Winning a Race Takes Strategy
NASCAR racing is about much more than making rules and driving fast. In fact, becoming successful in NASCAR entails much more than the ability to wheel a race car at high speed. By the time a race starts, a driver and his crew have put in many hours of work building and tweaking the vehicles so that they handle well for that particular track, whether an oval track, a road course, or a superspeedway. Once at the track, drivers hit the pavement for practice laps, trying to coax the most speed they can out of their cars in order to both qualify and race well. A qualifying lap determines where a driver will start a race; the one who is fastest over one lap gets to start from the front pole position and the second-fastest driver starts next to him on the outside pole.
When the race starts, the objective is to move to the front (if you started in the back) and hold onto the lead if you started up front. The most successful drivers are well-schooled in the art of passing the competition, either by having that day’s fastest car or by hooking up with their rivals in a draft, as two or three cars end-to-end can push one another past a car stuck out on its own. (For more information on drafting and race strategy, turn to Chapter 9.) A good pi crew that can change four tires and fill two cans of gas in less than 14 seconds is also crucial to having a winning car. The first car off pit road, especially near the end of the race, often is the one that makes the hard left into victory lane.
![[Image: markmartints6.jpg]](http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/3475/markmartints6.jpg)
MARK SAYS
Winning has become increasingly difficult as the sport has become more popular and more drivers enter races. That makes winning more special than it used to be. Don’t get me wrong, it was special when I won my first NASCAR Cup race in 1989, but today, there isn’t as much disparity in equipment between first-and last- place teams. This is fine with me because it makes winning more satisfying.
Like other professional sports, NASCAR has a rule book. Unlike other professional sports, however, that rule book changes during the season – and can even change from week to week. For example, if a driver’s team gets an edge over everybody else with the car’s aerodynamics or in a particular part of the engine, NASCAR may change the rule regarding that area and the team’s advantage disappears. While some rules changes sometime appear to help or hinder a certain manufacturer, there are those that affect drivers equally, such as the introduction in 2004 of the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup, which opened the title race to the top-10 drivers in the standings (or those within 400 points of the leader) with 10 races remaining. While some rule changes are difficult to swallow at times, I appreciate how exciting the changes make the races for the fans. Without great racing, there would be no fans. And without fans, I wouldn’t be living my dream and racing for a living. It’s a necessary trade-off between the rules and success. And, unlike the rules changes before NASCAR was formed, at least we know there’s a reason new rules – to keep competition as thrilling and as even as possible.
NASCAR racing is about much more than making rules and driving fast. In fact, becoming successful in NASCAR entails much more than the ability to wheel a race car at high speed. By the time a race starts, a driver and his crew have put in many hours of work building and tweaking the vehicles so that they handle well for that particular track, whether an oval track, a road course, or a superspeedway. Once at the track, drivers hit the pavement for practice laps, trying to coax the most speed they can out of their cars in order to both qualify and race well. A qualifying lap determines where a driver will start a race; the one who is fastest over one lap gets to start from the front pole position and the second-fastest driver starts next to him on the outside pole.
When the race starts, the objective is to move to the front (if you started in the back) and hold onto the lead if you started up front. The most successful drivers are well-schooled in the art of passing the competition, either by having that day’s fastest car or by hooking up with their rivals in a draft, as two or three cars end-to-end can push one another past a car stuck out on its own. (For more information on drafting and race strategy, turn to Chapter 9.) A good pi crew that can change four tires and fill two cans of gas in less than 14 seconds is also crucial to having a winning car. The first car off pit road, especially near the end of the race, often is the one that makes the hard left into victory lane.
MARK SAYS
Winning has become increasingly difficult as the sport has become more popular and more drivers enter races. That makes winning more special than it used to be. Don’t get me wrong, it was special when I won my first NASCAR Cup race in 1989, but today, there isn’t as much disparity in equipment between first-and last- place teams. This is fine with me because it makes winning more satisfying.
Rules keep the fans happy
Like other professional sports, NASCAR has a rule book. Unlike other professional sports, however, that rule book changes during the season – and can even change from week to week. For example, if a driver’s team gets an edge over everybody else with the car’s aerodynamics or in a particular part of the engine, NASCAR may change the rule regarding that area and the team’s advantage disappears. While some rules changes sometime appear to help or hinder a certain manufacturer, there are those that affect drivers equally, such as the introduction in 2004 of the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup, which opened the title race to the top-10 drivers in the standings (or those within 400 points of the leader) with 10 races remaining. While some rule changes are difficult to swallow at times, I appreciate how exciting the changes make the races for the fans. Without great racing, there would be no fans. And without fans, I wouldn’t be living my dream and racing for a living. It’s a necessary trade-off between the rules and success. And, unlike the rules changes before NASCAR was formed, at least we know there’s a reason new rules – to keep competition as thrilling and as even as possible.