GFS Marketplace 400 - Kyle Petty Notes

Kyle Petty Notes, Quotes: Michigan 400

Beating ‘frustration factor’ in fuel-mileage races

Heading to one of NASCAR’s widest tracks - and one known for its ‘fuel mileage’ endings - Kyle Petty and the #45 Georgia-Pacific/Brawny Dodge team move to the two-mile Michigan International Speedway this week for Sunday’s 400-mile NASCAR Winston Cup stock car race.

Petty, 43, will be making his 667th career start this weekend. He is 11th on the all-time list in NASCAR Winston Cup career starts, and fourth among active drivers. His eight career victories place him 45th on NASCAR’s all-time list in Winston Cup wins. One of the most recognizable names in international motorsports, as is his sponsor, Georgia-Pacific, Petty’s driving career began with a five-race season in 1979. The native of Level Cross, N.C., has won over $16 million.

The thoughts of Georgia-Pacific/Brawny Dodge driver Kyle Petty heading into Michigan:

“Races with a lot of cautions at Michigan are pretty rare. The track is so wide and so many cars are running so many different lines that you just don’t end up with them running into each other as often. Even when somebody does spin, the track is wide enough that most cars miss it, and the huge multi-car wrecks you see at some speedways just don’t happen. You get to a point late in the race and, a lot of times, a car can spin, not hit anything and keep going, and the caution never does come out.

“If you don’t have a lot of cautions, you greatly increase the odds of a fuel mileage race. And that can really change how you approach things.

“Most teams can go right at 50 laps without stopping for fuel at Michigan. Tires are rarely an issue there so everything you think about in regards to pitting normally involves just your fuel situation. The thing is, a lot of teams can go just less than 50 laps, and a few times can go just past 50 laps.

“That 50 is a key number. If you can go 50 laps, and you end up running all 200 laps under green, which has happened there before, you have to stop for fuel three times - Lap 50, Lap 100, Lap 150, and then run out of gas at the checkered flag. But if you can only go 49 laps, you have to stop four times - Lap 49, Lap 98, Lap 147 and Lap 196. That’s a pretty big advantage to the guy who can go 50 laps.

“The whole thing is a math quiz for the guys in the pits. You have to be right. If you are off just a little bit, then you are off a whole lot. The one rule of racing that always seems to be true is you only run out of gas right after the entrance to pit road. Run out there and you coast for two miles, lose at least a lap and lose any chance you have for a good finish.

“When caution flags come out, they play a big role in fuel mileage races too. Think about those guys who can go 50 laps and those who can go 49 laps. And then figure a caution that ends at lap 150, and it’s the last one of the day. That’s the kind of stuff that leads to those nail-biting finishes where you see the NBC guys interviewing a crew chief, and asking if they are going to pit or take a chance and stay out.

“The other scenario, just as frustrating - you’ve had a great fuel mileage day, and you can go further than anybody else, and you’re having the perfect day. You are where you want to be with 15 laps to go, you don’t have to pit for fuel and everybody else does. The frustration? Seeing a caution come out and ruin all of your plans.

“The thing that makes racing fun to watch - and frustrating so many times to compete in - is the ‘luck’ factor. Yeah, you make your own luck but what do you say to being in position to have a tremendous finish or win the race, and a caution comes out for debris right at the end? Of course, a lot of things happen all day long that affect your ‘luck.’ In fuel mileage races, though, the frustration factor tends to rise a lot.

“Keep in mind all of this is meaningless unless you have a good race car. Fuel mileage is meaningful if you are headed towards a good finish. If not, well, a lot of times it doesn’t matter if you have to pit an extra time or not. So you have to work pretty hard, get the best race car on the track you can, and hope the ‘fuel mileage genies’ work in your favor.

“That’s what we’re looking to do at Michigan with this Georgia-Pacific/Brawny Dodge team - have a good car, run a good race and use our fuel mileage to give us a really good day.”

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