The Xfinity Series brought its unique restrictor-plate package to Michigan International Speedway for the first time last weekend, and it put on more of a show than it did the previous week at Pocono Raceway.
On SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s “The Morning Drive,” NASCAR’s Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell said the sanctioning body was “cautiously optimistic” about the package and reiterated it’s only looking to use it at a “few tracks.”
“I see some of our current drivers make assumptions when they don’t have all the facts and it’s something we’re looking at for a few tracks if we can pull it off,” O’Donnell said.
On NASCAR America, Parker Kligerman and Dale Jarrett shared their thoughts on how the package performed at Michigan.
Kligerman said he believed Saturday’s race was better than what has come before at the 2-mile track.
“I believe that you saw closer racing, you saw racing that we kind of predicted, that you’d have to find yourself drafting,” Kligerman said. “You did have a situation were you did have a predominate line. You had to be in that outside lane a lot of times to be making speed. I don’t think anyone was caught off guard.”
Jarrett echoed O’Donnell, saying the package is not made for every track.
“At certain race tracks let’s try to make the racing betters, let’s try to make it what this sport was built on,” Jarrett said. “This sport wasn’t built about 220 mph into Turn 1. Yeah, that’s a great number for the Cup cars, but we saw (the Xfinity Series) make it three wide, which we didn’t see in the Cup cars because they were at much slower speeds.”
Watch the above video for more.