Even earlier than the NASCAR Cup Collection started using the one supply provided NextGen automotive, was waving a pink flag urging the neighborhood to contemplate the perils of spec racing.
He stated that passing within the earlier technology automotive grew to become an more and more more difficult proposition as a result of the tighter rule e-book saved groups in a tighter field. Briefly, the extra vehicles are the identical, the nearer in velocity they grow to be, and the extra procedural the races are.
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That’s very true for tracks with only a single groove.
So now, 4 years into the NextGen period, that’s the greatest competitors factor that NASCAR is having to handle most of the time — particularly as parity has given approach to a hierarchy however with much less passing general.
“We’ve talked about this earlier than, however for positive, the extra we’re the identical, the more durable it’s to be totally different,” Elliott not too long ago instructed Motorsport.com. “Everybody at this stage is absolutely good at driving these vehicles. Many of the tracks we go to, there’s a most popular lane, and when the observe will get rubbered in over the second half of those races, it turns into actually troublesome to do one thing totally different than the man forward of you since he’s within the optimum line.
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“And a few of it, that is simply motorsports generally, folks getting smarter over time, proper, when it comes to aerodynamics and the best way to tune these vehicles. Return 20 years in the past, and the game was nonetheless discovering out how a few of these knobs and levers labored, and now now we have.”
Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Whereas Elliott laments the sameness within the Cup Collection, he additionally doesn’t draw back from the problem as a result of it’s what’s, and pays everybody on the No. 9 workforce to determine the best way to get observe place.
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“So now, we’ve by no means had a much bigger emphasis on qualifying and your pit stall, how briskly that final pit cease is, and all these issues,” Elliott stated. “It’s for positive a distinct time in motorsports, regardless.
“So, for my part, you need to study to understand the challenges that now we have at the moment, as a result of I simply suppose they’re in all probability going to be just a little bit totally different and, and possibly going to be totally different eternally.”
With that stated, NASCAR is entertaining the concept of focusing on sure areas of the automotive to permit for competitors. League president Steve O’Donnell stated as a lot throughout a dialog on the Dale Jr Obtain in October.
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“We’re at all times open to adjustments,” O’Donnell stated. “The one piece I actually have a look at, and I believe our group does, now we have this automotive and a few issues contained from a price standpoint however what does everybody actually like?
“The power to tweak on the automotive and discover a bonus to do one thing cool. What’s the subsequent iteration of that? Now that now we have the components and items long run, possibly we have a look at race groups are making some components once more, some issues we are able to open up.
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“We give it a price cap the place we are able to open it up. However we’ve no less than stopped the wasteful spending and now we need to get it again to the place an engineer can are available and tweak on a automotive or an OEM can say ‘that is our IP and we need to strive one thing’ from a brand new know-how standpoint. We’re open to tweaking on it. We had the mindset of needing to cease the bleeding so now what can we do to maintain making the racing higher?”
Does that curiosity Elliott?
“It’s simply arduous to invest as a result of I don’t know what particularly he’s speaking about,” Elliott stated. “Like, tremendous casually, yeah however I simply don’t know what he means.”
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had the identical reply when requested.
“It’s arduous to offer a solution with out figuring out what precisely they might need to do,” he stated.
Austin Cindric, Crew Penske Ford, Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Ross Chastain, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet, Josh Berry, Wooden Brothers Racing Ford
Austin Cindric, Crew Penske Ford, Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Ross Chastain, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet, Josh Berry, Wooden Brothers Racing Ford
Adam Stevens, crew chief for and the No. 20, was no less than enthusiastic in regards to the concept of opening issues up as a result of he misses the times the place his engineers might innovate.
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“I imply, that’s fascinating and I hadn’t heard that OD stated that in any respect,” Stevens stated. “I would definitely be in favor of it. Even when I take away myself from the crew chief chair, and take the 30,000 foot view, when you may have the power to work on the automotive past the shocks, and comes, and set-up parameters, it creates competitors, proper?
“All through the historical past of the game, no less than in my time, anyone has a sizzling hand and somebody doesn’t. You may be on the vanguard of the event curve and everybody catches up and you need to get again to work. It creates comers and goers, and quick vehicles and gradual vehicles, folks on the way in which up and down, with extra areas wherein to compete.”
The problem is that Stevens doesn’t instantly know what NASCAR ought to open up.
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“I would definitely be in favor of it however so far as areas the place, I don’t know, however I’d love competing in any space of the automotive with the tools that I’d be allowed to,” Stevens stated. “Selfishly, that’s a part of the game that I loved immensely that’s form of gone. I do know quite a lot of gifted engineers, racers and fabricators are the identical means. I really feel like we’re lacking that. If they might sprinkle a few of that again in, I would definitely take pleasure in that.”
His teammate, Chris Gayle, crew chief for and the No. 11 workforce shared in Stevens’ basic enthusiasm.
“We have to have a look at a few of our underbody stuff,” Gayle stated. “Do we have to sit on the shocks. There are some areas they may open up that wouldn’t price something, which may would create alternatives, but it surely’s so arduous to say proper now with out having quite a lot of time to consider it.”
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Ryan Fugle, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet Camaro and William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports, Liberty College Patriotic Chevrolet Camaro
Ryan Fugle, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet Camaro and William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports, Liberty College Patriotic Chevrolet Camaro
Rudy Fugle, crew chief of the Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 additionally doesn’t like having this automotive sit on the shocks the way in which it does.
“Completely, sure, one hundred pc in favor of opening some issues up,” Fugle stated. “There are lots areas of the automotive that you could possibly say, ‘no matter you need to do however do not do that’ and ‘do not change that’ to make issues far more open. Proper now, the automotive and the setup has been developed across the shock limiters, actually. That’s how we preserve the vehicles off the observe and that’s created the complete setup round that.
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“There are some issues I believe we might do this wouldn’t be very costly, for my part, it might simply take some improvement. It will be working sim and tinkering — extra time than the rest. And that may encourage a few of the teams at these race groups too. We’ve some burnout, going by way of the yr, and we’re so restricted on what we are able to change, and with just a bit however extra opening of the rule e-book, that might get us excited and it might be enjoyable.”
Like the remainder of his friends, Paul Wolfe for the No. 22 workforce hadn’t heard O’Donnell’s quote but additionally says he misses the times of innovation.
“Nicely, I hadn’t heard about that or thought-about that it might ever be on the radar to open some issues again up so I have to put some extra ideas into it to present you higher reply,” Wolfe stated. “However typically, I take pleasure in change and I believe it is wholesome for competitors.
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“When the rule e-book adjustments and evolves, it creates alternative, and creates some separation with groups discovering that velocity early after which others catching up and surpassing them. I assist something that permits for that form of competitors.
“We’ve gone fairly some time now with this technology automotive with issues being fairly stagnant. These of us who’ve been within the sport a very long time benefit from the competitors and creativity and I believe the racing would undoubtedly profit from giving groups an opportunity to make some issues occur or discover benefits, even when it’s only for a brief time frame.”
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