Taken directly from NASCAR.com•
Probst provided updates based on the findings of a June 30 crash test at Talladega Superspeedway, where a Next Gen model was fitted with a test dummy and driven into a retaining wall by robotic means.
Competition officials cleared the chassis for distribution to teams July 19, but Probst said Monday that measures are being taken to reduce the rigidity of the front and rear frame sections (or “clips”), allowing them to better disperse energy in a crash impact.
“So for example on the front clip, what we’ve done there is taken existing crossmembers and put little football cuts, we call them, so basically drilled holes in the crossmember,” Probst said. “We modified, one of the lower legs have like a little kick-in, with the idea of allowing more deformation in a crash situation. The idea there is we’re trying to spread the deformation out over a longer period of time, and actually, when we’re trying to work on the rear it actually helps when you work on the front as well. So, if, if we’re able to spread out the load earlier in the crash, it actually helps later in the crash.”
Probst said he anticipated teams having new or retrofitted parts with those structural changes to the frame and suspension in place when teams return for an organizational test on Charlotte’s 1.5-mile oval Nov. 17-18. He also added that the changes are not expected to alter the car’s durability during close-contact racing.
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