FORT WORTH, Texas — Brad Keselowski, Bubba Wallace, Michael McDowell and Kyle Busch are veteran NASCAR racers who all lost control of their race cars on Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway.
The track certainly has its challenges, with different widths and banking in Turns 1 and 2 and then in Turns 3 and 4. This means drivers and teams must choose which set of turns to maximize speed. A bump between Turns 3 and 4 adds to the sketchiness of the track.
So it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that another veteran, three-time Cup champion Joey Logano, prevailed in the chaotic race.
There were 12 cautions throughout the race, where, in order to maximize downforce, teams tried to get the cars as low to the ground as possible. But hitting the bump can force the bottom of the car to scrape the pavement, causing the driver to lose control.
Why didn’t Logano lose control of his car like so many others?
“There’s definitely guys that I think have the ability to drive their car a little bit more on edge, and they’re willing to take that risk a little bit more at times,” Logano said. “That’s either going to be good for you or bite you.
“That bump down in [Turns] 3 and 4, it’s brutal. Everybody is down on their rear limiters as much as they can be. If you are a little free, and it hits the [shock] limiter, it’s gone. There’s no opportunity to save it.”
Logano indicated that the decisions teams make as far as shocks and shock bump stops (which can control the handling of the car) and other technical choices can impact a driver’s ability to get through a treacherous race like the one on Sunday.
Ten drivers exited the race because of accidents.
“I was trying too hard and busted my butt and looked pretty dumb,” Keselowski said after his accident. “It’s just the cars are right on the bump stops, and you’re driving the hell out of them.
“And just when you step over, you step over, and that’s what I did.”
Josh Berry wasn’t one of those knocked out because of an accident, but he finished 84 laps down as lengthy repairs were made to his car. Berry wrecked while leading the race.
“I hit that bump and got loose,” Berry said. “I don’t know what I would do too much different. Obviously, in these cars, especially at a place like this, if you are going to be fast, it is going to be uncomfortable. And you are going to be on edge.
“Unfortunately, it bit us.”
Not all drivers felt their accident was unavoidable. Carson Hocevar got into the back of Ryan Preece, and Preece was livid.
“He just seems to be proving me right over and over again,” said Preece, who has had issues with Hocevar in the past. “[I had a] really fast, really fast race car. … I just got ran into the fence by somebody that has no respect for his equipment and any other driver out there.
“He’ll have his day.”
Hocevar damaged his car and said that showed he wasn’t trying to wreck Preece.
“I just got in there and started to slide up, and he got to the right rear, and I was already crossing somebody’s wake and got tight from him on my door and the car in front,” Hocevar said. “I’m out of the gas and half wheel, and I just didn’t predict to be in that spot, to panic or to have to change directions.
“You have to predict it. And I just didn’t predict that he would get there. That’s on me.”
In his second year of Cup racing, Hocevar said he has been in fewer incidents and controversies this year and this was a different scenario.
“I apologized to his guys and mine and anybody else involved,” Hocevar said. “It sucks when you take somebody out, but I think it’s obvious when you wreck yourself, you didn’t mean to do it.”
Joey Logano on win at Texas: ‘This sports changes so quickly’
Few of the wrecks were made when making dicey moves for position. Bubba Wallace got loose in front of Joey Logano and Wallace took the blame for an accident that took out four cars.
“I hate that I got into the fence. I was trying to give the 22 [of Logano] room and then just got the wall and started chaos,” Wallace said.
“So I hate it for my team and hate it for everybody involved. … I just had a lapse. It doesn’t take much to get you off your rhythm. I got bit by my own mistake.”
Logano wouldn’t be so bold to say he drove a better race than others who lost control of their cars. But he did indicate that drivers make choices throughout the race.
“You’ve got to think of risk versus reward throughout the race,” Logano said. “Not just on pit strategy, but when you are trying to pass somebody, how hard is it worth pushing it here to make a pass, and what is the ultimate goal?
“There’s times you’ve got to push your limitations, and there’s others you’ve got to stay within reason. Everybody does something different. … A lot goes into it. It’s not just the driver. It’s the setup as well.”
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
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