Liftoff panels, ride heights and aero ducts will be on the menu today at Daytona International Speedway as NASCAR and Goodyear officials, along with five Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series teams, begin a two-day test at the 2.5-mile superspeedway.
Erik Jones (Furniture Row Racing Toyota), Alex Bowman (Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet), Joey Logano (Team Penske Ford), Danica Patrick (Stewart-Haas Racing Ford) and Ryan Newman (Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet) are scheduled to take part in the program.
"We've got three bodies of work we're going to try to do," Gene Stefanyshyn, NASCAR Senior Vice President Innovation and Racing Development, told NASCAR.com. "Once we learn from that, we take the best solution and that will go into the Goodyear test (on Wednesday)."
Simulation and wind tunnel testing have shown that liftoff panels, which are installed underneath the rear of the car, can further reduce the likelihood of liftoff by a vehicle on the track.
But what officials don't know, Stefanyshyn said, is "when we put cars together (out on the track), will it screw up the racing?"
"We have two versions of the liftoff panel," he said. "We know they both work. Is there one that's better for racing? They could both hurt the racing and if that's the case, we'll scratch it."
If it doesn't hamper the quality of competition, work in that area will continue, likely with a battery of additional tests in the wind tunnel before such changes would be implemented for competition.
MORE: Evolution of track repave on display at Texas While vehicles becoming airborne have become less frequent in recent years, the potential still exists. In this year's season-opening race for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, two-time series champ Matt Crafton's Toyota flipped when it was turned after contact in the right rear, then struck nose first as it was traveling backward. Crafton was not injured.
Second on the agenda, according to Stefanyshyn, is removing the minimum ride height requirements currently in place for races at Daytona and Talladega Superspeedway. NASCAR eliminated ride height minimums at all tracks except for superspeedways in 2014.
The aim is two-fold -- having the ride height rules universal across the series should make it easier for teams; keeping the car lower on the track also lessens the opportunity for liftoff.
"Now what will happen, because we'll get the car down, she'll probably go a bit faster," Stefanyshyn said. "But I think the combination of holding it closer to the ground in a spin with the liftoff panels we will actually be in a better situation. So (the cars) may go quicker, but we'll be in a better spot because the car won't get un-sprung and the (liftoff) panels will help us. And we'll also have some (restrictor) plates so we can manage the speed."
In conjunction with the removal of ride heights minimums, teams will also experiment with different spoiler sizes in an effort to enhance throttle feel.
NASCAR XFINITY Series teams will use aero ducts as part of their race package for this year's event at Indianapolis, but officials said there currently are no plans for the pieces, which divert air through the front of the car and out through the front wheel openings, to be employed elsewhere. RELATED: Indianapolis announces race package for July
However, since NASCAR will have teams in place at Daytona, Stefanyshyn said it would be worthwhile to gather data on the pieces' impact.
"We're trying to use this time to do some potential learning for intermediate tracks and take the next step," he said. "So that is not superspeedway specific, it's more learning. 'OK we're here anyway, let's learn.' And what we learn could apply to superspeedways, it could apply to intermediates."
The Daytona Beach weather forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday calls for sunny skies and temperatures in the mid- to upper 70s.