Sonoma Raceway will be the site of Sunday’s Toyota Save Mart 350(Photo: Getty Images)
A hard punching boxer can sometimes get completely outclassed by a quicker and more nimble opponent for round after round of a match. The ringside judges may have the more adept fighter well ahead on their scorecards as the fight nears its conclusion. But then, the puncher who has trailed all throughout the bout may connect with his opponent’s jaw after throwing a wild right hook and send his seemingly more skilled rival to the canvas.
The most skilled of the two fighters does not always win as one well placed punch can change the entire outcome of a match.
That’s what some NASCAR Cup Series drivers and teams may be hoping for over the next few weeks. Those who find themselves outside the NASCAR Playoffs picture in terms of points amassed with 15 of the 26 races used to determine the title contenders already in the books may consider it time to start throwing haymakers and hope one lands.
Drivers can make the playoffs by either winning a race to secure a spot or by being one of the competitors who hasn’t won but has scored enough points over the first 26 races to fill in the remainder of the 16 open slots once the race winners have taken their places.
As of now, there have been eleven drivers to win a race during the 2021 season. That leaves five spots remaining to be filled by those who have the most points among the non winners. Drivers such as Matt DiBenedetto, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, Ross Chastain, Bubba Wallace, Daniel Suarez, Chase Briscoe, and Erik Jones are among those who, at this moment, find themselves on the outside looking in.
Getting back to the boxing reference of earlier, the NASCAR Cup Series schedule offers an opportunity for someone to land one of those shots to the jaw to get themselves into the playoffs despite their low rankings in the standings. Between now and August 15th, there will be points-paying events on four separate road course circuits. With that being the case, the tour will step away from tracks that have been more of the norm over the last several years with some venues making their debut with the series.
Road course races often play out much differently than a standard race on an oval track. Pit strategy, fuel mileage, road racing skill, and even luck can overcome advantages such as engineering, wind tunnel time, and raw horsepower that some teams have over others at the more traditional venues.
A driver doesn’t necessarily have to be great at road racing if his team employs a strategy that puts their car in front of the field with just enough gas in the tank to make it to the finish line. Or, a more skilled road racer might be able to simply outdrive those who may have superior cars but are not as adept at turning both left and right.
However, it must be pointed out here that, at least to some degree, stage racing has taken away some of the strategy plays that teams might have employed if not for those pre-planned breaks in the action.
But with their variation from what has been the norm, road courses at least provide the punchers with a chance that the oval tracks might not give them.
Beginning with this weekend’s Toyota Save Mart 350, the Cup Series will enter a stretch that ought to be pleasing to competitors and fans who enjoy road course racing. Following the visit to California’s Sonoma Raceway will be trips to Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI, Watkins Glen International in New York, and the road course layout at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Granted, any track can provide that puncher’s chance type of scenario for a driver below the cut line as the Kentucky Speedway did last year for Cole Custer. Still, road courses, with their uniqueness, are all the more likely to provide the ingredients for an upset.
Catching a caution at just the right time, outlasting everyone else on the final tank of fuel, or employing a completely different pit strategy from the rest of the pack in order to gain track position might be the way to land that knockout blow to earn a spot in the playoffs for one of the drivers mentioned above.
For some teams who have hopes of making the NASCAR Playoffs, the time has come to start swinging wildly and hope that one of the four upcoming road courses can provide them with a title shot.
Richard Allen is a member of the National Motorsports Press Association
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