NASCAR Cup series teams will now have the option to equip their cars with lifters on the rear dampers (shock absorbers) at Michigan International Speedway. This addition aims to assist in situations where the cars get “beached” due to flat tires. One of the challenges with the Next Gen car, even in its third season, has been the significant damage to the underbody when a driver continues to drive with a flat tire or gets completely stuck on the racetrack. To address this issue, a rules bulletin was sent to teams prior to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway race, introducing the use of lifters. These lifters will allow the car to be raised off the ground, by a few inches, enabling safety crews to tow it back to pit road.
Elton Sawyer, NASCAR’s senior vice president of competition, recently explained on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that the lifters are part of a system located at the rear of the car, working in conjunction with the shock absorber. He emphasized the positive impact of the Next Gen car on racing, while acknowledging the challenge it presents when dealing with flat tires. Sawyer stated, “What came with that, and we noticed that immediately at Auto Club two years ago, is when this car has a flat tire or four flats particularly, it can’t go anywhere.”
The Next Gen car, with its 18-inch wheel and single lug nut design without an inner liner, collaborated with Öhlins, a Cup series shock absorber vendor, to develop the lifter assembly. The lifter system includes a quick connect device that will be installed along the A-post of the Cup cars. When a track service worker arrives at the scene, they can use an air hose to inflate the lifters at the rear, causing the tire to lift up. This allows the driver to safely drive back to pit road. Previously, the process involved hooking or pushing the cars, which was time-consuming and inefficient.
Sawyer further explained the functionality of the lifters, stating, “As we get to the incident, plug in there, put a little air to the rear lifters that basically picks up the back of the car. Then, when they get to pit road, there’s a valve there. They just hit the valve and the rear of the car will go back down.”
NASCAR previously experimented with a dolly system at Iowa Speedway, which was used during practice when Ross Chastain experienced a flat left rear tire. However, this system proved to be slow and impractical during a race, leading NASCAR to seek a more efficient solution.
