NASCAR Adds Rear Spoiler, Relaxes Bump-Drafting Rules

NASCAR announced Thursday that it will be phasing in a rear spoiler to replace the wing currently mounted on cars in the Sprint Cup Series and will relax its bump-drafting rules -- moves that may prove popular among fans but could be greeted with caution and uncertainty from the driving ranks.

The idea, according to NASCAR Chairman Brian France, is to make sure "rules and restrictions don't get in the way of great racing and fantastic finishes.''

That has resulted in a relaxing of the recent restrictions on bump-drafting -- pushing or "bumping" the car in front of you -- at the high-speed, high-banked Daytona and Talladega (Ala.) superspeedways.

"NASCAR is a contact sport -- our history is based on banging fenders,'' France said.

And NASCAR will phase in the rear spoiler after conducting a full-field test of it on the cars March 23-24 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. A smaller test took place this week at Texas Motor Speedway, but officials said they will wait until more teams can provide input before making the switch away from the rear wing.

Drivers this week liked the idea, if for no other reason than it will make the cars look more like traditional stock cars, but the verdict remained out on whether it would greatly affect the racing.

The news comes amid a series of rules changes by NASCAR on Thursday during a preseason visit by the national racing media at its Research & Development Center outside Charlotte, N.C.

Other noteworthy changes for 2010 include:

* Cars will run a larger restrictor plate at Daytona which will increase the horsepower.

* Current Sprint Cup Series Director John Darby will become Managing Director of Competition over all three national touring series, but will remain in his current role until a successor is found.

* The Camping World Truck Series will adopt the popular double-file restarts, making that uniform for all three series. The series will also return to the traditional style of pit stops. Last season, they were required to change tires and refuel in separate stops.

* Nationwide Series teams will be limited to 15 crew members, including the driver, crew chief, spotter and seven over-the-wall pit crew members. Previously there was no limit to at-track crews.

Of the rule changes, four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon was most impressed with the restrictor plate change at Daytona and also liked the idea of letting the racing action remain more in the drivers' hands and less out of the officials' judgment.

"From what I understand it's going to be the biggest restrictor plate on our cars since 1989 so that's a lot of extra power under the hood,'' Gordon said. "That's going to be good.''

As for the hands-off approach NASCAR is promising to races, Gordon said, "Sometimes it's appropriate for them (NASCAR officials) to get involved, but usually drivers are pretty good at policing themselves.

"I like the process of 'let's just race,' and I think that's what the fans like, too.''

There was speculation that NASCAR would also relax the yellow line -- or out-of-bounds -- rule at Daytona and Talladega, but that was not among the rule changes issued on Thursday. That's good news for veteran Mark Martin, who joked that he would be "willing to wreck from Turn 4 to the finish line but no more" if NASCAR was really trying to "treat the race fans" with out-of-bounds racing.

Daytona International Speedway, which hosts the season-opening Daytona 500 on Feb. 14, stands to benefit from the bump-drafting action and faster cars and wasted no time promoting the rule changes in its ticket pitch.

"We applaud NASCAR for listening to the race fans," Daytona International Speedway President Robin Braig said. "The racing at Daytona has been exceptional year in and year out and these changes will give the drivers even more flexibility on the race track to provide the thrilling action that race fans come to expect at the Daytona 500."