NASCAR dialing up new rules packages to enhance passing – USA TODAY

NASCAR on Tuesday announced rules package changes for four of the final nine races of the Sprint Cup regular season and left open the possibility of more in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

The new packages, intended to stoke passing and enliven a product the series has found at times flat this season, will debut first at Kentucky Speedway Saturday night, followed by additional changes at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (July 26), Michigan International Speedway (Aug. 16), Darlington Raceway (Sept. 6) and Richmond International Raceway (Sept. 12).

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NASCAR will use new rules package at Kentucky

The changes:

— A nine-inch spoiler with a 1-inch wicker bill, two-inch splitter leading edge and 43-inch radiator pan at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (2.5 miles) and Michigan International Speedway (2 miles). Goodyear will deploy the tires devised before the aerodynamic changes were enacted.

— A 3/5-inch spoiler, .75-inch splitter leading edge and a 25-inch radiator pan will be used at Darlington Raceway (1.36 miles) after being used at Kentucky Speedway (1.5 miles) this weekend. The higher-grip tires tested there last week will be used.

— So-called “no-zone tread” right side tires will be used at Richmond International Raceway (3/4 miles).

Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR executive vice president of racing operations, said the series had been “candid, I believe, with our intentions of looking at our racing development and identifying possible venues where we can field a specific rules package for each track that we feel will enhance the racing.”

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O’Donnell said speeds at Michigan and Indianapolis could decrease by as much as ten miles per hour. Computer modeling, he said, suggested passing will be heightened at Indianapolis despite a narrow racing surface.

“When you look at a lot of the data, and obviously you see it play out on the racetrack, 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,” O’Donnell said. “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 … more 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.”

Five-time Brickyard 400-winner Jeff Gordon was already looking forward to potential changes at Indianapolis last weekend after testing tires there in April, saying “the magic is there” in terms of what could be done with different aerodynamic packages to improve passing.

“I think it’s obvious to all of us that that’s one of the hardest places we have to pass,” he said.

Follow James on Twitter @brantjames

PHOTOS: 2015 Sprint Cup venues and schedule

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