NASCAR tightening up technical rules: A new NASCAR rule, or rather a stricter interpretation of the rules, was just issued to Sprint Cup teams. And reaction is mixed among crew chiefs, who worry the new rule - in part designed as a cost-limiting rule -- might further inhibit technological innovation on the stock car racing trail. The new rule requires teams to submit not only all car parts for pre-race week inspection at the sport's Concord, N.C., R&D center but also to submit all 'tweaks' in designs. The rule is in part a response to:
• the oil-pan issues the Joe Gibbs teams had in June at Michigan, where all three teams showed up Friday with a new oil pan design which NASCAR officials didn't like.
• the Clint Bowyer/2010 playoff controversy over the chassis design of his Loudon, N.H. race car.
• and three, the possibility that a team could slip into the chase with a good run at Richmond (the last race of the regular season) by using a car with unapproved modifications not discovered until well after the race.
The new rule further tightens the technological 'box' that Cup teams must work within these days. And teams have long complained about how tight that box already is. NASCAR Cup director John Darby says "It's just a better way to do business - before a car owner has to invest a lot of money in a part, we can approve it, because they make the big investment.(8-27-2011)
