Notes: Six hundred can be tough on NASCAR drivers
It isn't an endurance race, but sometimes the North Carolina 600 can feel like one.
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The longest race on the NASCAR Nextel Cup schedule takes place Sunday evening at Lowe's Motor Speedway, and running 600 miles on a 1.5-mile oval can take a while.
Last May's event took 5 hours, 13 minutes and 52 seconds to complete.
Matt Kenseth, whose first Cup win came in the 600 in 2000, said it can be tough on the drivers.
"If it's a hot night, it definitely feels longer than a 500-mile race," Kenseth said.
"The 600 should be interesting this year," he added. "Well, it's usually interesting every year because so much can happen in that extra 100 miles. But, this year, particularly, with the harder tires and the smaller fuel cells. There are going to be so many pit stops and stops where 40 or more cars are on pit road, because you're going to have to come down for fuel at least every 30 laps, and that's assuming it stays green.
"Pit road becomes very crowded in that situation and that usually means that your chances of running into someone are a lot higher. When you think about it, whether you've been out eight or 28 laps, when a caution comes out you're going to have to pit in order to stay in sequence on fuel.
Kenseth was referring to the fact that NASCAR is requiring teams to use 14-gallon fuel tanks this year at Lowe's instead of the usual 22-gallon tanks in order to force teams to pit more often. The reason is NASCAR's fear that excessive tire wear between fuel stops on the newly paved track, even with the harder tires, could cause problems.
Crew chiefs have figured that if the race stays green from start to finish, which is highly unlikely, the smaller tanks would require a minimum of 12 pit stops instead of the usual seven or eight.
"It's going to be a little bit of a mess with the small fuel cell, but if you get a lot of greens, it's probably just as fast as 500 miles at Darlington really because 500 miles at Darlington is a long time too," Kenseth said.
Still, the 2003 Cup champion likes the suburban Charlotte event -- a lot.
"I always like coming to Charlotte," he said. "The 600, I think, is one of the most fun and challenging events of the year. You start during the day and you end at night. The track goes through a lot of changes and it's a really long race, so it's probably the one I look forward to and enjoy more than any other race.
"For me, it's one of the biggest races of the year. It's close to home so all the crews' families get to come out and watch, and it's just a fun atmosphere."
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