NASCAR Cup Series

Same size, different plan for Kansas

Published Apr. 18, 2012 1:00 a.m. ET

Jeff Hammond

Now I realize that to the casual NASCAR fan Kansas is just another 1.5-mile racetrack like Texas, the assumption being they are all the same. That’s really not the case. You simply can’t lump all 1.5-mile tracks together, assume they are all cookie-cutter type tracks.

Each track has its own personality and really is quite different from the others. Take Kansas Speedway this weekend, for example. Its surface is worn out. It is going to be a challenge to get the grip that a driver wants and needs. That element alone separates this track from the others.

The other key is having a driver who realizes this and adapts his driving style to match the track. Sure, in theory, the same car and setup that worked in Texas should work in Kansas. The reality, however, is it might need to be a totally different approach.

Last weekend presented a really unique challenge — the wind. It was just ferocious. It never, ever let up, and it was relentless. Now, Kansas should offer cooler temperatures, which will help with the grip issue, but the winds aren’t expected to be anywhere near what they were in Texas.

Part of the combination for the right setup at these tracks depends on whether you are working on mechanical grip or help on the aero side. A big variable is what tire combination Goodyear brings to the track. If those tires have been used it at a track before, then teams have a benchmark or point of reference to work with.

So let’s just say hypothetically teams were going to run the same tire from Atlanta. They go back and analyze their data. They look at their notes about what the driver was saying and how the car was reacting. Depending on those notes and the driver’s comments, teams at least have an initial idea of how to adjust their setup. They are just pieces of the puzzle that teams are trying to put together.

All these things will be put down on paper and then translated over into setup packages. These different packages are what teams want to work on once they start going through practice sessions.

Now, the good news is that with Kansas being on the schedule twice a year, teams have more notes and information at their fingertips. As a part of that, they also see the effects the weather has on the track from the spring race to the fall race. They don’t ignore anything. For instance, this weekend the Nationwide cars are not at Kansas, but the Camping World truck series is. That's a factor because the trucks don’t carry as much speed, plus they don’t lay down as much rubber on the track as a Nationwide car does.

So these teams will establish the common denominators that the engineers identify and then build in variables around that. So you can see why just because a track is listed as 1.5 miles it simply doesn’t mean it's like the other ones out there.

Each is unique, and teams must have a different plan for each. Their plan of attack last week for the first practice session at Texas, for instance, might be completely different than what a they have planned for the first practice session at Kansas this weekend.

When that car is unloaded off the hauler, the crew chief already has a preconceived idea of what point the team is at and what point they want to get to. The real fun, and I am being sarcastic, is when everything they have worked and planned for all week doesn’t work during practice. That’s when they throw everything out and start over. As a former crew chief, I know firsthand about those types of sleepless nights.