Engines re-fired on a Monday at Charlotte Motor Speedway after the Bank of America 500, as six race teams returned to the track to work on further research and development of the Gen-6 car. Aerodynamics were the focus of the day at the 1.5-mile track. Three different packages were run during the test, as NASCAR and the teams focused on spoilers, splitters and ride heights in an effort to further evolve the competition package on the Gen-6 race car. ‘Our objective is to shake down some potential changes for the 2014 season’ said Gene Stefanyshyn, NASCAR vice president of innovation and racing development. ‘We will be doing this on an ongoing basis, with an eye to continue to improve our product on the track. It is really an exercise in continuous improvement. Our focus today is all around the area of aerodynamics’ said Stefanyshyn. ‘We have seven changes and have been bundling three different configurations all with an eye to work on the aerodynamics of the car. We took everybodys ideas, put them together and came up with these configurations for the test. They are our ideas as an industry on how we can improve the product on the track.” After a successful 2013 season with the new Gen-6 car, the attention shifts to refining the competition package. ‘As everyone knows, we did an unbelievable amount of miles last year testing many different configurations’ said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition. ‘Our goal was to hand the car off to the teams better than the one that they ended the 2012 season with. We feel like we achieved that goal; we feel like the cars performed well, the drivers like the way the car drives. From that standpoint, it was a successful year. & We will always continue to evaluate our competition and this is one of those programs thats coming together.” Two teams from each manufacturer participated in the test, offering insight and feedback on the various packages tested. #21-Trevor Bayne, #31-Jeff Burton, #11-Denny Hamlin, #2-Brad Keselowski, #1-Jamie McMurray and #55-Brett Moffitt all turned laps throughout the day. Todays test was delayed due to rain, and continued after sundown. The data will be processed and brought back to the NASCAR Research and Development center where it will be analyzed and reviewed to help inform key decisions on future competition set ups.(NASCAR)
