NASCAR will implement two rule changes for next month’s running of the Good Sam Club 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway. The size of the restrictor plate that teams will use to prepare and practice for the race will increase by 1/64 inch and is now going to be 57/64 inch diameter. This will provide the teams with an additional 7-10 horsepower. Additionally, the pressure relief valve on the cars’ cooling system will be recalibrated to reduce the pressure by approximately eight pounds per square inch from last April’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega. “After the last few superspeedway races, we’ve heard many drivers express their desire to open up the size of the restrictor plate some and we thought the time was right to do that,” said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president, competition. “We anticipate these revisions in the rules package for Talladega will help continue to provide competitive and exciting racing for the fans.
No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS TOYOTA CREW CHIEF CHAD JOHNSTON – “The new rule on the pressure release valves at superspeedways is just going to limit the time that you can push nose to tail. It’s going to make you switch more often, which could be a good thing or it could be a bad thing. The chances of something going wrong on a swap are going to go up obviously, but hopefully it will eliminate or lessen the two-by-two racing.”
No. 00 AARON’S DREAM MACHINE CREW CHIEF RODNEY CHILDERS – “Changing the plates will be better. It should make it more racy, where you can pull out and pass. If they are wanting to make it where people can’t draft as long, it’s going to do that. Probably only a half of a lap or a lap is all you’re going to get out of it.”
