Joey Logano dominated the field Sunday night (May 19), leading all but one lap to pick up the second All-Star Race win of his Cup Series career and become a million dollars richer at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Pit strategy significantly shaped the outcome at North Wilkesboro, more specifically a shake-up in tire strategy. Here is how the race unfolded on pit road during NASCAR’s All-Star night.
A Tale of Two Tires
For the All-Star Race, NASCAR added an additional wrinkle to pit strategy by offering teams two different types of Goodyear tires for the 200-lap event. First, there was the yellow-lettered “primary” tire, the usual tire that teams use in points-paying races. Then, there was the red-lettered “option” tire, made out of a softer compound that allows for faster lap times.
The difference between the two tires was on full display after an early caution on lap 2, brought out for contact between Kyle Busch and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in turn 1. The yellow flag led to a rush onto pit road, with teams swapping out the red option tires they started the race on for yellow primary tires. Meanwhile, five drivers — Logano, Chris Buescher, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney and Tyler Reddick — stayed out on the softer red tires to lead the field on the lap 11 restart.
As the long green flag run unfolded, it became clear that the softer tire compound held up better than the teams previously anticipated. When the competition caution came out on lap 100, the five teams that stayed on the red option tires maintained the top four spots on the racetrack, with Christopher Bell being the only driver on yellow primary tires in the top five in fifth.
Sure enough, when the field came down pit road for their mandatory four-tire pit stop under caution, all but two teams affixed fresh red option tires to their car. By the end of the race, every car on the lead lap was running on the softer tire compound.
No. 20 Team Wins Pit Crew Challenge
All 17 teams locked into the All-Star Race prior to the Open participated in the Mechanix Pit Crew Challenge as part of qualifying.
Bell’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing crew, led by crew chief Adam Stevens, topped the chart with a cumulative pit stop time of 13.22 seconds. The total time included Bell’s entry into the…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at …