RACINBOYS EXCLUSIVE By Lee Spencer -- Following a successful rollout of flange-fit bodies in the Xfinity Series, NASCAR is considering a similar path for the Monster Energy Cup Series as well.
Although there has been discussion of implementing composite Cup pieces as early as 2019 on short tracks, a 2020 launch is more likely.
PHOTO CREDIT: Robert Laberge/Getty Images
“I think 2020 would be good,” said Jimmy Makar, Senior Vice President of Racing Operations at Joe Gibbs Racing. “I think the idea of 2019 was going to be really, really hard, and we’d let a lot of things fall through the cracks. I think it’s enough time to get the process done. I think the biggest question is getting a manufacturer put together and get that all done.
“It’s the same process that we’d have to go through (as with the Xfinity Series). I don’t know that it would be any harder necessarily. I think the bigger question is, ‘What are we learning on the Xfinity side about quirks and issues that they’re having in inspection or getting the bodies on. I know there are a few things that have cropped up. I know getting those things mowed and figured out on the Cup side are the biggest thing.”
Along with the new bodies, Xfinity teams also faced the new Optical Scanning System (OSS) in the inspection process this season. Not only were teams acclimating to the building process, the cars had to fit within NASCAR’s tighter tolerances in inspection.
Roush Fenway Racing crew chief Mike Kelley, who oversees the No. 60 program in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, switched over all of his team’s inventory during the winter. He believes the challenge for Cup will be finding not just ‘a’ supplier, but the right supplier.
“We need to get a supplier that can build parts within the tolerances that NASCAR wants,” Kelley said. “It’s not from a manufacturing side. It’s not from the teams. The parts we’re getting, I’m sure it will get better over time, but right now, that’s the biggest difference we see is in some of the parts that we get.”
When NASCAR first unveiled the program last season, Five Star Race Car Bodies of Twin Lakes, Wis., was named the manufacturer of record for the composite pieces. The company also has a satellite distribution center in Troutman, N.C., in the heart of NASCAR country. While NASCAR rationed the pieces to each team on an equal basis, the allocation wasn’t soon enough for many teams.
“The Xfinity deal—that was on a really tight timeline, too, going through it for the first time, figuring out all of the issues, was hard,” Makar added. “They got it done, but they could have used a few more months to iron out some of the bugs before it got started. But they didn’t have the luxury of that time. I think we learned enough from that to know we don’t want to do that again.
“Again, I think the biggest question is going to be in finding a supplier and getting that process taken care off first where we can get the parts and pieces and start working with them and get them on the car.
“I think the Cup teams that are associated with Xfinity teams will have a little bit of a leg up, because we’ve had time to work on the Xfinity cars and have a little knowledge of what goes on.”
A NASCAR spokesman said the sanctioning body was not ready to comment on flange-fit Cup bodies at this time.