NASCAR finds improvements in short track package
NASCAR saw the expected incremental improvements to its short track package Sunday at Phoenix Raceway.
“There were a lot of passes during the race from the data standpoint,” Cup Series managing director Brad Moran told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “The way these races play out, you never know what you’re going to get. But I think we had – and again, it’s still early on, we’re going to dig into everything and talk to all the drivers and teams and do quite a bit of digging here at the R&D Center – like 2,800 green flag passes, which is the most with the Next Gen car at Phoenix. So, it did deliver that.
“But we’re never done looking at improvements and adjustments. Christopher Bell, he didn’t really seem [to have] too much of a problem passing, that’s for sure. He had a dominant race. It was a pretty interesting race from the tower.”
There were 2,813 green flag passes in the Shriners Children’s 500. The previous high mark at Phoenix with the Next Gen car (which debuted in 2022) was 2,584 from the spring 2023 race.
There were 2,813 green flag passes in the Shriners Children’s 500. The previous high mark at Phoenix with the Next Gen car (which debuted in 2022) was 2,584 from the spring 2023 race.
Bell won the race by 5.4 seconds after taking the lead during the last round of green flag pit cycles. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver started 13th and drove through the field after having a slow pit stop when the team took the time to double-check the right rear lug nut, and again when the field split pit strategy after the final caution.
There were 19 lead changes in Sunday’s race.
The new rules package featured a simplified rear diffuser with few vertical strakes, no engine panel strakes and a three-inch spoiler. NASCAR tested multiple packages during a two-day test in December at the racetrack and took driver feedback about the car’s handling. Goodyear also brought a different tire compound designed to degrade faster.
Moran emphasized NASCAR’s caution in taking small steps with its changes instead of going for a big improvement at one time. There were still complaints at Phoenix about the difficulty to pass, but some drivers – like Denny Hamlin and Daniel Suarez – were more positive, saying it was marginally better than what they had before.
“We do have to be a little cautious on our moves,” Moran said. “It was a new tire. We did actually two changes at the same time – the rear diffuser came from the test we did in December. With the drivers that were there, they felt that did help them somewhat in traffic and they had to try to drive the car a little harder. The tires were definitely favorable by the drivers, and I think we could see that certainly some of them were used up by the end of the race. So, they were having to work a little harder in there and [it was] a little more difficult to control the car throughout the race, as well. We saw that in practice. We saw it in qualifying.
“It certainly delivered that, but again, we do have to be cautious of what tire we use, and all the tires are up to the standards that Goodyear wants them to be. It’s short-track racing; this car is certainly in a development stage, we’re only in year three. It’s just one of those things we got to pick away at it. There’s no real magic lever that can be pulled. Everyone has a different opinion – the drivers, the engineers, and everybody looks at it from their own lens. So, we try to take all that information and make the best decisions we can to make improvements.”
Moran also acknowledged that adding horsepower has been discussed, but warned that it’s not a simple solution.
“Once we open up the horsepower, we have to have all three manufacturers on board,” he said. “As soon as you open that up, there’s going to be development, there’s going to be reliability issues and putting that cost back into the engine builder’s category, where they certainly will develop the engine. As soon you open any horsepower, they’re automatically going to do that. They’re the best at it, and that’s what they do.
“The number we’re at seems to be where we want to be to potentially get new manufacturers interested. And if we start getting away from that number, it can create problems in that area. But we’re always open to everything and we do consider everything, but there’s a lot of different parties that have to agree before that can happen.”
The rules package used last Sunday will next run at Circuit of the Americas, the first road course of the season, and then a week later at Richmond Raceway.
For more information: www.racer.com
For more Industry News, please Click Here
For more information: www.racer.com
For more Industry News, please Click Here
