Superspeedway racing often produces dramatic airborne crashes. Last year at Daytona, Ryan Preece’s No. 14 Ford Mustang flipped almost a dozen times on the backstretch at the superspeedway, prompting NASCAR to send his race car to its Research and Development Center to take a second look at what caused the race car to blow over. More recently, the Chevy of Corey Lajoie flipped at Michigan, prompting the sanctioning body to issue aerodynamic changes to keep the cars on the ground. More changes are on the way ahead of this weekend’s race at Talladega, and hopefully, it will keep the NASCAR Ford race cars planted in the event of a crash.
A report from NASCAR.com details the inbound aerodynamic changes. This includes an extended-height roof rail, an extended rocker panel skirt, and fabric beneath the right (passenger) side roof flap. Hopefully, these changes will prevent the Next Gen race cars from turning over if they end up in a high-speed sideways wreck.
Specifically, the right side roof rail will be a two-inch fin composed of polycarbonate. This will allow air to deflect off its flat surface if the vehicle goes sideways. Two bevels will allow air to pass through and activate the roof flaps on the top of the race car, which will subsequently open to help keep the vehicle on the ground.
The right side roof flap will have a piece of fabric modified to fit the inboard edge of the flap, which will function like a parachute if it is deployed. The fabric will be triangle-shaped, and the straight edge side will be affixed to the roof flap itself, while the cut edge with a 7/8-inch divot will be fastened to the vehicle’s greenhouse. The fabric will be bolted down to make sure it stays attached in the event of a crash.
Additionally, the rocker box beneath the center of the race car will get an aluminum extension, which helps to minimize space between the vehicle’s floor and the ground. The extension will be painted black and will sit on the bottom of the rocker box.
The race at Talladega is scheduled for 2 p.m. EST on Sunday, October 6th, 2024.
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