FOLLOW ON: Twitter Facebook RSS
Superstore
AUCTIONS
Autostock
Rain kept Cup cars in the garage on Saturday, giving teams just one practice to set up for Sunday.

Spoiler not an issue despite rain washing out practice

Both Saturday practices at TMS canceled due to rain

By Raygan Swan, NASCAR.COM
April 17, 2010
02:44 PM EDT
type size: + -

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Rainy conditions Saturday left Cup Series teams without final practice sessions, but the spoiler, according to most, won't be an issue Sunday.

Kevin Harvick, after running 11 laps during Friday's practice session -- the only one of the weekend -- said he won't know how it will be in race conditions but in practice he saw no difference.

"It has been no different since the Charlotte Motor Speedway test, it has been no different at any other race tracks," Harvick said.

Getty Images

Overall it doesn't feel like it drives a whole lot different. My car seems a little tighter on entry and stuff than what we've had here in the past.

-- DAVID REUTIMANN

David Reutimann and Dale Earnhardt Jr., who worked mainly on qualifying runs and not race runs, agreed and said there is no major difference or concerns for Sunday.

"Overall it doesn't feel like it drives a whole lot different," Reutimann said. "My car seems a little tighter on entry and stuff than what we've had here in the past. Of course we've changed a lot of things to help that as well."

Seemingly, there is still no definitive answer as of yet pertaining to the spoiler and what bearing it will have on Sunday's race.

Tony Stewart, whose Stewart-Haas driver Ryan Newman won last weekend at Phoenix, said everyone is still in an "adjustment phase."

"I think everybody has to keep in mind, it's just like when we came out with the [new car] ... just because one team figures it out first doesn't mean that they're going to stay there. It just means that they figured it out quicker than everybody else did," Stewart said. "I would say by looking at practice [Friday], you're not going to get somebody that's just going to go off and take off."

Stewart added that teams have had enough time in the wind tunnels running simulation programs to figure out how to proceed. Nevertheless, some drivers feel the spoiler can make a difference Sunday and Clint Bowyer is anxious to see how it will affect teams' aero packages.

"This is always a track where you really get aero tight behind cars. Speeds are always really fast and you just get aero tight. I think everybody is really looking forward to seeing how that is going to be and seeing how the cars are going to react behind cars," Bowyer said.

The challenge is just trying to find aero balance from front to rear, he added.

"Just like [we] did with the wing," Bowyer said. "We were behind last year and it seemed like we really caught on but a day late and a dollar short. Now we have to be on the leading edge of that and be able to beat everybody to the punch."

Greg Biffle, who was fastest in Friday's practice and qualified third, has his car figured out and said the spoiler can do things the wing lacked.

"I think the setup is fairly similar," Biffle said, referring to the difference between the wing and spoiler. "My car seems to be a little bit freer with the wing on it, and turning a little bit better on corner exit is what I'm noticing with the spoiler. I noticed that when we did the tire test. That's about the difference that I feel. I feel like the car has a little bit more yaw to it and it'll get a little bit freer, but the setup is not drastically different. The car still sees about the same amount of down force, it just changes when the car goes into yaw."

The End

Also

Samsung Mobile 500

Lineup
Pos. Driver Make
1. Tony Stewart Chevrolet
2. Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge
3. Greg Biffle Ford
4. Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet
5. Kasey Kahne Ford

Practice 1
Pos. Driver Make Speed Time
1. Greg Biffle Ford 190.813 28.300
2. Tony Stewart Chevrolet 190.201 28.391
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 189.567 28.486
4. Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 189.394 28.512
5. Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 189.235 28.536
Photo Gallery

Driver of the Week Eric McClure

ViewArchive

Remember To Check Out

All External sites will open in a new browser window. NASCAR.COM does not endorse external sites.
© 2001-2012 NASCAR | Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
NASCAR.COM is part of Turner Sports Digital, part of the Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network.