In March, NASCAR officials introduced a reduced-downforce package designed to enhance competition on road courses and the circuit’s shorter oval tracks. The changes include significantly smaller spoilers, splitters and other aerodynamic devices in an effort to place a greater emphasis on handling and driver input with less stabilizing downforce on those tracks. The package draws inspiration from similar rules used in the 2017-18 seasons.
Among the changes for those specific tracks:
A significantly smaller rear spoiler, which shrinks from an 8-inch height to 2.75 inches.
The front splitter’s overhang will now measure a quarter-inch (down from 2 inches), with approximately 2-inch wings (reduced from 10.5 inches).
Alterations to the radiator pan, removing its vertical fencing in an effort to reduce front-end downforce. The dimensions of the pan remain the same.
Pit-stall selection will be ordered based on finishing positions from the NASCAR Cup Series’ previous race — last Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway — followed by new entries in order of points.
GOODYEAR TIRES
Unique set of challenges: Wednesday’s stop at the half-mile Martinsville Speedway presents one similar challenge and one that is quite different, compared to the series’ first short-track race of the year at Bristol Motor Speedway. Similar to Bristol, Martinsville’s corners are concrete, and the tread compounds Goodyear chooses to bring are specifically designed to lay rubber on that surface. The difference is the banking as Martinsville is virtually flat while Bristol is steeply banked. As a result, the constructions of these two tire codes have been designed to optimize the acceleration, deceleration and handling needed on Martinsville’s flat, tight turns. Also of note, since this is the first night race at Martinsville, the Goodyear test at this track last summer that yielded this tire setup was held partially under the track’s new lights.
“Moving the first Martinsville race later in the schedule will have an impact on tires and the track’s ability to take rubber,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “Originally scheduled for May and now being held in June, ambient temperatures will be warmer, which will help the cars’ ability to lay rubber in the concrete corners. Even though this race will be held at night, track temperatures should be warmer than what we ‘normally’ have for this event. In addition to the concrete corners, Martinsville’s lack of banking, long straightaways and tight turns combine for the other challenge teams face. Drivers are hard on the brakes entering the corners and hard on the gas exiting, so our constructions have to be very robust in handling those conditions.”
Goodyear debuts new tire setup: There are two new tire codes NASCAR Cup teams will run at Martinsville Speedway. Compared to what was run at this track last season, this tire setup features construction updates on both sides of the car and compound changes on both sides that will give the cars more grip and introduce more tire wear. This tire setup came out of a test at Martinsville last July. Drivers, and teams who participated in that test were Team Penske (Ryan Blaney), Stewart-Haas Racing (Clint Bowyer) and Wood Brothers Racing (Paul Menard). This is the only track where NASCAR teams will run either of these two tire codes. Also, like most NASCAR ovals one mile or less in length, teams will not run inner liners in their tires at Martinsville.
STATS TO KNOW
— Both Martinsville Speedway winners in 2019 swept all three stages. Brad Keselowski won both stages and the race in the spring and Martin Truex Jr. won both stages and the race in the fall.
— Team Penske (three) and Joe Gibbs Racing (two) won five of the last six at Martinsville Speedway.
— Ford drivers have won four of the last six races at Martinsville Speedway after the manufacturer failed to win any of the prior 28 races. Brad Keselowski won two of the last six Martinsville races and is the only repeat winner in the last seven races there. Chevrolet has 56 Martinsville wins but has won only once in the last eight races.
— The last five Martinsville Speedway races were won by the driver who led the most laps, while the last five winners led a stretch of over 100 laps in each of their victories. Two of the last five races ended with a last-lap pass; the final lead change in the other three races was with 114 laps to go or more.
— Only once in the last seven Martinsville Speedway races has a driver earned their first win of the season. Clint Bowyer accomplished the feat in the spring 2018 race.
— The past five races at Martinsville Speedway have produced five different winners — Kyle Busch (fall 2017), Clint Bowyer (spring 2018), Joey Logano (fall 2018), Brad Keselowski (spring 2019) and Martin Truex Jr. (fall 2019).
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Official NASCAR Release NASCAR.com June 9, 2020 at 3:28 PM
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (June 9, 2020) — NASCAR today announced its plan to reintroduce guests at select NASCAR Cup Series races beginning with the Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway (June 14 on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) and the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway (June 21 on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
NASCAR’s modified event procedures, protocols and number of attendees have been finalized with guidance from public health officials, medical experts and local, state and federal officials. All guests in attendance will be screened before entering, required to wear face coverings, mandated to social distance at 6 feet, and will not have access to the infield, among other revised operational protocols. NASCAR will continue to adapt and improve its procedures to ensure they are effective and can be scaled to support an increased number of fans in the future.
“We have tremendous respect and appreciation for the responsibility that comes with integrating guests back into our events,” said Daryl Wolfe, Executive Vice President, Chief Operations and Sales Officer, NASCAR. “We believe implementing this methodical process is an important step forward for the sport and the future of live sporting events. The passion and unwavering support of our industry and fans is the reason we race each weekend and we look forward to slowly and responsibly welcoming them back at select events.”
NASCAR will continue its long history of honoring military members by welcoming them as the first guests allowed entrance to a NASCAR Cup Series event since March 8. Homestead-Miami Speedway will invite up to 1,000 South Florida service members as honorary guests for the Dixie Vodka 400, representing the Homestead Air Reserve Base and U.S. Southern Command in Doral.
Talladega Superspeedway will allow up to 5,000 guests in the frontstretch grandstands/towers for the GEICO 500. In addition, there will be limited motorhome/5th-wheel camping spots available outside the track high atop the Alabama Gang Superstretch. Tickets are open exclusively on a first come, first served basis to fans who purchased tickets or reserved camping for the originally scheduled GEICO 500 (April 26) and live within a designated proximity to the track.
Additional protocols and procedures for guests planning to attend can be found at Homestead-Miami Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.
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NASCAR Statement NASCAR.com June 10, 2020 at 4:45 PM
“The presence of the confederate flag at NASCAR events runs contrary to our commitment to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all fans, our competitors and our industry. Bringing people together around a love for racing and the community that it creates is what makes our fans and sport special.
"The display of the confederate flag will be prohibited from all NASCAR events and properties.”
This is not really a new thing.
Nascar did ban that flag back in 2016
It was a ban from all and any nascar merchandise or anything with the nascar name attached to it... But the crowds could still display the flag anywhere or anytime they wanted.
What nascar has done now is ban the flag completely, meaning it can not be displayed at any nascar event.
Not on a camper , not on a T-shirt, not anywhere in a nascar sponsored event.
NASCAR will no longer require its teams to stand during the national anthem. Instead, drivers and team members will be allowed to engage in peaceful protest.
According to NBC sports’ Dustin Long, “NASCAR eliminated the guidelines before last weekend’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. NASCAR official Kirk Price knelt during the invocation and raised a fist. Price, who served on active duty in the U.S. Army for three years, remained kneeling during the anthem while he saluted the flag.”
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Staff Report NASCAR.com June 11, 2020 at 8:43 AM
Though its length was a bit longer than anticipated, the wait for NASCAR fans to see Dale Earnhardt Jr. behind the wheel once more is almost over.
The 15-time NMPA Most Popular Driver Award winner is set to pilot the No. 8 JR Motorsports Hellmann’s Chevrolet in Saturday’s Hooters 250 at Homestead-Miami Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, Sirius XM NASCAR Radio)."...!!!
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Staff Report NASCAR.com June 12, 2020 at 3:06 PM
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Miami for the first time since the COVID-19 shutdown postponed its original scheduled date in March. Homestead-Miami Speedway will play host to Sunday’s Dixie Vodka 400 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Although fans will be prohibited from attending like other events held since NASCAR returned to action after the coronavirus outbreak, the 400.5-mile race will host up to 1,000 South Florida service members, while only a limited amount of essential personnel will be permitted on the track’s grounds. It will mark the eighth Cup Series race in NASCAR’s return and the 12th race overall this season."
The 2020 NASCAR rules package for intermediate-sized tracks will be in effect with a tapered spacer used to set a target of 550 horsepower. The cars will use aero ducts in addition to other aerodynamic devices to increase downforce.
GOODYEAR TIRES
Heat, humidity and high wear: Since its return in mid-May, NASCAR has run at several high tire wear race tracks, and Homestead-Miami Speedway ranks right near the top of that list. Homestead has come to be known for being one of the most competitive race tracks on the circuit, with its progressive banking, multiple racing grooves and its abrasive surface are part of that. High tire wear puts an emphasis on tire management, with drivers who are easier on their tires early in a run suffering less tire fall-off and making up a lot of track position later in that run. That scenario creates a lot of “comers” and “goers” over the course of a full fuel run, all leading to exciting and entertaining racing for the fans.
“Over the past several seasons we have had some great races at Homestead,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “It has also turned into one of our most high wear tracks, and that is something that both fans and drivers seem to like. For the drivers, it puts a lot of focus on being smooth and managing their tires. Over a long run, lap times will fall off over two seconds from the beginning to the end of the run, so drivers who are able to save their tires early in a run will benefit from that later on. One other nice thing about this tire setup is that these teams just ran it at Darlington a few weeks ago, and at Homestead last fall, so they should have a good notebook from which to work.”
The NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series and Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series will all run the same tire combination this weekend in South Florida.
— The last four races at Homestead-Miami Speedway have been won by four different drivers — Kyle Busch (2019), Joey Logano (2018), Martin Truex Jr. (2017), Jimmie Johnson (2016).
— The race winner has started in the top-five positions in six of the last seven races.
— Joe Gibbs Racing has won three of the last seven Miami races, while the organization’s former affiliate Furniture Row Racing also won one of those seven races with Truex Jr.
— Kevin Harvick has 12 straight top 10s at Miami, including six straight top fives all coming with Stewart-Haas Racing. Harvick is also the all-time leader at Miami in these categories: 11 top fives, 17 top 10s, 6.4 average finish. He also owns an average running position of 4.0 or better in six straight Miami races.
— Kyle Busch has recorded five consecutive finishes of sixth or better, including two wins, all coming with crew chief Adam Stevens. Busch is also the only repeat winner in the last 10 Miami races.
— Ryan Blaney finished second at Martinsville Speedway, but it’ll be a little more of a challenge at Homestead-Miami if he wants to replicate that result. The 1.5-mile track is one of only three places where Blaney has yet to score a top-10 finish, including Darlington Raceway and Richmond Raceway. His best finish at Miami is 11th in 2019.
Kyle Busch, who has yet to win so far in 2020, took his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry to Victory Lane in last year’s season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway to win the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series championship. Busch led 120 of the 267 total laps and finished with a 4.578-second margin of victory over Championship 4 contender and teammate Martin Truex Jr. Busch also won at Miami in 2015 for his first career title."...!!!
ACTIVE HOMESTEAD-MIAMI WINNERS
Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin (two each); Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr. (one each).
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Staff Report NASCAR.com June 16, 2020 at 10:04 AM
Rich with history and talent, the NASCAR Hall of Fame is the sport’s most exclusive club and highest honor.
On Tuesday night, the 2021 Class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame will be announced live on NASCAR America at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN and the NBC Sports App.
This year’s voting process has been unlike any other.
For starters, voting was done last week, and via Zoom teleconference — due to the COVID-19 pandemic, voting did not happen in person and it did not happen on the same day the class was announced as usual.
The 2020 NASCAR rules package for superspeedways will be in effect, with additional engine restrictions intended to drop the target horsepower to around 510 horsepower. The cars will use the superspeedway package, but aero ducts will be eliminated and a smaller throttle body will be used. Competition officials introduced the changes May 1 after Ryan Newman’s severe wreck in the season-opening Daytona 500. Learn more about the crash findings and the intent of the safety and competition changes here :
Goodyear officials expect tire strategy and not tire wear to be a focal point this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, where traction fall-off is not as dramatic. Cup Series and Xfinity Series teams will run the same tire combination this weekend; it’s the same compound and code Cup Series teams ran last October, but it will mark a new combination for Xfinity Series cars for their 300-miler Saturday (5:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM).
“We have actually seen some tire wear at Talladega since it was repaved about a decade ago,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing, making a nod toward Talladega’s 2010 repave. “Having said that, wear is really not an issue. Teams will have the opportunity to take two tires, or even no tires on occasion, to gain track position and line themselves up with the other teams they are working with in the draft.”
Cup Series teams will have an allotment of seven sets of tires for their Sunday event. Xfinity Series teams will have a maximum of four sets for their race.
STATS TO KNOW
— Ford has won eight of the last nine Cup Series races at Talladega, with Chevrolet’s lone tally to break up the streak coming last April with Chase Elliott’s victory in a Chevrolet. Toyota’s last Talladega win came in May 2014 with Denny Hamlin prevailing. Expect manufacturer alliances to run deep both in the aerodynamic draft and planning pit strategy.
— Six different drivers have won the last six Talladega races. Since Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s springtime win in 2017, the list of winners reads in chronological order: Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Aric Almirola, Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney.
— Brad Keselowski ranks as Talladega’s leader in career wins among active Cup Series drivers with five, but his recent run of luck at superspeedways (Talladega and Daytona) has been dreadful. Keselowski has finished outside the top 10 in his last nine superspeedway events, with six DNFs in that span.
— Martin Truex Jr. broke through in the 2020 win column on June 10, but he’s still waiting for his first Cup Series triumph on a superspeedway. He’s 0-for-60 for his career at those tracks, with 30 winless starts each at Talladega and Daytona and just four top-five finishes between the two tracks in his career.
— Hendrick Motorsports has the most Talladega wins of any organization with 13 victories, led by Jeff Gordon’s six triumphs. Seven-time series champion Jimmie Johnson has two Talladega wins for the team, with Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chase Elliott, Terry Labonte, Ken Schrader and Brian Vickers netting one Talladega win each for HMS.
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Zack Albert NASCAR.com June 15, 2020 at 6:07 PM
NASCAR officials released additional findings Monday from Ryan Newman’s severe last-lap crash in the season-opening Daytona 500, saying that previously announced rules changes designed to improve safety and competition at superspeedways should limit engine strength by an additional 35-40 horsepower.
The details emerged from a Monday briefing with John Probst, NASCAR Senior Vice President of Innovation and Racing Development, and John Patalak, NASCAR Senior Director of Safety Engineering, who previewed the changes ahead of Sunday’s GEICO 500 (3 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM) at Talladega Superspeedway.
NASCAR had announced rules updates for superspeedway events on May 1, introducing safety enhancements with the addition of two roll bars and competition changes intended to slow the cars, including the elimination of aero ducts and a reduction in the size of the throttle body. The rules will be in effect for this season’s remaining Cup Series races at Talladega and Daytona International Speedway. ...
Officials indicated that many of the changes were a result of NASCAR’s investigation of the final-lap crash in the Daytona 500 in February. That incident, which came at the end of a crash-filled season opener, resulted in serious injuries for Newman, who was hospitalized after being removed from his Roush Fenway Racing No. 6 Ford. A NASCAR spokesperson indicated that a full, sit-down debrief with Newman and his Roush Fenway Racing team had not occurred because of COVID-19 restrictions.
“I think obviously when we go to superspeedways, as we said, any of our races, what we do is inherently dangerous,” Patalak said. “Stopping a wreck from happening, that would be pretty difficult. I would say that slowing the cars down surely should and would help from an aero liftoff standpoint. I would say our findings from the Ryan Newman crash, his liftoff was not due to an aero event but from him getting into the wall. The idea there is reducing the speeds of the car, slowing them down. We would expect speeds under the 200 mph barrier here. So from that standpoint slowing the cars down, keep from having as violent wrecks. ...
The changes announced in May are expected to shave horsepower figures from the 550 target at multiple tracks to around 510 for Daytona and Talladega. Probst said that the changes were expected to add more than a second to lap times at Talladega. For reference, Denny Hamlin led opening practice at the 2.66-mile Alabama track last October at 46.734 seconds for a speed of 204.904 mph. Adding one second to that clocking would net a lap speed of 200.612 mph. ...
The officials said an evolution of safety changes through the years kept Newman from being more seriously injured when his car made impacts with the outside retaining wall and Corey LaJoie’s No. 32 Ford. In the debut of the Gen-6 car for 2013, NASCAR added more roll bars, a laminate windshield and new window net mounting structure. ...
The officials also said that the addition of slip tape to the rear bumper cover at superspeedways would reduce friction during bump-drafting, decreasing the chance of hooking or spinning the lead car when bumpers make contact. “We’re trying to make the rear bumper of the car being hit like ice,” Probst said, “where they slide across, don’t contact and start influencing the car in front laterally, left to right, if you will.”
In another change adapted in the wake of Newman’s crash, NASCAR mandated a check valve for the oil reservoir tank or overflow expansion tank to mitigate the amount of fluid lost if a vehicle overturns in a crash.
Drivers’ first test run of the new superspeedway package will come in Sunday’s 500-miler, after NASCAR officials announced last weekend that the Cup Series will race without a scheduled practice session. The series has held eight races since returning to action after the COVID-19 outbreak, and none have included practice as officials try to limit travel time and exposure with coronavirus safety protocols still in place." ...!!!
Richard Petty statement: ‘I stand shoulder to shoulder with Bubba’...!
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Staff Report NASCAR.com June 22, 2020 at 12:44 PM
Team owner Richard Petty issued the following statement Monday morning:
“I’m enraged by the act of someone placing a noose in the garage stall of my race team. There is absolutely no place in our sport or our society for racism. This filthy act serves as a reminder of how far we still have to go to eradicate racial prejudice and it galvanizes my resolve to use the resources of Richard Petty Motorsports to create change. The sick person who perpetrated this act must be found, exposed, and swiftly and immediately expelled from NASCAR. I believe in my heart this despicable act is not representative of the competitors I see each day in the NASCAR garage area. I stand shoulder to shoulder with Bubba, yesterday, today, tomorrow and every day forward.”...!!!
The noose found hanging in Bubba Wallace's garage stall at Talladega Superspeedway had been there since at least last October, federal authorities said Tuesday in announcing there will be no charges filed in an incident that rocked NASCAR and its only fulltime Black driver.
U.S. Attorney Jay Town and FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr. said its investigation determined “although the noose is now known to have been in garage number 4 in 2019, nobody could have known Mr. Wallace would be assigned to garage number 4 last week.”
