NASCAR is mandating some aerodynamic changes for all Cup Series vehicles ahead of Sunday’s YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, the sanctioning body announced on Tuesday.
Among the changes that will be mandated for Sunday’s event at Talladega include an extended rocker panel skirt, an extended-height roof rail, and a piece of fabric underneath the right-side roof flap.
The end goal in making these alterations is to ensure that all vehicles stay planted on the ground when involved in a high-speed accident, something that is almost guaranteed to happen at Talladega Superspeedway, one of NASCAR’s fastest racetracks.
It’s part of an ongoing initiative by NASCAR, after a rash of airborne crashes over two weeks in both the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series. The sanctioning body introduced a brand-new short fin on the right side of the Cup Series vehicles at Daytona, following Corey Lajoie’s flip at Michigan.
However, that didn’t prevent cars from going airborne, as both Michael McDowell and Josh Berry had gnarly airborne crashes in the late stages of the NASCAR Cup Series regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway.
Beneath the right-side roof flap will be a fabric, which is modified to fit the inboard edge of the roof flap. The fabric will function similarly to a parachute, allowing the car to be set back on the ground and not go skyward. The straight-edged side of the triangular-shaped fabric will be fastened to the roof flap, while the cut edge with a 7/8-inch divot will attach to the vehicle’s greenhouse, to ensure functionality and stability.
The right-side roof rail will be a two-inch fin made of polycarbonate, allowing air to deflect off its flat surface if the vehicle were to be sideways. Within this roof rail are two bevels, allowing air to pass through and activate the roof flaps atop the vehicle, which would open to help keep the car on the ground, or set it back on the ground if the car is already airborne.
Finally, the rocker box, which sits directly in the center of the vehicle, will have an aluminum extension added to it, eliminating the space between the car’s floor and the ground beneath it. The extension, which per NASCAR rule must be painted black, will sit flat on the bottom of the rocker box.
The YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway will take place on Sunday, October 6, 2024 at 2:00 PM ET. Coverage will be on NBC, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90), with streaming coverage on the NBC Sports App.
