Tight quarters on pit road�may lead to anxiety
Harvick, Hamlin discuss pit stall strategy at Phoenix International Raceway
By
Mark Aumann, NASCAR.COM
November 13, 2010
04:36 PM EST
AVONDALE, Ariz. -- The continuing saga over pit stall selection strategy took another fascinating twist Saturday morning at Phoenix International Raceway. Points leader
Denny Hamlin, who qualified 17th for Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500, will find himself pitting between
Dale Earnhardt Jr. and
Jeff Burton, who just happen to be teammates for his closest competition.
Phoenix's 1,140-foot long pit road is narrower and the stalls smaller than average. Trying to pit 43 cars here creates a unique situation, in that several of the stalls are located well into the curve of Turn 1. That means the field is funneled down into a blind left-hand corner trying to exit the pits, which has created trouble in the past.
And one major reason why Hamlin would rather pit closer to the exit than the entrance at Phoenix.
"For me, we are just trying to be up as far up [pit road] as possible," Hamlin said. "This is a very critical track as far as track position. You got to just make sure you get the best qualifying effort as possible [in order to get a better pit stall]."
In contrast,
Kevin Harvick and
Jimmie Johnson are much closer to the entrance to pit road -- pitting in the 37th and 39th spots -- but are surrounded by cars that may not create as much of a traffic jam. While
Bobby Labonte is pitting between the two,
Dave Blaney will be directly in front of Harvick and
Paul Menard behind Johnson.
Then again, if the times set by the top three championship contenders in Saturday's final practice session are any indication, it may not be that big of a deal. Hamlin was fourth-quickest in Happy Hour, turning a fast lap of 131.128 mph. Harvick was right behind in fifth (131.105 mph) and Johnson was seventh (130.947 mph).
Still, after last week's mind games, when Hamlin pitted directly in front of Johnson at Texas, not having the additional pressure may be a godsend. Certainly starting ahead of your closest competition is already an advantage.
"Obviously, you don't have to pass them," Hamlin said. "You hope not, if your car runs good. For us, we know those guys are going to be coming to the front. [Kevin Harvick] qualifies in the back most weeks and finds his way to the front. It's no different than us. For us, I always say never look into qualifying too much. But, for us, for once we're the better of the three."
Harvick watched last week's pit road follies with some amusement, and said that strategy can be detrimental to both teams.
"When you're racing against a guy who's running in about the same spot on the track, it becomes a total nightmare for both teams, whether you're in front or behind," Harvick said. "It becomes tough to make quality pit stops on the race track.
"There is etiquette and you want to be around the slowest car that you can be around that you don't think will be on the lead lap so they won't be around and you can have an opening in and an opening out."
For Harvick, Phoenix's smaller pit stalls create more anxiety.
"The pit stalls are a lot smaller here, so who knows what's going to happen," he said. "I tend to get frustrated in those situations and just gas it and make sure that the guy [in front] doesn't stop too short. It aggravates the rear tire changer [for that team] because you just get a little too close to him."
Of the three, Harvick ran the fewest laps in Saturday's final tuneup, by far. He charted 30 laps in Happy Hour, compared to 55 by Hamlin and 45 by Johnson. A total of 42 cars got on the track in the last 60 minutes and there were no incidents.
Carl Edwards backed up his pole-sitting effort by topping the speed chart in both of Saturday's practices. His lap of 132.343 mph was nearly a half-mile an hour faster than runner-up Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick cars showed their strength, as
Jeff Gordon was third and
Mark Martin eighth.
Veteran
Ron Hornaday jumped into
Ryan Newman's No. 39 Chevrolet for a few laps, just to get himself acclimated to the car. Hornaday will stand by as a relief driver in case Newman's wife Krissie goes into premature labor with their first child, which is due "around Thanksgiving," said Newman.
