NASCAR has announced it will double the amount of practice time for each car, starting with the New Hampshire event on August 23.
It will do so by consolidating practice into a single 50-minute session for all cars, rather than splitting the field into two groups for 25 minutes each.
The move will impact all events outside of the super speedways, where cars go straight into qualifying, and the Homestead-Miami finale, which is already assigned extra practice.
NASCAR is also set to award each car a second set of tyres for use during the 50-minute sessions.
It’ll be a welcome change for van Gisbergen, who has repeatedly stressed a lack of practice time as one of the biggest challenges of his NASCAR transition.
NASCAR has reportedly made the change to help mid-sized teams, which do not have the same access to the manufacturer-controlled simulators used by the top outfits.
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The governing body had slashed at-track practice time during the COVID pandemic.
“The adjustment was discussed with teams during last week’s technical meeting and follows continued industry feedback regarding the amount and structure of Cup Series practice,” read NASCAR’s website.
“NASCAR officials indicated that the garage initiative had received support from a substantial majority of teams.
“Under the new format, every team will have access to the full 50-minute window, giving drivers and crew chiefs more time to evaluate handling, tyre wear and potential adjustments before qualifying and the race.”
Impound procedures will remain in effect, restricting the amount of adjustments teams can make following qualifying.
The NASCAR Cup Series continues this weekend with the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Indianapolis was already set to feature a single 50-minute practice session, which SVG said “will help a lot” as he aims to improve his intermediate track performance.
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