Rule changes at Talladega to discourage two-car drafts – NASCAR news
NASCAR announced on Wednesday that it is going to alter the rules for the upcoming Talladega 500 at the Talladega Superspeedway in an effort to discourage the two-car drafting that was becoming a regular at the two Superspeedway tracks.
The size of the restrictor plates has been increased by 1/64th of an inch to take it to 57/64th inch. The restrictor plate is used to limit the top speed of the cars to provide safety for the drivers as
accidents at high speeds had increased the number of fatalities of the year. By increasing the size of the holes in the plate, the engines will provide the drivers with more speed which is approximately 1-2 mph faster.
The pop up valve used to adjust the maximum temperature has also been adjusted to decrease the maximum water temperature in engines. This will mean that cars will overheat quickly as compared to previous years. This should prevent the cars from sticking
close together for too long.
The two-car drafting has been given a mixed reception by NASCAR fans. Some fans enjoy the new style as the limit in speed means there is not a lot of difference between the cars and finishes get really exciting. On the other hand, it does not leave much
in the rest of the race as most drivers are content with just drafting until the very end of the race.
NASCAR will be hoping that these rule changes discourage or eliminate the two-car drafting being followed in the races. However, NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton gave no indication that the changes were specifically designed to focus
on two-car drafting and merely said it was what the drivers wanted.
Most teams were not convinced that the changes could stop the two-car drafting and will only increase the number of times that drivers swap positions with one another. Some were hopeful that these changes are a positive from NASCAR and by making drafting
more risky, they may eventually eliminate it.
“The chances of something going wrong on a swap are going to go up obviously, but hopefully it will eliminate or lessen the two-by-two racing,” Chad Johnston, Crew Chief for Martin Truex Jr., said.
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