NASCAR plans changes: NASCAR vice president Jim Hunter said Sunday the sanctioning body is “going back to work” to try to find a way to eliminate the close, packed racing that has become common on the Winston Cup series’ biggest tracks. Sunday’s EA Sports 500 at Talladega Superspeedway – which along with Daytona International Speedway requires the use of carburetor restrictor plates to reduce speeds – ended with a last-lap wreck that included more than 15 cars. Bobby Labonte, Dale Jarrett and Ricky Rudd’s crew chief, Michael McSwain, were among almost a dozen drivers, crew chiefs and car owners who visited with NASCAR President Mike Helton following the race to vent their anger over the current aerodynamic package used at Talladega and Daytona. “There was a lot of complaining that we didn’t do anything before this race and as long as we don’t, there is the possibility of the big wreck,” Hunter said. “Our response is. `What should we do?’ and we don’t have the answer right now. “We’re going to work with the teams between now and Daytona (in February 2002) and figure this out. We’re just as concerned as the drivers are about this.” Hunter said the primary focus will be to develop a way to allow drivers and teams’ abilities to show through during races. “We need a way for different abilities of drivers to come through and make their cars handle so they have to back off (the throttle) in the corners,” Hunter said. “We need to make their cars work.”(That’s Racin’)(10-21-2001)
