NASCAR reducing downforce on cars for Kentucky race
It's official. NASCAR is going to introduce a new rules package at Kentucky designed to reduce downforce on the cars.
The sanctioning body announced Tuesday that the cars will have smaller spoilers and splitters for the race on July 11. Spoiler height will be cut to 3.5 inches from 6 inches and the overhang on the front splitters of the cars will be reduced 1.75 inches while the radiator pan is reduced from 38 inches to 25. The tires for the race will also have more grip.
The goal of the changes is to induce more passing, especially through the corners. Ideally, the changes mean that cars lose downforce, which helps with corner grip and speed. If cars are forced to slow down more in the corners, there are more opportunities for passing.
NASCAR cut horsepower and downforce from the cars before the 2015 season but the changes haven't made passing plentiful. Instead, cars are going even faster through the corners. The increased corner speeds and lack of off-throttle time has made passing harder.
NASCAR vice president Steve O'Donnell said the Kentucky rules was a combination that was tested as NASCAR figured out what it wanted to tweak with the 2015 cars.
"We've been very vigilant in talking about tighter racing. I think we've achieved that in terms of 1st-43rd, when you see that those teams are closer than ever," O'Donnell said. "Although we certainly want to see more lead changes on the race track so we'll evaluate not only that but a number of different factors coming out of Kentucky and see what we can learn and potentially implement down the road."
Lead changes are down from 396 at this point in 2014 to 302.
The rule changes for the race are, as of now, a one-time event. Any potential future rules changes based off what happens at Kentucky would be made after examination of the race.
O'Donnell was adamant that the rules were not to be considered a test. The non-points All-Star race was a possible avenue to test the rules in May, however O'Donnell said NASCAR "wasn't there" in preparations to experiment with the rules at the All-Star Race.
"There are some drivers who are very vocal in wanting to pursue this angle," O'Donnell said. "There are some that actually like a very different rules package, so it varies but I would say all are aligned in terms of the package we're heading into for Kentucky."
While you can applaud NASCAR's willingness to improve a product that has left many fans wanting more throughout 2015, the move to change rules for a regular season race is a risky one, especially given how teams qualify for the Chase format.
Under the old Chase, points were the biggest factor for Chase qualification. In that context, Kentucky would be one race of 26. A bad finish could be overcome and win in incredibly rare circumstances wouldn't be a guaranteed ticket to the playoffs.
Now teams (in the top 30 in points) earn a Chase berth with a win. The chances of it happening are miniscule, but a struggling team that has been far from championship-worthy so far in 2015 could immediately master the new rules and win at Kentucky. Even if the team struggles for the final 20 races of the season, it'd likely be in the Chase.
Yes, all teams are in the same circumstances heading into the race 25 days away, but should a playoff spot really be at stake in a potential one-and-done environment? And if race does inspire changes for the rest of the season, should Chase races be run with rules that changed significantly from the start of the season? College basketball waited until the end of the season to shorten the shot clock.
Plus, the success of the rules at Kentucky may be undefineable because of any number of factors. The race could be one to halfway because of impending rain. It could be caution-filled and free of any long-green flag runs to get an idea if the racing is any different. Or hell, any difference in racing may not be discernible to fans at all. Can one race be enough of a sample size?
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
