NASCAR Cup Series

NASCAR limits cooling system to cut 200-mph speeds

Published Feb. 12, 2011 10:56 a.m. ET

foxsports

NASCAR officials have told teams to remove an auxiliary air hose used to cool engines in an attempt to reduce speeds that topped 200 mph in practice at Daytona International Speedway.

For now, NASCAR is not changing the size of cars' restrictor plates.

By limiting the cars' cooling systems, officials hope to cut back the number of laps a pair of cars can run bumper-to-bumper in the draft. The repaved Daytona track is so smooth that one car can push another all the way around the track, allowing both cars to go faster.