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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Pack Mentality At CMS Today
The NASCAR Sprint Cup teams are testing at Charlotte Motor Speedway...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted March 24, 2010   Charlotte, NC
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kyle Busch drives the Charlotte Motor Speedway testing the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with a spoiler. (Photo: Getty Images)
The opening round of NASCAR Sprint Cup spoiler testing came off pretty much without a hitch Tuesday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. But on the second of testing, they’ll be looking for some more critical insights: Not just how the spoiler feels, but how it actually races.

Charlotte NSCS Testing Speeds Afternoon Session Day 1

Charlotte NSCS Testing Speeds Morning Session Day 1

On Day 1 of testing, drivers simply acclimated themselves to the new spoiler, which starting this weekend at Martinsville Speedway will replace the controversial rear wing that had been part of NASCAR’s new-generation race car since it debuted in 2007.

During the first of two days of open testing at CMS, teams learned that the big blade spoiler produces more drag than the old rear wing. Yesterday was pretty much single-car runs all day. Today, though, the drivers will try to simulate race conditions by running in larger packs. Because after all, race conditions are what really matter, so running together can help provide some insight into how the spoiler will race.

“When you’re out there and you catch a car, you drive up behind them and you pass them, or they pass you, I think you feel that a little bit over two days of testing,” said Kasey Kahne, driver of the No. 9 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford. “But, really, until you get in the race and until you get with a lot of cars, you don’t know exactly what’s gonna go on. On any given weekend, we don’t race side-by-side in practice. That’s not how we get our cars prepared and set up the way you want them for each race. I think we just test the way we’re going to test and when we come back for the race, you do it normal and I think it will work fine.”

Other drivers concurred.

“Not a whole lot of difference, but definitely some change,” said Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. “Whether it’s change for the good or the bad yet, we don’t know until we get into a pack of a race. Initial thoughts are that it adds a lot of grip to the car, makes the cars comfortable to drive, but to me it might make it harder in traffic.”

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 29 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, said that even in packs during testing, teams don’t learn as much as they do in race conditions.

“What it does in traffic is what it is going to do,” said Harvick, the current NASCAR Sprint Cup points leader. “I think you are going to see some more similarities that we used to have with the spoiler. It is probably going to get a touch freer around other cars when you are racing side-by-side. As far as the aero push, it is hard to simulate with even 10 cars until you get everybody on the race track. So I’d say the first race will probably be the first time that everybody gets together.”

While the spoilers will be used at Martinsville this weekend and Phoenix after that, it won’t be until the April 18 Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway when the teams will race on a fast track again. There, however the spoiler alters the handling of the cars will be much more noticeable.

“I think Texas will be a good race,” said Kahne. “I like the package. I thought it was pretty good right off the bat, so I think it’s been a good change.”

“I do think the bigger blade, you’re going to see a lot more drafting,” added Dave Rogers, Kyle Busch’s crew chief. “We were several cars back from the 83 (Brian Vickers) and when he pulled off, our lap times slowed down. I think you’ll see more drafting at these mile-and-a-half tracks. It’s hard to say if that’s going to be better or worse. It is what it is so we’re going to make the best of it.”

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEEDtv.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100 and e-mail him at Jensen is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of Speed,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association and an NMPA Writer of the Year.

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