NASCAR is making changes to the rules at Daytona and Talladega after Logano crash
NASCAR has made rules changes to slow its Cup cars on superspeedways in response to Joey Logano’s crash at Talladega in April, in which the No. 22 Cup driver’s car turned from contact then flew through the air and over the oncoming car of Bubba Wallace.
Logano and Wallace were unharmed during the accident, but Logano’s car was destroyed. He posted a picture of the damage on his Instagram page a day later showing significant shredding on the driver’s side and how the car’s roof had caved in. Logano was critical of NASCAR’s safety measures in the wake of the accident.
“I got a rollbar in my head,” Logano said after exiting the infield care center. “That’s not OK. I’m one hit away from the same situation as Ryan Newman just went through. I just don’t feel like that’s acceptable.”
Talladega winner and Team Penske driver Brad Keselowski echoed his teammate’s sentiments then, saying, “We’ve got to find a way to keep cars on the ground.”
On Tuesday, NASCAR announced three technical updates intended to help reduce speeds and impact to the driver during a crash. Among the announced changes is a reduction in the tapered spacer holes by 1/16th of an inch, which will limit greater airflow to the car engines, and thus horsepower. The change is expected to reduce speeds by 7 to 10 miles per hour on the two remaining superspeedways this season — at Daytona on Aug. 28 and Talladega on Oct. 3.
Additionally, NASCAR said it will remove the wicker bill from the car spoiler, which was a piece in place to help add drag, in order to match the updated aero package to the engine package. The horsepower with the updated package is anticipated to be around 450 horsepower, whereas it was previously around 510 horsepower.
NASCAR is also mandating a roll bar be added behind the driver for additional interior support. The piece was previously optional for teams.
The changes also come a few weeks after the Cup Series competed at Circuit of the Americas in wet weather conditions that multiple drivers called dangerous. After crashing out of the race, No. 4 driver Kevin Harvick said he’d never felt more unsafe in his racing career. Martin Truex Jr. and Cole Custer were also collected in a violent wreck during the race at COTA due to the low visibility.
As part of Tuesday’s safety-focused rules announcement, NASCAR said it would require two flashing lights on road courses in the Cup Series after implementing the same rule for the Xfinity Series last week.
Four more road courses remain on the Cup schedule at Road America (July 4), Watkins Glen (Aug. 8), Indianapolis (Aug. 15) and the Charlotte Roval (Oct. 10).
The All-Star Race is up next for the series at 8 p.m. Sunday, June 13, at the Texas Motor Speedway.
