After the first of two days of a spoiler test at Charlotte Motor Speedway the consensus is that, other than a change in the appearance of the stock cars – moving away from the rear wing – don’t expect big changes from how the cars race.
A total of 50 teams tested at the one and – one-half mile speedway.
Four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon said “this morning it just felt like there was just a little bit of extra grip. It has been a lot time since we tested under those cool conditions here at Charlotte, so it really isn’t any major feel in change in the car which to me is good. I don’t want to have some big surprise thrown now when we are getting ready to go Martinsville with the spoiler.”
Kevin Harvick agreed (noting that first race with the spoiler at Martinsville this weekend won’t see much of a change, “… there's not a lot of characteristic difference from the driver's seat because they did a good job making sure from an aero standpoint that they got the balance back to the same before we even got to the race track. But I still think that the biggest question mark is still going to be when you drop the green flag at Texas and how they race around each other and there's really no way to tell until we get to that point."
NASCAR’s vice president of competition Robin Pemberton added “The difference between the spoiler? As far as what, the handling or the exact measurements or anything like that? It's hard to say. You know, we only had 93 races on the wing, and we're historically a spoiler sport. You know, I don't think you can anticipate everything that you may see with the races moving forward."
"It'll be up to the teams to make their adjustments around that. A lot of the veterans have a lot of experience with cars that have higher drag and higher downforce, and whether that experience from four, five years ago translates and gives them a leg up on the competition when we get to Phoenix or Texas remains to be seen. It's hard to say at this point.”
“I think it’s a win-win and here we are testing,” said Kurt Busch of the wing/spoiler switch. “We didn’t just it put it on cold-turkey. NASCAR’s working with the teams to make it the best product to put out there for the fans.”
“I think it’s good to get out here,” said Kasey Kahne. “We don’t get a whole lot of tests at race tracks anymore, so it’s nice when we do. I think it’s definitely a help for all the teams. You can try some things that will work at Texas and work at other race tracks as well, and, hopefully, make gains with the cars.”
Morning Session - Top 10 Speeds
1. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Chevy 29.036 (seconds)185.976 (mph)
2. 77 Sam Hornish Jr Dodge 29.049 185.893
3. 00 David Reutimann Toyota 29.054 185.861
4. 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 29.060 185.822
5. 1 Jamie McMurray Chevy 29.089 185.637
6. 5B Mark Martin Chevy 29.164 185.160
7. 5 Mark Martin Chevy 29.174 185.096
8. 24 Jeff Gordon Chevy 29.179 185.065
9. 33 Clint Bowyer Chevy 29.213 184.849
10. 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 29.259 184.559
Afternoon Session - Top 10 Speeds
1. 98 Paul Menard Ford 29.140 185.312
2. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Chevy 29.383 183.780
3. 39 Ryan Newman Chevy 29.514 182.964
4. 1 Jamie McMurray Chevy 29.524 182.902
5. 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevy 29.538 182.815
6. 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 29.543 182.784
7. 33 Clint Bowyer Chevy 29.545 182.772
8. 48B Jimmie Johnson Chevy 29.590 182.494
9. 5B Mark Martin Chevy 29.594 182.469
10. 31B Jeff Burton Chevy 29.598 182.445
A total of 50 teams tested at the one and – one-half mile speedway.
Four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon said “this morning it just felt like there was just a little bit of extra grip. It has been a lot time since we tested under those cool conditions here at Charlotte, so it really isn’t any major feel in change in the car which to me is good. I don’t want to have some big surprise thrown now when we are getting ready to go Martinsville with the spoiler.”
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Kevin Harvick agreed (noting that first race with the spoiler at Martinsville this weekend won’t see much of a change, “… there's not a lot of characteristic difference from the driver's seat because they did a good job making sure from an aero standpoint that they got the balance back to the same before we even got to the race track. But I still think that the biggest question mark is still going to be when you drop the green flag at Texas and how they race around each other and there's really no way to tell until we get to that point."
NASCAR’s vice president of competition Robin Pemberton added “The difference between the spoiler? As far as what, the handling or the exact measurements or anything like that? It's hard to say. You know, we only had 93 races on the wing, and we're historically a spoiler sport. You know, I don't think you can anticipate everything that you may see with the races moving forward."
"It'll be up to the teams to make their adjustments around that. A lot of the veterans have a lot of experience with cars that have higher drag and higher downforce, and whether that experience from four, five years ago translates and gives them a leg up on the competition when we get to Phoenix or Texas remains to be seen. It's hard to say at this point.”
“I think it’s a win-win and here we are testing,” said Kurt Busch of the wing/spoiler switch. “We didn’t just it put it on cold-turkey. NASCAR’s working with the teams to make it the best product to put out there for the fans.”
“I think it’s good to get out here,” said Kasey Kahne. “We don’t get a whole lot of tests at race tracks anymore, so it’s nice when we do. I think it’s definitely a help for all the teams. You can try some things that will work at Texas and work at other race tracks as well, and, hopefully, make gains with the cars.”
Morning Session - Top 10 Speeds
1. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Chevy 29.036 (seconds)185.976 (mph)
2. 77 Sam Hornish Jr Dodge 29.049 185.893
3. 00 David Reutimann Toyota 29.054 185.861
4. 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 29.060 185.822
5. 1 Jamie McMurray Chevy 29.089 185.637
6. 5B Mark Martin Chevy 29.164 185.160
7. 5 Mark Martin Chevy 29.174 185.096
8. 24 Jeff Gordon Chevy 29.179 185.065
9. 33 Clint Bowyer Chevy 29.213 184.849
10. 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 29.259 184.559
Afternoon Session - Top 10 Speeds
1. 98 Paul Menard Ford 29.140 185.312
2. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Chevy 29.383 183.780
3. 39 Ryan Newman Chevy 29.514 182.964
4. 1 Jamie McMurray Chevy 29.524 182.902
5. 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevy 29.538 182.815
6. 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 29.543 182.784
7. 33 Clint Bowyer Chevy 29.545 182.772
8. 48B Jimmie Johnson Chevy 29.590 182.494
9. 5B Mark Martin Chevy 29.594 182.469
10. 31B Jeff Burton Chevy 29.598 182.445