changes arent made to keep the cars on the ground

TALLADEGA, Ala. -- About the only change to NASCAR Sprint Cup cars since their last trip to Talladega Superspeedway is the addition of 20 pounds.The addition of the weight, theoretically, could have a small -- very small -- impact on whether a 3,300-pound stock car gets airborne, one of the concerns of drivers as they left the track in May. The changes arent made to keep the cars on the ground but to protect the drivers who hit the wall.The weight is part of a new construction of the footbox area, which includes a new design plus foam and is meant to protect a drivers lower extremities. Kyle Busch missed 11 races when he broke his right leg and left foot in an Xfinity Series accident at Daytona in 2015.The new floorboard chassis requirements go into effect in 2017 for restrictor-plate tracks and 2018 for all tracks. Teams have the option to use it at Talladega this weekend. The four Joe Gibbs Racing cars, the Furniture Row Racing car and the Roush Fenway Racing car of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. are among the cars with the changes.It would make sense that drivers are very aware of whether they have the added protection in their cars for the race Sunday. But at least some drivers mired in Chase cutoff drama didnt know.Carl Edwards appeared puzzled when asked about it after practice Friday.We focused 100 percent on Kansas and then [on the test this week at] Homestead and now Talladega and so, yeah, Im not up to speed on it, Edwards said. I should be.There was one superspeedway race -- I believe it was here -- where I actually ran into a car that was pulling off of pit road and I hit that car so hard and went up in the air that looking at it afterwards, seeing what could have possibly happened with that foot box, Im really excited to have more shielding there.Joey Logano didnt know whether his car had the new components. He does not.I focus on things that I can affect and things that involve me, Logano said. Yes, you can make an argument that involves me quite a bit, but it doesnt have an effect on the way Im going to approach this race ... so I didnt really get in the middle of that.Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin were aware their cars had the changes. They couldnt tell the difference when driving. Hamlin conceded he only knew because there was some talk about it at the drivers council meeting last week at Kansas.Were focused on doing everything inside the car to go faster, Hamlin said. I didnt notice any difference. ... Hopefully I wont see the difference because I wont be hitting anything on Sunday.That is typical driver talk. They try not to think about the dangers until it, literally, hits them.You cant tell any difference unless you get under there and really look at it, Truex said. Everything is fine from what I can see and obviously the weight is not a big deal here either.Hopefully we wont have to test the safety features of that new panel, but glad to know its in there for sure.The weight is the main concern of teams, who wouldnt even think about using the new construction -- it has to be certified by NASCAR because it is so different from the 2016 chassis -- until NASCAR mandated that all cars at Talladega must have the extra 20 pounds for the cars that are running the 2016 package. Where the weight is located in the footbox area, though, is different from where teams would put the weight in the 2016 chassis. At other tracks where weight distribution is more important, teams cant afford to make the change and be at a competitive disadvantage.Among other safety improvements NASCAR will implement next year: All drivers will have roof hatches in their cars for 2017 restrictor-plate races. And the size of the holes in the restrictor plate will change by 1/64th of an inch. There will also be a change to the steering column so that it wont come back into the drivers lap as forcefully as in recent crashes such as Danica Patricks at Talladega in May.It makes us feel a lot better in the cars to know they go in that direction, said Tony Stewart, whose car does not have the changes. Its a lot of weight theyre adding to the car, but Id rather have safety than weight [savings].Will the weight help cars from getting airborne?Its not going to hurt it, keeping it down for sure, but ... Im fairly certain that they can already pick them up [in the air] with 3,300 pounds; 20 probably isnt going to be a big deal, Stewart said. Air Max 97 China Wholesale . The Americans, skipped by John Shuster, seized the advantage in the eighth end by scoring five points for a 7-3 lead. 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