During your first years in career mode, your crew chief will not be as experienced in choosing the correct setup for Superspeedways. If you go with his decisions, you will not finish well. Instead, go to practice mode and get a feel for the track. If your lap times do not come close to the pole sitter's time (about one or two seconds), then make changes on your car. Increase your fourth gear ratio by four or five notches; you will see your acceleration increase. This will allow you to achieve your top speed faster, and you can accelerate out of the corners faster. It is also a good idea to pit at the halfway mark on a 5% race, as most cars will take the next lap to pit and you will not run into pit road traffic. Remember to draft, and you can finish with a good position, and perhaps even win.