DHL 400 - Kyle Petty Notes

Kyle Petty Notes, Quotes: Michigan 400
‘The mathematics of the track are key to success’

Kyle Petty and the #45 Georgia-Pacific/Brawny Dodge team head to the two-mile Michigan International Speedway near Detroit this week for Sunday’s Michigan 400 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race.

Petty, 44, will be making his 693rd career start this weekend. He is 10th on the all-time list in NASCAR Cup career starts, and fourth among active drivers. His eight career victories place him 45th on NASCAR’s all-time list in 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 $18 million.

The thoughts of Georgia-Pacific/Brawny Dodge driver Kyle Petty heading into the Michigan 400:

“If you can add and subtract, you can do pretty well at Michigan.

“Sure, it takes a great car, a lot of horsepower and some racing luck, but mathematics is the key element.

“Seriously, it’s fuel mileage. Michigan doesn’t always boil down to a pure fuel mileage race but because of the length of the track and the length of the race, and because there just aren’t a whole lot of cautions usually, fuel mileage almost always plays a big role in the outcome. Sometimes it’s a good thing and sometimes it’s a bad thing - but it is a constant thing. You can depend on it just about every Cup race there.

“Everybody gets right around 50 laps on a full tank of fuel. Fifty is the magic number. Figuring you started with a full tank and if you assumed the race ran under green the whole time, if you got exactly 50 laps, you would pit on Lap 50, Lap 100 and Lap 150, and then run out about the start-finish line with the checkered flag. If things stayed under green and I only stop three times, then I am going to beat everybody who had to stop four times.

“The thing is, few people get exactly 50 laps. Some get 49 laps. Some get 51 laps. Fifty-one would be great. Forty-nine would be horrible. Those two laps on one fuel stop are the difference in stopping three times during a race and stopping four times. See the math now?

“Then you throw in caution laps for those times the race doesn’t run the whole time under green. Rule of thumb is two caution laps for every green flag lap when it comes to fuel mileage calculations. So if you get 49 laps on a full tank, a few caution laps put you back in the ball park.

“Michigan is one of those tracks where you have to throw in an additional area during practice. Like everywhere else, you work on tuning your engine, finding a little extra horsepower, getting the car through the turns a little bit better. But at Michigan, you add in finding some extra fuel mileage. That team that can go just 49 laps, or even 46 or 47, is going to be going crazy trying to find ways to save fuel. Pick up one more lap, and you are home free for a 49-lap car. Sometimes, you’re looking to do anything you can do.

“Mark my words. Those fuel mileage runs will affect the race Sunday, and most likely, will do it at the end or near the end. Somebody will be trying to stretch mileage to win the race but you will see teams all the way through the field doing the same thing. Being able to stretch a little in the last 50 laps could mean the difference of seven or eight finishing positions under some circumstances - sometimes more, sometimes less. But no matter how you slice it, the better your fuel mileage and the better you are able to take care of your fuel, the better your chances for a good finish at Michigan.

“That’s what we’re looking for with this Georgia-Pacific/Brawny Dodge this week.”