The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series visits Watkins Glen International this weekend for the second and final road course race of the 2014 season.
Race fans are sure to hear all about road course racing pit strategy throughout the weekend. No. 55 Crew Chief Billy Scott explains how that strategy is different from most oval races as well as his team’s strategy for getting its driver Brian Vickers to victory lane.
The Michael Waltrip Racing team saw a likely top-10 finish evaporate in a 13-car accident Sunday at Pocono Raceway. The 37th-place finish left Vickers 21st in points 51 behind the 16th and final qualifier for NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup. With just five races remaining before the start of the Chase, Scott says winning becomes imperative to secure a Chase berth.
CREW CHIEF BILLY SCOTT: “Not that we haven’t always been, but we are in total race winning mode. We aren’t going to take a 1 percent chance to get to victory lane but if there is any debate on whether we go for a win or get a top-10 finish then we are going to go for the win.”
WHAT IS ROAD COURSE RACE PIT STRATEGY: “You can pit under green if you are within a reasonable distance from the leader without losing your lap. As long as you have enough fuel to go to the end and tires don’t outweigh track position, you pit as early as you can. If the caution comes out and the other cars pit, you get to pass them for free.”
WATKINS GLEN STRATEGY: “It’s funny, but everybody has played the road course race strategy the last two weeks on the big ovals at Indy and Pocono. The tracks are so big you can pit and get back out without losing a lap. If you time the yellow just right you move up when everyone else comes in. So Watkins Glen will be the third weekend in a row we think like this.”
BRIAN VICKERS AS A ROAD COURSE RACER: “He’s a good road course driver. We were really fast at Sonoma and Brian has a lot of experience running on road courses all over the world. I’m pretty confident he can get us to victory lane.”
MWR PR
