Notes: Spoiler posing new problems at Darlington

DARLINGTON, S.C. -- Hitting the wall at Darlington Raceway is inevitable, but when it happens now, crew chiefs have a problem they didn't have to face before NASCAR switched from a rear wing to a spoiler on the Cup race car.

Today's spoiler is wider end-to-end than the spoiler NASCAR used before the wing debuted in 2007, and it magnifies the damage caused by contact with the wall.

"If you get the right rear into the wall hard enough, it'll hit that spoiler and move the deck lid over, which makes it difficult," said Matt Kenseth, driver of the No. 17 Ford. "It's pretty wide, and I'm sure if it does cause problems that NASCAR will look at that and figure out how to narrow it up a little bit.

"But they wanted to make it wide. They did a good job of matching the aero balance so it's the same as it was with the wing with the longer quarter panels and the wider spoiler, but still made it short enough where we can see. ... The key is to try and not hit the wall."

Regan Smith hit the Turn 4 wall during Friday's qualifying session and loosened the rear deck lid. Mark McArdle, managing director of Furniture Row Racing, which fields the No. 78 Chevrolets for Smith, said spoiler width wasn't an issue in the previous five races with the spoiler, which was reintroduced at Martinsville in late March.

"It's a Darlington problem," McArdle said.

That didn't prevent crew chiefs from lobbying NASCAR for a change.

"Sure, we could narrow it by three inches," said NASCAR vice president of competition Robin Pemberton. "But would they want to lose the downforce?"

Pemberton pointed out that narrowing the spoiler would require increasing its height to recover lost downforce, and that might create visibility issues for the drivers.

NASCAR plans to look at the issue before the series returns to Darlington next year.

Steve Letarte

How rumors get started

At Jeff Gordon's media availability Friday at his transporter, the driver was asked the following question about crew chief Steve Letarte, who is in a contract year at Hendrick Motorsports: "Last week it was reported that Steve has been in talks with Rick, but how much of a role are you going to play in getting him back, and what conversations have you had with Rick about that?"

Rick, of course, is team owner Rick Hendrick. The transcript of the interview that was distributed at Darlington, however, presented the question this way: "Last week it was reported that Steve has been in talks with Red Bull [Racing]. ..."

Though no one could locate reports of Letarte talking to Red Bull, reporters began chasing the story -- until the error was discovered Saturday morning.

"That's how rumors get started," Letarte said Saturday in the garage.

With recent contract extensions for Hendrick crew chiefs Chad Knaus and Alan Gustafson, attention has turned to Letarte, who hasn't re-signed yet. Gordon said he isn't worried.

"Oh, would you guys settle down!" he said to reporters. "It was a week ago that Chad and Alan signed, and nobody was asking any questions about Stevie. And now all of a sudden it's like they're signed, so why isn't Steve signed? He's going to be signed. Everything is going really good.

"He and I are getting along and doing better than we ever have, and his commitment to this team is showing every weekend just how good he is, and that's not going to change. So if I was trying to get him signed, he would have been signed already. It's a process that goes on at Hendrick Motorsports, and I'm not really involved with it."

Clint Bowyer

Happy Anniversary

Clint Bowyer, a cake shaped like his No. 33 Chevrolet and a large stag were on hand to celebrate The Hartford's 200th anniversary.

"Anybody want a Goodyear?" Bowyer cracked as he sliced up the cake. "It's good, too."

The insurance company is celebrating 200 years in business. The Hartford is sponsoring a contest where people submit their stories and videos, sharing how and why they drive the way they do.

"I want to hear all the stories," Bowyer said. "Good, crazy, bad. All of them."

Bowyer backed off when asked to make the first cut in the car cake.

"We're at Darlington where it's very easy to tear up cars and I'm kind of scared to cut this car up," he said. "Can we wait until after the race?"

Bowyer finally obliged with the initial cut.

Perhaps Bowyer was on to something with his superstition. On Lap 105, Bowyer took his No. 33 to the garage with brake problems. He finished 32nd, 36 laps off the pace.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.