How Does One Team Dominate In Such A Level Field?
By: Gregg A. Shultz, RaceFanVote.com
How does a team have the success that the no. 18 car has had in one season? There are some who are quick to
give the majority of the credit to the driver, Kyle Busch, but a closer look might tell you that there is more to the story
than just the driver.
The current car in theory has leveled the playing field in the sense that it threw the proverbial ‘monkey wrench’ into all
of the team’s efforts. An inch of difference shows as a mile of disparity on the track.
If you use qualifying as an example, when 42 cars have already qualified and are separated by only a half second, a
car can be on a pole run and have a minor bobble and drop back to 43rd because everyone is that close. This
season the cars are closer, so any inadequacies are going to show up as a big drop in their overall performance
and finishing positions.
The no. 18 team is better than the rest, but the question is how much better? Using the above analogy, the other
teams may not be that far off the mark. They have dominated in the results, but not necessarily in the overall
performance. If you went ‘back in the day’ when one driver would win more than 10-15 races and did it by putting the
field a lap or more down then you would have a better definition of ‘domination’. The way it is now, not so much.
The teams that are lacking results are learning what the successful teams have figured out and will catch up. The
‘box’ that the teams have to work within is small, so throughout the remainder of the season we should see less
disparity during the second half.
There has been talk of differences in horsepower and engine development, but if true it would not explain all of the
success. When you have the same mentioned team win at certain short tracks that can’t take all of the power that
the cars are making anyway, what is the advantage to having more horsepower? It would tend to make you think that
it’s not horsepower, but handling that is making the difference, especially since that is what most of the drivers are
complaining about.
‘How to make the cars turn’ leads to the explanation that is often stated that the handling characteristics of the new
style car suit certain driver’s style. If that means that the advantage goes to the driver who is better at controlling an
ill-handling car, then that advantage goes away when the other teams make the cars handle better.
Carl Edwards is arguably a much more popular driver than Kyle Busch, but if he had won 7 times would the fans
being crying foul on him, Ford and Roush? The one difference that shows up the most is that the fans are not
complaining about Joe Gibbs Racing, but putting the blame on Kyle & Toyota.
The race in Chicago could have been won by any one of a handful of drivers and no doubt that the late caution made
the ultimate difference in the outcome. The same goes for the previous week at Daytona as well as several others.
Circumstance doesn’t solidify a pattern as much as some might believe and finishes are not always indicative of
overall performance. There has always been an ‘ebb and flow’ in the sport with one team, company or manufacturer
dominating for a period and more than likely that’s what’s happening right now. So, for those who are unhappy with
the season so far, stay tuned because changes are right around the corner.
By: Gregg A. Shultz, RaceFanVote.com
How does a team have the success that the no. 18 car has had in one season? There are some who are quick to
give the majority of the credit to the driver, Kyle Busch, but a closer look might tell you that there is more to the story
than just the driver.
The current car in theory has leveled the playing field in the sense that it threw the proverbial ‘monkey wrench’ into all
of the team’s efforts. An inch of difference shows as a mile of disparity on the track.
If you use qualifying as an example, when 42 cars have already qualified and are separated by only a half second, a
car can be on a pole run and have a minor bobble and drop back to 43rd because everyone is that close. This
season the cars are closer, so any inadequacies are going to show up as a big drop in their overall performance
and finishing positions.
The no. 18 team is better than the rest, but the question is how much better? Using the above analogy, the other
teams may not be that far off the mark. They have dominated in the results, but not necessarily in the overall
performance. If you went ‘back in the day’ when one driver would win more than 10-15 races and did it by putting the
field a lap or more down then you would have a better definition of ‘domination’. The way it is now, not so much.
The teams that are lacking results are learning what the successful teams have figured out and will catch up. The
‘box’ that the teams have to work within is small, so throughout the remainder of the season we should see less
disparity during the second half.
There has been talk of differences in horsepower and engine development, but if true it would not explain all of the
success. When you have the same mentioned team win at certain short tracks that can’t take all of the power that
the cars are making anyway, what is the advantage to having more horsepower? It would tend to make you think that
it’s not horsepower, but handling that is making the difference, especially since that is what most of the drivers are
complaining about.
‘How to make the cars turn’ leads to the explanation that is often stated that the handling characteristics of the new
style car suit certain driver’s style. If that means that the advantage goes to the driver who is better at controlling an
ill-handling car, then that advantage goes away when the other teams make the cars handle better.
Carl Edwards is arguably a much more popular driver than Kyle Busch, but if he had won 7 times would the fans
being crying foul on him, Ford and Roush? The one difference that shows up the most is that the fans are not
complaining about Joe Gibbs Racing, but putting the blame on Kyle & Toyota.
The race in Chicago could have been won by any one of a handful of drivers and no doubt that the late caution made
the ultimate difference in the outcome. The same goes for the previous week at Daytona as well as several others.
Circumstance doesn’t solidify a pattern as much as some might believe and finishes are not always indicative of
overall performance. There has always been an ‘ebb and flow’ in the sport with one team, company or manufacturer
dominating for a period and more than likely that’s what’s happening right now. So, for those who are unhappy with
the season so far, stay tuned because changes are right around the corner.
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