With the start of a new decade, the NASCAR race weekend calendar has changed dramatically. Especially after the COVID-19 epidemic, where practice sessions were severely reduced. This meant that the action was now limited to two days of weekends rather than three. The practice run is now limited to a 20-minute slot, leaving little time for teams to make alterations to their race vehicles.
In theory, the short schedule was supposed to balance the playing field for rookies and less experienced clubs. However, it has only pushed the engineers and crew chiefs to work longer hours after Saturday’s qualifying runs. Denny Hamlin’s crew chief, Chris Gabehart, explained in a recent interview how difficult the race schedule can be for the teams.
The hard work begins following the NASCAR qualifying rounds on Saturday.
The drivers are the real beneficiaries of a short-race weekend schedule. After preparing for the entire week, all they need to do is hop in the race car on Saturday and run the qualifying rounds. If all goes well, it is indeed a good break for the entire race team, but there are days when crew chiefs and engineers need to put in the extra working hours.
There are days when the NASCAR garage closes out at noon or so, allowing the team members to return to their homes. However, this sounds good in theory, as crew chiefs and teams are forced back into action to take account of their week’s work. And make adjustments to the race car after the qualifying rounds. “You’re at work; from the time you leave until the time you come back, you’re at work. When you’re doing the job of engineer or crew chief,” Gabehart explained.
He further explained that there are days when the engineers and the teams have to put in a late-night shift to get optimal results on race day. “There are some (schedules) where you don’t get out until 6 or 7 at night, and you’ve got to be back at 7 a.m. Those are brutal; it’s very common in those schedules for us to be up until 2 or 3 a.m. working on finalizing the plan. Whether it be simulation or what are we going to do to the car? Or because of where we’re starting, how does that change our philosophy? There’s a lot of details that go into it.”
It’s fair to say that the duo of Hamlin and Gabehart have put their foot forward since the start of the 2024 season. Gabehart emphasizes the use of data to make the fine calls that have helped them get the wins this season. But there were times when they had to resort to the old-fashioned way of calling out race strategies based on instincts.
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