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It’s official, the Sprint Cup series will soon move in a new direction.

Earlier this week, NASCAR officials approved a lower downforce package for all races next season. The decision comes after fan and driver outcry over the lack of passing for many events this season.

In a Wednesday press conference, NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer Steve O'Donnell, said series officials are hopeful the changes will lessen the importance of clean air and create the sort of back-and-forth drama featured during the races at Darlington and Kentucky this season.
 
“I would say directionally it's where we want to go,” O’Donnell said. “We feel like it's going to be a definite step in the right direction, but it's never going to stop there.  You want to take those and have 36 of those next year and continue to evolve through '17.”

O’Donnell said the low downforce standard will be used at all tracks except the superspeedways

“What we'll be able to do in each of those occasions is look at different gear ratios and match up the tires differently than you've seen in the past," O'Donnell said. "So I think it's important to note that a race at Atlanta is going to be different than a race in Kansas based on what tire combos we use and the different gear ratios we deploy.”

Basically, O’Donnell is hoping that the combination of a softer tire and decreased throttle time in the corners will generate the sort of action that fans have been craving.
Sprint Cup regular Aric Almirola gave his seal of approval on the changes.

“It's a package that really puts the drivers more in control during the race,”Almirola said. “In the past, we've just flat-footed at the mile-and-a-half tracks, but now, you're working the gas and using the brake more, which allows for more passing.

“It's going to be more exciting for us, the fans and the sport overall. I really give credit to NASCAR for listening to the drivers and all the stakeholders in the sport. They studied it, took their time to get the best package possible and have now made a decision that's really the best for everyone.”
According to O’Donnell, there are no current plans to alter the aero packages for the Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series

“I think at this point we want to see what we can learn on the Cup side with full confidence that what we're going to see will be really positive,” he said. “We'll look at how that impacts the season. “Obviously some different things we've got to look at for each of those series, but that is something down the road we could take a look at for sure.”

The base package for 2016 will include a three-and-a-half inch spoiler on the cars, a quarter-inch leading splitter edge, and a 33-inch wide radiator pan.

“That’s also going to allow us to work with Goodyear for multiple tire combinations at specific tracks and give us the opportunity to develop specific elements for each race that will provide optimal racing,” O’Donnell said.
O’Donnell said NASCAR officials considered having separate packages for the short tracks and some of the other facilities.  

“We looked at it and we ran the four races this year, looked at some different packages, that's really why we're referring to this as our base package,” he said.

According to O’Donnell, NASCAR officials had extensive discussions over when to deploy the lower downforce change
“A number of tests had already been conducted for the final 10 races, a lot of investments had been made, and as we went around and talked to the industry, not all drivers agreed certainly, but the owners and a lot of the industry, the decision was made let's stick with what we have for 2015,” he said. “That's what we've put all our resources towards, and that's what we believe is really going to drive us through the championship in Miami.”