Drivers from the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will take to Kentucky Speedway to test the new lower downforce aero package beginning on Monday. Photo by Sean Gardner/NASCAR via Getty Images
For more than a third of active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers, there will be no rest for the weary.
One driver from each Cup organization is eligible to participate in a test of newly repaved Kentucky Speedway on Monday and Tuesday. The test is a continuation of NASCAR’s proving-out process for a new lower-downforce competition package earmarked for 2017.
Last year, as the sanctioning body solidified the rules for 2016, races at Kentucky and Darlington were used as benchmarks for the progression toward lower downforce for the Cup cars. This year, in selected events, NASCAR is taking an additional 500 pounds of downforce and 125 pounds of sideforce away from the cars by chopping the size of the spoiler, reducing the surface area of the splitter, tapering the rear deck lid fin and eliminating rear axle offset.
The new package was scheduled for use in the Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte in May, this weekend at Michigan and the July 9 event at Kentucky.
It’s important to note, though, that the Kentucky Speedway used as a proving ground last year bears little resemblance to the Kentucky Speedway drivers will visit on Monday and Tuesday. Not only does the track have a new racing surface, but the configuration of the track also has changed, with additional banking that creates two distinct sets of corners, a la Darlington.
And then there’s the asphalt itself, which is a departure from the type of surface used in other recent repaves.
“We have a way of measuring the roughness of the track,” says Gene Stefanyshyn, NASCAR’s senior vice president, innovation and racing development. “When I talk about the roughness of the track, I’m not talking about the big bumps. I’m talking about the actual very minute analysis of the asphalt itself, and we measure it in micrometers from crest to trough, and the aggregate that they use on this track is much coarser than traditionally.
“There was a time that people were paving with asphalt to make the track last a long time, like I-75 or something like that, and I think there’s a significant amount of evidence now to suggest that that’s probably not the right type of surface for racing. It doesn’t promote tire wear. It’s very, very high grip… so what we’ve done here is they’ve come together or created a very coarse aggregate.”
Accordingly, the new surface also presents a new challenge for Goodyear, which has to build a tire to accommodate both the lower-downforce package and coarser asphalt that exacerbates tire fall-off.
The 14 drivers currently scheduled to participate in the organizational test at Kentucky are: Jamie McMurray (No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet), Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet), Kasey Kahne (No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet), Greg Biffle (No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford), Kyle Busch (No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota), Ryan Blaney (No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford), Joey Logano (No. 22 Team Penske Ford), Paul Menard (No. 27 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet), Chris Buescher (No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford), Aric Almirola (No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford), Michael Annett (No. 46 HScott Motorsports Chevrolet), AJ Allmendinger (No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet), Martin Truex Jr. (No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota) and Matt DiBenedetto (No. 83 BK Racing Toyota).
When It Rains, Kurt Busch Pours It On
Call him Rain Man.
Remarkably, six of Kurt Busch’s 28 NASCAR Sprint Cup victories have come in races that were either shortened or postponed by rain.
In 2002, he won a rain-shortened event in Atlanta. In 2007, he won at Michigan on a Tuesday, when the race was postponed for two days by rain—and then delayed for an hour from its rescheduled 10 am start by fog.
In 2008, Busch won a rain-shortened race at Loudon. Both his 2015 victories came in events affected by weather—in a race at Richmond postponed by rain from Saturday to Sunday and in a rain-shortened event at Michigan.
Earlier this week, Busch got his 28th NASCAR Sprint Cup victory in a race moved to Monday because of rain at Pocono.
So is it just coincidence, or does Busch have a knack for maintaining his focus in uncertain weather conditions?
“There are quite a few rain-delayed wins that I have—and with all the different teams I’ve been with, with Roush and Penske and Stewart-Haas,” Busch told the NASCAR Wire Service. “I don’t know. I watched ‘Rain Man’ a couple of months ago and I should have practiced up on some of my quotes.
“The rain is definitely something you have to be patient with. It’s something you can’t predict… So you have to be ready at all moments, whenever they’re going to drop the green, and try to stay as levelheaded and focused as possible whenever we get to go. You can’t challenge Mother Nature. It feels good to be able to be ready, to be prepared, and to have a team behind you to go out there and perform at any moment.”
Short Strokes
Hendrick-powered cars turned in the top three 10-consecutive-lap average speeds in Saturday’s first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice session at Michigan International Speedway. Jimmie Johnson paced the field at (195.394 mph), followed by Kevin Harvick (195.256 mph) and Tony Stewart (194.638 mph). That bodes well in particular for Stewart, who will start a season-best third in Sunday’s FireKeepers 400. And it’s not bad news for Harvick, who will have to come from 29th after two of his hot laps in the opening round of knockout qualifying on Friday were interrupted by cautions…
Track temperatures clearly make a difference at Michigan. In cooler conditions in Saturday’s first practice, Carl Edwards topped the speed chart at 197.770 mph. When the track warmed up for a second session at noon, Austin Dillon posted the fastest lap at 194.301 mph.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
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Sunday’s Starting Line Up
1. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 199.557 mph.
2. (78) Martin Truex, Jr., Toyota, 199.016 mph.
3. (14) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 198.950 mph.
4. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 198.774 mph.
5. (21) Ryan Blaney #, Ford, 198.588 mph.
6. (31) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 198.369 mph.
7. (42) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 198.194 mph.
8. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 198.014 mph.
9. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 197.819 mph.
10. (24) Chase Elliott #, Chevrolet, 197.352 mph.
11. (19) Carl Edwards, Toyota, 196.549 mph.
12. (17) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Ford, 195.111 mph.
13. (6) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 197.873 mph.
14. (1) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 197.753 mph.
15. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 197.569 mph.
16. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 197.498 mph.
17. (41) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 197.179 mph.
18. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 196.856 mph.
19. (20) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 196.533 mph.
20. (47) A.J. Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 196.490 mph.
21. (95) Ty Dillon(i), Chevrolet, 196.207 mph.
22. (34) Chris Buescher #, Ford, 196.137 mph.
23. (5) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 196.127 mph.
24. (13) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 195.759 mph.
25. (10) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 196.185 mph.
26. (44) Brian Scott #, Ford, 196.132 mph.
27. (88) Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Chevrolet, 196.078 mph.
28. (38) Landon Cassill, Ford, 195.961 mph.
29. (4) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 195.934 mph.
30. (43) Aric Almirola, Ford, 195.785 mph.
31. (83) Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota, 195.408 mph.
32. (27) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 194.805 mph.
33. (7) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 193.668 mph.
34. (15) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 192.725 mph.
35. (23) David Ragan, Toyota, 192.704 mph.
36. (55) Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, 191.225 mph.
37. (30) Josh Wise, Chevrolet, 189.823 mph.
38. (32) Jeffrey Earnhardt #, Ford, 189.120 mph.
39. (46) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 187.705 mph.
40. (98) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, 185.620 mph.
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