NASCAR Has Work to Do on Short Track, Road Course Package – Motorsports Tribune

Much of what the NASCAR Cup Series will be remembered for during the 2023 season will center around short tracks, road courses and a downtown street circuit.

As it stands right now, league officials have been challenged to get these races closer to industry expectations following a lackluster showing in Year One of the Next Gen platform. Specifically, the underbody, decreased horsepower, increased mechanical grip (tires) and sequential shifting has stifled passing in a significant way on the heavy braking tracks.

To wit, many of these tracks are the most important stops on the schedule. The playoffs in September and October run through the Charlotte Roval, Martinsville and Phoenix — each considered letdowns from a competition and passing standpoint.

At the same time, the new car did bring a degree of excitement back to intermediate tracks but at the expense of the short tracks and road courses. It was a role reversal of sorts from the final years of the previous platform.

This is an important conversation for the industry to have because a considerable amount of fanfare has been placed on the return of North Wilkesboro Speedway and the first-ever street course event in Downtown Chicago.

But right now, drivers and teams are challenged by a considerable amount of dirty air under braking in addition to the shifting and increased corner speeds. It’s just not a good combination for short tracks and road courses.  

In response, NASCAR scheduled a fairly last-minute test on January 24 at Phoenix Raceway to experiment with smaller spoilers and modified underbody configurations. That test was attended by Jimmie Johnson, Ross Chastain, Brad Keselowski, Christopher Bell, Joey Logano, Erik Jones and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

While directionally positive, Jones doesn’t think significant progress was made at the current home of the Championship Race Weekend.

“I don’t think there was anything that was groundbreaking in any way,” Jones said. “We made a few changes to the (underbody) and some other things that didn’t affect the car a whole lot.

“The biggest thing were the smaller spoilers and some underwing changes to balance that out. The low downforce option is the one most want us to go. I’m indifferent either way. It didn’t fix the issue following a car, front to back, but others felt it was where we need to go.

“If that is the way we go, I don’t think there is anything wrong with…