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NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers unsure over high-drag aero package

Leading NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers were left unconvinced by the high-drag aerodynamic package introduced to try to improve racing at Indianapolis last weekend

A low-downforce configuration premiered at Kentucky Speedway earlier this month received very positive reviews from the drivers.

However, the high drag package designed for larger tracks such as Indianapolis was found to be less successful.

Kyle Busch, who claimed his third consecutive series victory in the Brickyard 400, believed the modifications worked as intended to allow for more slipstreaming on the straights, but left drivers struggling in the corners.

"I think drag is exciting," said the Joe Gibbs driver.

"I would agree that there's nothing more beneficial than to be able to see a guy behind another guy gain on him down the straightaways, instead of making it a horsepower race you can make it a drag race. That's fun.

"It was just absolutely so hard to handle in traffic.

"It's not sometimes such a bad thing, but you don't want to feel like you're going off into the corner and you're going to crash every time.

"You want to have some sort of security.

"I think there's something to be learned.

"I'm not sure it's the right combination exactly, but I think there's some benefits to it."

Joey Logano, who battled with Busch for the victory at both Kentucky and Indianapolis, had been optimistic about the changes but afterwards felt that they made little difference.

"Really, to be honest with you, it looks like you have three laps to make something happen," he said.

"After that you kind of spread out and it's hard to make the pass.

"The draft down the straightaways is obviously larger for sure but doesn't make up for what we lose in the corners so it's hard to make it happen somehow.

"I think we can fine-tune the package and maybe see something different, but for the most part it seemed like Indy out there to me."

Third-place finisher and 2014 champion Kevin Harvick added: "I think everybody put in a lot of effort to really try to make everything a lot better, spent a lot of money, but I don't know that we accomplished everything that we were looking to accomplish.

"But everybody tried real hard, and in the end, I think our goal is more drafting and more pack racing, so we'll see if we can get to that."

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