After two weeks of intense gas-mileage racing, guess where we are going this weekend? That’s right, to a track where gas mileage and pit strategy historically play a major role in who wins the race – Pocono Raceway. Actually this joint is notorious for coming down to who has more gas at the very end.
The thing to remember at Pocono, the strategy here is different than at any other racetrack we visit on the schedule. Here you can pit and still not lose a lap. This place is just so big and it takes so long to complete a single lap that cars can pit, get their service done, get back out on the track, all without losing a lap. Now what this also does is change your strategy of when you are going to pit and what you are going to do when you pit.
Last weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Kansas Speedway also came down to fuel strategy and I just found it fascinating. Now I speak from experience when it comes to fuel-mileage races. I’ve won races on fuel strategy and I also lost races the same way.
As a team, we would concentrate before a race and then during a race to find ways to save fuel when it was called for.
I just have to tell you, though, watching eventual race winner Brad Keselowski kick that clutch in last week in an attempt to save fuel was brilliant. I have to be honest, when I saw the in-car camera shot, I really wasn’t sure what he was doing. What’s also funny in this day and age of social media, I saw a tweet that he was a little upset that our NASCAR on FOX broadcast was showing what he was doing via his in-car camera.
Again, I never ever considered going into a corner, kicking the clutch in and then letting the car coast through the corner. Back in the day, if you had suggested that, everyone would tell you that you were just asking for a wreck. Last Sunday, though, you saw Brad use it to perfection.
See what’s fascinating is when you go into the corner and take the car out of gear, the car is basically free-wheeling. The engine’s RPMs are down. Sometimes the power steering doesn’t react the same way when the RPMs are down. Then you have to let the clutch back out and try to match up the wheel speed to the RPM.
My point is that it’s just not as simple as popping the clutch in when you enter a corner, let it coast through the turn, pop the clutch back out and go on.
I don’t know where Brad learned that little maneuver. I don’t know if he had practiced it before or not. However it came about, it sure did win him that race last weekend at Kansas. He really made it work.
See, we knew that Denny Hamlin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. had no fuel issues and they could go to the end. They were even set if it came down to a green-white-checker finish. All Brad had to do was hiccup one time on fuel and they would have been by him.
We really didn’t consider Brad until late in that run when it became obvious he wasn’t going to stop. That fuel conservation mode he went into simply won him that race.
It really was a good weekend across the board for Penske Racing. Brad’s teammate, Kurt Busch won the pole and, as mentioned, Brad won the race. A lot of people have been critical of Kurt this year on some of his rants during a race over the team radio. He was a frustrated race car driver and rightly so.
The team wasn’t performing up to the standards that Kurt expected of them. He wanted them to be as passionate about succeeding as he is. He knew that changes needed to be made so as the driver he stepped up and voiced his opinion. The changes were made and I think everyone has to agree that those Penske cars have come alive.
I’ve always maintained even when I was driving, it is one thing to just complain, but it is another thing to have constructive criticism. My constructive criticism for Kurt is to not use the team radio to air your dirty laundry for the rest of the world to hear. With that said, you can’t ignore the fact that his rants caused changes to be made to the team and it has sure helped. Maybe the Super Negative created a Super Positive.
Of course, the other big news from Kansas last weekend was what happened after the Truck race between Kyle Busch and Richard Childress. Evidently after Darlington, when Richard had two of his cars torn up by Kyle, he gave notice that if Kyle even touched another RCR vehicle, car or truck, he was going to take Kyle’s head off.
Well fast forward to after the checkered flag in the Kansas Truck race and there was Kyle expressing his displeasure at rookie Joey Coulter driving, you guessed it, a Richard Childress Racing truck. I never really got a good view of the damage when Kyle pulled up alongside Joey and rubbed on his truck.
Later as he was coming out of the garage, Kyle ran into Richard, they exchanged words at which point Richard reportedly grabbed Kyle and began punching him. The two were then separated and it obviously then became a NASCAR issue.
Richard was fined $150,000 by NASCAR and put on probation until Dec. 31 of this year. Kyle, who was already on probation, was cleared by NASCAR of instigating the fight.
I have learned over the years that when I see something happen in NASCAR that doesn’t make sense, then it usually means I don’t know the rest of story. Why did they fine Richard? Why didn’t they take both guys up in the truck, listen to both sides and everyone put it behind them?
Look, Robby Gordon and Kevin Conway reportedly fought at Las Vegas earlier this year and I don’t remember any type of fine coming down from NASCAR on that. Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton got into a pushing contest after climbing out of their wrecked race cars at Texas and nothing came of that.
So when I see a significant fine like Richard’s $150,000 fine was, I just have to say I surely don’t know the whole story. I just think it is excessive. I have never been a proponent of fighting in the pits or in the garage. Aren’t we all professionals in NASCAR’s top-tier sport?
Now sure, passions get out of control and tempers explode and there will always be punches thrown along the way, but $150,000 sure is a hefty fine. Let’s be clear, I am not saying what NASCAR did was wrong, I am just giving you my personal opinion.
Giving back
Wednesday night we all were at Eldora for Tony Stewart’s Prelude to the Dream charity fundraiser. It truly is awe-inspiring the effort Tony puts into that race and the money he is able to raise for the various charities. It’s amazing what he has done with that one event when you think about the hours and hours he and his bunch put into getting the track ready, getting the cars there and getting the drivers there. It’s done so much good for so many.
I’ve always been a Tony fan. Heck, back in the day when he was first looking to come to NASCAR I tried to get him to drive my car. We have become pretty good buds and going to Eldora every year is something I genuinely look forward to.
Tony likes to have fun with me during the prerace ceremonies and over the years he has had me drive the water truck up there. Last year I showed up and he had me drive a Monster Truck, which I have to say was a little bit intimidating. Well this year I had no idea what he was planning and I couldn’t even get anyone in his camp to give me a hint. I mean I couldn’t pry a single hint out of anyone.
I don’t know if you saw it or not on HBO’s Pay-Per-View, but they pulled this car around for me and I was simply speechless. Yes, I know it’s hard to believe, but ol’ DW was at a total loss for words. They had gotten some old pictures from my racing career and had this car wrapped in a collage of old pictures. So many of my all-time favorite photos were on that little race car.
I just thought Tony was doing something really nice for me. I hopped in it and was going to take it around the track and then they dropped a bombshell on me. They told me the car was mine to keep. I honestly didn’t know what to say. I’m up here now in Pocono and I am still in shock. I can’t believe he did that.
It’s just the coolest present and I can’t wait for it to be delivered and be put on display with all my other cars there at our offices in Harrisburg, N.C. I am just so grateful to have friends like Tony.
Also think about all the drivers that donated their time, effort, their energy and even their own money to such a good cause like Wednesday night was in Eldora. A lot of hospitals are going to benefit from our NASCAR drivers' generosity. I couldn’t be prouder of those guys. It all starts at the top with a super kind and compassionate man like Tony Stewart.
Congratulations to everyone involved for making a positive difference by supporting the Prelude to the Dream. Also big congratulations to Clint Bowyer. He won the event and even led all 30 laps. What has been fun to watch is the level of competition improve each year. Let’s face it, for most of those guys this is their one and only time a year they race on dirt.
It was just another outstanding Prelude to the Dream. I am so proud to be a small part of it. Seeing what these guys do to make a difference in peoples lives continues to make me proud to be a member of the NASCAR community and a member of the driver fraternity.
