JOLIET, Ill. — NASCAR officials are expected to meet with auto manufacturers, owners and drivers and others within the industry next weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in an effort to finalize the 2016 rules package.
As the sanctioning body kicks off its Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway, the aerodynamic package for ’16 and next year’s schedule remain undisclosed.
Representatives of each of the automakers — Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota — competing in NASCAR’s premier series stopped short of voicing an opinion in favor of where NASCAR will land with the ’16 rules when meeting with the media before Sunday’s race.
“I think (the low downforce package) has a lot of potential,” Jim Campbell, Chevrolet’s U.S. vice president, performance vehicles and motorsports, said. “But it depends on the track. That’s the key, depending on the track configuration I think is where’s we’re going to directionally head up to get a match on the aero packages without creating some infinite number of packages.
“That one, the drivers seem to like it, the fans seem to like it. I think that one has a bright future for sure.”
Teams began the season with a new rules package that featured less downforce (brought about in part by aerodynamic changes) and less horsepower. It was to be utilized at all tracks except Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. A move to take additional downforce away resulted in a second package used only at Kentucky and Darlington as officials attempted to get a handle on what the ’16 package might look like.
“We all want the same thing. We want better racing and we want to be as competitive as possible,” Dave Pericak, director of Ford Performance, said. “I applaud NASCAR for taking the steps they are taking to figure out how to make it a better race.
“At the end of the day … they’ve been very inclusive of the OEMs and of the teams. All the right things are happening to end up in the right place for 2016.”
Stu Grant, general manager of Global Race Tires for Goodyear, said he is hopeful that “by the end of that (New Hampshire) meeting we’ve landed at a place that we know what the rules package is going to be because by the end of October we’re going to be starting to make tires for Daytona in 2016. We’re getting into our manufacturing for 2016 pretty darn quick.
“So my expectation is we will have dialogue … to make sure that everybody is all together on the same page and then move forward with the ’16 rules package.”
— No confirmation about manufacturer movement came out of Sunday’s gathering, although it is expected that Furniture Row Racing, with driver Martin Truex Jr., will switch from Chevrolet to Toyota for next season.
“Stay tuned,” Ed Laukes, vice president of marketing, performance and guest experience for Toyota Motor Sales USA, said when asked about potential lineup changes.
“We’re not in a position to comment on the 2016 season,” Pericak said of Ford. “We’re focused on this season right now.”