HELTON SAYS WINGS WILL BE SOON BE IN THE PAST

We're hoping within the next two of three races that we'll be able to be at a point where we say it's time to take the wings off and put the spoiler on, "NASCAR, president Mike Helton said Monday. While Helton didn't provide specific date for the expected removal of the wings from the cars, that timeline coincides with the March 28 race at Martinsville that most teams have expected to be the first with the more traditional-looking rear spoilers.

Speaking at Texas Motor Speedway's media day, Helton said there was a "pretty doggone good chance" that the spoilers would be on the car when the series races at the 1.5 mile, high-banked track April 18. The first on-track testing of the new spoiler package was done during a tire test at Texas in January.

I think by the time we come here in April, we can have a race or two under our belt with the spoiler," Helton said.

There are two more Cup races before the series goes to the half-mile Martinsville, which will come only days after NASCAR's planned open test at Charlotte. Texas is the second race after that.

Spoilers were replaced with a wing on the new car model phased in three years ago. That model has been used full-time since 2008, and fans have complained it has made races boring. NASCAR last May began a series of town hall and individual meetings with teams, and one of the constant cries from participants was a need to alter the car design.

"If the industry benefits from the fans seeing a more traditional piece and that works for us, can we mechanically do the things that the wing presents as an advantage with a spoiler?" Helton said. "During the course of research, we figured out how to do that."

Already, NASCAR is encouraging drivers this season to be more aggressive, in large part to answer a growing fan sentiment that the sport had gone stale.

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