The new rules package will be in effect for next month’s Quaker State 400 Presented by Advance Auto Parts at Kentucky Speedway and it features a shorter spoiler (reduced from 6 inches to 3.5 inches), a splitter extension panel (overall area reduced from 38 inches to 25 inches) and a splitter change that lessens overhang by 1.75 inches.
Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer, said the package is only in place for the July 9-11 race weekend at Kentucky at this time.
"Probably the two biggest tools that we have collectively between ourselves and our team partners is the wind tunnel, for sure, because this is basically an aerodynamic change and you need to rebalance the car," Dave Wilson, President and General Manager, Toyota Racing Development, USA, told NASCAR.com on Wednesday.
"They are roughly shedding 1,000 pounds of downforce (from approximately 2,700-2,800 pounds to 1,700-1,800 pounds) so the wind tunnel is ultimately a pretty important tool.
"On a percentage basis that’s a massive amount of change.
"The other tool we have is simulation. And that’s why I think collectively, NASCAR and the teams are generally comfortable going out and racing this thing. We do have other tools that can be predictive in nature and help us understand how these cars are going to behave.
"We help our team partners with simulation and we go to the wind tunnel with them and try to make sure that when we show up to that Wednesday (practice) that we unload with some decent race cars."
Teams will be allowed four hours of practice on Wednesday, July 8 at the 1.5-mile track to begin dialing in their cars with the new package. NASCAR banned private team testing prior to the start of the 2015 season.
While the timing of the announcement shortens the window of opportunity for preparation, Wilson said teams and automakers already have wind tunnel time booked.
"We’re in the wind tunnel every week; all the major teams are," he said. "Whether we’d be making these changes or not, it’s not like we’re in the wind tunnel this week whereas we wouldn’t be otherwise. We set these schedules weeks in advance.
"It’s more about managing the use of that time and taking advantage of the opportunity to get these changes on some race cars sooner than later."
RELATED: How Kentucky package affects a car’s balance
This year’s rules package, which took downforce off the cars and dropped horsepower, was seen as one step toward the goal of further reductions planned for 2016. But with increased cornering speeds and no appreciable rise in the quality of the on-track competition, officials made the decision to roll out the changes at Kentucky.
O’Donnell was quick to point out that the move “is not an abandonment of any rules package.”
"There are many positives we’ve seen out of our current rules that shouldn’t be dismissed, but we’re constantly working on all areas of competition, and we’ll never consider the racing package final, because we’ve been vocal and will continue to be vocal about our commitment to continuing to improve the racing," he said.
Drivers testing Wednesday at Richmond International Raceway said they were supportive of the changes.
"It’s not just a change and you’re going to be better," Team Penske driver Joey Logano said. "You’ve got to massage it a little bit and maybe a little tweak here and a tweak there and you’ll get it better. I think it’s going to take a little bit of time.
"But I think it’s the right direction; I think the sport realizes we need to do something, make this better. Not that the racing is bad right now, I still think there’s great races out there but you always want to be better. How can you make the sport better? Sometimes you’ve just got to swing the bat and see what happens."
Asked if making a mid-season rules change was a risky move, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Carl Edwards noted "this whole sport’s based on risk.
"They could show up to the race track, rip the spoilers off, change the tires, do whatever they want," he said. "As long as it’s the same for everyone it’ll be a race and a competition.
"I applaud NASCAR. NASCAR wants to make this the best sport they can for the fans; they want to make it the most fun for the drivers and … taking downforce off, making the cars hard to drive, in my opinion they’re a third of the way they need to go. They just need to keep taking it off and keep making it better and better."
Wilson said the industry was supportive of the decision and that "directionally it’s correct."
"But what’s as telling as anything is NASCAR’s decision to race it," he said.
"I think that’s a function of what we’ve found over the past couple of years of how difficult it is through a ‘test’ to determine what’s going to be good racing and what’s not.
"I think that’s a bold move by NASCAR, but the good news is they’re not out there on an island. This was done with a collaboration of their stakeholders – the teams, drivers, OEMs, we’ve all participated in that process and we’re all in this together. So we’ll see here in a few weeks how it all pans out."
