HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (Feb. 14, 2011) – It’s not exactly Lewis and Clark wondering what they would find in the vast Louisiana Purchase, but Kyle Busch and Jason Ratcliff do have some questions as they prepare for Saturday’s DRIVE4COPD 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.
The driver and crew chief of the No. 18 Z-Line Designs Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) enter the 2011 Nationwide Series season with a similar mindset Meriwether Lewis and William Clark had in 1803, when President Thomas Jefferson asked them to explore what is now the western part of the United States: “We’re not really sure what we’re getting into here, but we’ll figure it out as quickly as possible and adjust as need be.”
After back-to-back Nationwide Series owner titles for the No. 18 Toyota, Busch’s 2009 Nationwide Series driver championship and 22 race victories as a tandem in the last two years, Busch and Ratcliff head to Daytona with a mountain of uncertainty in front of them as there is a new-style Nationwide Series car, a new fueling system for the pit crew, and new pavement at Daytona for the first time since Jimmy Carter was in the White House.
Simply put, everything that was known in the past has been thrown out, and all teams and drivers are starting from scratch.
The new-style Nationwide Series car includes a wider and taller cockpit, a longer wheelbase and a new front section. It was used only four times last year – in July at Daytona, in August at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, in September at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway, and in October at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.
Since the new-style car was used at Daytona last July, one would think what was learned then could be applied during Saturday’s 120-lap event. But a fresh layer of asphalt was laid around the 2.5-mile oval for the first time since 1979, which completely changes the handling of cars since new pavement means much more grip than in years past.
If a new car and a new surface weren’t enough, NASCAR implemented new rules for fueling cars in 2011, eliminating the catch can position on the pit crew. Rather than having a crewmember hold a can to catch the overflowing fuel from the gas tank during a pit stop, a new gas can will not only fuel the car, but also catch the overflowing gas.
Because the catch can man often helped make track bar and wedge adjustments during pit stops, Ratcliff and other crew chiefs have had to figure out new ways to pit cars in the fastest and most efficient way possible.
So, while no team has been as successful as Busch and Ratcliff have over the last two years, it’s almost as if the reset button has been pushed and they have to start all over in order to build another dominating run.
But while Lewis and Clark took 18 months to reach the Pacific Ocean, Ratcliff, Busch and the Z-Line Designs team are hoping it won’t be that long until they find victory lane once again.