NASCAR officials have announced some changes to rules package for the upcoming Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway later this month.
The spoiler is being shortened from seven inches to 3.5 inches.
The change lowers the spoiler another half inch from the race at Daytona in August.
The change in spoiler size; along with a reduction in horsepower is designed to give the drivers more maneuverability in pack racing the superspeedway tracks are know for having.
Speaking on the race at Daytona in August broadcaster and Daytona 500 winner Jamie McMurray noted, “it seemed like it was a win at Daytona. All the drivers thought they could build a bigger run at Daytona than they had in the past. I applaud NASCAR for taking a little bit more off, taking that next step. The other thing to consider is that Talladega is about eight feet wider than Daytona, so this gives you a little more options if you can generate a run to be able to make a pass. So my anticipation is fairly high for seeing how this works out.”
NASCAR has also altered the stage lengths for the race with stage one lasting 98 laps with stages two and three lasting just 45 laps each for a total of 188 laps around the 2.66 mile track. The purpose of the lap changes is to avoid teams from making it a fuel miles race.
McMurray added, “we haven’t had stage points in a Chase format, and as we’ve seen this year, the stage points make a huge difference. You can have an average finish at the end if you’re able to capitalize on those stage points, and the fact that these guys are going to have to all go out and race to the end of all these stages and get as many points as they can, it’s going to be fun to watch.
He continued, “I’m sure that the teams will find a loophole in this somewhere, but as we talked about before, anytime you go with a rules change, it’s always fun to watch who can figure out the next little trick.”