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Flat track means flat-out qualifying

© St. Petersburg Times,
published November 9, 2001

HOMESTEAD -- As the Winston Cup series heads to Homestead-Miami Speedway for just the third time, fans might want to brush up on their flat-track terminology.

Track position.

Grip.

Pit strategy.

All three no doubt will be factors in Sunday's Pennzoil 400.

"It's going to play out as a continuous battle for track position, just like the last two races," veteran Rusty Wallace said. "The track has a reputation for having very little grip and hasn't produced much side-by-side racing to date. If it comes down to pit strategy, making the right call at the end is going to be the key."

See? The 1.5-mile oval at Homestead is relatively flat through the turns. Heavy stock cars pick up speed on the straightaways, but cannot maintain it in the corners. The tires do not grip the track, a condition that could be made worse by the harder tire compound being used this season.

Because racing is primarily single-file, passing takes place not on the track, but on pit road. To go from 24th to 10th, a team might forgo changing four tires to gain track position with a faster, two-tire stop.

"It's not always the best race for the fans," Bobby Hamilton said. "It's tricky to get around, so the key is to stay smooth and drive the track. We can't race side by side and we have trouble passing, so we have to race the track to be able to get to the front."

With track position at a premium, starting position is critical. Today's qualifying session will challenge teams to find setups that allow cars to handle well in the corners.

"It's hard to make the car turn there," said Tony Stewart, whose two victories make him the only Winston Cup driver to win at Homestead. "Then if you get the car turning well, you need to make sure it gets up off the corner. Trying to make the car turn and go forward at the same time is tough because the corners are so big."

DOUBLE DUTY: Winston Cup regular Ward Burton will compete for the second time this season in the BGN series, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet in Saturday's Miami 300.

The car is owned by Tommy Baldwin, Burton's Winston Cup crew chief, and will be serviced by the same crew for Burton's No. 22 Dodge on Sundays. In the team's debut at Charlotte last month, the No. 5 ran up front before getting caught in a wreck, but came back to finish eighth.

SPLASH AND GO: The over-the-wall crew for Matt Kenseth's No. 17 Ford won the annual pit crew challenge last weekend at Rockingham, changing four tires and putting in two cans of fuel in a record 17.695 seconds. But Kenseth didn't need a stop watch to know his crew was fastest.

"I knew that all year long," Kenseth said. "Sometimes their stops are so fast I don't even have time to get a drink."

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