NASCAR to use driver-preferred downforce package in 2016

The base package will include a 3.5-inch spoiler (down from 6 inches in 2015), a 0.25-inch front leading splitter edge (2 inches in 2015) and a 33-inch wide radiator pan (38 inches in 2015).

High draft packages were used at Michigan worldwide Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where the quality of the racing was not as high. It is the same package used at Kentucky and Darlington with the exception of the radiator pan was 28 inches in diameter.

Lower downforce, or less pressure keeping cars from sliding in turns, should mean more opportunities to pass. Less grip, more slip. This generates more passing zones over the entire track, and allows for multiple tire combinations to be levered.

That’s why a 10-point deficit with two races left in the Contender Round hardly seems like much of an obstacle. Goodyear will also be developing softer tires to complement the package.

“NASCAR has worked tirelessly with our teams, drivers, manufacturers and Goodyear to develop a rules package that provides fans with the best racing possible”, said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer.

The low downforce package was pitted against a high drag package this summer, with each getting two races to prove its worth. “Now, as teams have even more time to prepare and a strong baseline of data, we anticipate the racing to be even better”. The sanctioning body had reduced downforce while simultaneously reducing horsepower.

Track-specific adjustments pertaining to different tire combinations will continue. The digital dashboard, which was optional for teams during the second half of this season, will be mandatory in all vehicles.

“To see him in position for a championship now, I don’t think any of us could’ve guessed that at the end of February”, his brother and fellow Sprint Cup driver Kurt Busch said.

The rules package for events at Daytona and Talladega will remain virtually the same, with a small tweak to the engine rules that will require NASCAR to reduce the holes in the restrictor plates from 29/32nds of an inch in diameter to 57/64ths of an inch. O’Donnell said NASCAR did not consider increasing horsepower, preferring to stick with the reduction in horsepower from 850-900 to about 725 that NASCAR made prior to the 2015 season.

When that finally happened with a runner-up finish August. 9 at Watkins Glen worldwide, it completed one of the most gutsy comebacks in NASCAR history, a grueling stretch that left “Rowdy” forever changed.