NASCAR: Five Lessons Learned From Darlington

Clean Air Impacted Darlington

It’s something that you would think to only see at cookie cutter 1.5 mile tracks; someone gets out in front and is able to stay out in front thanks to clean air.

Well at Darlington this past Sunday, clean air was a huge factor in keep a leader out in front.

The issue with air flow and the speed of cars is still something NASCAR needs to work on, as it completely takes away the idea of competition and racing for the lead. And if it’s happening at a track like Darlington, it’s only becoming even more of an issue.

Kevin Harvick was able to lead the race early thanks to clean air, as once the 4 car got out in front no one was able to catch up to him. His struggles on Sunday night proved even more how clean air is important; he would end up falling back because of a bad pit stop and was able to race through the field back to second place.

The clean air in front of Martin Truex Jr. though made the 78 car impossible to catch and even though Harvick was able to race up to second, he couldn’t race for the lead.

Combine clean air with restarts and how the led car has control in the restart zone and it seems like no one would be able to pass the leader, even after going back to green.

NASCAR still needs to find a way to make clean air less impactful on these cars and hopefully they come up with something soon.

Next: Enough is Enough and It's Time For a Change!