Ford – Decklid – Spoiler….problems? UPDATE 2 more changes? Ford teams, who pleaded for a half-inch spolier reduction, were allowed to shave a quarter-inch off the height of the rear spoiler heading into Speedweeks 2002. Apparently, that has now caused more headaches than relief. A longtime Ford source told NASCAR.com Sunday morning that the quarter-inch provision has forced a vast change in the Taurus rear decklid, and therefore makes the provision moot. The source, which wished to remain anonymous, said that in order for Ford teams to fit the Taurus template, they have been forced to raise the rear deck lid one-half to three-quarters of an inch to meet the minimum height requirements for the rear spoiler. Therefore, in the end, the rear spoiler is actually higher than it was before the test. NASCAR vice president of corporate communications Jim Hunter said additional changes could be made once Speedweeks gets under way and that NASCAR had no plans to take any cars to a wind tunnel once Speedweeks began, primarily due to the difficulty in scheduling tunnel time.(full story at NASCAR.com)(1-27-2002) UPDATE – more rules changes? already? soon? hearing that NASCAR also changed the Dodge trunk lid as well a the Ford and that NASCAR has already issued templates to the Dodge teams for the changes. Also hearing NASCAR is cracking down on the side rear windows (opera windows) on the cars as some Ford teams were putting a curve in them (vertical) and supposedly NASCAR will remove the windows, lay them on a table and if they dont look flat, they will keep them.(1-29-2002) UPDATE 2: In addition to decreasing the spoiler size for the Ford Taurus at Daytona, NASCAR has made a modification for every manufacturer on the rear decklid. The sanctioning body added another template to try to make sure the rear spoiler is in the correct location. They came out with some more templates, Jimmy Spencer said. Theyre trying to get a location for every manufacturer. The location of the spoilers, especially at Daytona and Talladega, has been a sticky point, and they just came out with a template to mark it.(RacingOne)(2-8-2002)
