LONG POND, Penn. — Among a small contingent of NASCAR Cup Series drivers that had parked at the end of the front half of the Pocono Raceway pit road on Sunday, June 22 was Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott.
Sweating, tired and visibly disappointed, he sat on his No. 9 Chevrolet with one leg on the ground and the other on his window net.
He had finished fifth Sunday (June 22) afternoon at the Tricky Triangle, and he joined the rest of the top five finishers in post-race comments, and almost all of them had the same complaint about the day: dirty air.
According to the former Cup champion, there’s more of it ahead.
“There are some guys that do pretty good with it,” Elliott told Frontstretch. “[I need to] do a better job in turn 3. I think that would’ve helped our cause, for sure.
“But you’re going to hear more of it. Just wait.”
Ominous.
If you’ve been even only a part-time NASCAR fan in the last couple of decades, you’ve heard the term of dirty air before. The idea of the leader having the advantage of breaking through air that isn’t disturbed by other cars has been a hotter topic of NASCAR debate for some time.
Passing has become seemingly more difficult over time, despite NASCAR going through four generations of race cars in the last 20 years in an attempt to fix it as one of the issues plaguing modern-day stock car racing, it’s still as prevalent as ever.
That’s especially the case for the 2.5-mile triangle Pocono.
“Pocono is always bad,” fourth-place finisher Chris Buescher said regarding the track’s ability to pass. “But it’s a pretty weird track. It has two lanes, but you know the problem is on the outside you have to cross the wake of the car in front of you first, so it’s not faster.”
Elliott was only one voice among a chorus of drivers post-race that had mentioned the topic. After a 400-mile, 160-lap race that didn’t include a single green flag, on-track pass for the lead, they may have had a slight point.
In the closing laps of the event, race winner Chase Briscoe was saving fuel after not receiving enough gasoline in his tank during his final pit stop. All the while, Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin stalked him only four car-lengths behind him at most.
Yet despite the added off-throttle time and reduced speed, the No. 11 never could catch the No. 19 Toyota. Briscoe went on to win, puzzling many, including Hamlin.
“I tried the best I could to make runs out,” Hamlin said post-race. “I’d back off, pulling in to make another run and as soon as I could get one or two car lengths, just it would heat the tires up, and then I couldn’t make a move. Every time I tried to stay really close to him, I would get really tight, and then it would let the 12 come back to me.
“So, at that point I’m just trying to keep a little bit of an air gap there to allow my car to cool off and try to make another run at him. But … this amount of corner speed you just can’t overcome the aerodynamic effect, and it’s been poo for 25, 30 years.”
His crew chief, James Small, said the turbulent air may have played a part.
“Clean air is important,” Small said in the post-race conference. We’ve seen it before. You’re capable of being able to lead and save fuel here and do the right thing and drive well. It was a long run on tires there, the guys were following in dirty air as well, which helped.”
Elliott was caught in traffic as much as many on Sunday and experienced the sensation of not being able to pass as much as anyone else.
It’s not really clear as to what his warning is referring to, however, whether it was a moment of frustration or if he was referring to future tracks coming up on the schedule that may provide a lack of passing as well.
But his words certainly rang true on Sunday.
Dalton Hopkins began writing for Frontstretch in April 2021. Currently, he is the lead writer for the weekly Thinkin' Out Loud column, co-host of the Frontstretch Happy Hour podcast, and one of our lead reporters. Beforehand, he wrote for IMSA shortly after graduating from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2019. Simultaneously, he also serves as a Captain in the US Army.
Follow Dalton on Twitter @PitLaneCPT