Quick Takeaways from Michigan: Gauging the rules reaction
Throughout 2016 we may have way too many quick thoughts for our post-race posts. So consider our Takeaways feature to be the home of our random and sometimes intelligent musings. Sometimes the post may have a theme. Sometimes it may just be a mess of unrelated thoughts. Make sure you tweet us your thoughts after the race or email your post-race rants via the link in the signature line below
• If you watched the race or are a semi-regular NASCAR fan, you likely knew that Sunday’s Michigan race featured rules to lower the downforce on the cars even further.
Drivers were overwhelmingly positive about the Atlanta earlier this season; the first with the revised 2016 rules in effect. With even less downforce than they had at Atlanta, were drivers as effusive after the race Sunday? Let’s take a look.
“I am not sure the new package was everything we wanted it to be but it is a step in the right direction as far as putting the drivers in control of the racing but not in reducing the aero stuff we wanted. I guess we have to think about it a little,” Brad Keselowski said.
[Related: Joey Logano wins at Michigan]
Keselowski then clarified what he meant by saying it was just a step rather than a solution.
“I think it is important to remember that these race cars have three dimensions to them. They have downforce, sideforce and drag and this is only a downforce reduction. It is a big chunk but I think we probably should think about the sideforce now a little bit because that hasn’t been tuned down at all. A lot of smart people will go back to the board and try to learn from today. I think it is an improvement but not the step we were looking for.”
“I thought this was a better race package though,” Ricky Stenhouse said. “Everyone was running closer which makes for better racing so I think it was good.”
“This is a work in progress,” Carl Edwards said. “I applaud NASCAR for taking downforce away and the speeds are still so high because the surface is good and the Goodyear tires are good and everybody is working hard on their cars. They just keep working in this direction and we’re going to keep having better and better races. Those restarts, as crazy as they were, they were actually kind of fun.”
“You just have a lot of driving to do,” Kasey Kahne said. “I don’t think my car was as good as some. When my car was good there were runs where it felt really good and I really enjoyed it. I thought you had to drive it and I thought you could still find speed and move around. When my car wasn’t as good on entry I was struggling. That would have been the same as any other three or four packages we have had at Michigan in the last couple of years.”
“I think it’s a good package,” Denny Hamlin said. “I think it definitely could be tweaked a little bit. I think that this thing is biased a little more off the rear than the front is so either take some more front off – that would be my guess is to take a little more front downforce away, but I think overall we’ve got something good here that is fun
“It’s not a whole lot different than the other package,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. “I think we talk about packages too much.”
Junior later clarified on Twitter to not read too much int what he said about the rules. Junior made those comments clearly frustrated after he crashed with AJ Allmendinger following contact with Chris Buescher.
• Jimmie Johnson also hit the wall after Trevor Bayne slid up into him. Johnson drove up to Bayne on the ensuing caution and pointed his finger at him. Post-race fireworks? Hardly. The two worked it out like they should have. Fox’s cameras caught Bayne and Johnson having a post race chat. Both were calm and Johnson gave Bayne a pat on the shoulder as the two parted ways.
• Speaking of Fox’s cameras catching something, the discussion between Bayne and Johnson felt like one of the few things Fox caught all day. On numerous occasions the booth of Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Jeff Gordon would refer to something not currently shown on the broadcast. And then either the camera shots got to the action being spoken about too late or not at all.
Waltrip also noted that drivers were racing “like it’s the end of the race” during the broadcast. He made the observation with four laps to go.
• Gordon and Keselowski had (an arranged before Pocono) sit down interview that aired before Sunday’s race. Remember, Keselowski mentioned conflicts of interest in the announcing booth after the Pocono race.
• Tony Stewart qualified third and finished seventh. Save for pit cycles, he may not have strayed from the top 10 the entire day. He was exceptionally happy after the race given the way the whole race weekend had gone.
“I am tickled to death with these guys,” Stewart said. “That is the kind of weekend I’ve been looking for all year out of this group. Today is proof that we can do it. I would rather have this than win a race and run 15th-20th the next week. From start to finish all weekend it’s been solid and that is what we are looking for right now. I’m tickled to death.”
It was Stewart’s second official top-10 finish of the season, though it was really his first. Ty Dillon drove the car to a sixth-place at Talladega when Stewart was forced to abandon ship early because of his healing back. We also think there needs to be a “Tickle Me Tony” doll now.
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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!
