It was like the league was rattled by an earthquake... everything went topsy turvy.
Now who didn’t see this coming (again):
Too soon to tell if new rules are working, but early reviews are poor
By Jenna Fryer / The Associated Press
Published Mar 10, 2015 at 12:04AM
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Two races is just too early to form a definitive opinion about NASCAR’s new rules package, which was tweaked as part of a concerted effort to improve racing.
Has the 2015 rules package made things any better? No, not really. Especially if it’s being compared with the high-stakes racing that punctuated the end of last season, when the 10-race Chase displayed some of the strongest competition in years.
NASCAR wants bumper-to-bumper racing with aggressive passing throughout the field every week. So the rules are an evolving process, and the 2015 package was a compromise between what the drivers wanted versus how many changes tire provider Goodyear could immediately accommodate.
The result was a reduction in downforce — not nearly enough to satisfy the majority of the drivers — and less horsepower.
It has yet to be seen if the changes will lead to significant improvements because races at Atlanta and Las Vegas the last two weeks didn’t look much different from past events on 1.5-mile speedways. Three drivers combined to lead 292 of the 325 laps at Atlanta, where the 28 lead changes weren’t all that dramatic. Jimmie Johnson went on to the win, beating Kevin Harvick by 1.802 seconds.
Harvick, Johnson and Joey Logano again dominated Sunday in Las Vegas, where the trio led 234 of the 267 laps. Harvick sort of made it look easy in the end; a vibration in his car the only thing that kept him from trouncing the field as he took the victory.
The new package was supposed to excite fans and please the drivers, but three-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart was fuming on his in-car radio about his car. He seemed to suggest the cars were more fit to compete Saturday, when NASCAR’s second-tier series races.
One vocal driver does not make or break a case against the new rules package, but two races into the season and NASCAR has got to be hoping the on-track action picks up a tick or two very soon.
Jeff Gordon has a meeting scheduled for today with NASCAR executive vice president Steve O’Donnell, and the four-time series champion has said he wants a timeline on when energy-absorbing SAFER barriers will be fully installed at all tracks.
Almost all facilities that host national NASCAR events have the Steel and Foam Energy Reduction Barrier (SAFER) in certain walls, but there has been an outcry for total coverage since Kyle Busch broke his right leg and left foot last month when he crashed into an unprotected wall at Daytona.
Gordon hit an unprotected wall the next week at Atlanta, and Erik Jones hit a portion of wall just past the SAFER barrier in the Xfinity Series race at Las Vegas on Saturday. Gordon and Jones both walked away, but Gordon gave vivid detail in how much harder the impact is when a driver hits a concrete wall versus a SAFER barrier.
NASCAR and its tracks are doing the right thing in reviewing the safety standards at all facilities, but they must act with urgency in getting soft walls on every inch of a race track that can safely accommodate the barriers. It must be done as soon as possible. Every additional hit into an unprotected wall is a very bad look for NASCAR.