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Sprint Cup
CUP: 600 Miles? No Sweat, Drivers Say
NASCAR pros welcome the challenges of the longest race in the series.
Kevin Harvick calls the 600-mile marathon "the utlimnate test" for drivers, teams and race cars. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
It’s the challenge. It’s the history. It’s also the longest race of the season for NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series.
For teams, the Coca-Cola 600 means an additional 100 grueling miles, an additional 30-45 minutes strapped into a hot, often uncooperative car.
Is the race, which has been run every year since 1960, too long? Is it time to put the 600 on a diet?
Not according to most of those behind the wheel.
“I definitely enjoy the challenge in the length,” says five-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson. “And I think there are a lot of things that balance out.
“Sure the world has changed, ... but there are certain races that founded our sport and shaped our sport into what it is. And we need to keep those in mind, and I think the 600 is a great event.
“I really enjoy racing in it. It’s been good to me over the years. I think if you are a motorsports fan this weekend you’ve got three big, big races between F-1, IndyCar and what we have going on here. So it’s an exciting time to be a motorsports fan this weekend.”
Richard Childress Racing’s Kevin Harvick calls the 600 “the ultimate test of car, team, driver, engines, every part on the car.”
As such, the additional distance has not only been the determining factor in success and failure among the competitors, but it’s also translated into the development of stronger parts and pieces that often make their way into consumers' hands.
“The sport is not all about just running a 250-mile race, it’s about making your car last and making the cars last so people can develop parts and things to put on street cars, to put on shelves for aftermarket racing programs that sell parts,” Harvick said.
Tossing out two races that were shortened by rain, the average running time of the previous Coca-Cola 600 races is in excess of four hours. The 600, Harvick said, is more than “just having a fast car, lining them up and running a short race.”
It’s about endurance. Improving an ill-handling car to perhaps contend. Staying on top of the changing track conditions when the car is fast.
“It’s really about the attrition of the whole night and surviving that,” he said. “As things change through the night, you have to keep up with the race track and if your car won’t run then you’re done.
“The sport needs long races because this is the type of thing it was built on with the longer races and keeping your car from breaking down, so it’s really more than just lining them up and seeing who is the fastest.”
Beginning in 1993, the starting time for the race was moved to early evening (this year’s event is slated to take the green flag at 6:19 p.m. ET). The move tosses another element into the equation – with the race beginning in daylight but ending under the lights, track conditions are guaranteed to change as the race rolls toward its conclusion.
The later start has helped in one aspect.
“I’m kind of glad that we run the 600 miles ending in the dark based on how tough this thing can be in the middle of the afternoon with that blazing sun,” Hendrick Motorsports driver Mark Martin said. “It does make it a little easier on us.
“Once this race starts, it’s not 600 miles. It’s 399 laps to go. You just work backwards and you figure your strategy off of what is in front of you. You have your plain ol’ strategies like – don’t wreck, don’t tear the car up – you have certain normal strategies. But you really have to pick your strategies as thing materialize in front of you. You have to plan and then the caution comes when you didn’t plan it then you have to re-shift around. It is a great race and even though it is 600 miles, to me it just seems like a normal NASCAR race.”
“I’ve been in some of those races where it seems like forever ... and then I’ve been in some 600-milers where it didn’t really feel that much different than a 500-mile race to me,” 2003 Cup champion Matt Kenseth said.
“Hopefully, your car is running good and you can stay up front and you’re not being pressured a lot to go down a lap or you’re falling back through the field where you’re really working that much harder. Hopefully, you’ve got a setup with some speed in it where you can find a spot and get some of those miles clipped away.”
The extra laps often take a toll not only on the equipment, but on drivers as well.
“It is a long race. It is fun and it is challenging,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. “Those last 100 miles can be pretty tough on you, more mentally than physically. Real tough mentally to stay focused for that long.
“Plenty of things can happen and you can reverse your fortune and have plenty of time to get a good finish."
For teams, the Coca-Cola 600 means an additional 100 grueling miles, an additional 30-45 minutes strapped into a hot, often uncooperative car.
Is the race, which has been run every year since 1960, too long? Is it time to put the 600 on a diet?
Not according to most of those behind the wheel.
“I definitely enjoy the challenge in the length,” says five-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson. “And I think there are a lot of things that balance out.
“Sure the world has changed, ... but there are certain races that founded our sport and shaped our sport into what it is. And we need to keep those in mind, and I think the 600 is a great event.
“I really enjoy racing in it. It’s been good to me over the years. I think if you are a motorsports fan this weekend you’ve got three big, big races between F-1, IndyCar and what we have going on here. So it’s an exciting time to be a motorsports fan this weekend.”
Richard Childress Racing’s Kevin Harvick calls the 600 “the ultimate test of car, team, driver, engines, every part on the car.”
As such, the additional distance has not only been the determining factor in success and failure among the competitors, but it’s also translated into the development of stronger parts and pieces that often make their way into consumers' hands.
“The sport is not all about just running a 250-mile race, it’s about making your car last and making the cars last so people can develop parts and things to put on street cars, to put on shelves for aftermarket racing programs that sell parts,” Harvick said.
Tossing out two races that were shortened by rain, the average running time of the previous Coca-Cola 600 races is in excess of four hours. The 600, Harvick said, is more than “just having a fast car, lining them up and running a short race.”
It’s about endurance. Improving an ill-handling car to perhaps contend. Staying on top of the changing track conditions when the car is fast.
“It’s really about the attrition of the whole night and surviving that,” he said. “As things change through the night, you have to keep up with the race track and if your car won’t run then you’re done.
“The sport needs long races because this is the type of thing it was built on with the longer races and keeping your car from breaking down, so it’s really more than just lining them up and seeing who is the fastest.”
Beginning in 1993, the starting time for the race was moved to early evening (this year’s event is slated to take the green flag at 6:19 p.m. ET). The move tosses another element into the equation – with the race beginning in daylight but ending under the lights, track conditions are guaranteed to change as the race rolls toward its conclusion.
The later start has helped in one aspect.
“I’m kind of glad that we run the 600 miles ending in the dark based on how tough this thing can be in the middle of the afternoon with that blazing sun,” Hendrick Motorsports driver Mark Martin said. “It does make it a little easier on us.
“Once this race starts, it’s not 600 miles. It’s 399 laps to go. You just work backwards and you figure your strategy off of what is in front of you. You have your plain ol’ strategies like – don’t wreck, don’t tear the car up – you have certain normal strategies. But you really have to pick your strategies as thing materialize in front of you. You have to plan and then the caution comes when you didn’t plan it then you have to re-shift around. It is a great race and even though it is 600 miles, to me it just seems like a normal NASCAR race.”
“I’ve been in some of those races where it seems like forever ... and then I’ve been in some 600-milers where it didn’t really feel that much different than a 500-mile race to me,” 2003 Cup champion Matt Kenseth said.
“Hopefully, your car is running good and you can stay up front and you’re not being pressured a lot to go down a lap or you’re falling back through the field where you’re really working that much harder. Hopefully, you’ve got a setup with some speed in it where you can find a spot and get some of those miles clipped away.”
The extra laps often take a toll not only on the equipment, but on drivers as well.
“It is a long race. It is fun and it is challenging,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. “Those last 100 miles can be pretty tough on you, more mentally than physically. Real tough mentally to stay focused for that long.
“Plenty of things can happen and you can reverse your fortune and have plenty of time to get a good finish."
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