Chad Leistikow

cleistik@dmreg.com

O%27Donnell was in Iowa as part of a sponsor summit for Iowa Speedway.

He said the goal is to increase lead changes in 2015.

An early assessment of 1.5-mile racing has shown NASCAR still has work to do.

GRIMES, Ia. – NASCAR is close to revealing an engine package for the 2015 season that CEO Brian France hopes will increase lead changes, particularly on 1.5-mile superspeedways.

And senior vice president of racing operations Steve O'Donnell said Thursday at an Iowa Speedway Sponsor Summit that a final racing package might not be limited to a reduction of horsepower in engines.

"The whole package," O'Donnell said, affirming France's proclamation a few weeks ago that NASCAR would make "significant" changes as it enters a new TV contract with NBC. "Engines, downforce, aero and tires."

O'Donnell said in an interview with the Des Moines Register that NASCAR met with teams this past week as its Research & Development Center in Concord, N.C., to inform them of "the direction we're heading," and that stock-car racing's sanctioning body was in the "tweaking" stage of the 2015 engine package.

O'Donnell said he was hopeful for a formal announcement on engines prior to the May 17 Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, although there's still much to be worked out with the R&D folks before that can happen.

Racing at 1.5-mile tracks can be starved for up-front excitement at times, with a leader pulling away on a restart and often encountering little obstacle in extending his gap on the pack. That's an area NASCAR wanted to examine early in the 2014 season, with an eye on improvements for 2015.

After viewing a small sample this season (at Las Vegas and Texas), O'Donnell termed 1.5-mile racing "better" but said, "We've still got work to do. Brian's talked about (wanting) more and more lead changes. That's the end goal."

To reach that goal, it appears NASCAR is taking a multi-pronged approach, not only in reducing engine power (currently at 850 horsepower in the premier Sprint Cup Series) but in its Goodyear tires.

"If you watched last year … 50 laps into a run, 10 laps to go, nobody pits for tires," O'Donnell said. "And if one guy did, it didn't matter. You think, 'Wait a minute, that's not right.' So tires are a big part of this as well in getting that all right."

There is no timetable for when the final package will be released to teams. However, O'Donnell provided a window Thursday into discussions that have taken place about how to further enhance the racing product.

"If you combine the aero package with that (reduction of) horsepower (and) allow some aero changes with the engines going into the corner, drivers have to get off the gas and they're able to maneuver around a little bit more," O'Donnell said. "Combine that with Goodyear and a little softer tire, now you've got the full package."