New aero rules get final test spin at Michigan
NASCAR is giving its new rules another spin this weekend. The outcome is likely to be eventful.
The third tryout for its 2017 aerodynamic package comes Sunday at Michigan International Speedway (2 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network).
“It’s a recipe for disaster,” June race winner Joey Logano said with a smile. “It’s going to be crazy. And that’s a good thing – don’t get me wrong, I think that’s what we need. We need some interesting, crazy stuff.”
Kyle Larson predicted the cars would be a “handful” and restarts would be “sketchy,” potentially producing lots of wrecks. Logano said they would be “chaos.”
In June, when this revised lower downforce package was used, seven of the cautions in the Michigan race were listed as accidents – the highest number of crashes at the track since August 2000.
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That’s because the cars already don’t drive well with the reduced downforce, and when a driver gets into a vulnerable position around another car, even the best can’t always avoid wrecking.
Rules packages and the discussion of them are one of those nitty gritty details about the sport that only true gearheads care about. So does talk of the changes matter? Yes, a lot.
For most of the Chase for the Sprint Cup era (2004-present), the aero rules at the beginning of the season were the same at the end. If the package didn’t produce competitive racing, modus operandi was to try again next year or criticize anyone who said the racing wasn’t entertaining.
Though experimenting with different rules packages at mid-season races has become somewhat commonplace – this is the seventh instance in the last 14 months – it wasn’t long ago that NASCAR wouldn’t try such things.
That’s changed. NASCAR is more open now about its ongoing and never-ending quest to provide the best racing possible. Officials don’t shy from talking about their goal, and they’ve made it clear there’s more to be done.
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Next year, NASCAR looks to take a step further. Michigan will likely serve as the final trial run for a 2017 package that removes even more downforce, which in turn makes the cars harder to drive (they have less grip) and potentially rewards the best drivers while creating more passing opportunities.
The drivers, united by a group text and a council that meets regularly with NASCAR officials, are on board.
“I think that’s kind of the direction everyone is thinking,” Logano said. “I’m cool with it. I think that’s the right direction for our sport.”
It’s not as if the racing has been lackluster. In an informal poll each week on Twitter, USA TODAY Sports has asked whether the most recent race was an entertaining one. At least 75% of fans who responded said “yes” after more than half of the races.
That’s a pretty high approval rating for a notoriously fickle and often dissatisfied fan base.
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So NASCAR has done something right in implementing this package. The fact officials aren’t stopping there is a major positive for drivers and fans, too.
There’s one catch: Michigan and Kentucky Speedway (which had this package in July) aren’t the best places to demonstrate the rules’ full potential. Kentucky was repaved earlier this year, which was going to make the race a one-groove affair no matter what package was on the cars. And Michigan’s high speeds since a repave five years ago don’t make for the best racing.
But with the Chase for the Sprint Cup rapidly approaching, NASCAR is out of time to try the setup somewhere else. It doesn’t want to affect the playoff by throwing off teams’ preparations for the 10-week event.
“I wish we could take the package to somewhere that’s got a better surface,” Larson said. “It’d be cool to see what it’s like at a track where you’re not really running on somebody’s door, because the racing would be that much better.”
Next year, drivers will find out.
Follow Gluck on Twitter @jeff_gluck
