NASCAR has added a third test to the Spoiler

NASCAR has tentatively added a third test of the spoiler on the Sprint Cup Series car, this one set for the sport’s biggest track.

Plans are to test the vehicle March 16 at Talladega Superspeedway, according to a series spokesman. That test would be in addition to a two-day open session scheduled for March 23-24 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and would be to specifically examine the spoiler’s performance on a restrictor-plate track. Four drivers also tested cars outfitted with the spoiler at Texas Motor Speedway earlier this month.

Purchase race tickets
Book your travel
The spoiler would replace the rear wing on current Cup Series cars, which has been criticized by fans and drivers alike for both its appearance and its aerodynamic characteristics. Pending the results of testing, the spoiler could return to vehicles on NASCAR’s premier division as early as this spring.

“The deal with the spoiler looks very promising,” driver Martin Truex Jr. said. “I think it’s important for the fans. I think they’ll be more excited to look at the cars. The cars look a little racier, a little more sleek. Every car I have ever seen since I was born had a spoiler on it. That will be good.”

Some have blamed the rear wing for the recent spate of airborne accidents at Talladega, including Ryan Newman’s flip during the track’s most recent event, and Carl Edwards’ crash into the restraining fence in the spring race. NASCAR, though, has insisted that the wing is not the culprit in those incidents, and that airborne crashes at Talladega were not the impetus behind the move to the spoiler.

“I have seen a lot of, well, it looks like we did that because of Talladega, Ryan Newman getting air under his [wing] contributed to that,” NASCAR chairman Brian France said recently. “As [Sprint Cup director] John Darby reminded me, we had a similar instance of more than one at Talladega with the spoiler, as well, in terms of the car lifting off. That’s always something we will address, and putting the spoiler on doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that we have car lift at Talladega.

“Lift is a problem, and we will solve that, and [there are] already lots of ways to do that. The spoiler is coming on for the look of it, to look more like it used to, and to drive differently and create better racing. That’s the premise of the spoiler.”

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Comments