For years, NASCAR cars that have suffered flat tires during a race have been towed to the pit road from the point of the accident. This journey around the race track is a frustrating one that causes more damage to the car and its underbody. Several drivers including 2X Cup Series champion Joey Logano have called for a solution to this issue and NASCAR has finally implemented one.
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The sanctioning body has announced that a lifter system that can raise the rear of a car when needed will soon be brought into use. This system will have to be installed on both rear dampers and can be actuated only by a NASCAR official. Teams can begin making use of this assembly from next month’s race at Michigan. This mechanism helps in two ways.
In order to prevent cars from getting stranded when they get a flat, NASCAR will allow Cup teams to start installing a lifter system on the rear dampers next month so that the rear of the car can be raised when necessary.
The system can only by actuated by a NASCAR Official. pic.twitter.com/cVDxHEwfhp
— Bozi Tatarevic (@BoziTatarevic) July 17, 2024
First, cars with flat tires will not have to wait for tow trucks to help them to the pit. This means races will have fewer disruptions to them. Second, it could help reduce the number of DNFs by minimizing the time that it takes to replace tires. The car will suffer less damage from underbody-to-track friction as it comes back to the pit road as well.
The updated NASCAR rule book has clarified that the assemblies will not be permitted on front dampers. It also underlines that the system must remain fully compressed during an event unless actuated by an authorized official. This automatically translates to the notion that teams will try to exploit the addition and use it to their advantage. Only, without blatantly breaking the rules.
When flat tires and tow trucks hit a nerve in Joey Logano
Logano launched a full-scale verbal attack on track workers after his car fell prey to an accident in the 2023 race at Pocono. He got into a heated argument with the tow truck crew about his car being towed. Speaking about it to the press he explained that his frustration was because the towing process damaged his car more than the actual accident.
“It’s not fun for anybody,” he said. “The poor guy driving the tow truck. The poor driver getting his head knocked around for two miles and the poor team that’s got to fix the underbodies of these things after they get dragged around. It’s dumb. I don’t know. It is what it is, but it seems like it has a very easy fix. I’ve brought this up before, but I guess it doesn’t matter.” Although a tad bit late, NASCAR has finally listened.
