How to win at NASCAR PSP game

If you pit at the halfway point you benefit in 3 ways:

1. You can drive hard and not worry about tires and fuel thereby giving your self some kind of lead.
2. You avoid other cars in the pits when they all pit together.
3. In rookie mode the competitors never take advantage of the yellow flag to pit so you can be assured that they will pit under the green light which means they will not catch you if a yellow comes out