The NASCAR Sprint Cup series took to the 2.5 mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway Friday in preparation for Sunday’s Crown Royal presents the Jeff Kyle 400 at The Brickyard (3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN). The teams all had extra practice time thanks to a new high-drag aero package mandated by NASCAR.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series package for Indianapolis includes a 43-inch radiator pan (increased from 38 inches), a two-inch splitter leading edge, a one-inch wicker bill and nine-inch spoiler (increased from six inches). The increased downforce adds drag to the car and creates a larger draft window in the back.
“When you look at a lot of the data, and obviously you see it play out on the race track, but the belief is that the second-place car, if they’re lined up maybe two, three, four, five, could have a five-mile-an-hour difference between the leader,” NASCAR Executive Vice President & Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell said when the package was announced recently. “As an example, if you came out of Turn 2 and you had a four-car-length lead, it’s the belief that second and third, if they hooked up, could head into Turn 3 up on the bumper of the leader and potentially have kind of that, more of that slingshot that you used to see and the ability to pass. A lot of that we’ve got to see in the real world once we’re out there at Indy, but that’s the effect we believe it’ll have.” MORE>>>
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