It is rightly said that “Humans are creatures of Habits.” As certain behaviors and routines become an indispensable part of the individual’s identity, a break from the same can become a roadblock. Drawing from the same context, surprisingly, certain habits have become a subject of debate among the Cup Series drivers.
Before delving deeper into the aspect of the debate, one has to remember the race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway promised to deliver a unique spectacle. It was set to be a melting pot for racers belonging to diverse backgrounds of motor racing and diverse technical intricacies.
This diversity is the fountainhead of the recent debate among the drivers, including Kyle Busch and his new teammate Brodie Kostecki, as they find themselves on opposite camps within the RCR garage.
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Kyle Busch shuts his new RCR teammate over a debate ahead of the Indy race
To delve deeper, the grounds of this parleying between the two teammates are: whether the use of the right footing provides added advantage to the Supercars drivers over the Cup Series drivers who are acclimatized to using left footing. The inception of this “foot-fetish” debate was at the inaugural race of Chicago, where the skillful use of the “heel-and-toe” method by the 3x Supecars champion Shane Van Gisbergen had caused a furor in the NASCAR paddock.
The video recorded by the in-car camera revealed how the Kiwi pressed the clutch with his left foot while blipping the throttle and pressing the brake alongside with his right foot, in order to better match the revs. This technique which is in convention in the world of Supercars is an alien concept in the world of NASCAR, where drivers are more prone to use left-foot for braking.
Owing to this fact, the Cup Series debutant Brodie Kostecki believes that this technique posits both the Supercars drivers at an added advantage over the veterans of the Cup Series. However, it seems that the 2x Cup Series champion Kyle Busch aligns with a different school of thought.
In an interview published by speedcafe, Busch revealed that he was not accustomed to this form of braking. He expressed, “I know how to do it and I can do it, but it’s very clunky. I am not a smooth operator when it comes to having to do the heel-toe. Wheel-hop issues with the old car, it would really kind of help subside that. But, then we just went to work on the car, the braking and everything else. To me, every time I’m able to just maximize my left-foot for brake, I’m way better off, so I’ve kind of gotten away from it.”
When asked if he was ready to learn the technique, the RCR driver disclosed, “For me, no. The Chevy guys—thanks to Chevy for letting us come over here—we ran some street Camaros around here and I tried it. Like, I tried to do the right foot over, brake, use the clutch, do the downshifts, and stuff like that. I was, like, a half-second slower than just using the brake and matching the RPMs for the downshifts.”
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Brodie Kostecki asserts the advantage of right-footing in racing
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While Kyle Busch is not convinced of giving up his old habit and learning the new technique, the new recruit of RCR for the Indy race Brodie Kostecki asserted that the technique does give the two Supercars drivers an upper hand in the road course race.
In the interview with speedcafe.com, Kostecki revealed, “Yeah, probably. It’s something that, if you don’t do it in a Supercar, you’re not going to make a career in Supercars. Those cars are kind of similar in a few ways to those NASCAR Next Gen cars.
“Obviously, the last guy to do it was Marcos Ambrose, and with Shane going back over there and doing it again, it was quite interesting seeing how the commentators were talking about and whatnot. It’s something that’s pretty normal here, so hopefully it’s an advantage.”
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With that being said, it is to be seen whether the technique does catapult both the Supercars drivers to success or whether they fail to achieve success in the race, but fans are exhilarated to watch these drivers race on Sunday.
Read More: “Who Normally Boo for Me” – Shane Van Gisbergen’s NASCAR Venture Earned Him a New Fanbase