A Flashback for The Legend - Plymouth Furys
General
Walter, You took the long way around from your elbow to your thumb, but the last paragraph was essentially the correct answer with or by adding the qualifying perspective of having the car loose to get the most out of the kinetic energy when transferring the mass (car) from a straight line to a 180 degree curve, or scrubbing to much speed off by being bound down on the bump stop when cornering, as in the shortest way around the circuit.
This qualifying video shows the use of extreme loose setup to obtain the best time