It was a textbook test.
Daniel Suarez had to serve a drive-through penalty at the beginning of the YellaWood 500 at Talladega for unapproved changes made to his car before the race and found himself racing alone when he exited the pits.
Unable to match the speed of the rest of the drafting cars while driving alone, he was caught up to by the pack on Lap 11.
He took a position in the center of the track as the rest of the cars began passing by him, then tried to move up into the outside lane to join the draft, but ran into B.J. McLeod’s No. 78 car and was turned into the wall.
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Coming off it, he turned to the left and was traveling down the track at a 90-degree angle, which often causes the Next Gen Cup Series car to flip.
However, prior to the race, NASCAR mandated several changes to the cars to address the issue. they include a skirt extension in front of the right rear tire, a taller right roof rail and a patch of fabric connecting the right roof flap to the car when it opens, all designed to disrupt the air and increase the speed required to lift the car off the track.
There’s no guarantee that Suarez’s No. 99 Trackhouse Racing would’ve gone airborne without the changes, but it stayed stuck to the track has he skidded off the racing line and onto the apron, avoiding contact with the wall. Suarez was able to rejoin the race two laps down.
The 188-lap race may provide more opportunities to see if the updates continue to work as designed.
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