By Caleb Whisler, Staff Writer
After the Monster Energy All-Star Race, Kickin’ The Tires talked to Todd Gordon, crew chief for Joey Logano; Mike Wheeler, crew chief for Denny Hamlin; and Rodney Childers, crew chief for Kevin Harvick about the aero package used this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Q: What were some of the strengths and weaknesses you saw on your team with the package?
Gordon: “We will see what the fans say. A lot of action going on. It makes it exciting. It does take some of what we do away because it was more like superspeedway races for us. It was kind of a modified because you had to be able to handle well to hold it wide open. Most of the guys were lifting some, more in turn three than one and two. It’s something different. It was definitely a good run for us to take a look as a series and use it for data to see if there is any potential for the future.”
Wheeler: “Unfortunately, we got damage early enough that it is hard to say how much speed we had or lost with that. We had right rear tail damage with the 88 (Alex Bowman) bump drafting us 10 laps in the race. It pushed the right rear quarter panel out a ton. About halfway through, we had some nose damage and he (Hamlin) noticed the handling difference. Ultimately, he and his spotter thought we outhandled most of the crowd most of the night, which is something we didn’t want to lose. We were so damaged that it is hard to give it a fair assessment. I wish the speeds were higher on the straightaways and guys were more grip limited, but at least it wasn’t a disaster of a night. At least it was entertaining for everyone.”
Childers: “We just felt like our car was fast. We weren’t sure if it was going to handle the best in the world. It was a little bit too tight in practice. Then we got it too loose, then got it too tight again. No matter the balance, it had a lot of speed. That was a big positive.”
Q: How much did the lack of practice affect your efforts in this package?
Gordon: “We always put on a better show when we don’t practice—I am just being frank here. The less practice we have is the less opportunity we have to hit it perfectly, which makes for more racing and having to drive the cars. Every new package has its own inherited advantage. It’s not refined to the point where you get stuck in a line. I think there is more refinement for us to work. This is just our regular car run that way. If this was run for multiple races, we would work hard on this project.
Wheeler: “I would say we got enough practice today. We did something over 70 laps. Ultimately, I wish I had another night to work on a bunch of things to get some more data. We had the balance about right. We maximized our day the best we could. If we had a month of races with it, we would probably get some more speed out of it. It got us enough information to be pretty good today.
Childers: “I think it ended up enough practice, to be honest. I think everybody at the racetrack and NASCAR did an awesome job of getting us out there. I think all of us sitting in the trailers probably thought we weren’t going to qualify yesterday, thought we weren’t going to practice any more either. We were pretty nervous from a lot of different things, just not knowing what was going to happen if we didn’t practice any more.”