What’s old is new again.

Yesterday 49 NASCAR Sprint Cup teams gathered at Charlotte (NC) Motor Speedway in what is likely to be the only test session available at a 1.5-mile track for the return of the spoiler to the Sprint Cup Series. And since the new spoiler will debut next week at Martinsville, you can bet this test is important.

 ”The test is helping us to learn more about the handling of the race car with the new spoiler and also it’s like a normal track test session for us,” said Juan Pablo Montoya, driver of the No. 42 Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet. Montoya put up the fastest lap of the day with a time of 29.036 and speed of 185.976. “The cars are a lot slower in traffic with the spoiler but aside from that it handles pretty much the same. We’ll use the information we’ve gathered for a little bit of everything including the upcoming races at Charlotte.”

“For me personally it was good to know and put out of my mind that the spoiler was going to be a drastic difference in the way the car drove,” added RCR’s Kevin Harvick. “That is not the case. The car has a lot of grip with the tire combination and the spoiler so it drives really good.”

This change is a big deal for NASCAR because without actually saying it, the sanctioning body is admitting that the much-maligned COT hasn’t turned out as well as hoped. Hopefully, the change from the decklid wing to a spoiler will improve the racing on the track and we can enjoy much more passing and side-by-side racing.