Sprint Cup Series drivers are getting increasingly frustrated with the difficulty of passing cars on the track and with the fact that more and more races are being won by pit strategy instead of flat-out, door-to-door racing.
Carl Edwards expressed his displeasure after finishing fifth last week at Michigan International Speedway, calling for NASCAR to take away downforce from the cars, which he believes would make it easier to pass and lead to more side-by-side racing. Jimmie Johnson made a similar plea after losing a race at Dover International Speedway in May.
Fans tend to listen to the drivers and are quick to side with them. Like Edwards, they want to see more passing, more side-by-side racing and races won on the track instead of on pit road.
But there is a positive aspect to pit strategy playing a major role in races today – parity and, as a result, more race winners.
Ten different drivers have won Cup races so far this season, and many more are likely to join the winner’s list.
Edwards, who has led the standings for nine straight weeks, has just one points win. Johnson, the defending five-time champion, has been near the top of the standings again all year, but has just one win.
Denny Hamlin, who led the series with eight wins last year, didn’t win his first race until last week at Michigan, the 15th race of the season.
And in perhaps the most telling example of the impact pit strategy has had on competition, we already have had three major upsets this season.
Regan Smith won the Showtime Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway when his team gambled on pit strategy late in the race.
Brad Keselowski, who had just one career win, won at Kansas Speedway by stretching his fuel mileage.
And in the biggest upset of the season – and in decades – rookie Trevor Bayne won the Daytona 500, in part, because of new rules that changed the game of restrictor-plate racing, putting an emphasis on teamwork and strategy.
So while fans prefer to see hard, side-by-side racing for the win, races that are won with clever strategy often lead to drama, suspense and their own form of excitement.
But more importantly, it prevents any one driver or team from dominating a season.
Johnson won 10 races in 2007. Edwards won nine in 2008. No wonder they are frustrated at seeing so many different drivers win this year.
Kevin Harvick leads the series this year with three wins. And he did not have the dominant car in any of those races.
Instead, he rallied in each of them, using pit strategy or a late charge to get to the front. In his three wins, he led a total of just nine laps.
Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth each have two wins. Both have won one race with pit strategy, Kenseth with a late, two-tire pit stop at Dover and Gordon with fuel mileage at Pocono Raceway.
Pit strategy, coupled with the difficulty of passing and the advantage clean air gives a driver, means that the fastest car won’t win most of the time.
That opens the door for more race winners, which is never a bad thing.
Only 13 different drivers won races last year compared to 14 in 2009 and only 12 in 2008. This year’s field figures to shatter that mark.
The most winners in the past five years came in 2007, when 16 different drivers won, the most since 2003 (17).
The drivers who have not won this season have impressive credentials: Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, Clint Bowyer, Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Mark Martin and Kasey Kahne are all still looking for their first win, and each of them could win soon.
Others who could break into the win column include Dale Earnhardt Jr., who has not won since 2008 but has become a contender again this season.
Teammates Juan Pablo Montoya and Jamie McMurray both won races last season and could return to Victory Lane again this year.
And there could be another upset, with Paul Menard, AJ Allmendinger, Martin Truex Jr., David Ragan, Marcos Ambrose, Joey Logano and Brian Vickers all running well enough at times to break through.
The parity and depth of competition in the Sprint Cup Series is at an all-time high, with 25 or more drivers or teams capable of winning on any given week.
The fact that variables like pit strategy and fuel mileage have become so crucial only enhances their chances.
And ensures that we will continue to see more drivers reaching Victory Lane.
