What began as a seemingly innocuous attempt by NASCAR to improve safety, many Sprint Cup teams are now finding themselves hard pressed to adjust to the rule change that mandates a ¼” increase in wheel stud length. On the surface this might not sound like such a big deal, but it is, especially to several teams in the Roush Fenway stable who saw their winning contentions evaporate when wheel related issues arose just recently in Texas. Keep in mind they aren’t the only ones struggling because the problem is more widespread than that.

So what is the problem? Is it the stud, the tire installer, the nut, the glue or the fact that before the lug nut is seated it now takes five extra turns of the impact gun before it’s tight and two threads of the stud must be displayed? Most agree that the increased length is partially to blame because when the wheel is pushed on, the extra length forces the glued nut to separate from the wheel, causing it to fall to the ground or come off after the car has left the pits because it wasn’t completely tightened in the first place.

So now the search is on for the all purpose glue that will withstand and adjust to variances to weather, climate, temperature, humidity and so on. Until now most teams have been using a standard 3M weatherstrip adhesive which for the most part has worked well but there’s a movement afoot to look for something that will solve the problem or at least mitigate it to the point that sizable chunks of change won’t be thrown out the window because a car is pulled back into the pits after it just left, losing position and ultimately the chance to win.

T & N Products out of Mooresville, North Carolina (www.partsandpeople.com/National/articles/view/3599), has come up with a unique NASCAR approved nut that can be used on all 5/8-18 conventional racing piloted wheel studs. It’s called the “Saf to Go” and it incorporates an imbedded contrasting color (red) piece of plastic that once tightened, will indicate the green nut is where it’s supposed to be, all the way onto the stud, not just half the way but all the way.

The reality of all this is that in 2009, pit times are running slower in the world of NASCAR where seconds determine your position in the food chain. This is the same world where teams have spent millions to develop oil blends that are specific to practice, qualifying and actually racing. In this case it’s going to take some relearning, some experimentation and an acceptance that safety can’t be short changed no matter what the costs.