Drivers and owners talking — and NASCAR is listening
By the end of the month, NASCAR expects to have changed some of its
racing rules, and, this time, drivers just might be happy about it.
Not only are they the ones helping to make the changes, but
NASCAR also might be taking off some of their shackles.
"We're all in this together," Carl Edwards said at Sound
& Speed. "That's cool. To have (NASCAR CEO) Brian France and
(President) Mike Helton and all those guys ask, 'What do you guys
think? How can we do this the right way? How can we deliver the
best product to the fans?' — that's what that meeting was
about and that means a lot."
Drivers have reacted positively to recent discussions
regarding eliminating some restrictor-plate racing rules —
including no-bumping zones and racing below the yellow line to
improve position.
"The thought process is there are things that we have
historically regulated that we might be able to give back to the
drivers to regulate themselves like they used to," Helton said.
"That's the principle behind the conversations we're having right
now."
NASCAR officials will be meeting with drivers and owners in
the coming week for their perspective on the cars, competition and
what is best for the fans.
"This is an opportunity for us to take a step back," Edwards
said. "We want to be something that people aren't leaving, but
gravitating to."
Improvements include double-file restarts — "That's
what the fans what to see," Edwards said. "That's hardcore racing.
The racers like it. The fans like it."
The organization held town hall meetings last year, but this
year, Helton said, "We broke the meetings down into smaller groups
so people might feel more open to talk and share ideas, and we were
able to probably get our thoughts across more efficiently with
smaller groups.
"It's a new way for us to communicate to the industry —
particularly the garage area."
Clint Bowyer said NASCAR is in a tough position regarding
rule changes.
"They're darned if they do and darned if they don't," Bowyer
said. "If they don't do anything, they get criticized, and if they
do something, they get criticized."
Bowyer said it's up to the competitors to police themselves,
especially at superspeedways such as Daytona and Talladega.
"At the end of the day, it's up to us to stay off of each
other and not cause a big wreck," he said. "I'm looking forward to
going and competing for a win. Superspeedways are fun. I enjoy
them. They are dangerous, but … fans like to see a wreck
every now and then."
Still, Bowyer said he opposes allowing cars to go beneath
the yellow line to improve position. The yellow line forces drivers
to remain on the bank through the transitions in the corners, he
said.
"I think it's time for a change — time for a
significant change — that our fans can see watching the race
on Sunday through their TV," Bowyer said. "They need to see it's a
change for the better, and they're going to stay tuned to watch."
One obvious change could be the look of the cars themselves,
replacing the wings with spoilers.
Edwards said: "I've got to believe if you can pick from
having wings on the back of them all the way to the other end where
they drive like they did in 1985 with no downforce, I'd much rather
have no downforce.
"I was beating up on (vice president of competition) Robin
Pemberton to make that spoiler about an inch high — just
something to keep the rear end from coming off the ground. That
would be fine with me."
