The controlling body of NASCAR is contemplating a few rule changes. They’ve already changed up the Budweiser Shootout rules, as far as who can run in it? Now word is that the NASCAR governing body is looking to swap the COT wing out for a spoiler or blade.
At first I thought it was just a marketing ploy to get more drivers into the event. But now that Kenny Schrader is in the event, I’m good! LOL. (I guess the new rules worked!)
Over the last week, there’s been noise about NASCAR contemplating a few more changes to make the day more of a challenge for the drivers and teams.
One of the changes is removing the wing from the C.O.T. and returning to the era of the wing.
The wing showed up on the COT to remove a vehicle’s dependence on aerodynamics but it seems to have fallen short of that goal as drivers have complained that the car is hard to drive as it is, and fans don’t like the look.
The other tidbit that seems obvious is that the wing is a visual block for the drivers. They need to see and the wing doesn’t afford sufficient opacity for such a need.
Michael Waltrip tweeted that the wing should be made of lexan so it can be seen through. Lexan is the material their windshields are made out of.
Just in case you’re wondering, no, this idea of a change is not because of the wrecks that Ryan Newman or Carl Edwards had. Those were just plain old bad luck as cars get together and there’s no proof that the wings were the primary contributors to those incidents. Just bad racing luck.
As it stands, Carl Edwards is fine with the idea of the return of spoilers, or blades as they’re sometimes referenced.
In fact Edwards would just assume have the spoilers be as short as possible and return the game back into the drivers hands. Literally!
Edwards said, “That’d be fine with me. If that’s the direction we’re going, then I’m 100 percent all for it. You can soften the tires then, you can drive the car sideways, you’d theoretically be able to handle behind someone because you aren’t relying on downforce as much — I think all those things are good.”
A Recollection
When the COT came on the scene, it looked like it was going to return the game back into the hands of the wheelmen.
Maybe if drivers are complaining about it, then it has. Look at the top 10 from last year: Johnson, Martin, Gordon, Hamlin, Stewart, Biffle… etc..
But if they soften up the tires (Look out for blow-outs!) and lower the wing / spoiler, it will be all about conservation, tire awareness and skill.
Something to Ponder About This Rule Change
If this Wing / Spoiler swap does happen, this would be yet one more change to adapt to. With Chad Knaus and Jimmie Johnson proving how adaptable they’ve been, this could very well play right into their hands
Tidbits
In case you didn’t catch it, Michaeal Waltrip’s Twitter account is http://twitter.com/mw55/.
Other tidbits
Last week on SIRIUS Satellite radio, Dave Moody surmised that there’s more coming down the pipe than this one rule change.
He was thinking out loud that it’s possible that NASCAR might be looking at giving the drivers some room to drive.
That idea is left to interpretation as to what that might mean. I heard once before that they were going to give the drivers more room to be drivers, but that didn’t seem to pan out as well as I had hoped.
We’ll see what other ideas they have in mind, which will be announced at the NASCAR Media day, which will be on Thursday, February 4th.
Let’s keep our eyes open.
