NASCAR’s Jim Hunter, one of the sport’s top officials and a 40-year veteran at the tour’s tracks, said that drivers and crews shouldn’t be expecting any rules changes for the winged car any time soon: “At least for a period of time. “I think Robin (Pemberton) and John (Darby), they’d say “Let’s go some more races and see where we are.'” Pemberton and Darby are NASCAR’s top two competition officials under president Mike Helton. “Actually I can remember a lot of guys saying they couldn’t run side-by-side in the old car, when they had a hell of a lot of downforce,” Hunter said. “Carl Edwards got out of his car today and said “It’s a great feeling when your hands hurt after a race.’ You just have to get up on the wheel. And that was the whole purpose of this thing … secondary to safety.” The next midsize track debut for the stock car will be at Concord in a few weeks. But the Mother’s Day weekend race at just-repaved Darlington could also present some similar issues, with its sudden 200-mph speeds, even though the car raced there last spring.(Winston Salem Journal)(4-7-2008)
