Tech talk: News and notes from around the garage

Instead, they hoped that by keeping cars circling the track as the brief shower passed, the surface would stay dry and racing could quickly resume following the event’s 11th caution period.
 
Eventually, cars had to be brought to pit road after running several laps at caution speed as track dryers were dispatched.
 
Austin Dillon ran out of fuel during the slowdown; others were getting close.
 
“That’s a balance,” NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell told Sirius/XM NASCAR Radio Monday morning in an exclusive interview on the networks’ Morning Drive show. “You’ve got some drivers who are full of fuel and strategy and different things that play into it.
 
“We obviously need to manage how many laps you’re running under caution in that situation before you red flag it. You don’t want to red flag it if you don’t have to because you’re ultimately going to lose the track in that situation.
 
“If you can keep the cars out on the track, it helps us keep the track in somewhat raceable condition and can get us back earlier. In that situation, it just became too much.”
 
Stealers Wheel?
 
The supposed steering wheel swap in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota during a red-flag period at Bristol Sunday didn’t take place, according to the team and Toyota officials.
 
At the second stoppage of the race for rain, the No. 11 team was prepared to exchange the car’s steering wheel, a move necessitated because XFINITY Series driver Erik Jones had replaced Denny Hamlin in the car.
 
During the television broadcast, video of a crewman walking back to the team’s pit stall with a steering wheel in his hand was shown. Initially it was described as the steering wheel that had been replaced. Moments later, it was said to be the one that would go in the car.
 
The latter was correct, but the team never got the chance to make the switch.
 
“We thought at the (second) red flag that I would be able to swap it out and hopefully change the positioning of it,” Jones said after the race, “but unfortunately I didn’t get to because (the delay) was so short and I didn’t even get out of the car.
 
“Just kind of dealt with it and moved my hands around and figured it out.”
 
Jones, who is expected to make his official Sprint Cup debut for JGR later this year, was called into action after Hamlin began experiencing back and neck pain.
 
His first laps in the Sprint Cup car came as the race resumed after the initial delay. Asked about comfort and possible changes, Jones noted that he was having issues with the steering wheel.
 
“The (steering) wheel’s too close … hurting my arm; hard to turn the wheel,” he radioed to crew chief Dave Rogers.
 
Goodyear Getting a Grip
 
NASCAR’s 2015 low downforce rules package has kept Goodyear officials busy as the official tire supplier attempts to dial in the best tire combinations for upcoming stops on the 2015 Sprint Cup Series schedule while working toward further changes that will be put into place for ’16.
 
Last week, Goodyear officials conducted a two-day test at Kentucky Speedway; next week, it’s off to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a two-day test (April 27-28).
 
“The main objective of the Kentucky test was to bring the right-side tire there in line with several of the other high-speed mile-and-a-half speedways,” said Greg Stucker, Director of Racing for Goodyear.
 
“What we tested incorporated a different mold shape and construction from what we raced there in the past. Additionally, with the lower downforce of the 2015 rules package, we felt a left-side compound adjustment to increase grip was justified.”
 
Drivers taking part in the Kentucky test were Greg Biffle, Ryan Newman, Brett Moffitt and Jamie McMurray.
 
Teams slated to participate in the Indy test will come from BK Racing, Furniture Row Racing, Hendrick Motorsports and Richard Petty Motorsports.
 
“The surface of the (Indy) track is very abrasive, so getting the correct compounds and constructions to generate the desired wear characteristics, while maintaining the level of grip for competitive racing, is critical,” said Stucker.
 
Bristol Pit Road Fallout
 
Nearly one-half (15) of the 38 penalties handed down at Bristol Sunday were for pitting before pit road was open, a typical infraction on a short track when making repairs is more important than the loss of track position that comes with the penalty.
 
And a sizeable number of speeding penalties (11) were called, second most of the season.
 
Headed to the R&D
 
The cars of BMS race winner Matt Kenseth (Joe Gibbs Racing) and runnerup Jimmie Johnson (Hendrick Motorsports) were taken to the NASCAR Research and Development Center in Concord, North Carolina, for further evaluation as well as the No. 17 of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Roush Fenway Racing).
 
Stenhouse Jr. finished a season-best fourth.
 
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