NASCAR will be implementing restrictor plates for an upcoming race.
NASCAR practice sessions are usually hoe hum, however, during Friday's practice sessions, multiple drivers broke the 200 mph mark. The top speed, however, belongs to one of Roger Penske's Ford Fusions. The top speed was 202.617 mph, hit by Ryan Blaney in the #12 car.
There were eight other drivers that cracked 200 mph these included Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, Chase Elliot, Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer, Paul Menard, and Aric Almirola.
Michigan International Raceway typically does not run a restrictor plate package like some of the other tracks of similar size and shape on the NASCAR schedule, however, because of the number of fast laps put in on Friday, NASCAR announced they will be implementing a restrictor plate for Sunday's race.
RELATED: NASCAR MYTHS EVERYONE BELIEVES FOR SOME REASON
Restrictor plates are a square piece of sheet metal with four holes drilled into them. A restrictor plate is designed to limit the power of a car. It sits in between the carburetor and intake manifold. They were first introduced in 1988 after Bobby Allison crashed into a retaining wall at 213 mph. The first races to utilize the restrictor plate were at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. They were also mandatory at New Hampshire International Speedway following the deaths of Adam Petty and Kenny Irwin in 2000. Another interesting fact on restrictor plates, they can be found uncommonly in road vehicles, but are very common in everyday motorcycles.
Given the fact that drivers hit over 200 mph at Michigan every year, and they add the restrictor plates anyways, why won't NASCAR safety officials just make them mandatory like they are at any other track where going over 200 is a strong possibility? It would allow the pit crews of the teams to plan for that from the get-go and they would then have a better set up utilizing the restrictor plate at this track. Sure, the speed would be lowered a little, but driver and fan safety should ultimately be the top concern.