Overview
- NASCAR announced the Daytona package on July 15, replacing the seven-inch rear spoiler with a four-inch unit and reducing engine output to about 465 horsepower for the Aug. 29 race.
- The technical update also adds wide splitter stuffers, new spoiler braces and a redesigned spoiler deflection device and changes the tapered spacer and drop-gear ratios to keep single-car runs useable.
- Series engineers expect single-car qualifying speeds to rise roughly 2–3 mph while draft speeds stay similar and computational fluid dynamics work suggests passing will be easier.
- The package was developed by a working group that included driver Denny Hamlin, NASCAR Event Management president John Probst and former crew chief Steve Letarte using simulations and CFD analysis.
- NASCAR will monitor the Aug. 29 regular-season finale—which sets the 16-driver playoff field—and may decide after that whether to apply the package at Talladega and other superspeedways.