NASCAR is considering a shorter spoiler to reduce drag for superspeedway races this season, which could accelerate the plan to wait on changes to the car until the offseason.
A working group of teams representing Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota will meet with NASCAR about the superspeedway rules package, which was a focus of discussions during and after Sunday‘s Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway.
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“I think we saw enough in the Talladega race, and there was enough feedback from the industry that said, ‘let’s take another look at this,‘” NASCAR vice president of race communications Mike Forde said during the latest episode of the “Hauler Talk” podcast. “So we are meeting with that group again to talk about this.”
Shorter spoilers on superspeedways have been championed by Denny Hamlin, who texted NASCAR CEO Steve O‘Donnell after lobbying Monday on his “Actions Detrimental” podcast for a spoiler cut to raise speeds by reducing drag.
Forde said O‘Donnell had relayed Hamlin‘s idea to executive vice president and chief racing development officer John Probst.
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“Denny did say that he wants to help be a leader in this particular area, and so he will be part of that call,” Forde said. “His voice will be part of that conversation, and I think he wants to have changes by Daytona at the end of August. TBD on where those go, because you really are rolling the dice.”
Forde said a three-inch spoiler cut would remove about 100 counts of drag and also reduce downforce. Drivers have already expressed concerns about the instability of their cars when being pushed in the draft.
Hamlin said on his podcast that the Next Gen car has hundreds of additional counts of drag than the previous Gen 6 car. But the Joe Gibbs Racing driver also conceded a drag reduction would increase speeds into the 210-mph range, which Forde said could cause issues.
“That’s where we get a little bit nervous because there’s a reason we had (restrictor) plates on these things in the first place, and that is strictly a safety situation,” Forde said. “There’s a lot of work going on behind the scenes yesterday. And today, John (Probst) was continuing to work on it. There will be calls and meetings about this topic, and we’ll see where we’re at, and if anything happens sooner than later.”
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MORE: Carson Hocevar earns first career win at Talladega
To address the abundance of fuel conservation strategies, Sunday‘s first stage at Talladega was extended to 98 laps.
NASCAR, which has been reluctant to make technical changes during the season, is planning a 2027 preseason test at Daytona International Speedway in January to evaluate potential adjustments to the cars.
“The feeling from the team side and the NASCAR side was we don’t love making changes to the race car without testing it first,” Forde said. “And it is very difficult to find time in the schedule to test because we’re going to need at least 15 cars to replicate the packs.”
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During the podcast, Forde also addressed the status of YouTube personality Cleetus McFarland, who finished second in the ARCA Menards Series race at Talladega but had not been approved to race in the O‘Reilly Auto Parts Series on superspeedways.
Forde said McFarland will be evaluated again after the May 30 race at Nashville Superspeedway.
“Depending on how he does then, the driver approval committee will meet and discuss if he’s ready for the next step of intermediate tracks,” Forde said. “There is a chance that he could be granted approval for the whole kit and kaboodle and superspeedways in that. So we’ll have that conversation after Nashville.”
There was no further NASCAR conversation Tuesday about the legality of Carson Hocevar‘s unique victory celebration at Talladega. O‘Donnell repeatedly decreed that the celebration was within bounds.
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“It wasn’t something that was discussed in the competition meeting today at the R&D Center,” NASCAR senior director of racing communications Amanda Ellis said. “I know that OD mentioned in his SiriusXM interview on Monday that the only thing he really kind of asked of Carson was he got a little nervous when he kind of hit the wall to try to do the burnout, and I think that still stands. You want to make sure he’s making smart decisions during that process. I don’t anticipate any ruling or other information coming out around that. That could always change if he does it again and something comes into play that we need to reevaluate.”
Other topics covered by Forde and Ellis during the 51st episode of “Hauler Talk,” which explores competition issues in NASCAR:
— The announcement of O‘Donnell as NASCAR‘s new CEO and how long it had been planned.
— The scoring process for cars involved in a 26-car wreck.
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— Why wavearounds were not awarded in the caution at the end of Stage 2.
Nate Ryan has written about NASCAR since 1996 while working at the San Bernardino Sun, Richmond Times-Dispatch, USA TODAY and for the past 10 years at NBC Sports Digital. He is a contributor to the “Hauler Talk” show on the NASCAR Podcast Network. He has also covered various other motorsports, including the IndyCar and IMSA series.
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