Restrictor Plate size could change at Talladega

NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton said Friday morning that a decision on the size of the restrictor-plate that will be used in Sunday's Aaron's 499 will be made after practice this afternoon at Talladega Superspeedway. Sunday's race will be the first at Talladega with a blade rear spoiler instead of a wing on the new-generation Sprint Cup car at a restrictor-plate track. With the new aerodynamic package, it remains to be seen what speeds the cars will run at on the track. If the cars lap the 2.66-mile superspeedway at speeds approaching 200 miles per hour in the draft, NASCAR will mandate the use of a smaller restrictor-plate during Sunday's race. Conversely, if speeds are slower than anticipated, a larger plate could be used. Pemberton said that NASCAR has adjusted plate size between practice and the race before, so this is not setting a precedent. "The good news is, it's a beautiful day, so we should be able to get plenty of drafting in," said Pemberton. There will be two rounds of Sprint Cup practice today, a 45-minute session beginning at 2:00pm/et, and a one-hour session at 3:30 pm/et. Both will be televised live on SPEED. SPEED