.

The changes have left some scrambling as the weekend schedule has changed each week since Daytona.

"We hope we get back to common schedule like we have in the past. It is probably a few years away, we hate it goes this way," Pemberton said. "We're pushing towards the impound schedule. It'll help on expenses. We don't race in our backyard like we did every week."