Joe Gibbs’ Playoff Gamble Could Bite Him in the Back as Star Driver Faces Daniel Suarez’s Fate

With the green flag waved in the air, the top 16 drivers buckled up to notch their first victory of the 2023 playoffs. With the first playoff race on the track at Darlington, it was interesting to witness the drivers evade major incidents and hold on to their precious positions. The infamous track at Darlington has always been a tough track to tame and avert major issues owing to its idiosyncratic structure and banking on the track.

However, it was apparent that it was not the track that played spoilsport for Joe Gibbs Racing, but the team’s own strategy that proved fatal for their star driver early in the race.

Joe Gibbs fails to pass his driver in the first playoff race

Apart from being blessed with a fast car and gaining momentum on the tracks of NASCAR, the other quintessential element that contributes to the success of the drivers is the proper execution of pit strategy. An efficient pit stop would ensure that the driver is able to undergo the necessary changes that the car requires without losing precious time or on-track position.

However, the fervent cry in the 2023 season among the drivers has been the hiccups in executing the perfect pit stop and exceeding the 9-second time limit. Whether it has been the drivers of the 23XI Racing team or Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez, these drivers have witnessed how the race seemed to escape from their grasp as they fell back in position.

Another driver who has met with the same fate as the other drivers mentioned before is Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell. The No. 20 Toyota driver has had an impeccable regular season; however, it has been the pit-road problems that have been the recurrent headache for the driver. Owing to this, Bell had his pit crew swapped with his teammate Ty Gibbs’ pit crew for the first playoff race in Darlington.

However, the swap failed to add to the advantage for the polesitter in the race. The pit problem ensued on the “Lady in Black’ track. The jackman was unable to remove the jack from the front tire during the first pit stop of the playoff race. The pit stop cost him more than 15 seconds, which led him to concede the lead in the race to Tyler Reddick.

A tweet by Jeff Gluck reinforced this fact. He expressed. “First minor mishap of the playoffs belongs to Christopher Bell’s new pit crew. And then Ricky Stenhouse Jr. speeds on pit road, so he trumps that one.”

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Trackhouse Racing suffers the same fate as Joe Gibbs Racing

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Pit crew problems have been a persistent cause of headaches for a majority of the NASCAR teams in the ongoing season. Whether it was the established teams like Joe Gibbs Racing or teams still in their formative years like the 23XI Racing team. Another team that has been mired with a similar cause was Trackhouse Racing, and the fault proved to be costly for the team as well as the driver.

The incident occurred during the Cup Series race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway when the hose of the jack was stuck under the left front tire. The pit members were unable to change the tires until the hose was ejected from under the car. Suarez’s crew chief Travis Mack was heard on the radio, saying, “Jack up the left. Jack up the left. Jack up the left…Hose. Hose. Hose.”

As a result, the Mexican lost his winning contention and the lead to Michael McDowell. In the post-race interview, Suarez expressed, “I felt like I was always one step behind the #9 and the #34 and then at the end when I felt like my car came alive again we had that issue. So, just a bit heartbreaking but that’s part of the sport.”

Nevertheless, the continued for Bell throughout the race at Darlington, whether it was due to wrecks or mechanical issues, fell back below P20 in the contention. With the first playoff race over it is to be seen which 12 drivers qualify for the next stage.

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