"I applaud NASCAR for trying, doing everything they can," Joe Gibbs Racing driver Carl Edwards said during a break in Wednesday’s open test at Bristol Motor Speedway.

"They’re trying all these different things to produce the best racing they can."

Not exactly an endorsement for the Indy package, which will also be used in August when the Sprint Cup Series returns to Michigan International Speedway, but an understanding of what NASCAR officials are hoping to develop.

However, Edwards, who finished 13th at Indy after winning the pole, remains steadfast in his belief that the continued reduction in downforce is the best route.

"I believe the racing as we lose aero dependency, as they take downforce away, you’re just going to see better and better racing," he said. "… I really think the more we go back toward that, the better off we’re going to be."

The high drag package featured a 9-inch spoiler (a 3-inch increase) as well as other aero changes. Downforce was impacted, but only slightly. Instead, the taller spoiler created a larger wake of air behind the cars.

Ryan Blaney, 12th at Indy, said he thought the high drag package "showed promise."

"There are good things and bad things you can take away from each package," the Wood Brothers Racing driver said. "That’s what it’s always going to be no matter what package you bring; there’s always going to be positives and negatives and drivers are going to have different feedback about every one.

"I thought the high drag package really helped us get big runs down the straightaways behind other cars and you could make a move getting in the corner. But Indy being a single-lane race track it was hard to kind of make a move in the corner. You had to kind of set yourself up for the straightaway."

Michael Waltrip Racing driver David Ragan agreed that the taller spoiler and other configurations made for a better closing rate on others when coming off the corners and onto the long straightaways at Indy.

"But once you got to their back bumper, once you pulled out, you really couldn’t do anything with that run," Ragan, who finished 21st, said.

"It was real easy to stall out. I’m not an aero specialist so I don’t know if we could tweak on that … I thought the cars changed balance a lot behind other cars. … When I could run by myself, my car would be a little on the tight side and when I would catch a car, or if I caught two cars side-by-side in front of me, my car would shift to really, really loose really quick.

"I think just all the air off of their cars was disruptive and I didn’t have any consistent air on mine. You had to be on the wheel and on top of it making adjustments certainly when you were in traffic or by yourself."

While Indy’s 2.5-mile course is tight, one-groove and without much banking, Michigan should be a better barometer for the package.

"I think you will see some bigger packs at Michigan," Ragan said. "You’ve got a little more grip in the race track, you’ve got a little more banking, definitely more grooves so I think you’ve got more options to run two- and three-wide in the corners.

"But I think my big concern is the handling for those guys that are in the middle of the pack. The cars in the top four or five are going to have a very good advantage just from the fact of having clean air. Those guys running 20th are going to have to fight a different fight because of handling.

"It will definitely be, in my opinion, a little better going to Michigan just because the race track will promote a little better racing."

Tire Chatter

Sprint Cup and Camping World Truck Series teams competing at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway this weekend will run the same Goodyear tire codes and a combination that’s been used at the 2.5-mile, three-turn track since 2012. According to Goodyear, the tire combination is used only at Pocono.

Meanwhile, XFINITY Series teams competing this weekend at Iowa Speedway will use the same combination used there earlier this season.

Indy Violations

There were 31 pit-road penalties handed down during Sunday’s Crown Royal presents the Jeff Kyle 400 at the Brickyard, nearly half of which were due to team pitting before pit road was open.

NASCAR officials announced a P3-level penalty Wednesday levied against the No. 98 Premium Motorsports team for an unattached weight that fell of the car during practice at IMS.