NASCAR’s new superspeedway package that featured less drag and a lower spoiler in an effort to improve the racing product debuted on Saturday at Daytona, and the reaction from drivers was a mixed bag.
Brad Keselowski said he didn’t notice a chance at all. Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe both praised the new package.
In the eyes of Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who finished fifth, the changes didn’t go far enough. He’d like to see NASCAR make even more changes ahead of the Oct. 25 race at Talladega, where the package is also supposed to be used.
What Ricky Stenhouse wants NASCAR to do with new package
“I’d like to see another notch further,” Stenhouse said Tuesday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “I think the biggest thing is continuing to go. I definitely don’t think they went over the edge. We pushed up to the line, I think. Don’t think we pushed up over it.”
Stenhouse’s desire for further changes is largely because handling matters less at Talladega, a much wider track with more margin for error in the pack.
“I think the biggest thing is to take another stab at it and see exactly where we go,” Stenhouse said. “That’s the biggest thing, is just trying to get a better idea and gameplan going into the offseason.”
NASCAR would certainly love to have everything straightened out with its new speedway package by next February when the 2027 Daytona 500 rolls around on Feb. 21.