Of all the ways to win a Nextel Cup race, even Tony Stewart never thought that fuel mileage would be the reason for his victory Sunday at Kansas Speedway.
Known more for his aggressive racing style than for fuel-saving finesse, Stewart played the mileage game almost to perfection Sunday, literally coasting to the checkered flag when he ran out of gas during the final lap of the race.
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The bizarre finish overshadowed a day where the second groove at Kansas truly came into its own, producing great side-by-side and three-wide racing. It was disappointing that the end of the race did not feature the same action that characterized the rest of the day, but it did offer the rare opportunity to watch a fuel mileage battle play out without interruption by a late caution flag.
Winning a race by conserving fuel may seem like a contradictory idea, and for the most part, it is. The idea behind getting better gas mileage in a race is simple ? just slow down some. That sounds easy, but saving fuel while trying to stay in the lead can be a challenge. Since Stewart stayed out while the leaders came in to pit, he could afford to back off a bit.
“I knew how much of a lead we had,” Stewart said after the race. “Then, I could really slow my pace down and run part-throttle.”
Slowing down is not what race car drivers are taught to do, so Stewart relied heavily on crew chief Greg Zipadelli.
“Zippy was really instrumental in watching the stopwatch,” Stewart said, “and keeping me at a pace that he thought was reasonable.”
Stewart was in constant communication with Zipadelli, but he said that the conversation was sometimes one-sided.
“It was him yelling at me on the radio to save fuel,” Stewart said.
The other big challenge is figuring out exactly how far you can go on a tank of fuel. A Nextel Cup car has a fuel pressure gauge, but no fuel level gauge. So how does the team know exactly how much gas they put into the car if it does not have a gauge?
“We use scales. We weigh everything,” Zipadelli said. “It is way more accurate than a fuel gauge.”
Is a mileage battle the most exciting way to end a race?
“It?s not typically the way race car drivers like to win races,” Stewart said.
Yet, much like watching Tiger Woods line up a 50-foot putt, there is a certain strategy and approach to the process that must be appreciated, especially with the suspense that developed as Stewart coasted to victory.
From time to time, it?s fun to see strategy and finesse-driving play out in a race, but rest assured, it will be back to full-throttle this weekend at Talladega … and hopefully for the rest of the season.
Get up to speed on the latest in NASCAR by listening to Wilson?s Race Report every Monday and Friday at 5:39 p.m. on 93.1 WPOC. You can e-mail Steve at [email protected].
