Texas Spoiler

Rain rain go away...

and when it did the 90,000 fans who returned to the track were rewarded with some pretty good stuff.

The return of the spoiler brought fears of the dreaded aero push and Texas was the first long track and first chance to see if the fears would come true. Well fear not, as it appears NASCARs testing and research resulted in an aero package which allows the drivers to run close together in the turns, with more stable race cars, and draft more on the straightaways.

As a COT fan I was worried about the effects on the racing, changing to the spoiler, as the car had been developed for and with the rear wing. I am still interested to know what NASCAR thought the wing did for the cars and the racing compared to the spoiler, but so far the return of the spoiler has gone well.

In Texas the drivers seemed able to run nose to tail going into the turns with the following car not losing too much ground in the turns. On exit a lot of the cars were loose, partly due to the track surface but also due to the new looser characteristics of the cars, if some of the drivers are to be believed. Personally I would much rather watch the top 43 stock car drivers drive cars that turn in but might get a bit fun on exit than cars that cannot run together and push on entry. With any luck this all means that one of NASCARs intentions for the COT, to take away the "aerodynamic set-ups", and put the emphasis on chassis and tire set-ups is coming good. I actually look forward to the 1.5 mile races with now even though I do think there are too many, and think some races are too long.

The Texas race also had its own "big one" - 3 wide in turn 4 at Texas turned into a lot of wrecked cars in a hurry. Some drivers would have whinged and moaned, but Tony Stewart put his hand up and said he got loose and Edwards had nowhere to go. Not many drivers take the blame for a wreck that took a potential win out of his own hands as well as many others as easily as Smoke did on Monday.

Had the race been one lap longer then Texas would have been another win for JJ. It wasn't, so Denny Hamlin took the flag just ahead of the 48. To be fair you feel the other drivers are lining up to have a go at the 48, always watching him, wanting to know where he is on track, when he pits, what he eats for breakfast, and how he takes his coffee. You've gotta love Jeff Gordon for his aggression and determination to stay with or ahead of his team mate. Even the 88 had a good race until the red flag, leading some laps and racing well. He was obviously frustrated after the race, feeling that the red flag and the short sprint afterwards wrecked his day... that son, is racin'. He's running up front on a more regular basis now and hopefully will turn the good runs into race wins soon.

Speaking of which, it's Talladega next and don't be surprised if JJ finds it hard to get drafting partners. I am looking forward to seeing the new aero package at 'Dega and hope the COT's flight issues will be confined to the history books. Remember though that NASCAR cars took off before the wing and may continue to do so after, but hopefully the spoiler and wicker on the rear window and trunk lid will help stop the cars taking off quite so easily.

This years' Sprint Cup season has produced good races, exciting finishes, wrecks, action... bring on 'Dega!!