NASCAR angled the Turn 12 tire wall before final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at the Charlotte road course. The rumble strips remained.
The move was an effort to provide more room — about five feet — for drivers exiting the backstretch chicane. Erik Jones and Bubba Wallace hit the spot hard Saturday in second practice, sustaining significant damage to their cars. Both drivers were forced to go to backup cars for Sunday’s Bank of America Roval 400 (2 p.m. ET, NBC/NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
PHOTOS: Bubba’s wreck, frame by frame
Angling the barrier wall doesn’t mean, however, that the corner is now defenseless. The “turtles” (six-inch-high steel rumble strips) at the exit can upset a car that takes the corner too wide.
“It’s less treacherous,” said Martin Truex Jr., who topped the speed chart in final practice. “You’ve got about two feet of wiggle room, so if you screw up, you can just hit the turtles and not that thing.”
MORE: Turn-by-turn analysis of Charlotte road course
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NASCAR Wire Service contributed