DP on Richmond:
http://www.danicaracing.com/newsdesk-press&nid=262
DANICA PATRICK, Driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing:
Talk about heading to Richmond this weekend.
“If anybody has the key to Richmond, please pass it along because I have not figured it out, yet. I haven’t run well at Richmond, yet. I loved going there in IndyCar, and I had good success there, I feel like. I had lots of top-fives there in IndyCar, or at least running consistently in the top-five. It just hasn’t been that way in stock cars. I have a really hard time getting into turn one. I feel like the car is going to spin out the whole time, so I don’t know. Hopefully, this time will be different. I have said in the past when people ask me what my favorite track is, I say ‘Whatever I’ve done well at,’ and I’ve gone from hating to loving a track in one day. So, hopefully, that will be the case at Richmond.”
You had success at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway last season, posting a top-12 finish and a top-20 finish. This year, you had a top-10 qualifying effort at Martinsville. How does Richmond compare to the other short tracks we go to in the Cup Series.
“Both ends are different at Richmond. I feel like you drive kind of downhill into turn one, and you kind of drive up and into turn three. It’s getting old so it’s losing grip, and power down and rear traction off the corner is at a premium, so that’s always what we try and figure out how to get.”
Last weekend was the first one of two off weekends the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series takes, so at the first break in the season, rate your year, so far.
“I really feel like it has been a lot better than last year as far as the race goes, and qualifying, even. It’s been, I feel like, a lot better. It’s still not great but it’s definitely getting better. We started off the year really well in practice and running like top-15 in practice, and Las Vegas was great. We were one of the fastest cars for most of the time we were on track in practice. But that didn’t lead to good results in the race. With getting crashed and not having great races, that kind of puts a damper on the whole weekend. I’ve had other weekends where I’m not running well at all in practice, but then I go out in the race and the car seems to be OK. So, I guess I would rather struggle through the weekend and then have a good race than the other way around. At some point in time, you’ve got to put it all together and you’ve got to run fast, qualify well and run great in the race.”
TONY GIBSON, Crew chief of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing:
The last race was Darlington and the No. 10 team had a solid finish. How does what the team accomplished at Darlington help heading into Richmond?
“That was awesome. I think we learned a lot from the last time we were at Darlington with Danica, as far as being patient and just what she needed with the car. I think that helped us be more patient. Like I told her, that’s a place where, if you can just be patient and race the racetrack, you’ll end up with a good finish. We fought all night and, as a team, we worked well together – pit stops and everything – so I feel like it was a win for our team. Each week, we build on what we know from last year, and we learn more, and I think we’re able to definitely take positives from each race we’ve run and build on that. I’m really proud of what we accomplished at Darlington, and I think we’re going to have to have that same kind of focus heading into Richmond. It’s another track where I want her to be patient and focus on racing the racetrack and not get caught up in what the other guys are doing because that’s where you’re going to run into problems. She’s run a lot of races at Richmond, but most of those were in IndyCar, and that’s a lot different from how she drives the track in a stock car. A lot of this weekend will be about her leaning on her teammates and talking to them about how they get around the track. I think that’s going to help her a lot more than I might be able to. From our end, we just have to stay focused. It’s not about going out there on the track and beating Jimmie Johnson or beating Tony Stewart. Our focus is to get her on the track and have her be the best Danica Patrick that she can be. And that’s the key for us each week. Danica is still learning, and part of the learning process is learning to be patient and learning how to race the racetrack, and that’s what we’ll be focusing on this weekend at Richmond.”