There are still many unknowns in the advent of the transition from wings to spoilers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, but the pieces are coming together.
Teams have received retro-fit pieces to adjust the template grids for the change from the wing to the spoiler which will measure four inches on intermediate and down force tracks and 4.5-inches at Talladega and Daytona. A two-inch “ear” will be at the ends of 64.5-inch spoiler for Talladega similar to the construction on the truck spoilers. All spoilers will mount on to the cars at exactly 70-degrees without adjustability, thereby preventing modification by individual teams.
Although NASCAR is preparing for the roll out of the new spoilers at Martinsville Speedway on March 26, teams will be responsible for manufacturing their own spoilers for the test scheduled on March 16th at Talladega Speedway.
Greg Biffle won’t participate in the Talladega test, but was one of the first drivers to run with a spoiler during a Goodyear tire test on Jan. 19. Although rain precluded the four drivers from the opportunity to run side-by-side, Biffle is encouraged by what he felt.
“I’m really looking forward to the spoiler back on the race car,” Biffle said. “The car had a little bit more front grip, it seemed like, than the wing. Now, we’ll just have to wait and see when we get around a big group of cars.
“I think we’re all looking forward to that to see how the cars react around a bunch of other cars, but what I think you’re gonna see is better racing on the racetrack. That’s what I think. The racing is pretty good from where I’ve been sitting these first two downforce race tracks. It looks pretty exciting to me, or at least it has been from my vantage point, so if we improve on that at all, it’s gonna be a really exciting year.”
NASCAR template guru Billy Berkheimer anticipates each team having at least two spoilers by the time NASCAR rolls into Charlotte Motor Speedway for the test following Bristol on March 22nd. Spoilers will be distributed to teams at the same time so one team does not gain an advantage over another. Following the initial distribution, teams will be able to place orders for additional spoilers.
Despite initial wind tunnel reports of the spoiler providing more downforce than the wing on the new car, Berkheimer said, “If this works the way I expect it will, the downforce numbers will the same with the spoiler and the wing.”
Most of the top organizations have tested cars with spoilers at tracks such as Walt Disney World Speedway (1 mile), Rockingham Speedway (1.017 mile) and Little Rock (0.526 mile).
But as Jeff Burton says, “Until we race them, we won’t know.”
