Love it or hate the two-car tandem draft has become a reality on NASCAR restrictor plate tracks. So NASCAR held a test session for seven drivers at Daytona International Speedway with some tweaks likely aimed to break those drafts apart.
As Joe Gibbs Racing driver, Joey Logano said "I’m not sure exactly what NASCAR’s goal is -- I don’t think any of us -- they haven’t really said, ‘Here’s what we’re trying to do.’ We’re going out there and trying different packages and it feels like what they’re trying to do is put an end to this two-car draft or at least make it so we can only get together for a lap or two and have to switch or run in a pack."
"So far we’ve been taking the spoiler off, taking the rear spring out of the car trying to get them to be a little bit more slick, get through the air better and run faster and trying to make so they are uncomfortable getting pushed. So far we haven’t been able to get there. "We’ve picked up a second and a half from what we raced here in the summertime. It seems that the faster we go, the better they drive. I think where we need to go is making the radiator smaller so we overheat faster," Logano added. "So far, we’re trying some things and we’ve got some smaller spoilers to go yet and less rear springs to try to get the back of the car out of the air more and try to free it up some. I believe we’re going to try a bigger plate in the qualifying run here in a little bit, too. That will be fun to go faster around here than I ever have so I’m looking forward to that. Other than that, that’s about it. Just going through some packages -- standard issue and like I said, so far everything has drove good and that’s a testament to the pavement and the grip here at Daytona," Logano continued. "Honestly, I feel like we could run 230 miles an hour here and have the car stick and still be able to run wide open, so it’s pretty cool." Six other drivers tested including, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Aric Almirola, David Ragan, Marcos Ambrose, Martin Truex, Jr and Joe Nemechek.
Talladega Super Speedway’s president, Grant Lynch, was happy with the test. "I’m excited about NASCAR’s decision to test different aerodynamic packages at Daytona today. The staff of Talladega Superspeedway and I have been receiving a lot of feedback from our fans concerning the two-car draft and we have shared all of it with NASCAR. Fans want to see a return to the pack-style racing that made Talladega famous and we want to give fans what they want. Today’s test is a step in the right direction and I look forward to seeing what specific changes NASCAR will make to get us back to that old Talladega pack-style that the fans have loved for many years."
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