Spoiler to replace rear wing in 2010

NASCAR has informed Sprint Cup crew chiefs that it will switch from a rear wing to an aluminium spoiler on Cup cars sometime during the 2010 season.

A test session has been set for March 23-24 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but the exact race date for the switch was not announced, according to the memo sent to the teams.

NASCAR will require the teams to buy the spoiler from a vendor. The size and the shape of the spoiler is still to be determined, but NASCAR plans to have the same amount of downforce as the current car does with a wing.

A spoiler had been common on Cup cars until 2007, when NASCAR rolled out its new Cup car for select races. The new car, which used a wing for rear downforce, has been used full time since 2008.

The wing never has been widely accepted by fans nor drivers for the way it made the car look. Drivers complained most about it hampering their vision to see the cars in front of the car directly ahead of them and questioned its impact on cars rolling over.

"Whatever it is, it is," driver/owner Tony Stewart said last week when asked about the potential move from the wing to the spoiler. "The thing is, NASCAR has been through changes for 60 years, just like the economy, just like technology. So this will be just another step in that equation.

"That's the fun part of our sport, is that it makes everybody have to go work. That's what makes it gratifying if you figure it out and become successful with it."