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NASCAR: Five Lessons Learned From Talladega

By Michael Guadalupe

Oct 21, 2016; Talladega, AL, USA; Sprint Cup Series driver Matt Kenseth (20) and driver Kyle Busch (18) and driver Denny Hamlin (11) and driver Martin Truex Jr. (78) practice for the Alabama 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 21, 2016; Talladega, AL, USA; Sprint Cup Series driver Matt Kenseth (20) and driver Kyle Busch (18) and driver Denny Hamlin (11) and driver Martin Truex Jr. (78) practice for the Alabama 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /
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May 1, 2016; Talladega, AL, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Brad Keselowski leads the pack during the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
Pit road issues do not impact drivers that much at Talladega. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports /

Pit Road Issues Do Not Matter at Super Speedways

During the first green flag pit stop at Talladega, Joey Logano came in for a normal pit stop but left with something extra.

The jack for the 22 car was stuck underneath the car and he had to go around the track for one full lap, over 190 miles per hour, with the jack still under his car.

At a normal 1.5 mile track, something like this would completely ruin a driver’s day. They would have to come in for the penalty, probably go down a Lap or two, and it would be hard for them to make it up.

At Talladega though, getting the jack stuck under the car had little impact on Logano. He was able to hold the jack under his car while staying on the lead Lap, and as he came in to pit he served the pass-through penalty and removed the jack.

Logano was back on the lead Lap and running in the Top 10 before the race reached the halfway mark.

Unless a car can’t start for several minutes, issues on pit road do not impact a team as much as they do on other tracks. Super Speedways are so big that drivers have more than enough time to make up track position because of issues on the pits.

For Joey Logano to take the jack with him off of pit road and keep it under his car for an entire Lap and still manage to stay on the lead lap by the halfway mark is not an impressive feat. Instead, it just shows how pit road issues do not matter at super speedway tracks.

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