Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, Greg Biffle and Brian Vickers became the first drivers to conduct an on-track test with a new aluminum spoiler package that could be implemented for the 2010 season during Tuesday's Goodyear Tire test at Texas Motor Speedway. Stewart was the first of the group to test the spoiler in the morning session, which was delayed nearly two hours from its 9:00am/ct start time due to moisture on the 1.5-mile, high-banked oval from heavy morning dew. The session kicked off at approximately 10:53am/ct with temperatures in the 60s as Stewart rolled out with the wing and less than 40 minutes later was utilizing the spoiler. Vickers also got an opportunity to run the spoiler in the abbreviated morning session. "It (the spoiler) was on a bunch. It didn't seem to be a big balance change which was good," Stewart said. "That means you won't have to invent the wheel necessarily. It was a balance shift, but it wasn't a big balance shift. You've got two kinds of grip – you've got aero grip and you've got mechanical grip. The spoiler is the aero grip and the tires are mechanical. The mechanical grip is real important because it doesn't know if you are running first in line or 10th in line. I'm more of a mechanical guy." "I thought it (spoiler) was good," Vickers said. "I thought it added a little bit of front downforce, which is a good thing. I think it's going to be more accepted to the fans. It looks cooler – a little more retro back to the older car. We haven't been in a lot of traffic yet, so the big question is how it's going to handle in traffic. Theoretically, from what I've been told, the difference between the two is that the spoiler is better in traffic. The spoiler is going to be more efficient in dirty air and a wing will be more efficient in clean air. Once you get in a lot of turbulence, the spoiler's not going to lose a lot of efficiency while a wing really will." (TMS)Drivers conduct 1st test with new spoiler at Texas
Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, Greg Biffle and Brian Vickers became the first drivers to conduct an on-track test with a new aluminum spoiler package that could be implemented for the 2010 season during Tuesday's Goodyear Tire test at Texas Motor Speedway. Stewart was the first of the group to test the spoiler in the morning session, which was delayed nearly two hours from its 9:00am/ct start time due to moisture on the 1.5-mile, high-banked oval from heavy morning dew. The session kicked off at approximately 10:53am/ct with temperatures in the 60s as Stewart rolled out with the wing and less than 40 minutes later was utilizing the spoiler. Vickers also got an opportunity to run the spoiler in the abbreviated morning session. "It (the spoiler) was on a bunch. It didn't seem to be a big balance change which was good," Stewart said. "That means you won't have to invent the wheel necessarily. It was a balance shift, but it wasn't a big balance shift. You've got two kinds of grip – you've got aero grip and you've got mechanical grip. The spoiler is the aero grip and the tires are mechanical. The mechanical grip is real important because it doesn't know if you are running first in line or 10th in line. I'm more of a mechanical guy." "I thought it (spoiler) was good," Vickers said. "I thought it added a little bit of front downforce, which is a good thing. I think it's going to be more accepted to the fans. It looks cooler – a little more retro back to the older car. We haven't been in a lot of traffic yet, so the big question is how it's going to handle in traffic. Theoretically, from what I've been told, the difference between the two is that the spoiler is better in traffic. The spoiler is going to be more efficient in dirty air and a wing will be more efficient in clean air. Once you get in a lot of turbulence, the spoiler's not going to lose a lot of efficiency while a wing really will." (TMS)
