The Michigan International Speedway is not officially classified as a superspeedway in NASCAR but it just might as well be. The two-mile track features wide banks and long straightways that enable high-speed racing. The lack of requirement for restrictor plates makes things even more feisty. What this means is that fuel-saving strategies will be prevalent in the rain-delayed upcoming Cup Series race at the track.
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Stewart-Haas Racing driver Chase Briscoe was kind enough to address some key questions that reporters had on this topic during a conference this weekend. One of them was about the strategy that drivers used to outrun contenders whilst striving to save fuel at the same time. The driver admitted that it was quite a hard task to keep fellow racers at bay and that it could be done by maintaining a tough balance.
“I think the biggest thing is just being a lot smoother on the gas pedal and not only pushing it down but even letting up and then just lifting earlier in the corner, getting back to the throttle a little bit later,” he said. “There are a lot of things you can do, including shutting it off. Guys will even do that sometimes under green getting into the corner.”
Tracks like Michigan enable a host of such strategies that make the game more interesting. Briscoe added that driving to save fuel was considerably an easier task since drivers don’t have to push the car hard. However, there is a rhythm and technique that they will have to get used to. He says, ”It’s kind of a new rhythm that you find, but it’s also constantly evolving as you’re trying to save more fuel.”
Does a victory achieved through fuel-saving mean less?
Driving at half-throttle through a race is not what racers are on the track for, according to many drivers and fans. The backlash that fuel-saving strategies that teams employed at the season-opening Daytona 500 serves as a strong testament to that. So, should a driver not take pride in winning a race by enacting extreme fuel strategies? Briscoe doesn’t think so.
“A win’s a win in my book,” he said. “You still get to take home a trophy and enjoy victory lane, so it doesn’t really matter to me how you get them, it’s just a matter of getting them.”
Neither the stat book nor the points table is going to care about how a race is won. Whatever the strategy, as long as it is within ethical lines, will provide a driver maximum points and that’s all they are there for.
