pit nascar

The Strategic Elements Of NASCAR By Mike Schirripa

Watching a NASCAR race can be one of the most entertaining and exciting ways to spend a Sunday afternoon (or in some cases a Saturday night). Every race on the Nextel Cup schedule has its share of drama and strategy that provide the fans with an enjoyable, dramatic experience.

What makes NASCAR worth watching? How about the strategy and planning that each race team employs in their attempts at victory.

When a caution flag is waved during a race, the crew chief must decide whether or not to bring his driver in for a pit stop. If you decide to come into the pits and other teams follow, well great. If you decide to pit and others stay out on the track, then you can fall behind very quickly. You better hope that the fresh tires on your car allow you to catch up with the guys that didn’t come in for fresh tires of their own.

A crew chief must evaluate how race tires have been performing throughout each race. As a race nears completion, a race team may decide to put only two fresh tires on their car. They may even elect to add fuel only and not change tires at all. This strategy saves valuable time, and gets a driver back out on the track quickly. The gain in track position can send a driver to victory, or send a driver to the back of the pack, surpassed by cars with fresh tires.

During pit stops as a race nears completion, crew chiefs must constantly decide whether or not to change two or four tires, or add fuel only, and whether or not to pit at all. One of the most dramatic events within a NASCAR race occurs when a crew chief decides to gamble and not bring his car in to the pits near the end of the race-thinking the car has enough gas to finish. This strategy often results in victories and probably equally as often results in cars running out of gas-unable to finish.

Additional important strategic elements in NASCAR racing are the adjustments made to the car throughout the race. Depending on how a car is handling, a crew chief may decide to add or reduce air pressure in the car's tires, based on the feedback the driver is giving him. Make the right adjustments and your car improves and you’re a contender for a victory. Make the wrong adjustments, and you have a miserable day. It has to be very frustrating to drive four or five hundred miles knowing you have no chance to win.

To pit or not to pit? Gas or no gas? Two tires or four tires, or how about no tires? These are just a few examples of the many decisions each race team has to deal with. The strategy involved makes watching a NASCAR race a fun and entertaining way to spend an afternoon.