So Pemberton delved into the nitty-gritty of the COT\u2019s pros and cons. The former NASCAR official said, \u201cThe wing was good for a number of reasons, and it was bad for a number of reasons. It was good for traffic, less weight. And they got blamed for cars getting upside down. One of the reasons is with the wing, it\u2019s not a lot of drag. So when I turned sideways, the drag didn\u2019t go up as fast as it did with a spoiler. So lift-off speeds were wrong. There was that part of it, and then some people weighed in that said stock cars don\u2019t have wings. They don\u2019t have wings. Yeah, that was part of it, I hate that because we put a lot of development in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the regret involved with scrapping a high-effort enterprise, Robin Pemberton had to take the tough call eventually. He recalled his interaction with Mike Helton, former president of NASCAR. \u201cI\u2019ll never forget. Mike comes up for lunch one day, and he goes, Well, I gotta tell you. We need to get rid of the wing, like we just spent a year on it. Yeah, okay. Well, I will go work on it\u2026What do you mean? Like, asap. It took my breath. Like if you got a month or six weeks, whatever, in like it came in a hurry, you know.\u201d\u00a0Eventually, the COT went out of business. Recently, Denny Hamlin referred to its flaws to highlight the Next-Gen\u2019s defects.<\/a><\/p>\n Well, Pemberton chafed about the loss of the wing, but in the long run, it was a good call. While Dale Jr. brooded over the resolution of a crisis almost 13 years ago, he is also concerned with a crisis in the present day.<\/p>\n Urging the offender to take action<\/p>\n Fireworks broke out in New Hampshire last Sunday. More precisely, the fireworks of Joe Gibbs Racing\u2019s in-house drama. On lap 110, Ty Gibbs would not leave room for Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin<\/a>, both playoff contenders. And Gibbs, who could not crack the postseason, fell prey to Hamlin\u2019s aggression and spun out. Although no face-to-face encounter happened, there has been an online exchange of barbs. Hamlin called out JGR\u2019s leadership to teach Gibbs a lesson, while the latter delivered a subtle jab. However, Dale Jr. pointed out how the first step needs to be taken by Ty. As he started the whole ordeal, he should step up.<\/p>\n