"Flex-glass" "not advantageous"..Childers

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"Flex-glass" "not advantageous"..Childers

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from: autoweek.com



Kevin Harvick's crew chief says a part failed at Las Vegas, leading to a rear window malfunction.

RODNEY CHILDERS SAYS THE ISSUE WAS ACTUALLY A COMPETITIVE IMPEDIMENT

March 6, 2018

Stewart-Haas Racing crew chief Rodney Childers said a part failed during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, leading to a malfunctioning roof on Kevin Harvick’s No. 4 that bowed at race speed during the Pennzoil 400.

Childers appeared on SiriusXM Radio on Tuesday morning to explain what happened and why he believes it didn’t provide a competitive advantage.

"Basically, we had a rear window brace fail, and NASCAR mandates that we run a certain T-bar in the back glass, and that T-bar is actually pretty strong," Childers said. "Then also over the winter they wanted the rear package to raise the bottom of the rear glass to be really stiff and stay controlled -- there were some guys that were having their rear package trays falling an inch at the end of the year last year.


"The bottom of the glass got strengthened up and the T-bar is stiff, and the center brace that holds that T-bar is what bent and failed and the T-bar ends up being stronger than the back of the roof at that point and then pulled the back of the roof down.

"To be honest, that stuff has been a struggle over many, many years. I can remember being at Michigan with Mark Martin in 2012. You’re just going so fast at those intermediate tracks and you’ve got so much air pushing down on that stuff. I remember Mark coming off the race track and we had a 2-inch gap from the bottom of the glass to the deck lid when we came in from practice and had to modify all that stuff."


Childers went on to explain that the pointed window is actually an impediment to speed and that the most aerodynamic benefits come from a rounded shape. He says the team has already addressed the problem, and changes were implemented into the team’s Auto Club Speedway cars.

Additionally, he doesn’t expect to have any further conversations with NASCAR about the matter.

"I think the biggest thing is getting it fixed and making sure that it doesn’t happen again," Childers said. "I think all the guys there, they understand aerodynamics and they understand what goes on. We all communicate and we try to do the right things. I think also my reputation over there is pretty good.


"Like I said, it’s not something to be proud of. We’re proud of winning races and having fast cars. Whether a brace failed or not, we were going to win the other day. That’s really the whole story."

"competitive impediment", these are words of an educated man!
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