By: Ashley McCubbin

After a thrilling return to action at Darlington Raceway, expectations were high for Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. While there is lots to talk about following the Coca-Cola 600, it also wasn’t the most amazing event, either.

As has become very predictable with the current NASCAR Cup Series package, aerodynamics played a huge part in the style of racing.

Clean air became king with strategic moves by teams important if you wanted to gain track position. It became apparent when Alex Bowman took two tires to take over the lead and earn a couple stage wins, as well as Joey Logano staying out during the third stage, while Kevin Harvick and Chase Elliott whom also chose that strategy fell back due to being behind cars. Elliott suffered the worse in the exchange, going from third to the last car on the lead lap in 17th.

When drivers were able to get over the course of a long run, passes were difficult to make with the field spending most of the night strung out single-file – unless you had a strong car. Once he had four tires bolted on combined with a series of adjustments, Elliott was able to climb his way from 17th to the top-five over the course of 50 laps in the final stage, putting himself in position to win.

The combination of the package, and knowing track position was critical, did produce excitement on the restarts with close-quarter racing that involved passes, and some thrilling moves. That is why the first 10 to 15 laps after the green flag was dropped, you wanted to be tuned to see where your driver shook out in the running order.

Brad Keselowski used strategy of his own to put himself in position and ultimately capitalized by staying out for the overtime restart. It came close to not going down as he wanted, with Elliott’s four fresh tires going from 11th to third in the span of two laps. If it was not for the seven others that stayed out and a pair with two right side tires, perhaps the fairy tale ending that fans of the No. 9 wanted would have happened.

Chase Elliott will look back on the event – and ultimately focus on the ending disappointment in coming up short. After all, it’s two straights events in a row that he had a chance at victory, but saw things go astray.

But there was a lot more to be said about his race day.

The handling of his Chevrolet was off-course at the start, requiring a big adjustment that did not go according to plan at the end of the stage two, putting back in the field. While he made a little bit of ground, the previously discussed strategy call lost that position. However, crew chief Alan Gustafson’s persistent paid off as the fourth stage, it was like you lit a fire cracker under them in watching the No. 9 drive through with the fastest laps of the field.

If it wasn’t for the caution with two laps to go, Elliott was likely going to be celebrating his first win of the year in victory lane as he was leading Keselowski by over two seconds. Instead, Gustafson elected to bring him down pit road for four tires – which did not pay off, instead resulting in a runner-up.

A lot of people have commented about the call, ultimately surprised by Gustafson’s decision. Though while it’s easy to play armchair quarterback after the fact, certain things need to be considered.

Being the leader in that situation ultimately makes you a sitting duck – damned if you, damned if you don’t. If you go down pit road, you will have only some follow you; though if you choose the other strategy, you risk everybody taking tires and having the advantage.

Gustafson has been at the helm of the No. 9 team since Elliott’s rookie season, and they have won races together. They have also been able to fight back from so-so days to stellar finishes with his strategy decisions. He was also the same guy that took a racecar they could not compete with not only tonight at Charlotte but also at Darlington, and allow him to compete upfront. They’ve also been in position to win at least five races this year, all thanks to this same person – but that’s obviously forgotten in the anger expressed by fans right now.

While the past two events have been frustrating, it’s only a matter of time until all the ducks align in a row and the No. 9 is in victory lane – with Gustafson sitting atop the pit box. When that happens, perhaps those ready to jump off the wagon may bite their tongue.

EMAIL ASHLEY AT ashley.mccubbin@popularspeed.com

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