31 Moments: No. 30 - NASCAR implements ride height rule change
Editor's note: For the month of December, FOXSports.com will count down 31 moments that defined the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. This is No. 30.
NASCAR made a dramatic rules change in 2014 that had a profound impact on the racing: At all tracks other than Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway, the sanctioning body eliminated the minimum ride height rule in the Sprint Cup Series, which meant cars could run as low to the ground as the teams could get them.
On the surface of it, such a change seemed simple enough. But like with any change NASCAR ever makes, it had profound implications. Some drivers loved the feel of the new handling package, while others hated it.
Six-time Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, for example, had the worst year of his career.
Nowhere was the difference more evident than at Stewart-Haas Racing, where Kevin Harvick won his first Sprint Cup championship and teammate Kurt Busch won one race and made the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoff round.
Between them, Harvick and Busch won six races and posted 20 top-five finishes, while SHR teammates Tony Stewart and Danica Patrick went winless, with Stewart earning three top fives to none for Patrick. Harvick alone had more top fives (14) than Stewart and Patrick had top 10s (10 between them).
Same chassis, same bodies, same engines. Wildly different results.
The other impact the rules change had was that led to some astonishing speeds. Lowering the cars closer to the ground optimized aerodynamics and lowered the center of gravity, two keys to handling well. And better handling means more speed.
All told, qualifying records were set at 17 of 23 tracks on the Sprint Cup circuit.
And with yet another set of rule changes coming for 2015, including a dramatic horsepower reduction, those records are likely to stay in place for a very long time.
