So does 500 miles in October seem like a sprint?
Far from it.
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The Bank of America 500 — actually 501 miles since it’s 334 laps around a 1.5-mile track — is still one of the more grueling races for drivers and teams. They know they are in for a long night Saturday as they battle with more on the line if they are in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
“The races here always feel real long,” said Carl Edwards. “It’s not just the mileage. It’s the intensity. The track conditions changing. The character of the place. There’s nothing simple about it.
“When you’re done here, you’re tired — mentally and physically.”
The drivers and teams are more conditioned for shorter races after May. The only 500-mile race since the Coca-Cola 600 was on Labor Day weekend at Atlanta.
“I tell myself that every time we come here that it’s not the 600 — but it seems like the 600,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. crew chief Steve Letarte said. “Five-hundred miles, where it is in the season, coming off a 400-miler last week (at Kansas and Dover) and Loudon is a short race.
“There’s a lot of stacked-up 400s, and every time we come to one of these 500s, which used to be the norm, I think we forget how long they used to be.”
The main difference between the two races is that in May, the race starts in daylight and goes into the night. With sunset at 6:54 p.m. Saturday and the green flag at 7:48 p.m., there will be no transition.
“In May, you have to start off with a track that is still a little bit warm and lacks a little bit of grip and make sure you don’t get too far behind and then really be able to tune your car to those conditions as they cool,” said Jeff Gordon.
“That is one and just the difference in length, which can put you into a different pit strategy on fuel mileage and can definitely change the outcome.”
That ever-changing strategy is what can make it a long night.
“Even at 500, it’s a long race,” Brad Keselowski crew chief Paul Wolfe said. “Obviously the engine guys are happy that it’s 100 less miles of durability from that standpoint.
“(But) by no means is it a sprint.”
Track position seems more important with the 100 fewer miles and the more consistent track conditions.
“It’s normally a lot harder to pass in this race because it’s one lane on the bottom, really fast,” said Jamie McMurray crew chief Keith Rodden.
The tires are the same as in the spring and with the teams having no practice this weekend at night, crew chiefs will rely on notes on how the cars reacted in May.
“They’re very similar,” said Matt Kenseth crew chief Jason Ratcliff. “This track seems very temperamental to weather and sun but once the sun goes down, the track shades up and it does seem consistent. A lot of that is due to the tire that Goodyear brings here.
“It seems to be consistent. They haven’t changed it in quite a few races. I’m hoping that previous notes still apply.”
Even if they do apply, Ratcliff doesn’t expect the race to go by all that fast.
“Five-hundred miles is a long race,” Ratcliff said. “Six-hundred miles is ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. To me, we ought to race 300 miles every weekend and be done with it.
“But that’s just my opinion.”
