After issues with heat during a race on the Daytona International Speedway road course on Aug. 16, NASCAR has made a rule change ahead of the Saturday-Sunday NASCAR Cup Series doubleheader at Dover International Speedway with the hope of keeping drivers cooler throughout the races.
For the Dover races, the sanctioning body will allow teams to remove approximately two-thirds of the right-side windows of their race cars. If the change is successful, the same or similar changes will be made for races at other tracks.
“I would say two of the three hottest races I’ve ever been a part of have been this year with this Daytona race being one of them and Martinsville being another,” driver Chris Buescher said in an interview two days after the Daytona race. “The thing that has changed has been a right-side window, so there’s pretty clear indication to me of what’s creating this heat that so many drivers are starting to be a little bit more vocal about, because it’s almost excessive, so that’s been something that has been tough to deal with.”
The air temperature reached 92 degrees with a 103-degree heat index during the Daytona race that included a 30-minute break for lightning after lap 36.
“I know that it was a situation where, if that race would have been a whole lot longer, it very well could have been somebody had to start worrying about fluids and trying to cool off at the end,” Buescher said.
Rick Ware Racing driver J.J. Yeley climbed out of his car and collapsed just before the red flag for lightning at Daytona. Bayley Currey finished the race as Yeley’s substitute.
“Tough day today,” Yeley (@JJYeleye1) posted on Instagram. “My AC failed and I was way overheated. I made the decision to get out in hopes of saving a good finish for @xbox @NASCARheat5. Today was the first time in my 16 year NASCAR career that I had to get out before the end of the race. Thanks @BayleyCurrey05 @RickWareRacing.”
Yeley was treated at the track’s infield care center, as was one of the pit crew members of Daniel Suarez’s Gaunt Brothers Racing team.
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