USA Today via Reuters
Mar 7, 2021; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Kevin Harvick (4) and driver William Byron (24) lead the field for the start of the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
USA Today via Reuters
Mar 7, 2021; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Kevin Harvick (4) and driver William Byron (24) lead the field for the start of the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Recently, news broke that NASCAR officials had set the rules configuration for the 2022 Cup Series season. To be precise, all of the cars will run engines with a maximum horsepower of 670 HP and a 4 inch rear spoiler. These will largely be enforced at the majority of the speedways. In light of this, Rodney Childers, crew chief of Kevin Harvick reacted to the news.
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He said, “These last few weeks haven’t been easy on anyone.. The officials, owners, teams, drivers, team members.. But I’ve also really appreciated the amount of collaboration between everyone involved. Is everything going to be perfect this year,, no it never is.. But we all can sure try.”
What are these new regulations that NASCAR has put forward?
As it turns out, the decision came on the back of a meeting following a two-day test at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. According to those tests, the governing body was able to determine the rules package for most of the races.
Now, there is still a final test, which will likely define the rules package for superspeedway events. The competition officials revealed that the higher 670-horsepower figure and a centered 4-inch rear spoiler worked best.
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AVONDALE, AZ – MARCH 09: Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Jimmy John’s Ford, stands in the garage area during practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series TicketGuardian 500 at ISM Raceway on March 9, 2019 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/Getty Images)
This particular package will be in use at road courses, short tracks, and intermediate-sized circuits during the season. In fact, it will make its debut in the Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Coliseum. Some drivers reported that the cars were a handful to drive, on a few occasions. This was evident when everyone bore witness to several spins and incidents on the track.
Out of all of them, Richard Childress Racing’s Tyler Reddick was the worst affected.
Reports suggest that officials will determine a separate rules package for the superspeedways by next month. It is believed that the Atlanta Motor Speedway will be included in the package following a repave and rebuild with 28° banking.
On the bright side, the final couple of tests is scheduled for January at Atlanta and Daytona respectively. Obviously, this is the sport’s chance to confirm the Next Gen rules configuration for superspeedways.
