Another story that's been around a couple of days, but I'm just now getting to it. After a rather crazy season with some really strange incidents (i.e., 'flying cars'), even by Talladega standards, NASCAR is looking at switching out the rear wing for a blade-type spoiler.
Now, for those who don't recall, NASCAR moved to the rear wing based on drivers' input from the tests of the new car. The new car is heavier, boxier, and it was designed to be less sensitive to aerodynamic influences.
This hasn't really worked; NASCAR claims the move away from the wing has nothing to do with cars going airborne at 'Dega. ...Uh. Sure. Whatever. Either way, the new car isn't less sensitive to aerodynamic influences as all, as we've learned time and time again watching guys try to pass (or not), because the cars have such a huge impact on the air passing around them. Sure, it slows them down, but they've got the horsepower and torque available to move past that... A spoiler will arguably decrease this impact a bit, as well as overall rear downforce. With the heavier cars, it should lead to better turning, and a higher propensity for the cars to get 'loose' (rear end breaking traction)... of course, guys like Carl Edwards and many of those who came up through dirt tracks would enjoy that.
On the flip side, you have to wonder what it's really going to mean for the racing... after all, the drivers like the wing for a while... now it's back to a more aero-sensitive spoiler? Hmmmm.... I'm waiting to hear the open-wheel guys start whining any moment now. It's a tough balance to make, and I'm glad to leave it to NASCAR to determine. It's why they make the big bucks.
Hopefully, they'll talk to a few computational fluid dynamics gurus (whether the ones down at ICAR in Clemson, Mississippi State's SimCenter, or elsewhere) at some point... but that's a rant for another time.
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