In a media conference last Friday prior to the running of Michigan International Speedway's Pure Michigan 400, NASCAR's Steve O'Donnell announced that the upcoming Chase for the Sprint Cup will be run under the standard rules package rolled out at the beginning of the season.O'Donnell is NASCAR's Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer. Leading up to the Chase, the ruling body has experimented with two packages, lowering downforce at Kentucky and Darlington (the latter of which has not yet been run) and increasing drag at Indianapolis and Michigan.For the Chase, O'Donnell said, "We're going to stay with the (general) 2015 package. We've seen some good things with that package. A lot of work has been done by the race teams already, leading up to the final 10 races (i.e., the Chase) and [we] feel like that's the best decision for the sport."O'Donnell cited fairness, controlling costs and the fact that the experimentation was primarily intended to help NASCAR compile data to be used in determining next year's rules.What O'Donnell didn't say was whether the 2016 season would be run with a standard rules packagetraditionally the case with the exception of the "restrictor-plate tracks," Daytona and Talladegaor different packages for different tracks. He said NASCAR would not change the rules week-to-week but hinted at planned modifications."I think it's a balance," he said, "because when you look at it, there is only so much race teams can do, and they're already pretty taxed, so having an individual rules package at every single race that varies is a big challenge.""But I think what you'll see us do is more of a grouping of tracks where they share some of the same characteristics. If we could look at some balances there, that's what we'd do.""I think having track-specific packages is a good thing," Joey Logano said on July 11 after the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky. "I look at Indy as one of the crown jewel events of NASCAR, right' You have the Brickyard 400 [and] the Daytona 500, those are the biggest races of the year. We can't afford to have a bad show, and I feel like we've had some not very good racing there in the past."Perhaps experimentation explains disparities.Based on the results to date, reduced downforce enhanced the racing at Kentucky Speedway. It may not work as well at Darlington Raceway on Sept. 6. The sliding around that resulted from less adhesion at Kentucky, a track with a wide, spacious surface, may have a different effect at narrow, perilous Darlington."This is what race car driving is all about," Denny Hamlin said on July 11 after finishing third at Kentucky. "I feel like now it's back in the driver and crew chief's hands to get their car handling like it's supposed to, not just an arms race of who built the fastest cars in the shop.""I had more fun racing than I had on a mile-and-a-half (track) in a long, long time," Carl Edwards, who finished fourth, said in the same media conference. "To me, that (rear) spoiler cannot be small enough."The spoiler height was reduced, thus similarly reducing downforce, at Kentucky and for Darlington, and enlarged, increasing drag, at Indianapolis and Michigan.Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Michigan International Speedway have little in common except similar lengths. Indy is two-and-a-half miles, with four distinct turns, and almost flat. Michigan is two miles, D-shaped, and moderately banked. General reviews rated Indy a mixed bag and Michigan a debacle.After Matt Kenseth ran away with a Michigan race that was widely panned, drivers who were buoyant after Kentucky were unusually quiet. Kenseth said he couldn't judge the racing because, being so far out front, he saw little of it. Logano allowed as how he didn't care for it, but runner-up Kevin Harvick ignored a question about the quality of the race.Some attention should be paid to those who have been unable to adapt. Three-time champion Tony Stewart is having by far his worst season, currently ranked 26th in the points standings.This year,NASCAR officials reduced horsepower. Stewart wants it back."I think it was more the horsepower reduction than it was anything that I feel like has hurt me this year," he said in a July 14 media conference. "I've grown up driving high-horsepower cars, high power-to-weight-ratio cars. This hasn't been what I'm used to feeling."Since Stewart has an ownership stake in his team, Stewart-Haas Racing, he also noted the impact of frequent changes from a business perspective."The part that's hard for the teams is the process, you know, changing this, changing that," he said. "All that comes out of our pocket. It doesn't come out of NASCAR's pocket. NASCAR decides they want to change something, we're the ones who have to spend the money to do it. They don't spend a dime to do it. That's the part that's hard.""I think all the owners will do whatever is in the best interest of making it better. I just would like to see NASCAR share some of that expense vs. saying, 'Hey we got an idea, we want to try this,' then the teams have to spend all the money to do it."The 2012 Sprint Cup champion, Brad Keselowski, has cautiously analyzed the experiments so far."Well, I don't believe, and I've never been of the belief that it's too late to do anything the right way," he said in a media conference on Aug. 11. "And if everyone believes that one package is heads and tails above another package, then we've got to find a way to make it work and get it in front of our fans."I don't believe it's ever too late...But my understanding of that is it's a two-month process, so if you make that decision inside these two-month windows for these Chase races, we should be more than capable of executing it. I think that's what I'd like to see, but at the end of the day, it's not my call. It's NASCAR's call."NASCAR's call, for the rest of the season, is to stand pat, though, in an overlooked footnote. O'Donnell suggested there might be rules modifications for the Talladega race on Oct. 25."We're still having some discussion with the industry heading into Talladega," he said. "[We] have not settled on anything yet, but I think you can anticipate something."Otherwise, NASCAR's braintrust has concluded that the racing in the Chase is good enough, and all things considered, leaving "good enough" alone.Follow @montedutton on Twitter.All quotes are taken from NASCAR media, team and manufacturer sources unless otherwise noted.
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