NASCAR To Implement New Rules Package at IMS
July 07, 2015 | By IMS
When the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway later this month for the Crown Royal presents the Jeff Kyle 400 at the Brickyard, it will be with a new aero package designed to increase the closeness of the competition on the track.
NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer Steve O’Donnell outlined the package Tuesday evening, a “higher drag” setup that will include a taller spoiler and other tweaks to the bodies of the Cup cars.
View New Aero Package Infographic
“We appreciate NASCAR working with the tracks and particularly the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to try to make the on-track competition more compelling for the fans and the competitors,” IMS president Doug Boles said.
The changes, in theory, will allow cars to “pack up” better at times and provide more opportunity for passing around the 2.5-mile oval.
“For example, if you came out of Turn 2 and you had a four-car-length lead, it’s the belief that second and third, if they hooked up, could head into Turn 3 up on the bumper of the leader and potentially have more of that slingshot that you used to see and the ability to pass,” O’Donnell said. “A lot of that we’ve got to see in the real world once we're out there at Indy, but that’s the effect we believe it’ll have.”
Teams will receive more practice time to hone the package, which is added benefit for fans. (Practice schedules have yet to be announced but sessions will be on Friday, July 24, and Saturday, July 25.)
“That’s a lot more opportunities for fans to come out and see several cars on the track at one time,” Boles said.
All that work will then be on display come Sunday, July 26, when five-time champion Jeff Gordon and the rest of the Sprint Cup stars battle for one of NASCAR’s most prestigious titles.
“For us, Indianapolis is one of the marquee events on the schedule each and every year,” O’Donnell said. “I think you can see how important it is to our drivers, our race teams, our manufacturers to win that event, so anything we can do to potentially improve upon the race product for the fans, we're going to do that, and I think throughout our dialogue with the industry