5 ideas after Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Collection race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway …
1. Taking Inventory
Right here’s the good information on NASCAR’s wet-weather tires: They work as meant. Really, they work even higher than meant.
In quite a few examples thus far, there hasn’t been one second to present anybody pause. The tires not solely permit the race to start out or resume a lot sooner after rain, however they really present extra entertaining racing than NASCAR’s typical short-track product as a result of drivers must seek for moisture all around the observe.
It’s been extremely pleasurable to look at drivers attempt to determine it out, and there hasn’t been something near some type of disastrous PR second the place followers or rivals would say “Informed you! Racing within the rain on ovals is a nasty thought!” If something, it’s been the other.
And that leads us to our quibble concerning the wet-weather tires: Now that it’s been confirmed they work, it could be good if NASCAR would let the groups and drivers handle their very own races and decide their very own fates.
Underneath the present coverage, NASCAR is treating the rain tires like bumper bowling at a youngsters’s birthday celebration. Officers permit the competitors to happen, however they don’t need anybody to have a gutter ball. And whereas that’s very form of them, this isn’t little Margaret rolling the ball down the lane as her first-grade associates munch on slices of pizza; that is the PBA, and the professionals can deal with the implications of an errant shot.
NASCAR has mentioned it desires to take a conservative strategy with the tires as a result of the entire idea is comparatively new. However the important thing phrase there may be “comparatively,” as a result of they’re not that new anymore. The Truck Collection first raced the wet-weather tires on an oval in April 2023 (Martinsville) and the Cup Collection used them at North Wilkesboro for the All-Star Race warmth races one month later.
Then, earlier this season, Richmond noticed the primary use of the wet-weather tires in a Cup Collection factors race (on this case to start out the occasion).
This weekend, each the Cup and Xfinity Collection wanted to make use of the “damp package deal.” However in every case, NASCAR didn’t go away it as much as the groups as to once they may and couldn’t run the wet-weather tires.
That’s unlucky, as a result of permitting particular person drivers and groups when it comes to how they need to handle the situations is a significant a part of racing. It’s one of many solely issues that makes F1 racing compelling at instances, as drivers should determine how laborious to push it on a still-drying observe (or determine when it’s too moist to make use of slick tires).
NASCAR has insisted it should by no means use the tires whereas it’s really raining, which is ok. Inventory automobiles now not have windshield wipers or mud flaps, and spray is a priority. However as soon as the race begins or resumes, it’s the sensible individuals who name the race atop the pit packing containers, within the groups’ distant struggle rooms and behind the wheel of the automobiles themselves who must be allowed to determine what works greatest for them.
Late Sunday, with the race final result on the road, NASCAR continued to dictate each when groups may pit for tires and for which type. At one level, officers informed rivals they may not take tires in any respect — this regardless of some insisting their treads had already worn right down to the purpose the place they couldn’t correctly race. So officers then reversed themselves and required everybody to take tires — besides not everybody wished to take action.
If it’s a cut up determination among the many subject, NASCAR making the choice is an excessive amount of of an pointless overreach. The race ought to have been decided by the groups getting to decide on the next:
— Whether or not they need to pit for recent tires or keep out for observe place;
— What they need their technique to be whereas utilizing the tires (go laborious or preserve rubber);
— What they assume the present observe situations require for his or her automotive and driver (moist tires or slicks).
Although it’s comprehensible aggressive pit stops on a still-drying observe are a priority with crew members close to the automobiles, aren’t there some cheap options? For instance: Why not merely mandate a a lot decrease pit highway velocity if the situations are deemed too dangerous? Heck, 15 mph can be higher than non-competitive pit stops the place nobody can lose a place.
The underside line is whereas the wet-weather tires have been an awesome success thus far and the most effective NASCAR improvements in years, it’s time for officers to cease the hand-holding, take the coaching wheels off and allow them to experience.
2. Quickest Automotive Tracker
For a strong 90 minutes, it positive regarded like Different Automobiles have been going to get one other W. Tyler Reddick was main the race when it was stopped for rain because of a technique gamble, and the approaching storm positive appeared like a race-ender.
However in the end, it was Christopher Bell who took what appeared just like the quickest automotive in each dry and moist situations again to the entrance — though he wasn’t satisfied he was the quickest within the dry.
“I undoubtedly didn’t have the dominant automotive,” he mentioned. “Then every time the moist got here … we would as nicely have been at someplace utterly completely different.”
However within the absence of any compelling information or stats saying one other automotive was quicker, we’ll assume it was certainly Bell. For instance: There have been solely six lead modifications amongst 5 completely different leaders within the race; Bell was the one driver to steer a number of instances and he paced almost half of the entire laps (149 of 305).
In order that’s a win for the Quickest Automobiles to tie the season rating, and notably, it’s a series-high fourth time Bell has been capable of make that declare this yr.
Quickest Automotive Rating: Different Automobiles 10, Quickest Automobiles 10.
Quickest Automobiles by Driver: Bell 4, Kyle Larson 3, Denny Hamlin 3, Tyler Reddick 2, William Byron 2, Joey Logano 2, Michael McDowell 1, Martin Truex Jr. 1, Todd Gilliland 1, Ty Gibbs 1.
3. Q&A
Every week on this area, we’ll pose one query and try and reply one from the previous.
Q: How will our notion change earlier than the Olympic break?
Three of the following 4 races till the two-week pause for NBC Sports activities to air the Olympics are on intermediate or giant ovals, which is kind of a departure from the latest lineup of racetracks.
We haven’t seen the Cup Collection run a full race on an even bigger observe since Could 12 at Darlington, as a result of the Coca-Cola 600 was shortened by rain earlier than it even reached the two-thirds mark.
However other than the Chicago Avenue Race subsequent month (which may have little correlation to the remainder of the season), take a look at what’s subsequent: Nashville Superspeedway (1.33 miles, however races like an intermediate), Pocono Raceway (2.5 miles) and a return to the actual Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (2.5 miles).
That’s a far completely different look than this latest run of smaller tracks like North Wilkesboro, Gateway, Iowa and New Hampshire.
So though a few of the speak has currently revolved round a Ford resurgence, together with Staff Penske getting again within the recreation speed-wise, it’s value remembering nobody exterior of Hendrick Motorsports or Joe Gibbs Racing gained on a non-superspeedway this yr till RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski on the aforementioned Darlington race.
Is that what this subsequent stretch till the Olympics will deliver? Or has the season evened out sufficient to the place Penske, RFK, 23XI Racing, Trackhouse Racing and even Stewart-Haas Racing may very well be a participant at a venue like Pocono or Indy?
The guess right here is Hendrick and JGR will deliver some elite automobiles over this last push till the break, however with a few of the latest swings within the subject, you possibly can’t rule out another situation.
A: Can Chase Elliott make the playoffs?
Sure, we already know Elliott is within the 2024 playoffs because of his victory this spring at Texas, however that was final yr’s post-New Hampshire query on this column.
On the time, we answered “No” and, as you nicely recall, that proved to be appropriate.
However this yr has seen a way more constant Elliott, together with the No. 9 group. He’s tied for the factors lead with Hendrick teammate Kyle Larson, has but to position exterior the highest 20 all season and leads the collection in common end.
With Elliott’s playoff eligibility not doubtful, the higher query at present is “How far can he go?” With eight races remaining within the common season, would you take into account Elliott to be a Championship 4 contender? Personally, if I needed to decide at the moment, my last 4 can be Larson, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell and Ryan Blaney.
Why Blaney over Elliott? As a result of Blaney had a top-three automotive on every of the final three ovals, all of which have some free translation to the championship semifinal and last (which is how he gained the title final yr).
Elliott is shut, however his laps led are regarding. Even after being awarded with the pole after a qualifying rainout this weekend and utilizing that observe place to steer the primary 41 laps, Elliott nonetheless solely ranks tenth in laps led.
That may not be sufficient velocity to chop it come playoff time, even when he will get 15 factors for successful the regular-season title. Larson, for instance, has led greater than 4 instances the variety of laps Elliott has.
But when the No. 9 group can discover a tick extra tempo this summer time, that would make him rather more of a critical championship risk.
4. NASquirks
NASCAR continues to wrestle to seek out the fairest method to qualify on ovals, and the consequence has been an more and more advanced and complicated format.
Understandably, officers actually love the thought of getting a multi-round knockout-style qualifying format as a result of it gives drama. However implementing it has confirmed to be fairly difficult.
Formulation One and IndyCar qualifying in these codecs are achieved in timed group classes, however that doesn’t work in NASCAR as a result of inventory automobiles can draft round ovals. When NASCAR experimented with group qualifying, groups shortly found out the most effective technique was to exit final and make the most of the draft — so drivers waited till the final second and all went directly.
In the end, this led to the notorious Fontana qualifying session of 2019 through which nobody set a qualifying time within the last spherical as a result of all of them waited too lengthy.
After extra experiments and as soon as qualifying returned following the pandemic, NASCAR appeared to land on a brand new format: Two qualifying teams of single-car runs, through which the highest 5 from every would advance to the ultimate spherical. However this yr, that was deemed untenable as a result of one group was typically at a drawback to the opposite.
In consequence, there was a tweak: One group would line up on the within and one group would take the surface within the beginning lineup, irrespective of the place their precise speeds landed.
Besides guess what? Even that has now modified, as a result of half of the highest 10 qualifiers have been considered as being handled unfairly primarily based on their group. So, as of this weekend, NASCAR introduced one other change. We’ll let this X publish from Motorsport.com author Jim Utter “clarify,” if you wish to name it that:
“The quickest automobile from Group A and Group B will likely be assigned beginning positions 1st and 2nd primarily based on their quickest single lap velocity within the Last spherical in descending order. The 2nd, third,4th and fifth quickest automobiles within the Last spherical from Group A will likely be assigned beginning positions 4th, sixth, eighth and tenth. The 2nd, third, 4th and fifth quickest automobiles within the Last spherical from Group B will likely be assigned beginning positions third, fifth, seventh, ninth.”
Does your mind harm after studying that? Mine does.
“It’s form of an pointless rule,” William Byron informed Fox Sports activities’ Bob Pockrass at New Hampshire. “We should always exit, only one by way of 40, and see who has the most effective lap.”
That sounds easy, however … so what? NASCAR certified with out teams for many years and nobody thought something of it. There’s all the time going to be some extent of observe situations altering throughout a qualifying session, however that’s simply racing.
Knockout qualifying is enjoyable and may nonetheless be used on highway programs. However for ovals, the most effective thought is typically essentially the most easy: Let every automotive go make two laps and line them up by whoever has the quickest speeds.
5. 5 at No. 5
Our mini energy rankings after Race No. 20/38 (together with exhibitions):
1. Christopher Bell (final week: 4): During the last 5 races, Bell leads the collection in each main class (wins, top-fives, top-10s, laps led, common end). Specifically, his common end has been eye-opening: 4.4, together with his worst consequence a ninth-place run at Sonoma.
2. Kyle Larson (final week: 1): Larson gained at Sonoma, had the most effective automotive at Iowa (earlier than his hopes have been thwarted by a three-wide gamble) and didn’t do something at New Hampshire to make us assume his velocity is all of the sudden going to vanish this summer time.
3. Ryan Blaney (final week: 5): Ought to have gained at Gateway, gained at Iowa, then bought taken out at New Hampshire whereas operating within the prime 5 with 4 laps to go. This group has discovered velocity on the shorter tracks, and now it’s time to see if that carries over to approaching big-track races like Nashville, Pocono and Indianapolis.
4. Chase Elliott (final week: 2): As talked about above within the Q&A bit, Elliott has been a constant top-five risk however doesn’t all the time seem to have race-winning velocity. Nashville, the place he gained two years in the past, may very well be an awesome place to appropriate that notion.
5. Denny Hamlin (final week: 4): This group had 5 straight top-five finishes and is all of the sudden experiencing an odd blip in what has in any other case been a wonderful season. Hamlin blew a motor at Sonoma, had a depressing Iowa race after which sunk from third to twenty fourth after the New Hampshire race restarted within the moist. Nonetheless, you’d assume the No. 11 group can be quick in any respect the upcoming ovals, so there isn’t trigger for concern but.
GO DEEPER
Christopher Bell on managing feelings and coping with disappointment: 12 Questions
(Prime picture of Christopher Bell celebrating his win Sunday in New Hampshire: Sean Gardner / Getty Photographs)