NASCAR’s high-drag aerodynamic package got its second race test Sunday in the Pure Michigan 400, and post-race reactions from drivers ranged from guarded approval to muffled disappointment. Matt Kenseth won the race in dominant fashion, leading 146 of the 200 laps. He was rarely challenged at the front. Most significant passing in the top 10 was done on the first few laps after a restart. The high-drag package was used for the first time at Indianapolis last month and had little impact on improving passing opportunities. The most definitive post-race answers Sunday came from Team Penske drivers Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski, both of whom avoided criticizing the package but said a lot in saying not very much. Asked what he thought of the package results, Logano said, “What did you think?” Told there wasn’t much passing, he said, “That’s what I thought, too.” Asked if he wanted to see the package tried again, Logano simply said, “No.” Keselowski also wouldn’t comment specifically on Sunday’s results. “It’s not my deal, man,” he said. “It’s not my right to say. It’s not my sport, so whatever they want to do, we’ll race it. That’s my job. I think we saw almost exactly what everybody thought we’d see. I’ll let you guys (media) judge whether that was good or bad.” NASCAR communications official David Higdon said NASCAR will look at data from Sunday’s race, along with other aero package tests, and take input from drivers.
Kevin Harvick finished second but passed up the opportunity to comment directly when asked about the rules package. Denny Hamlin, who finished fifth and failed to lead a lap, had a mixed review. “It’s not what I would prefer, obviously,” he said. “Passing is very, very difficult; there’s no doubt about it. I think there’s light at the end of the tunnel. I think we’ve seen what’s best. Hopefully, these NASCAR fans get what they want in the future.” Martin Truex Jr. finished third but said he would have had a shot at winning under different circumstances. “We could run anybody down and get to them,” he said. “But it took a long time to pass cars. It was just so damn hard to pass. I could run a guy down from way back and get to him and about spin out.”(USA Today)(8-17-2015)
UPDATE: When it came to the use of the “high-drag” aerodynamic package in Sunday’s race at Michigan International Speedway, NASCAR’s view appears much in line with most observers of the race. “Certainly we would have liked to have seen some more out of the race package,” Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR’s executive vice president and chief racing development officer, told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Monday morning. “We’ve said repeatedly with each and every package we’ve put together, we want to look at the ability to pass throughout the field and the ability to have multiple lead changes at the front and we didn’t get that on Sunday.” O’Donnell said the sanctioning body will turn its attention now to another use of the low-downforce package in the upcoming race at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. That package – preferred by drivers – debuted last month at Kentucky with positive reviews. “We’ll look at the data that we can gather from the race but also talk to the industry, see what they felt about the package and how the cars performed,” he said. “You still have some ability to pass in the middle of the field and the ability to pull up, but certainly the challenge of the leader getting away way out front was one we all see and the fans see as well.” (Motorsport)(8-17-2015)
