Wing to spoiler transition anticipated without dread (cont'd)

Newman raised the obvious point that's recently been ignored, namely the fact that the new cars seem more apt to take off and fly when they get backwards with the wings versus spoilers. But ironically, unlike Busch, he thinks the wings helped the racing.

"I always said personally I like the looks of the spoiler over the wing," Newman said. "I think that the wing has had some benefits and it's had some drawbacks. The benefits, I think, were the way the cars race side by side together. I think the side force -- the biggest problem with the Truck Series in my opinion is when a truck gets inside another truck, it gets really loose -- and I think that the wing made our side-by-side racing better.

"But I think with our problems that we've seen at the fast race tracks, and fortunately we haven't seen it outside the restrictor-plate tracks; when a car gets spun around, it's typically going to go for a ride. At places like Texas and Atlanta and Charlotte, I don't remember seeing a car getting spun around to the point that it could get airborne, so I think that that wing that creates that downforce going forward also creates lift going backwards.

"And I think that secondly, it also blocks some of the air, in layman's terms from the roof flaps, which in turn are designed to keep the car down. I don't know how much testing was done when the wing was put in place in respect to all these things, but I think in the end NASCAR is doing a lot of work and doing a lot of great things to do what's best.

"I think having a test like [in March] is great. I've been a very big advocate of no testing, but I think this is a good thing for the sport, and I think it's a great race track to test at in respect to what we can learn with a spoiler versus a wing for all race tracks."

Nelson even said he could see the wings and spoilers being used interchangeably, depending on the facility, though the bulletin NASCAR sent to its Cup teams on Friday didn't indicate that course.

"In simple terms, you could do a track here [with a spoiler] and a wing at a different track," Nelson said. "The guys change brakes, they change engines and they change suspensions based on what track they're going to and the needs of that track. In that regard, when you think about it, a wing may be the best thing at one track and a spoiler may be better at another.

"But you don't get that experience until you get some time with it. But we put [the wing] on there because we had data that said it was better, so anyone who's saying one or the other would be better, should have something to prove that.

"But things change. Maybe if we did the test again drivers would pick the spoiler this time. To me, it's not a something that a guy in the stands or a guy standing on pit road could say 'it would be better if it was this way or that way.'

"It got that way because back-to-back testing said it was better [then]. But when you look at it now, maybe the whole package of power and tires and the way that the aero is and the bump stops -- all of those things that make up a lap on a race car -- maybe it's time to change. But either way it's not a big deal."

Clint Bowyer said keeping the fans in mind was paramount and this change addressed that.

"I think as a fan of this sport, that's what we need -- we need to create a positive change that keeps people tuned in to what we all love in this sport and make racing good, keep racing as strong as it's been over the years," Bowyer said. "And I think this is a change that people can see at home on TV and even in the grandstands.

"You know, they've made a lot of changes to this car, there's no question. They've made several changes to this car since its inception, but they haven't made a big change, and I think this is a big change and it's going to keep people tuned in to what we do."

Related:
• Edwards supports shortest spoiler, reduced downforce