Daytona Duel Races show that the Five Minute Pit Road Repair Rule May Not be that Bad!
By Kent Whitaker:
The Daytona Can-Am Duels are over and several things are now perfectly clear. To start with – it’s safe to say that Chase Elliot, Dale Earnhardt Jr, and Denny Hamlin have fast cars! Secondly – every other driver in the field will have to deal with those drivers, and their rides, during the 2017 Daytona 500.
The Daytona Can-Am Duels are over and several things are now perfectly clear. To start with – it’s safe to say that Chase Elliot, Dale Earnhardt Jr, and Denny Hamlin have fast cars! Secondly – every other driver in the field will have to deal with those drivers, and their rides, during the 2017 Daytona 500.
Cars driven by Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Austin Dillon, and others also made statements during the running of the duels. The big story, in my opinion, is separate from how the duels set the starting line-up for the Daytona 500. The real story coming from the Duels is how teams would deal with the new rules pertaining to fixing cars damaged during a wreck! If anything – the duels proved that we, as race fans, may have underestimated the abilities of pit crews!
The Concern before the Duels
When NASCAR rolled out the new rules for the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season they included limits on how teams could fixed damaged race cars. The idea being that a car damaged during a race, and then rolled back to the garage, and then trotted back onto the track may be a hazard to other cars.
It was a real concern! It’s impossible to count the number of times that damaged cars that had no chance of winning and many…many laps down, shredded pieces and parts along the track. More often than not those pieces of damaged cars led to cautions, and more cautions, and probably a few more cautions. NASCAR, sponsors, drivers, and teams, saw this as a risk that probably could be avoided.
The concern from many, prior to the Can Am Duels, was that a ‘set’ five minute repair clock would hinder a team in its ability to repair cars damaged in a wreck. WOW – were we wrong!
When NASCAR rolled out the new rules for the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season they included limits on how teams could fixed damaged race cars. The idea being that a car damaged during a race, and then rolled back to the garage, and then trotted back onto the track may be a hazard to other cars.
It was a real concern! It’s impossible to count the number of times that damaged cars that had no chance of winning and many…many laps down, shredded pieces and parts along the track. More often than not those pieces of damaged cars led to cautions, and more cautions, and probably a few more cautions. NASCAR, sponsors, drivers, and teams, saw this as a risk that probably could be avoided.
The concern from many, prior to the Can Am Duels, was that a ‘set’ five minute repair clock would hinder a team in its ability to repair cars damaged in a wreck. WOW – were we wrong!
Repairs under the Clock!
The 2017 Daytona 500 Can-Am Duels proved one thing Thursday night. Many of us may have forgotten how amazing pit crews at the highest level of racing are. The new rules stated that a car damaged during a wreck had five minutes in order for the crew to fix the damage.
In addition those cars had to return to the track and maintain minimum speed. And, if they went behind the wall to fix something then they were done for the day. Long story short – NASCAR wanted to reduce the danger factor of having poorly repaired cars running at a reduced speed from impacting those cars racing for the win.
The Duels proved to be a nice testing ground! There were wrecks, bumps into the wall, tire rubs, as well as banging fenders. Several cars came to the pits to repair damage and… nothing went wrong. It seems that cars that were damaged during a wreck had pit crews that were than capable of fixing the damage.
Heading into the 2017 Daytona 500 it would appear that the race teams in NASCAR have already worked around the issue of fixing damaged cars in less than five minutes!
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“Kent Whitaker, often called ‘the Deck Chef’ is a sportswriter, culinary writer, and cookbook author with fourteen titles. He covers NASCAR, racing in general, Football, barbecue, grilling, and tailgating. You can visit him on www.thedeckchef.com .”
The 2017 Daytona 500 Can-Am Duels proved one thing Thursday night. Many of us may have forgotten how amazing pit crews at the highest level of racing are. The new rules stated that a car damaged during a wreck had five minutes in order for the crew to fix the damage.
In addition those cars had to return to the track and maintain minimum speed. And, if they went behind the wall to fix something then they were done for the day. Long story short – NASCAR wanted to reduce the danger factor of having poorly repaired cars running at a reduced speed from impacting those cars racing for the win.
The Duels proved to be a nice testing ground! There were wrecks, bumps into the wall, tire rubs, as well as banging fenders. Several cars came to the pits to repair damage and… nothing went wrong. It seems that cars that were damaged during a wreck had pit crews that were than capable of fixing the damage.
Heading into the 2017 Daytona 500 it would appear that the race teams in NASCAR have already worked around the issue of fixing damaged cars in less than five minutes!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
“Kent Whitaker, often called ‘the Deck Chef’ is a sportswriter, culinary writer, and cookbook author with fourteen titles. He covers NASCAR, racing in general, Football, barbecue, grilling, and tailgating. You can visit him on www.thedeckchef.com .”