Sunday's Cup Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway will feature a different tire setup and different weather conditions than in past seasons. Yet, these may not be the biggest challenges for playoff drivers throughout the field.
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Defending track winner Austin Cindric, in particular, enters Sunday's Round of 16 race thinking about the things he can't predict.
"The caution that I don't know is gonna happen in the middle of stage 2 or stage 3," Cindric said when asked about his biggest challenges by media members on Saturday.
"That's not necessarily in my control, but the strategy for this race is going to be probably as challenging as a road course in the playoffs because of how important track position is going to be.
"How tight the field's going to be. You know qualifying today will be exceptionally important to give yourself options."
Sunday's playoff race, the first for the 1.25-mile track, will feature strategies that change as the race progresses.
The first stage will not pose major challenges other than brake and tire wear. It only lasts for 45 laps. The situation changes in the second and third stages as the number of laps increases.
The drivers will have to complete roughly 90 laps under green in the second stage after trips down pit road for fresh tires and fuel. They will have to complete more than 90 laps in the final stage while battling for the all-important win.
A fuel run for these cars will be 73-82 laps, which means that teams will likely have to make green flag pit stops in both stages. But when do they make these stops? Do they run long hoping for a caution, or do they pit as early as possible?
Each driver and team will approach the race differently. Some drivers will get involved in the planning and voice their opinion about what they should do in the two final stages.
Cindric will take a different approach.
"I definitely look at it as the team's job," the Team Penske driver said about strategy. "Typically, I will have an opinion, and I will only share it if asked. So this race will probably be another one of those occasions.
"Even last year running, full fuel runs, pitting, similar to a road course, right when the window opens so you have the track position. There's also a different tire this weekend. I think you could easily influence the end result of the race just with one caution at the right time."
Cindric and his team will have some flexibility considering how difficult it will be for drivers to make passes. He qualified ninth on Saturday, which set him up to get stage points early.
He just needs to avoid mistakes, crashes, and mechanical issues to achieve his goal of contending for the win or at least leaving the 1.25-mile track with a bigger cushion to the cutline.
