NASCAR changes get 1.5-mile test

Associated Press

LAS VEGAS

NASCAR is about to start finding out whether its offseason changes will pay off on tracks like Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

NASCAR worked tirelessly behind the scenes last year to improve its on-track product, particularly at 1.5-mile speedways that had turned into glorified parades. After the drivers opened the season on Daytona’s superspeedway followed by Phoenix’s quirky mile oval, it’s time for the first of 11 races on 1.5-mile tracks.

While fans watch defending champion Matt Kenseth and early points leader Dale Earnhardt Jr., everybody on the north end of The Strip is eager to see if passing is any easier and if the racing is any better Sunday in Vegas.

Gene Stefanyshyn, NASCAR’s vice president of innovation and racing development, warned that one show won’t be a true barometer of the changes made to the rules package.

“We can’t jump too quickly and say that this is the answer,” Stefanyshyn said. “Some teams will take some time to figure it out. I think the aero piece of it, it’s pretty much set. It’s just a matter of getting the driver to find the limit and feeling comfortable with the aero.

“But the chassis, the engineers will play around with it for a while until that settles down. Then the driver will begin to find the sweet spot and get comfortable. We won’t have a good feeling where all this lands until we get about three under our belt, and that would be the Texas race.”

NASCAR’s new package also will be scrutinized March 23 at Fontana and April 6 at Texas.

Those three races last year had a combined 57 lead changes. In comparison, this year’s Daytona 500 had 42 lead changes.

NASCAR won’t get Daytona-like passing at speedways, at least not anytime soon. And Stefanyshyn wants to give this rules package some time before tinkering again.

“There’s a learning curve here,” he said. “I think you can’t be too premature on this. There’s a lot of cars. There’s a lot of different engineers, a lot of different thoughts on getting down the learning curve. So we’ll wait and see and see how it all plays out.”

Earnhardt Jr. has never won at Las Vegas, but his outstanding start to the season suggests he might be accomplishing a whole lot of firsts this year. The Daytona 500 champion had top-three finishes at the final two 1.5-mile tracks of last season, and his Vegas confidence is strong after a testing session. Vegas bookmakers always depress Earnhardt’s odds because of his popularity, but he’s truly among the favorites for a big finish.

Defending champion Matt Kenseth is clearly comfortable in Las Vegas after three wins on this track, but he’s still wondering how NASCAR’s changes will translate in competition on 1.5-mile ovals.

“It’s really hard to compare anything from the past,” he said.