5 nagging questions racers are worried about at Pocono Raceway
Racers hate unknowns. Hate, hate, hate them.
Because being successful in any front-line racing series means controlling your environment and leaving as little to chance as possible come race time.
Alas, that's not going to be the case in Sunday's Axalta We Paint Winners 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway.
Sure, the usual suspects are favored -- the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas, Penske Fords and Chevrolets from Stewart-Haas and Hendrick.
But there are an awful lot of unknowns heading into Sunday's race. Here are five things the drivers and teams are worried about.
5. WILL CAUTIONS FALL AT THE RIGHT TIME? -- At most tracks, drivers stay out as long as possible until pitting for fresh tires and fuel. But at Pocono and the two road courses, some crew chiefs like to pit their drivers as soon as they get in their fuel windows. That's because a lap at the 2.5-mile track takes so much time that you can pit under green and not lose a lap. But you have to hope caution flags fall the right way to maximize track position.
4. HOW WILL A GREEN TRACK IMPACT THE RACING? -- The forecast calls for heavy rain tonight in Northeast Pennsylvania. Even if the race starts on time and goes the distance Sunday, all the rubber will be washed off the track before the Cup race. That means racing conditions will be much different than practice conditions, so some teams will almost certainly miss the set up early on.
3. WILL RAIN SHORTEN THE RACE?-- There's no question rain will have an impact on Sunday's race, which could actually turn into Monday's race. But if the race gets to halfway on Sunday, both drivers and crew chiefs will have some tough decisions to make on strategy, balancing track position vs. duration of the race. If rain is coming do you stay out, take four tires, two tires or fuel only? Chances are good that this is how the race will be won or lost -- somebody will guess right on strategy and a whole bunch of other people won't.
2. HOW BOLD CAN YOU BE ON RESTARTS? -- There's no better place to make passes than on restarts. And at Pocono, it's not unusual to see cars go three-, four-, five- or even six-wide going into Turn 1. But when they do, getting out of Turn 1 can be treacherous. In August of 2104, 13 cars got wadded up coming out of Turn 1 on a late-race restart. Drivers will have to weigh aggression vs. common sense, especially as the race goes on.
1. WILL WE HAVE ENOUGH FUEL? -- Nothing makes a crew chief grab for the Maalox bottle faster than a fuel-mileage race. But Pocono is one of those tracks where fuel mileage always seems to factor into the outcome of the race. Remember last August? Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch all ran out of fuel in the final three laps at Pocono, while Matt Kenseth had just enough left in his fuel cell to win.
