Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2005 | 8:55 a.m.
Mark Martin couldn't understand all of the hoopla surrounding NASCAR's new rules changes that 43 Nextel Cup drivers tested for the first time Monday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
"I'll be honest with you, there has been a lot of hysteria around the changes for this year," Martin said, shaking his head. "It was a year ago since I was here (in Las Vegas) and my car feels like it did a year ago here, if that tells you anything.
"Part of the hysteria has been built around -- in the race teams, they act like they're the only car on the racetrack that's going to have an inch cut off their spoiler. But, actually, everyone has so it's OK; it's the same for everyone."
NASCAR officials created a stir in the Nextel Cup garage when they mandated that the size of the rear spoiler would be reduced from 5 1/2 inches to 4 1/2 inches this season. Goodyear responded by introducing a different tire designed to help offset the lack of grip the cars would have because of the reduced rear spoiler.
The rules changes were implemented in an attempt to improve racing by reducing the "aero push" phenomenon that makes it difficult for a trailing car to pass.
Nonsense, Jimmie Johnson said.
"In my opinion, I think the aero push that we have and that we're trying to get away from ... is like gravity -- it's not going to get rid of the aero push," Johnson said. "Aerodynamics are way too important on these racecars and it's always going to be there.
"I'm not saying you can't find a package that may work a little better, but you're still going to have the car that's in the lead is going to have the best air and everybody behind him, it's going to get progressively worse."
Johnson said he would like to see the tracks that host Nextel Cup races take the initiative -- as Homestead-Miami Speedway did -- and alter the racing surfaces to allow for more side-by-side racing.
"I think we've really taxed the team owners and worked hard on the teams and crew chiefs and crew members to improve racecars and I think here, in the near future, we need to start pushing back and see the tracks make some changes.
"If you look at Homestead, with the progressive banking, you've got side-by-side racing the whole time. I think we need to start looking in that direction and give our teams a break."
That said, Jeff Gordon agreed with Martin and Johnson that the initial uproar about the rules changes was much ado about nothing.
"We're noticing that (it's) not maybe as big a difference as what we expected," Gordon said. "We expected the cars to be a lot looser and so we came here really, really tight and so we've just been gradually freeing the car back up.
"I'm pretty happy so far. I didn't think we could run some of the speeds that we're running and I thought the car would be a little bit more out of control. It's a long learning process ... but so far, it feels pretty good."
Whether the rules changes will have any impact on the quality of racing at non-restrictor-plate tracks such as Las Vegas Motor Speedway remains open to debate. Martin, for one, said he thought the racing would be better.
"I'm not a race fan yet; I'm a competitor," Martin said. "From a competitor's point of view, I feel that the race will be better because of the rules package -- but you'll get a lot of people that say the opposite.
"You're getting a lot of competitors that say that you can't run side by side with these rule packages and I don't plan on running side by side; I plan on passing. It's my prediction that the racing will be better -- but that's from a competitor's point of view."
After wrapping up the two-day test session today at LVMS, most of the Nextel Cup teams will head to California Speedway in Fontana for two more days of testing Wednesday and Thursday.
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