NASCAR 2015 Package: Two Steps Forward, One Back?

Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

On first glance at the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rules package announcement yesterday, it looks like NASCAR once again have somehow blundered an open goal. What was the one thing the drivers loved the most from the recent Michigan test? Lower downforce, high horsepower. What was the one thing they hated most from that test? Reduced horsepower.

So what do we get? A 10% reduction in downforce and a 125hp reduction in horsepower.

Isn’t that just two steps forward, one back?

Perhaps, perhaps not. Let’s look closer at these changes, as – for once – there might well be logic in NASCAR’s thinking. I know, shocking thought right?

Firstly, let’s make absolutely clear – the two-inch reduction in rear spoiler height and five-inch reduction in radiator pan is a great move, and one which was so glaringly obvious at the Michigan test that had NASCAR ignored it we would have to seriously question the sanity of those leading the premier stock car racing series (as if the Chase didn’t already give a hint that rational thinking checks its brain at the door when it gets to NASCAR headquarters). So great move by NASCAR on that part.

But once you’ve picked your jaws up off the floor at the notion of me praising NASCAR, let’s move to what on paper looks like the more ridiculous change – a 125hp reduction in power, down to just 50 above the current Nationwide Series level. But wait, all the drivers hated the low-horsepower configuration at the test?! Surely this is peanut banana sandwich crazy? Well slow down there, because although at first I had that exact reaction, rolling eyes and finger-gun-under-chin gesture, on further inspection this might not be such a bad move. You see, the lower-horsepower configuration was run without lower downforce, hence why the racing was like the highway on a Sunday afternoon – single-file and sleep-inducing. On the other hand, one side-effect of the low-downforce configuration was even higher top speeds than ever – well over 220mph on a 2-mile intermediate track – so perhaps reigning the horsepower in just helps keep speeds down to a more manageable level. Let’s not forget that back in 2001, the old Gen-4 was quoted to produce around 750hp, and power has only been creeping up ever since then. So a) the great racing the Gen-4 frequently put on was achieved with around the same level of horsepower as will be run in 2015 and b) engine tuners being engine tuners, I don’t expect that quoted figure of 725hp to stay that way for very long – it will begin to climb again. Doug Yates has already admitted as such. And also c) it helps further the theme of drivers actually driving the cars rather than clinging on for dear life. You don’t want the cars to become out-of-control pigs that drivers are scared to drive flat-out, and the V8 Supercars have a good balance for their series with 650hp.

On the flip side though, Team Penske’s Indycar supremo Tim Cindric pointed out that it’s actually harder to build an engine with less horsepower, and this sort of regulation favours bigger teams with more R&D budgets – so this and the various other tech tweaks (new rear gear, roller valve lifters etc) will hardly help close the gulf between the haves and have-nots on the grid. And the worst case scenario with the horsepower reduction is that it actually puts more emphasis on downforce – what made the low-downforce package work at the Michigan test (where 30% of downforce was slashed, as opposed to 10%) was having much more horsepower than the aerodynamic grip could handle, therefore making mechanical grip (i.e. tires) and driver skill a bigger factor. So slashing horsepower more than the 10% downforce reduction could end up meaning that all impact of the lower downforce is negated – which really would be back to square one.

My theory is that this is only the start of a gradual reduction in downforce overall. Perhaps what scared NASCAR off going the whole hog this time around was making sure all teams could hit this new specification easily – look at what happened in F1 this year when the goalposts were drastically moved, and most of the grid missed them by miles – leaving Mercedes to hoover up the wins. Of course, that is less likely in NASCAR, but perhaps a gradual shift isn’t a bad move – as long as this is the start. For I don’t think for one second this is enough.

And neither do the drivers. Brian Vickers told the associated press; ‘Reducing the downforce should make the driver a greater part of the success equation. We can debate whether NASCAR should have gone further, but it is a step in the right direction.” Jimmie Johnson echoed his sentiments; ‘In time, we’re going to really make these cars hard to drive. I think that is the goal where things are going to go, And hopefully (we’ll) get a tire on the cars that wears out.”

This will be music to the ears of NASCAR fans worldwide, but Johnson hit on perhaps the most crucial aspect. 2014 has shown how important tires are to the overall package. A soft tire which has drop-off over a green-flag run can create awesome racing (Auto Club being the main example), whereas a hard tire which doesn’t wear at all creates the utter dross we saw at Richmond a few weeks back. With less downforce and less horsepower putting pressure on the tires, Goodyear can build a softer tire without worrying about Pirelli-style blowouts – notice how this years races which have had softer tires have been, though exciting, blighted by blow-outs. So the ball is now firmly in Goodyear’s court to respond and create a tire that maximizes the new package. The tire they ran for the low-downforce test was a huge hit, so they aren’t a million miles away.

Other notable changes included a wet weather package (rain tires, windshield wiper, defogger and rear light), which has been long overdue in NASCAR racing. Anyone who tells you rain racing is boring has obviously had their head stuck in a bin for the last twenty years and hasn’t seen any of the epic rain races in F1, BTCC, V8 Supercars, sportscar/GT racing, and even the lower tiers of NASCAR itself. So seeing Sprint Cup come into the 21st century is excellent. And moves to cut costs by reducing testing is another move I can totally get on board with.

But the downforce/horsepower reductions are the big one. And while it’s frustrating that NASCAR could have easily gone for the glaringly obvious answer but didn’t, there is potential in the 2015 package to start moving in the right direction.

We can at least see the logic behind it. Which is more than can be said for a lot of NASCAR’s decision-making.