To pit or not to pit: Right strategy key to Mansfield

Mansfield Motorsports Park is the shortest track on the Craftsman Truck Series schedule, barely a half-mile around the top, and its typical tough-to-pass character will place a premium on track position and pit-stop strategy Saturday in the Ohio 250.

The 250-lap, 125-mile race distance usually dictates one stop, and which caution the team chooses to pit under will go a long way in determining where it will finish.

Fast facts

What	Ohio 250 at Mansfield
When	Green, 1:15 p.m. ET Saturday
TV	SPEED, 12:30 p.m. ET
Radio	MRN (Sirius Ch. 28), 1 p.m. ET

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There's also the outside possibility of picking the no-stop strategy and trying to take a mid-pack truck to victory.

Don't think it can happen? It did last year.

Dennis Setzer became the only driver in series history to win without a pit stop. He had help from 13 cautions for a race-record 103 laps in a race that was slowed or red-flagged multiple times for rain. Setzer started 18th and didn't take the lead until 12 laps remained.

"Not pitting was something I thought we could do if everything went just right, but it was going to be a longshot to make it work," Setzer said. "I really didn't think it would happen. From the very beginning, the race was plagued by rain and it looked like it would stick around for most of the day. Our main goal was to stay out as long as we could without pitting because I really thought the race would be called due to rain.

"I knew once I got in the lead, if I ever gave it up the chances of getting it back were slim because it is so hard to pass. The cautions just kept coming and the rain came at just the right moments for us. We soon realized if things continued the way they were, we could make it all the way without pitting and we did just that."

NASCAR reduced the size of the fuel cell in the Craftsman Trucks from 22 gallons to 18 for this season.

"I can't help but wonder if that is because of me," Setzer said. "But I think if the right circumstances played out, it [going the distance] could still be done at a short track such as MMP. NASCAR also changed the carburetor this season. We are seeing with the combination of the new carburetor and smaller fuel cells that we are getting within a few laps of the fuel mileage we got last year at certain tracks.

"It may never be done again, but I wouldn't write it off just yet."

The greater probability is that the victor will choose the right caution to be at the front without having to stop again. Conversely, picking the wrong one can have dire consequences at Mansfield.

In the 2006 race, Todd Bodine started on the pole and easily led the opening 117 laps before making his sole pit stop. More than half the field had already made their stops, and it left Bodine mired in traffic, unable to get back to the front. He finished 17th.

Ron Hornaday Jr. had started 17th, and a combination of a well-timed stop and a competitive Chevrolet moved him into the lead and he stayed there for 131 laps to take the checkered flag.

Jack Sprague won from the pole in Mansfield's inaugural CTS race in 2004, but Bobby Hamilton's triumph in 2006 came from 26th starting spot.

Sprague has finished second in the past three races at Mansfield.

"A lot of my success can be attributed to pit strategy," Sprague said. "We have always had great pit stops and been able to make the right calls when it came to Mansfield."

Even without rain, Mansfield's close quarters create plenty of action -- and cautions. There were 13 for 94 laps in 2004, 13 for 86 in 2005 and 18 for 85 in 2006. Opportunities abound for picking the right strategy.

"It's all about track position at Mansfield," said Matt Crafton, who picked up his first Truck win last week at Lowe's Motor Speedway. "We'll try to stay patient and stay out of the messes that will happen and try to be there again at the end."

By the Numbers: Mansfield Motorsports Park
Not much is known of the half-mile track at Mansfield, but if the past Truck races are any indication, expect the unexpected. | More