Engineers and simulation tools will be heavily relied upon before arriving at the track. Sunday’s temperature is expected to hit around 90 degrees, making the track hot and slick. However, it will be a green track without any rubber having been laid down from multiple on-track activities that would have taken place leading into a Cup race.

“It’s going to show what you’re like off the liftgate,” says St. Hilaire. “We’re going to find out who was dialed in and who wasn’t to start off the race. Hopefully, we’re in the dialed-in category. We’re going to heavily rely on sim. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a lot of guys with a lot of spring rubbers and a softer spring to make adjustments. You’re going to build adjustability into your race car for these races.”

Grueling Darlington figures to provide a tough engineering challenge to start off. Image by Matthew Thacker/Motorsport Images

The most important message from St. Hilaire to his team has been to make sure everything is tight. With no practice to check things over, there is no room for any nut or bolt to be loose.

“Make sure you check your list twice, a third time, and then one more time before going to bed,” St. Hilaire says. “We need to make sure that we don’t have things falling apart because with this many races and where we are – everyone is points racing, but it means a lot where we’re at right now. If we can get out there and not having anything falling off these cars and get everything right, we can have really good points days and run competitively.”

Erwin believes teams having to run what they show up with could be an opportunity for some over others.

“We’ve thought about that; we’ve talked about it quite a bit, actually,” he says. “It seems like really no matter what the rule packages have been over the years or what the tire has been or how much PJ1 they did or didn’t put down, no matter what opportunities get thrown at the race teams, generally the better teams and the better drivers continue to come to the top. I don’t feel as though if we did this every week, it would be a true equalizer, but I do think through the course of certainly the first half of the race at Darlington, you could see some guys that you typically would expect upfront.

“You could see some guys fade, and you might see some guys that really hit it well come forward early, but remember a lot of that is the rubber that the track is going to take over the first half of the race or even the first green flag run.”

Short lead times will put a premium on the communication between driver and crew chief, like William Byron and Chad Knaus. Image by Nigel Kinrade/Motorsport Images

Chad Knaus admitted on Thursday he has not yet seen or laid hands on the No. 24 Chevrolet for driver William Byron. The first time Knaus saw his pit crew was Thursday, as Knaus was in his car while they did pit practice.

Another crew chief ready to deal with the logistics and unknown variables, Knaus also expects a little bit of the same to happen as these next few races play out.

“I think the potential for somebody to really hit on it and have an advantage is definitely there. Absolutely,” says Knaus of running without practice and qualifying. “Although, I think the best teams will still manage to work their way toward the front, either by the end of the race or by the end of this little jaunt that we’ve got going on. The best teams out there are going to learn from their experiences in the first couple of races and be able to build upon that, and the best teams have a very good and deep notebook.

“If you go to any venue, and you don’t think that a Kyle Busch or a Chase Elliott or some of these guys are not going to rumble, I think you’re just kind of fooling yourself. They’ve got depth. They’ve got time and tenure with their crew chief. So, they’ve got a lot to fall back on. So, I think the best teams will still be the best teams when it’s all said and done.”