CONCORD, N.C. – A new rules package was installed for last week’s race at Kentucky Speedway, and while it was tough to judge the results after just one event, the reaction was positive.
"I thought the racing was good. The fans liked it and I think we had more passing,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. "I think we did a real good job at Kentucky with the little time we had in practice.”
Jeff Gordon said that the venue made determining the success of the new package a little difficult, but echoed Earnhardt’s praise of NASCAR for being willing to test out new rules before the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup arrives.
“It’s hard to gauge at this place -- it is such a challenging racetrack already,” said Gordon, who earned a top-10 finish at Kentucky. “I’m glad we tried it, did a little more work -- I’m looking forward to trying it again. I’m looking forward to trying what we are going to have at Indy, too.”
No. 48 team crew chief Chad Knaus came away with more information for when the package is used again at Darlington Raceway in September.
The No. 48 team came away with a top-10 finish, though Knaus agreed with Gordon that the racing at Kentucky is so different that the true test of the package will come down the line.
“I think we saw some good racing,” he said. “The thing that's a little bit different is Kentucky's a bit of an anomaly with the way that the track is. It's very bumpy. It's very flat. So it doesn't really apply to a lot of the other racetracks that we go to. So I think from that standpoint, it was a good show. The tires weren't exactly what it was that we were looking for, so I think maybe going to Darlington with a different tire might be a little bit better.”
A high-drag package will be introduced at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Michigan International Speedway, and the low-downforce package will be reintroduced at Darlington. At Richmond International Raceway, teams will use a new “no-zone tread” right-side tire.
“I think this is a great opportunity to try anything -- we're not in the middle of the Chase, it's not really a losing proposition to give it a good effort,” Earnhardt said of the rules changes. “So I'm pretty excited about that.”
As for Kentucky, he expects the racing to continue to improve at the Sparta speedway.
“I still think we can get that racing there even better,” Earnhardt said, “and put on an even better show with the low-downforce stuff."