Cup cars get power boost for Daytona

On Monday the sanctioning body revealed that carburetors will be fitted with a restrictor-plate with four holes of 1 1/32 inches, which will be the largest ever since they made the device mandatory for events at Daytona and Talladega in 1988.

The July 3 race at the Florida venue will be the first at the track since the rear spoiler was implemented. Relative to the wing that the cars were fitted with before, the spoiler generates more drag, decreasing top speeds. Officials look to compensate that by increasing horsepower.

"We think this will be a needed boost due to the additional drag we've picked up since switching from a rear wing to a rear spoiler," said NASCAR vice president of competition Robin Pemberton.

Last April, Sprint Cup teams raced at Talladega with the rear spoiler, running more restricted that they will at Daytona, as carburetors had to be fitted with restrictor plates that had 15/16-inch holes.

An increase of around 72 horsepower is expected with the new restrictor relative to the spring event at Talladega, while engines will have around 32 horsepower more than when the series raced back in February at Daytona with the rear wing.