Joey Logano: ‘All of us’ want to run low-downforce rules in 2016
NASCAR has yet to announce the rules for the cars in 2016. But according to Joey Logano, the consensus among drivers is pretty unanimous for what direction NASCAR should go in.
Logano, part of the driver’s council, said drivers want NASCAR to take away downforce next year. NASCAR has tried lower downforce packages to rave reviews at Kentucky and Darlington this year and is likely to put the rules in place for 2016 if the majority opinion is any indication.
“I would say all of us would like to see the low downforce package,” Logano said Friday at New Hampshire. “I think everyone wants to see that for [2016]. I know the drivers want to be down that direction. I’m sure you guys have watched the races and have formed your own opinions from it, but from my standpoint I thought the low downforce package put on the best racing. I thought Darlington was one heckuva race and it’s really hard to have a good race there. It’s a tough race track to put on a good race and it’s been quite a few years since we’ve seen a really good race at Darlington, and it was able to do that.
“Kentucky once again was also a great race, so the two data points that we have from that low downforce package was really good, so I think all of us want to go that direction. There’s obviously a lot of other questions that go along with that. What tire do you match up with it? And other little parts and pieces that have to go along with the package, but I think if you look at the big piece of the puzzle I think everyone wants to go that direction. We’ll see where it goes.”
It’s not a surprise that drivers would be in favor of NASCAR taking away downforce; there haven’t been many (if any) public complaints about it. Fans want it too, judging by the reaction to the two races. Passing has been plentiful with the downforce reduction.
The rules in place at the beginning of the 2015 season are the ones being used for the Chase. Over the summer months Joe Gibbs Racing and Team Penske, Logano’s team, have been the two fastest teams in the Cup Series. Logano won the New Hampshire Chase race last year and it’s not much of a bold prediction to think the race win on Sunday will come down to Penske and JGR cars.
JGR has won the previous three races and is looking for its second streak of four wins in a row this season.
“I feel like we’re right there with them,” Logano said. “Even last weekend in Chicago, I thought we had a very fast Shell/Pennzoil Ford that had speed in the car, ran up top-5 all day and had a legit shot at winning. That last restart I felt like we were in position with our four tires and where we were starting, but when you’re racing against four cars that are very, very fast and they’re all pretty equally matched with speed, that’s what kind of makes them look like they’re the next level.
“It’s not just one car that’s doing it. It’s not two cars that are doing it. It’s all of them, which is impressive … I think we’re really close. I think we’re fighting with them every weekend for wins, so I don’t think we have to take a step back and say, ‘Oh my God, we’re doing something wrong. They’re just so much faster than us.’ They’re not faster than us. There are a lot of circumstances that obviously have to go just right to win these things just like anybody else does, and I feel like we have speed in our race cars so we’re not far off at all.”
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
