Joey Logano suggests NASCAR rule changes after Talladega crash

Logano: “Cars don’t crash in the corners anymore.”

Joey Logano landed on his roof at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday. The crash has caused the driver to reflect on the current rules package.

A large rear spoiler was introduced for the 2019 season. For Talladega, the rear spoiler is 9″. That’s up from 2.375″ in 2018.

In superspeedway racing, 40 drivers bunch up on the 2.66-mile oval, three and four wide deep. A certain level of chaos is accepted and expected.

In the crash, the rollbar above Logano’s head crumbled. It didn’t fully collapse but it did bend inward, toward Logano’s head.

“I am wondering when we are going to stop because this is dangerous doing what we are doing,” Joey Logano said after the crash.

Related: Joey Logano asks “When are we going to stop” after Talladega crash

Joey Logano suggests rule changes for superspeedway events

“I want to be an advocate for change for our sport to look at ways to be better,” Logano said tuesday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

“I know we have the Next Gen car coming. We think that will be better, but we have two more races on superspeedways this year and we must do something because we cannot afford to lose one of our competitors.”

He asked, “How do we keep these things on the ground? How do we change the runs?”

“The spoiler creates, in my opinion, the runs that we see,” Logano answered his own question. “The big runs that create the pushes and the shoves. Cars don’t crash in the corners anymore. They crash down the straightaways from pushing.”

“We need to create a little bit more bubble and more space between cars like we used to have. We’ll still have pack racing, just like we’ve always had.”

“We’ll still have ‘the big one’, but it won’t happen as frequently, and I think that is good. Also with the big spoiler, when the car goes backwards, it’s creating lift and maybe not allowing the roof flaps to do its job, either.

“Those things, to me, are probably the easiest fix. It sounds like a quick, easy fix. Obviously, you’ve got to balance it with the splitter and then you have to adjust the engine package to go with it because the drag you would be taking off the car would be drastic.”

Logano added, “There are ripple effects that have to go through engine guys, team owners, drivers, everyone would have to get on the same page, competition directors.”

Joey Logano - NASCAR Garage
Joey Logano – NASCAR Garage

Travis Geisler suggests a spoiler height change

Travis Geisler is competition director at Team Penske. On Sunday, he suggested similar changes.

“Certainly, no question, the size of the rear spoiler is challenging to overcome,” Geisler said.

“When you get backwards with that much kind of in the air, it’s a lot to deal with. That’s something we’ll try to learn. There’s only two more superspeedway races left, but one more race left is too many if you’re not 100% sure you’re as safe as you can be.”

Geisler concluded, “We’ll do what we can there, try to learn with the NASCAR folks, try to address anything we can. Certainly car-wise, we’ll do the same.”

NASCAR returns to Daytona on August 28th. That’s followed by another race at Talladega Superspeedway on October 3rd.

NASCAR has stated they are investigating the crash.

Related: NASCAR investigating Talladega crashes of Joey Logano, Derrick Lancaster

Joey Logano following the Talladega Superspeedway crash
Links

Joey Logano | NASCAR | Talladega Superspeedway

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