What drivers mean by "out of control" isn't messy racing. It's a race that's going to split apart.
By PitByNumbers Staff What they're really describing isn't chaos. It's a race that's going to split apart. 8 min read A ll week, drivers have been preparing for Darlington on the simulator, and they've all come back saying the same thing: this is going to feel "out of control." Chase Briscoe didn't soften it, saying it felt like you're "crashing every corner, every lap… even on new tires." That sounds like chaos.
But what he's really describing isn't a messy race — it's a race that's going to split apart. As the run develops, the field won't stay tight for long. A few cars will keep their pace and look stable, while others start slipping, losing balance, and falling off.
Within 15 to 20 laps, the gaps will open. By the end of a run, a handful of drivers will still look comfortable. Everyone else will look like they're hanging on.
That's what "out of control" actually means in this package. Denny Hamlin explained why. Most of the grip in these cars comes from underneath, and this package takes that away.
When that happens, the car doesn't just get slower — it gets harder to keep planted, especially in the middle of the corner. The car slides more, reacts quicker, and once it starts to go, it doesn't easily come back. Drivers aren't just managing speed anymore.
They're managing whether the car stays underneath them at all. The Garage Split That's why the garage sounds split. Ryan Preece sees it as a return to real driving — more skill, more feel.
Michael McDowell isn't so sure, pointing out that sometimes changes like this look big and end up not mattering, and other times they completely reshape a race. That uncertainty matters. When teams don't fully know what they have yet, the field doesn't stay close.
It spreads out. You'll be able to see it happening. Early in a run, someone like William Byron or Christopher Bell will still look smooth, still hitting their marks, still gaining.
Meanwhile, other drivers — even fast ones — will start drifting up the track, correcting the car, and losing ground. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. hinted at how complicated that gets, describing a race where you're constantly balancing tire wear, track position, and how many sets you even have left.
At some point, it stops being a race and becomes a balancing act. Why Passing Gets Harder That's also why this won't lead to more passing the way people expect. When cars are this sensitive, drivers can't just force moves.
If they push too hard, they lose the car — and when that happens, it costs multiple positions. So instead of constant battles, you get moments where one driver clearly has more grip than another. When that shows up, the pass isn't a fight.
It's inevitable. That shift favors a very specific type of driver. Drivers like Hamlin , Byron , and Bell tend to thrive when races turn into long-run control and tire management.
They don't need the car to be perfect early — they need it to stay stable late. On the other side, drivers who lean more on aggression and pushing the limit — like Ross Chastain , Carson Hocevar , or even Kyle Larson at times — face a tougher balance. That style can produce speed, but in this type of race, it becomes a liability.
Briscoe summed it up best when he said one team is going to hit the setup and "murder the field." That doesn't mean they'll just be faster. It means they'll be one of the only cars that still looks comfortable when everyone else is struggling. When It Feels Decided And when that happens at Darlington, the race doesn't feel chaotic.
It feels decided. Pit By Numbers · Garage Intelligence