For two weeks of knockout qualifying the drivers spoke about safety concerns, on Tuesday NASCAR announced it would allow cool down units.
NASCAR’s new knockout qualifying has produced a mad dash of cars on the track trying to move onto the next round, but it had also created some safety concerns as teams had no way to cool down their cars other than riding around at a reduced speed.
That will all change this Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway.
NASCAR will allow teams to cool their engines via unites attached though the roof flaps.
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“The qualifying is new to all of us and as we have said over the past several weeks, we are looking at it from all aspects,” vice president of competition Robin Pemberton said in a statement released by NASCAR. “Following discussions, both internally and with others in the garage area, we moved quickly to make a few revisions that will be effective starting with our two national series events at Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend.”
NEW RULES
• One cool down unit connected through either the left side or right side hood flap/cowl flap is allowed to cool the engine
• The hood must continue to remain closed
• Plugging in the generator will not be allowed
• Two crew members will be allowed over the wall to support the car and driver
• No cool down laps will be permitted
“We believe this will only enhance and improve what has demonstrated to be an exciting form of qualifying for our fans, competitors and others involved with the sport. Moving forward we will continue to look at it and address anything else that we may need to as the season unfolds” said Pemberton.
