After Multiple Complaints From Drivers and NASCAR Community, Will the Controversial Fuel-Saving Tactics Return?

Last weekend was the annual running of the Daytona 500. William Byron became the latest driver to add his name to the winners’ list. However, there were a number of controversial moments. Aside from the finish, there were several complaints about the tactics. For most of the race, the NASCAR drivers were in two lines and were practically trying to save fuel. In fact, everyone was at 75% throttle. The only exception was when AJ Allmendinger was playing catch up and he was the only one at full throttle.

In light of this, NASCAR promised to police the fuel-saving strategy that the drivers implemented at Daytona. Apparently, this tactic arose at superspeedways in recent years and quickly became popular. The idea is that drivers prolong their fuel load for as long as possible so they could then spend less time on pit road, having their car refueled. In turn, they could gain positions on the pit road, especially since passing on the track is not always easy.

Denny Hamlin led the complaints from the NASCAR drivers

In an episode of his podcast, Denny Hamlin addressed the issue that has many people annoyed. He said, “I couldn’t figure it out. Fuel, yes, it’s always been somewhat of a big deal, but over the last few years of Next Gen racing on superspeedways, it’s been a dramatic deal.”

“With the field all compressed into a one-and-a-half second group, you can save enough gas to be the last car in line and then jump to the first car in line after a pit cycle as long as you do a good job on entry of the pits, rolling down pit road, stopping, and then exiting pit road and then exiting with a group. You can flip-flop the field.”

Hamilton noted that all the drivers were attempting the tactic, and as early as possible. His observation was that the stunt began as early as the second lap of the Daytona 500. At the time, he was running in the top lane and trying to get his line to push forward. Of course, the pack was a bit stubborn, and Hamlin wanted the car ahead of him to push the car ahead, and so on and so forth.

What do NASCAR officials have to say about the controversial fuel-saving tactic?

To kick-start the tactic, drivers have to lower their speeds to preserve the fuel. Unfortunately, NASCAR will not increase the size of fuel cell size or shorten the stages, so the drivers have to adapt. The advantage of this tactic is that it can lead to quicker pit stops, especially since there is only a single lug nut per wheel. If the refueling can also finish as quickly as possible, it can allow the driver to leave the pit box quicker.

“Ultimately, we want to drop the green flag on the race and they’re racing as hard as they can until they drop the checkered flag,” Sawyer said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “There’s some strategy in between there, and we will definitely take a much deeper drive into this particular situation and the strategy that goes into it.”

With NASCAR now scrutinizing this tactic and floating the idea of a clampdown, what will they implement instead? One such suggestion could be to attempt what the CART Series did and impose a mandatory pit window. This would probably allow drivers to race freely and not think about strategy.

During the 2002 IndyCar season, Michael Andretti confessed that the pit window was really helpful. As per his account, all the IndyCar drivers were free to race flat out and not worry about fuel. In essence, this move helped make the driver’s race a lot more enjoyable.