- NASCAR moves to adopt the idea suggested by Hamlin to improve racing.
- Hamlin and NASCAR see spoiler as key to curb fuel-saving at superspeedways.
- Move follows failed attempt to eliminate fuel-saving by adjusting stage lengths.
The recent superspeedway race at Talladega left fans cold, with many calling it dull. Although the event drew a rating of 2.11 and 3.967 million viewers, a dip from last year’s figures of 2.18 and 4.041 million viewers, NASCAR’s attempt to stamp out fuel-saving at drafting tracks such as Talladega fell flat, missing the mark by a big margin.
The sanctioning body had altered stage lengths to curb fuel saving, but teams kept punching and shifted their strategy to Stage 1. With that stopgap failing to move the needle, Denny Hamlin floated another idea. And NASCAR, in its search to restore the spark to superspeedway racing, now appears ready to leave nothing to try.
Mike Forde hints at big change after Denny Hamlin push
The sanctioning body is weighing a move to shorter spoilers to cut drag for superspeedway races this season, a step that could fast-track plans that were set aside for the offseason. NASCAR vice president of race communications Mike Forde, during the latest episode of the Hauler Talk podcast, stated,
“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. So we are meeting with that group again to talk about this.”
Shorter spoilers at superspeedways have been pushed by Denny Hamlin, who sent a message to NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell after making his case on his Actions Detrimental podcast for a spoiler cut to lift speeds by trimming drag.
Eventually, Forde said O’Donnell had passed along Hamlin’s pitch to executive vice president and chief racing development officer John Probst.
“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.”
Hamlin said, “I hope next time they try something different. My first recommendation is, please cut the spoiler off this car.” The spoiler remains a core part of the Next Gen car. At superspeedways such as Talladega, the sport uses a different spoiler setup, which caps top speed and keeps cars in a pack.
Yet that same setup now appears to be a double-edged sword, as drivers choose to lift off the throttle and fall in line behind others.
Hamlin argued that even a minor tweak could open the door to better racing with less fuel saving, asking NASCAR to “Please get some drag out of this car. It’s got hundreds of counts more than our Gen 6 car. If you let us pull out of line and know that we can come out of our pit stop in 10th and still have a chance to win, we’re going to pull out of the line and make runs, and we won’t care about the fuel savings. I promise you that.”
Meanwhile, Forde added that a three-inch spoiler cut would shave about 100 counts of drag and also trim downforce. Drivers have already raised flags about car stability when being pushed in the draft.
Hamlin said on his podcast that the Next Gen car carries hundreds of extra counts of drag compared to the Gen 6 model. He also noted that cutting drag could push speeds into the 210-mph range, which Forde said could open a can of worms.
But Forde also shared his skepticism, saying “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. 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.”
