NASCAR has recently adopted the use of wet-weather tires and Sunday’s race at Chicago was a little different as the organization allowed teams to decide when to switch from wet-weather tires to slicks.
It was a decision that had serious implications for the race, even becoming the deciding factor.
“I think the end of the race was quite interesting,” Kevin Harvick said in the Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour podcast. “I think the slick tyre strategy was obviously the losing strategy. And that was the end of it. I think Christopher Bell He probably had a faster car on slicks at the end, but there was just one line at the end. And the way all those guys followed Bell on those slicks ended up getting buried.”
In fact, Bell led the charge to the pits just before the end of Stage 2. When he switched to slick tires, so did many other drivers.
Drivers like it Alex Bowman They didn’t. And ultimately it was Bowman who lasted longest at the front of the pack, while those on slick tyres tried to make an effort.
For most it didn’t work out so well.
“Bell crashed trying to make a pass on whoever crashed, there were two or three of them that all crashed at the same time,” Harvick said. “Somebody got loose and ended up wrecked. And it really Ty Gibbs “He got hit again there in the same type of situation and ultimately it cost him the chance to win the race.”
One driver who was not a victim of the slick tyres until the end was Tyler ReddickFor a brief minute it looked like Reddick was going to have the speed to close down Bowman and make the final lap extremely interesting.
But Reddick hit a wall in a corner and that was it. The slick tyre strategy proved a failure.
Harvick explained why that happened.
“So we had all those rain tires that were staying out front, staying up front,” Harvick said. “There were enough of them to block the slicks, and it’s harder to pass when you just have a dry line and you have slicks on. So you really have to tiptoe around there.
“And after seeing all the mistakes we saw all day from some of the best, right? We saw Chasing Briscoe clean SVG. We saw Kyle Larson “He pretty much annihilates Ty Gibbs by sliding in the braking zone. And that braking zone is difficult in Turn 6. For some reason, it’s super slippery and you just have to cross the line, and once you lock those tires up, you can’t get it back. It’s like you’re on ice and you just seem to gain speed.”
Ultimately, NASCAR will have to be satisfied with the results. The drivers and their teams made the decision and the race took place with a result affected by the strategy adopted. That is what an ideal world looks like.
