NASCAR sticking with original rules package for Chase

“We have decided to keep the 2015 rules package as it is for the Chase”, said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR’s chief racing development officer. “Feel like that’s the best decision for the sport”.

“The main thing is that all of the equipment we get at Hendrick Motorsports is good enough to win every weekend”, Kahne said. “We have the same exact engines as the 2 and the 22 do, so we have a lot of confidence.

NASCAR met with the Sprint Cup teams at Michigan global Speedway following qualifying on Friday to discuss the plans for the Chase and beyond.

Any hopes the team could become just the fourth in NASCAR history to sweep the top four on the grid ended when Busch lost time through Turns 3 and 4 on his shootout lap. Busch’s victories came at Kentucky, New Hampshire and Indianapolis, meaning he won under three sets of rules.

That left Kenseth understandably confident about his teams ability to adapt.

Busch has rallied from a serious February crash at Daytona worldwide Speedway, an incident that forced weeks of rehabilitation, to win four races and qualify for the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Hamlin was second fastest in qualifying at 196.990 and Carl Edwards third at 196.276.

NASCAR will have another chance to observe the high-drag package this weekend, and theres plenty of uncertainty surrounding Sundays race at MIS.

Keselowski warned that the high-drag package will cause parts to overheat, particularly in the drivetrain. Because the package limited airflow into the cockpit at Indy, causing high cockpit temperatures, NASCAR has added NACA ducts to the right side windows for Michigan to improve airflow and reduce the heat.

Said Hamlin: “It’s a good sign that our organization is turning some heads now”.

“We just learned about how the draft was and what kind of instances you could try to put yourself in and what kind of instances you didn’t want to be in”, Busch said. “I dont really foresee any problems cooling the auto for everybody.

“I am definitely learning as I go here with this package and how to drive this thing around the racetrack”, he said. Kyle Busch, despite his unbelievable four wins, is not locked in, because he could still drop below 30th in points with a couple of bad races.

“As compared to where I thought we were going to be, I’m pretty happy with where the vehicle was all day”, said Hornish, a Defiance native. “I think it’s important to look at what our original plan (to test the different aero packages) was and that was Kentucky, Michigan and Darlington”. So our messaging all along was that we had the intention of keeping the Chase where it was with the 2015 rules package.

That could change this season unless Biffle or one of his RFR teammates (Ricky Stenhouse Jr. or Trevor Bayne) manages to win one of the next four races. “Indy is really one lane.

He’ll get to do so in front of his friends and family.