NASCAR: 5 Lessons Learned From The Camping World 500 At Phoenix

Clean Air Was a Major Factor

Phoenix is a track where temperature is a major factor for both a car and a driver. And while drivers will put ice down their fire suits to keep warm, they can’t do that for the car.

Tires are breaks are tested in the heat, but the one major factor that continues to play a role at Phoenix is clean air.

Four race leaders on Sunday all benefited from being the first car.

Joey Logano was able to win the first stage because of his speed early on. He was able to gain distance on Kyle Larson who was in second, but only while there were no cars in front of him. Once Logano caught up to the end of the field he lost his clean air advantage and had to worry about holding off Larson.

Chase Elliott also used clean air to help him win a stage. He was extremely fast when the 24 car was out in clean air but once he fell back Elliott didn’t have the same speed.

Kyle Busch held onto first place for a large portion of the race and would have won with the help of clean air, but a late race caution played a role in changing his Victory Lane plans.

And then there is Phoenix winner Ryan Newman. While everyone else was worried about tires, Newman took advantage of the speed his car gained with clean air in front of him and was able to hold off Larson for two laps to win the race.

Clean air played a major role on this short track this past Sunday and it will have the same impact when NASCAR comes back to race in the desert during the playoffs.