RELATED: Driver reaction varies after Indianapolis
One day after NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams employed a new high drag aerodynamic package at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the sanctioning body's vice chairman said series officials were still processing its net effect.
Mike Helton, appearing Monday morning on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, acknowledged several drivers' criticisms of the new rules for Sunday's Crown Royal Presents the Jeff Kyle 400 at the Brickyard, but said officials at the NASCAR Research & Development Center would take time to measure its overall performance.
"I think we're only 18 hours or so from the finish of that race, so we're digesting the signs from it," Helton told SiriusXM. "The fans and the industry saw the race unfold as we did, and there were certainly some components of it, the balance of competition, the opportunities that this package presented for the drivers to perform were of benefit. We've heard the expressions of some of the drivers that didn't like some of characteristics of the package, and we can absorb all the science and the data that we collect, including talking to the industry, the drivers, the crew members and the competition departments of the teams and the car owners to take all of that now and absorb it.
"That's part of the reason we created this specific package for Indianapolis was to see the characteristics of it, knowing that there's a lot of personalities in the garage area that have different opinions, and they know they have different opinions, but it's on NASCAR to come up with the one that we put in front of the fans on each individual race track each weekend. So we'll take time."
Drivers participated using a raised, 9-inch-tall rear spoiler and other aero devices to increase drag in the hopes of promoting closer racing at Indianapolis, a 2.5-mile track where passing has historically been a tricky task. Statistically, the result was fewer green-flag passes overall, and one more lead change than the previous year's Brickyard race (16 vs. 15), but four fewer than the 20 registered in 2013.
The Indianapolis race was the next puzzle piece in the series' potential move toward track-specific aero packages. A similar high drag package is scheduled to be used next month at 2-mile Michigan International Speedway, and last month was marked by a successful debut of a low downforce package at 1.5-mile Kentucky Speedway.
NASCAR fans' reception of the changes has spanned the gamut from welcome to wary or resistant. Helton acknowledged the mixed reviews, clarifying the goals behind the rules shifts.
"That's fair, and we should do a better job of explaining why we're doing this," Helton said. "First and foremost, it's just to build the most competitive type of motorsports that we can build. We want our product on the race track to be pleasing to the fans and that means close competition. You can walk through the garage area and ask 15, 20 different people what close competition means and you'll get 15 different opinions of it, but all of them agree that it's passing, balance of competition, being able to work your way through the field -- everybody agrees on those elements, but how do you get there is on us. It's on NASCAR as the regulatory body of the sport to figure out the rules package."
Helton indicated that trying out new rules packages in real race conditions instead of in traditional test sessions has been a learning process, but a beneficial one in terms of analyzing performance. Helton also said he expects steps toward the proper balance to continue to evolve through collaborative efforts.
"This came from input throughout the industry," Helton said. "We're not necessarily the architects of all this (on) our own, but it came from the collaboration that we've got now with teams and drivers and manufacturers and the car owners to come up with a way to do this. It's not universally acceptable, but it's majority acceptable, and most people feel like this is a good opportunity for NASCAR to figure out the future of what goes on the race track. But everybody agrees that close, competitive racing, being able to pass -- that's important for us to continue to deliver on."