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What’s happening, Daily Downforce readers? Following the NASCAR Cup Series race at Nashville Superspeedway which saw Joey Logano score a win on fuel strategy, many fans and industry insiders alike questioned how it was possible. For that race, the fuel window was predicted to be between 75 and 80 laps, a far cry from the 110 Logano was able to stretch to in a race that featured a record-setting 5 overtime attempts. So, how did he do it? What all goes into drivers extending their fuel mileage? Well, today, we’re going to discuss just that. Here are all the various strategies that assist in drivers extending their fuel mileage.
As crazy as it sounds (considering that the very concept of fuel saving tends to be a means to an end), most drivers actually start to conserve their fuel before even taking the green flag. As they ride around under pace laps, many drivers shut off their engines, coasting in the turns to save as much fuel as possible. Once the green flag drops, the fuel strategy doesn’t necessarily end; there are other tactics drivers use that we’ll highlight in a moment. But, as soon as the caution comes out again, many drivers fall back into the strategy, seeing them shut off engines in the turns. The only downside to this method is that drivers must maintain a reasonable caution lap speed. Usually, thought, that’s not a problem.
The goal with this method is to be able to stretch their current fuel window as long as they possibly can. This would allow them to potentially pit later than other drivers who aren’t doing this method which could put them in better track position later in the race by saving them an additional pit stop.
One thing that really benefitted Logano is that as soon as a caution came out, he shut his engine off. Add that to the fact that, while yes, he did stretch his fuel range to 110 laps, 74 of those laps were under caution.
During actual green flag racing, there are a few things drivers can do to conserve fuel. In many ways, though it is generally looked down upon, fuel saving in NASCAR is something of an art form. It’s one of those things that’s purely in the driver’s hands and it is a legit skill, like it or not. Here are just a few things drivers can do to help extend their fuel mileage in any given race.
Short shifting is a technique not only used by NASCAR drivers but any driver who still knows how to operate a stick-shift (or manual transmission) vehicle on the streets. To short shift, the driver shifts to the next gear before the engine can reach maximum RPM and torque. This helps with fuel economy because it keeps the engine from getting into the “Power Band”. The “Power Band” is the point in which the engine is working at its full capacity, thus it burns more fuel.
Often, when getting up through the gears on a restart, a driver concerned with fuel saving will short shift in order to save those oh so precious fumes of fuel in the event of a crazy 5+ overtime attempt like we saw at Nashville.
Another technique drivers use when it comes to saving fuel under green is rolling in an out of the throttle. This is exactly what it sounds like: when a driver nears the end of a straightaway, they let off the throttle easy and early to coast into the corners, waiting until the last possible moment to ease back on the gas. This technique is one of the oldest and most common ways drivers conserve fuel during race conditions. Being easier with the throttle and taking full advantage of coasting is one of the best ways to make sure you have enough fuel to get to the race’s end.
In the section above I mentioned the usage of rolling on and off the throttle rather than braking in the turns. The reason it is essential for drivers to use as little brake as possible in the wide, sweeping turns of an intermediate is because using too much brake can really kill a driver’s momentum. If a driver loses all of their momentum and has to aggressively gas their car back up, it defeats the purpose, and often, the driver can end up burning even more fuel. It’s all a balancing act, really.
As Kevin Harvick said on his Happy Hour Podcast, the easiest explanation for how Joey Logano was able to win the race at Nashville was that he ran much of the race slower and further back in the pack than the leaders. Obviously, drivers up front, in clean air, and with the leader in the windshield are going to burn more fuel. They just are. They’re pressing harder than drivers running, oh, say 18th-30th. So, logically, when it comes to fuel saving with an abundance of overtime restarts at the end, the further back in the pack you are, the better chance you have to make it to the end.
To add to that, the further back you’re running, the more likely you are to come down pit road a little later to ensure that you can make it to the end. You don’t have to worry about giving up track position, you’re already way back. Think about how that Nashville race ended. Logano and Zane Smith were nowhere near the front. But, as cars continued to crash and run out of gas, they were able to find themselves up near the front. And, with Logano’s experience, he was able to race Tyler Reddick just hard and expertly enough to escape with the win.
To put it point blank: How was Logano able to stretch his fuel window so long? Through an abundance of caution laps and the fact that he was slower, burning less fuel throughout that final run than the leaders.
That does it for this article, Daily Downforce readers. What did you think of the race at Nashville? Were you upset that Logano won, or were you just happy that the racing dogs finally threw him a bone? He had been on the struggle bus the last couple of years! What are your thoughts on fuel strategy racing? Do you like it? Do you not like it? Do you like it every now and then but don’t want to see it every week? Let us know!
Be sure to keep checking back in here at DailyDownforce.com for all the latest news and stories in the world of NASCAR.
