If Jeff Gordon is to collect his fourth win in the 600-miler at Charlotte Motor Speedway, No. 24 Drive to End Hunger crew chief Alan Gustafson may be forced to “connect the dots.”
Sunday night’s event is scheduled to start just past 6 p.m. EDT, and track temperatures will likely cool through to when the checkered flag falls later that night. However, each of the practices this week will occur during daylight hours, and Gustafson believes the best source of information may have been the team’s strong run in last Saturday night’s All-Star event. How will he marry information learned then versus what is learned during the day practices this week?
“You mean like connect the dots?” asked Gustafson. “The All-Star race was frustrating because I think we had a legitimate shot to win the race until that last trip down pit road (Gordon lost nine positions during the stop when a No. 24 team member – who was uninjured – was clipped by another car). At the end of the day, though, the key thing for us is winning the 600, getting the most points possible from this event and contending for the championship.
“That wasn’t going to happen last Saturday night since no points were on the line. But it did offer us a chance to learn as much as we could for the 600.
“We’re bringing the same car back, and we know the tendencies of this car since we practiced it during the day last week and raced it at night.”
Going from a day practice to a night race is one factor that makes the longest race of the season so challenging according to the four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion.
If Jeff Gordon is to collect his fourth win in the 600-miler at Charlotte Motor Speedway, No. 24 Drive to End Hunger crew chief Alan Gustafson may be forced to “connect the dots.”
Sunday night’s event is scheduled to start just past 6 p.m. EDT, and track temperatures will likely cool through to when the checkered flag falls later that night. However, each of the practices this week will occur during daylight hours, and Gustafson believes the best source of information may have been the team’s strong run in last Saturday night’s All-Star event.
How will he marry information learned then versus what is learned during the day practices this week?
“You mean like connect the dots?” asked Gustafson. “The All-Star race was frustrating because I think we had a legitimate shot to win the race until that last trip down pit road (Gordon lost nine positions during the stop when a No. 24 team member – who was uninjured – was clipped by another car). At the end of the day, though, the key thing for us is winning the 600, getting the most points possible from this event and contending for the championship.
“That wasn’t going to happen last Saturday night since no points were on the line. But it did offer us a chance to learn as much as we could for the 600.
“We’re bringing the same car back, and we know the tendencies of this car since we practiced it during the day last week and raced it at night.”
Going from a day practice to a night race is one factor that makes the longest race of the season so challenging according to the four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion.
Performance Plus/Jeff Gordon PR
