NASCAR Vice President of Competition and Racing Development Robin Pemberton recently confirmed that NASCAR is planning on making extensive changes in the Sprint Cup car engine packages in 2015. One of the major components of those changes will include a reduction in engine horsepower.
During driver press conferences at Texas Motor Speedway Friday, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was asked if he felt the reduction in horsepower would make the racing more competitive, whether it would change his driving style and his thoughts on less horsepower.
He began by saying, “I don’t think they are trying to make it more competitive. No matter how the horsepower is I think we will have competitive racing. I think the racing is competitive any way you slice it. I can enjoy a race where a guy laps the field just as much as I can enjoy one where they are side-by-side across the finish line. There is something to be appreciated about both ways of winning and how a race plays out. I like the idea of going to a smaller motor and allowing us to engineer through that package instead of choking down what we currently have with a plate. I think choking the motor down with a plate is the easiest way to go and the laziest way to go.”
Earnhardt Jr. continued by stating that he thinks a reduction in engine horsepower is preferable to the restrictor plate that NASCAR currently uses to reduce horsepower and speed.
“When you can go to a smaller engine you preserve some throttle response,” he explained. “You preserve some reaction in the gas pedal and give the driver a few more tools to be able to use out on the race track when he is driving his race car. When you take and put a plate on those cars you take tons of throttle response out of the car and setting up a pass, particularly on a track that is worn out like this is a little more challenging with a plate rather than an open engine that is smaller.”
He also believes that the change is inevitable and the appropriate response is to work together to ensure it is implemented in the best manner possible.
“I hope they will go the way I want to go. Whatever way they end up going whatever decision they end up making, there is not a wrong decision, there is an okay one and a better one in my opinion. They are going to do it. It’s kind of like the (number) 3 coming back. A lot of people didn’t want it to come back. A lot of people were upset that it came back, but it’s coming back.
“I think the reduction in power is coming whether you like it or not,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I chose as an individual to get on the side of being productive in that discussion instead of saying we don’t need to do it and trying to fight it, let’s try to make sure when it does happen we do it the right way and give ourselves something to grow into and something to engineers and something that is productive for many years to come. It’s coming either way whether we like it or not. You can have both sides arguing against and for, for however long you want, but it’s going to happen so we might as well start thinking about how we want it to happen and trying to have those discussions on making sure we make the best choice we can make for the sport.”
