This year, NASCAR did not just tweak the championship format and reach common ground with teams over charter talks, granting them charters for keeps while taking fan input on board. The sanctioning body also went under the hood and adjusted parts of the rulebook. Some of those shifts flew under the radar. One, however, has drivers talking after NASCAR drew a line in the sand over a qualifying move that had turned into routine.
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Under the new rule, drivers can no longer place a hand on the window net during qualifying. At superspeedway venues like Daytona, Atlanta, and Talladega, it had become common for drivers to rest a hand on the net or slide it into the gap between the net and the car’s A-post to redirect air, to gain a supposed aerodynamic advantage.
That trick is now off the table. If any of the drivers or teams are still found practicing the same, NASCAR has vowed to be on their case, with penalties to follow in the form of a loss of qualifying time. Speaking his mind on whether the ‘trick’ actually worked in the first place, Kyle Busch did not mince words.
He stated that while teams believed the move helped, “I always kind of thought it was dumb. So, yeah, I mean, now we can put our hands on the wheel and go out there and just drive the car around for a lap in 2.5 miles in order to put up the best time possible that the car can make.”
Instead, he seemed happy to keep both his hands on the wheel and let the car speak for itself. He added that he would rather focus on guiding the car through the corners at Atlanta than guessing what they had unloaded, especially with no practice laps to lean on.
On the topic of trimmed practice, Busch suggested the garage should circle back in the next year or two to at least a 20-minute session at Atlanta, enough time to dial in and see where the chips fall for drivers and teams.
What do the other drivers think?
When asked whether the ‘window net trick’ actually helped drivers go faster, Bubba Wallace replied, “No, Nope.” Christopher Bell echoed: “It does not make a difference.” Ryan Blaney also followed suit, saying he followed team instructions before, even though he was not sold on how much it helped.
Chase Briscoe also said he never believed the tactic moved the needle and added, “I didn’t think it really made a difference before. The problem is now we’re going to be trying to figure out if you can get your knee up there, or your elbow up there, or whatever it may be. But yeah, I’m all for it,” he joked. Alex Bowman, like several others, added, “I’m just glad I can keep two hands on the steering wheel.”
However, Ross Chastain seemed to disagree with the majority. He believes the trick does make a difference, as he pointed to wind tunnel data and said, “It showed in the wind tunnel. We have data that said it did (make a difference).” Even so, he is ready to close that chapter. But at the same time, Chastain hopes NASCAR enforces the new rule diligently, levelling the playing field.
