Next Thurday, january 21st, it is rumored that NASCAR will announce dramatic changes to the racing and the cars for the forseeable future. There is speculation that the sanctioning body will make public their intentions to replace the wing on the rear of the cars with the more traditional (and much sportier) blade spoiler, as well as dumping the front splitter in favor of the front valence the cars possesed prior to 2008. There are also rumors swirling that they will eliminate the "No Bump Zones" as well as the yellow line rule at Daytona and Talladega. All of these changes have amazing potential to return the spectacle to this recently lackluster sport.
The most drastic of these changes involves the substitution of the wing with a spoiler. This is a step in the right direction. There is no doubt that a spoiler on a racecar looks a lot racier and sleeker than a big, bulky wing. There is also no chance for air to get under a spoiler to lift the car off the ground. NASCAR says that Ryan Newman's flip at Talladega had nothing to do with the wing. But they also didn't say what they thought did cause the wreck. Now, anyone who knows a thing about airplanes knows that lift is created when air flows over, as well as under, the wings at a particular speed. On a stock car, there is a gap between the wing and the decklid (since the wings are removable) and if a car moves backwards at close to 100mph (as Newman's did) there is going to be air traveling under the now backwards facing wing. This will create lift instead of downforce. I'm by no means a physics or engineering major, but that seems about like how it would work. Anyway, aside from helping to keep the cars grounded, the spolier would also help to create more downforce to keep the backs of the cars glued to the racetrack better. This would lead to better handling cars and thus, better, closer racing.
Replacing the splitter with a valence would really help to complement the spoiler. Not only would it make these cars look like what stock cars are supposed to look like, as well as allow teams the ability to adjust their shock and suspension packages with greater freedom than in the past few seasons when bump stops were manditory for all the teams shocks. There would also be no need to have annoying brackets afixed to the front of the car and there wouldn't be ill handling cars from the splitter hitting the track and sending the car up the banking. The valence would allow the cars to suck up to the track better, as well as allow for more freedom with the amount of shock rebound teams can dial into their cars.
The third bomshell that may drop next week is the elimination of the yellow line rule and "No Bump Zones" in time for the February 14th Daytona 500. This could lead to some of the best racing that fans have seen at Talladega and Daytona in years, especially since it was reported by Jayski.com that NASCAR will also be giving teams a larger restrictor plate for the season opening 500 miler allowing the cars to reach slightly higher speeds and not be in less tight packs. Eliminating the bump free zones in the corners at these tracks would also eliminate boring racing. The drivers would be forced to police themselves (which is how it should be) as well as allow them to race side by side instead of in a single file line for more than half the race (as was the case last November). The yellow line is also something that needs to go. Yes it serves a purpouse, but it causes a lot more problems than it solves.
The yellow line rule has caused a controversial finish in two of the last three races at Talladega in 2008, Tony Stewart forced Regan Smith below the line coming to the finish. Smith, not wanting to start a huge wreck, ducked under the line and, at the same time, passed Stewart. Somehow NASCAR took Smith's not wanting to make a bonehead move as intentionally passing Stewart illegally to win the race. Stewart was awarded the victory and the next day on This Week in NASCAR, panelist Greg Biffle said that next time they went to 'Dega there would be a huge wreck because NASCAR was sending a message to not avoid a wreck if you can. Just do what you have to to win the race. Biffle was right.
In the 2009 Aaron's 499, Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski passed Ryan Newman and Dale Jr for the lead and in the last hundred yards of the trioval, Brad went to pass Carl, Carl went to block and Brad didn't give. This sent Edwrad's #99 off Newman's front end and up into the catch fence injuring several fans.Edward's walked, scratch that. Edward's ran away from the wreckage and crossed the line, imitating the ending of "Talladega Nights." The rookie Keselowski later said he was just doing what he had to to win. NASCAR's message was delivered loud and clear. Had the line not been there, the drivers would have had a few feet of apron to work out their real estate issues. And the yellow line rule is only a recet occurrence. The races held before the yellow line rule were just as sane, if not saner than with the line there.
i don't have a time as to when this announcement will take place, but on January 21st NASCAR may just bring their sport back from the wayside. These new rules will create amazing competition for seasons to come. I urge anyone who reads this, if you have never seen a NASCAR race before, start NOW. If you have, you know what the last few seasons were like and how much better this season will be with these changes. I will keep you abreast of what comes from his announcement. 2010, here we come!!!
UPDATE: NASCAR made it official on January 15th that they will transition from the wing back to the classic blade spoiler in the Sprint Cup Series, possibly as early as the fifth race of the year at Martinville. Series Director John Darby sent a memo out to the Cup Series organizations informing them of the change and announcing that there would be a test Mach 23rd-24th at Charlotte Motor Speedway for all the teams. The next race on the tour after the test would be at Martinsville, the earliest possible opportunity for the new hardware to make its raceday debut. There will also be a Goodyear tire test with Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Kurt Busch and Brian Vickers January 19th-20th where the spoiler will be used on the back of the driver's machines.
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