NASCAR to test short track package changes
The NASCAR second year NextGen short tack car remains a work in progress, especially when it comes to producing more action on short tracks and road courses, so the league is set to take another swing at it next week following the New Hampshire Motor Speedway race.
NASCAR is expected to take six cars on Monday after the Cup race and turn laps with a modified underwing, while also pairing it with a variety of additional downforce settings, with the goal of creating more passing on short tracks.
The exact parameters of the test could be made public next week. That includes the teams and drivers expected to participate. Any changes that ultimately come from New Hampshire will likely not make their way into a rule book until next season.
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NASCAR took a swing earlier this season by reducing overall downforce counts by 30 percent through a shortening of the rear spoiler and changes to the underbody but 2020 Cup Series champion Chase Elliott says he hasn’t noticed a significant change when it comes to the dirty air.
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Specific to New Hampshire, there was a tire test there on April 25 that Elliott participated in that changed his entire view point to what NASCAR could do to make progress.
“I thought we made a lot of gains on the tire during that test and it opened my eyes to how much we can make things with just the tire compound by itself and that really surprised me,” Elliott said. “For a long time, and I still feel like Goodyear is in a tough place, because they feel like if tires fail, then it could hurt their sales on Monday.
“But (they) have to make a tire that is a little closer to the edge than they’ve (given us) in the past. That puts some responsibility on the teams to live within those guidelines, the livable zone of the tires, and that has to fall to the teams.” See more at Sportsnaut.