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http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp...05297&FS=NASCAR
Richmond II: Ward Burton preview
NASCAR-WCS
2002-09-05
CAT Team looks for same magic at Richmond.
"I can't wait to get back to Richmond. After running as well as we did in the spring race, I'm sure we can go back and run just as well. I just hope that this time we can get the finish to show how strong we've been at Richmond."
- Ward Burton, driver of the No. 22 Caterpillar Dodge
BURTON ON RICHMOND
"We've come a long way on our Richmond set-up. We used to really struggle on qualifying set-up and we just kept getting better and better and then put the CAT Dodge on the pole last race. The team has made huge strides in the entire short track program. We've gone from a team that used to struggle at places like Richmond and New Hampshire to being a team with a competitive race car that's capable of winning. That says a lot about our team.
"It's important to have a good qualifying run, but it wouldn't mean that you weren't going to make it to the front if you didn't. We've qualified up front and stayed there and we've qualified in the back and been able to go to the front too. I'd love to have the pole again and just stay up front the entire race. That would be an ideal race. I feel like the CAT team is capable of doing that.
"It's real nice to run well in front of fellow Virginians. I grew up and still live just a couple of hours from Richmond and always have family and friends in the stands. I'd really like to win at Richmond in front of a hometown crowd."
NO. 22 CATERPILLAR TEAM TESTS AT LOWE'S MOTOR SPEEDWAY
The Caterpillar Racing team tested at Lowe's Motor Speedway Tuesday and Wednesday in preparation for the UAW-GM 500 on October 13. Burton tested two cars and was the second-fastest team after the first day of testing. Bill Davis Racing's Busch Series driver, Scott Wimmer, also tested in hopes of qualifying for the Winston Cup race at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
CAT EQUIPMENT
Ward Burton will pilot the same No. 22 Caterpillar Dodge that he sat on the pole with in the last race at Richmond International Raceway. Burton looked to be an early contender until transmission problems eliminated him from contention. Burton also won with this same car at New Hampshire International Speedway in July. It is an in-house chassis, the first one ever built at Bill Davis Racing. The Caterpillar Dodge will also carry the flame paint scheme that ran at Bristol last month.
http://www.roushracing.com/jeff_burton/def...g090402_016.htm
2002 Richmond Track Facts
Jeff Burton and the #99 CITGO Ford
~Chevy Monte Carlo 400/Richmond International Raceway~
September 7, 2002
Burton Fast Facts--Richmond International Raceway
Jeff Burton has one win at Richmond (Fall 1998).
Jeff Burton has five top-five and eight top-10 finishes at Richmond.
Jeff Burton holds the qualifying record for the Chevrolet 400 at 21.466 seconds on September 7, 2000. He also won the pole this race.
Car #42 is the same car the CITGO team brought to the spring race in Richmond.
The No. 99 CITGO Ford will sport a special MDA paint scheme in Darlington in support of the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon.
Jeff Burton will also be driving the No. 9 GAIN Ford at Darlington.
Jeff Burton ran in the top-five for a good part of the race in the spring, but power steering problems forced him back to finish 26th.
Quoting Jeff:
"Richmond is awesome, it's one of the best tracks in the country. The CITGO team ran well there in the spring and we're looking to build on that in the fall. The guys have been working really hard on and off the track, we just haven't been able to put together a finish like we want. Richmond has been good to us in the past and hopefully we can turn a corner this weekend."
Quoting Crew Chief Frank Stoddard:
"The CITGO team is taking the same car we took in the spring. Hopefully we won't have the weather to contend with this time and we can go out and get the job done. The guys have been working really hard on the CITGO Ford and we've had some great runs the last couple months. We're hoping to capitalize on it this weekend and bring home a top three finish."
http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp...05307&FS=NASCAR
Richmond II: Jimmy Spencer preview
NASCAR-BGN
2002-09-05
Spencer proves it's hard not to look ahead.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Sept. 3, 2002) -- While standing proudly in Victory Lane two weeks ago at Bristol Motor Speedway, Jimmy Spencer loudly confirmed what many were already thinking: Richmond still awaits!
Needless to say, Spencer and his Team Yellow brethren are eager to return to the flat, .750-mile oval, and rightly so. It was there where Spencer dominated both NASCAR Busch Series events last year to claim the Richmond sweep. This season's May race featured much of the same as he passed 26 cars in the first 100 laps, only to have a broken rear end gear thwart his chances for the three-peat.
Three out of four still isn't bad, and a win in Friday night's Funai 250 (8 p.m. EDT on TNT) could be a fitting precursor to Saturday night's Winston Cup event, in which Spencer will be one of five drivers gunning for the Winston "No Bull" $1 million bonus.
With the much-anticipated return to Richmond upon us, Spencer sits down to discuss his thoughts entering the weekend, and how confidence is playing a part in the #1 Yellow Racing team's success.
Driver Jimmy Spencer's thoughts --
How difficult has it been not to look ahead to Richmond?
"I think it's safe to say that both Richmond races are ones the Yellow team circles on its calendar. That doesn't mean we overlook other races. But this team is so good at Richmond that it wouldn't be human nature if we didn't look forward to it. Richmond is a place we've tested this year, and I know the team went there a few weeks ago to test their Cup car (with driver Geoffrey Bodine.) Team Yellow puts together really good cars for this track."
You talk about testing. I know that you also tested here with your Winston Cup team. How did that go?
"We had a really good test here. I think we were all pretty pleased with the results. This is one of my favorite tracks, no doubt about it. We had a strong run going in May in the Cup race, led some laps, but then got moved by another car and that cost us. But we were still very strong, and we feel it pays to test at places you're really good at. If there's such a thing as staying on top of the game in racing, we're trying to at Richmond."
You seem very confident heading back to Richmond, and rightly so. But how much of that confidence has to do with the win two weeks ago at Bristol?
"I think even if we hadn't won at Bristol, we would still be very confident coming to Richmond. But winning sure makes everything better. It's not some kind of rocket science. Ya know, it's really simple. When you work so hard every day, you want results. That's true for anybody in any profession. It's like the drivers for Yellow who were in the National Truck Driving Championships a few weeks ago. Those guys work so hard to get that good. It's an every-day thing. There are no days off. It ended up paying off for them because they all won state championships, and they all earned spots in the national championships.
What is it like to run the night race at Richmond?
"Very cool. I don't know about other drivers, but I can see better under the lights. You can't necessarily see the track better, but you can see the other cars better. The cars look so neat under the lights that it gives a whole new perspective on racing. Everybody talks about how it throws us back to Friday night short track racing when we were trying to make a living in this sport. That's true, but you've got to remember that with this TV package, we've gotten a lot of new fans. A lot of them are young people who are cutting their teeth by watching us. So most of the time, they are seeing us race in the afternoons. When we race under the lights, the fans get to see how unique it is. It's got to be exciting."
http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp...05301&FS=NASCAR
Richmond II: Jimmy Johnson preview
NASCAR-WCS
2002-09-05
Will the second time be the charm at Richmond?
Johnson's late wreck while going for the lead ended team's hopes for win.
RICHMOND, Va. (Sept. 4, 2002) - Team Lowe's Racing is returning to Richmond International Speedway, the site where they almost made it two straight victories in a row earlier this season. Johnson was just coming of his first NASCAR Winston Cup victory at California Speedway and was battling with the No. 41 race car of Jimmy Spencer when Johnson lost control of the Lowe's Monte Carlo and made contact with the wall. The accident left Johnson with a 31st place finish and a hunger to return to Richmond and produce a better result.
Jimmie Johnson on if Richmond is a good track for him
"Yeah. I'm excited about it. We were racing Jimmy Spencer for a win there late in the race in the spring, and spun out. We will try to keep all the fenders on it and maybe have a win."
Johnson on his tire test at Richmond earlier this year
"I think there was a debate about whether the tire was an issue or the sealer on the race track was an issue for the spring race there. The way it appears, we had to run the race in the daytime and with all the heat of the cars, the sealer started to pull up and kept us from having an outside groove. The track was dirty on the outside. But now, after the IRL has raced there and after our race there and the Craftsman Truck race and the Busch race, the sealer has been down and the groove is very wide and I don't think we're going to have a problem like we did in the spring."
Jimmie Johnson Fast Facts
* Ranks fifth in the Winston Cup Series championship standings, 167 points out of first
* Has won two NASCAR Winston Cup races this season (California and Dover)
* Is tied for the fastest modern day driver to reach two wins
* Has two wins, five top-five and 15 top-10 finishes in 25 races
* Is second in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year Competition (305-300)
* Has been the highest finishing rookie 13 times this season
* The 15 top-10 finishes are the second most in the Winston Cup Series (Las Vegas - 6th, Atlanta - 3rd, Darlington - 6th, Bristol - 7th, Texas - 6th, Talladega - 7th, California - 1st, Lowe's Motor Speedway - 7th, Dover - 1st, Pocono - 3rd, Daytona (Pepsi 400) - 8th, Chicagoland - 4th, Indianapolis - 9th, Michigan - 7th and Darlington - 9th)
* Has three Bud Pole positions this season, second most in NASCAR Winston Cup (, Daytona, Talladega and Lowe's Motor Speedway)
* Only the third rookie in history to win the Daytona 500 pole
* Only the second rookie in history to win a pole at Talladega Superspeedway
* Holds the NWC qualifying record at Lowe's Motor Speedway
* Has led nine Winston Cup Series races this season (Las Vegas, Talladega, California, Lowe's Motor Speedway, Dover, Michigan, Chicago, Pocono and Darlington (Southern 500))
* Won his first Winston Cup race of his career at California Speedway, his home racetrack
Jimmie Johnson at Richmond International Raceway
* In Winston Cup, Johnson has only one career start earlier this season when he started 26th and finished 31st
* In the Busch Series, 22nd was his average qualifying position and 16th was his average finish
* His Busch Series record at Richmond International Raceway is:
* Hardees 250 - 2001: started 10th and finished 12th, 2000: started 35th and finished 12th
* Autolite/Fram 250 - 2001: started 20th and finished 19th, 2000: started 26th and finished 22nd
No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet Fast Facts
* Team Lowe's Racing will bring car 4847
* This is the same Lowe's Monte Carlo that Johnson drove during the last Richmond race. It is also the same race car that Jeff Gordon used in the three previous races at Richmond. Out of those three races, Gordon won the fall race in 2000, finished second in the spring of 2001 and took the pole in the fall 2001 race.
http://trpr.com/Newman2002/Richmond/Richmond0902.htm
... first, these notes of interest.
--Ryan and company are unveiling the new "PRS-055" for this weekend's Monte Carlo 400...
--Ryan has the most top-five finishes (11) in 2002 of any Winston Cup driver...
--"Your true value depends entirely on what you are compared with." -- Bob Wells
Newman Would Like to Finish What He Started at Richmond in the Spring
ALLTEL Team Penske Tested this Week; Bringing Brand new Car
RICHMOND, Va. (September 4, 2002) -- In what has been a rollercoaster season, Ryan Newman and ALLTEL Team Penske head to Richmond International Raceway with the most top-five finishes of any team in NASCAR Winston Cup racing and they hope to add a win to their tally.
Newman has finished in the top-five 11 times this season with the latest addition being a second place at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway last Sunday, his third career runner-up finish.
"I guess it was just kind of a textbook Darlington race," Newman said in the media center at Darlington Sunday night. "We had a couple problems there in the pits with the 99 car and the 48, just not having enough room to get stopped in there right so we could get out right and that cost us track position a couple of times, but the guys did an awesome job in the pits. Once the 99 had his problems, that opened us up to get some track position. I think we came in sixth and went out second that one time and that was all it took to get us in position to have a shot at the win."
In the spring event at Richmond's 0.750-mile oval, Newman matched his career best finish. Newman qualified 11th for the race that started Saturday night and was rained out until Sunday morning. He finished second after leading two times for 48 laps and battling eventual winner Tony Stewart in the final laps of the race.
"We definitely did have a good car in the spring," said the leader in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year race. "From the drop of the green flag Saturday night to the checkered on Sunday, we knew we had a good car. For us, it was just a matter of track position.
"Sometimes when you restart in the fourth position, you're really in eighth because you've got some guys a lap down that are trying to get their lap back and you can lose touch with the leaders very quickly. I was happy to have the run that we did. We had a car that was capable of winning, but sometimes you can't always finish what you started.
"For a few laps, I thought I had something for Tony [Stewart] and I thought it would come back to me on a longer run. Richmond is a short track, but I still got in his dirty air and I just lost the grip that I had earlier before the restart when I was out front.
"You can only do so much. You start running the car a little harder and you abuse it -- You get your tires a little hotter and you lose a little grip and that's basically what I did."
http://trpr.com/Wallace2002/Richmond/Richmond0902.htm
...but first, these notes of interest.
--transcript from Tuesday's Winston teleconference featuring Rusty and crew chief Bill Wilburn can be found at www.fordracing.com -- the exact location: http://www.fordracing.com/news/?article=20386
--highlight for Rusty & team at Darlington was the great work by the over-the-wall gang on pit road.six stops with the fastest being a 13.789 (seconds) and the slowest a 14.794 (seconds). The overall average last Sunday was an impressive 14.167 (seconds).
--"Men must reap the things they sow, Force from force must ever flow." -Thomas Fuller
WALLACE & CREW FOCUSED ON RICHMOND $1 MILLION BONUS
-Miller Lite Team Penske Driver Not Focusing On Short-Track "Payback" For Bristol Ordeal-
RICHMOND, Va. (Sept. 4, 2002) -- Things that go bump in the night at Richmond this Saturday night? Could be.but then again. More about that later.
"We're coming in there focused on nothing but winning that race and picking up the million dollar bonus," Miller Lite Team Penske Ford Taurus driver Rusty Wallace said of Saturday night's Monte Carlo 400 at Richmond International Raceway. "It's been a pretty long time since we've been eligible to pick up the (Winston No Bull) bonus and it's great that we have a chance to do so at Richmond, a track that I love so much and a place that's been so good to us through the years.
By virtue of Wallace's runner-up finish in the July 6 Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway, he is one of five drivers eligible for the special Winston No Bull 5 million-dollar bonus this weekend at Richmond.
"There's probably no better track for us to be going to left on the schedule than Richmond for us to win that thing," said Wallace. "We had an older car there for the spring race (PC-27) and just about everything you can think of went wrong. The race got rained out on Saturday night and we all had to come back on Sunday. We had two flats, got drilled once and even broke a shock (absorber). It was a terrible finish (25th) for us as far as racing at Richmond goes.
"The bottom line, though, in the spring race there was that situation with the sealer on the track and the deal with the tires," said Wallace. "We've been back up there for Goodyear since then and think everything will be okay this time around.
"I'm confident that the sealer will continue to wear off as we put laps on it. I feel sure that we'll be able to run up in a second groove as the race goes on.at least that's what we're hoping for. Regardless, it's gonna' be a great race.another super show for all the fans. Isn't that the way it always is at Richmond?
"I know I always say that Bristol is my favorite track, but Richmond is a really, really close second," said Wallace. "We're looking to bounce back from that deal in the spring. The place is super special to me and we've always been on top of our game every time we go there. If you take away the blown engine we had there while leading the fall race back two years ago, our record has been pretty spotless. We've either won or finished in the top five in just about every one of 'em.
"We have a darned good car for Richmond," Wallace continued. "It's the (PC-) 49 car that we debuted back at Martinsville (in the April 14 Virginia 500). We led that race and the car was really strong, but we had problems with the jack in the pits and then got crashed on pit road and didn't have the kind of finish that the car deserved (finished 16th).
"We took that same car to Loudon (New Hampshire International Speedway for the July 21New England 300) and started third with it. We led a bunch of laps (led 59 laps), got a lap down and made it up to finish fourth; the car was just that strong.
"So this will be only the third time that we've used this car and we expect big things out of it."
Wallace's stellar Richmond record boasts six wins, 20 top-five finishes, 26 top-10 finishes and three pole positions in 37 races. His most recent win came in the spring race in 1997 and his last pole came in the spring race of 2000. He started second in both of the Richmond races last year, a season which saw him going without a single pole, yet starting on the outside of the front row on four occasions.
Well, what about the bumping in the night? Remember the last night race.two weeks ago at Bristol where a bump from the rear by Jeff Gordon cost Wallace his 55th career victory and his 10th at Bristol Motor Speedway?
"I don't know about revenge or paybacks ," Wallace offered. "I didn't expect the bump, but I didn't expect that lapped car out there, too. It'd be my luck that I'd tap him from behind and he'd go driver-side into the wall and get hurt. I don't want to be responsible for hurting anybody. It was tough losing at Bristol that way, but I think that getting bumped and knocked out of the way didn't make me near as mad as the lapped car staying right there in the groove and not getting out of the way. That's what really cost us from winning the race.
"All I can say is if I'm close enough to win the race like he was, he's gonna get the bump too. I know everybody is on the edge of their seats and if I do bump him and he does spin, they're gonna say it's a payback when it really could not have been. It could have just been a racing accident that particular time. I'm not gonna spin anybody out and wreck him for a payback. If I get close enough to bump him and get past him, I'll absolutely do that, though."
Wallace enters this weekend's Richmond race sixth in the NASCAR Winston Cup point standings with 3,175 points. He trails leader Sterling Marlin by 230 points and is 139 points behind second-place Jeff Gordon. He trails fifth-place Jimmie Johnson by 63 points.
This weekend's schedule calls for a two-hour practice session on Friday (11:20 a.m. till 1:20 p.m.), with a 3:05 p.m. single qualifying session to allocate all 43 starting spots for Saturday night's race. The final practice prior to the race is set for Friday at 6:15 p.m. Saturday's schedule calls for the driver & crew chief meeting at 5:30 p.m. and driver introductions at 7:00 p.m. The 400-lap, 300-mile Monte Carlo 400 starts at 7:30 p.m. EDT and features live coverage by TNT-TV and MRN Radio.
http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp...05261&FS=NASCAR
Richmond II: Tony Stewart preview
NASCAR-WCS
2002-09-05
Tony Stewart
Rich look to get richer at Richmond.
ATLANTA (Sept. 3, 2002) - There is no question that Richmond (Va.) International Raceway is Tony Stewart's strongest race track of the 23 venues that make up the NASCAR Winston Cup Series.
In seven career Winston Cup starts at the .750-mile oval, the driver of the #20 Home Depot Pontiac has scored three wins, including his inaugural Winston Cup victory as a rookie back in September of 1999. All told, Stewart has only one finish outside of the top-10 and has led a total of 528 of a possible 2,800 laps (18.8 percent).
He comes into Saturday night's Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400 as Richmond's most recent Winston Cup winner, having won the spring race to secure his 14th career victory. Stewart has since added another win to his career total, the Aug. 11 road course race at Watkins Glen (N.Y.), while securing eight top-10 finishes to bring up him up to fourth in the championship point standings, 142 markers behind series leader Sterling Marlin.
With a Winston Cup championship very much within his sights, some telling statistics point to Stewart as one of the more serious threats to Marlin's long-held point lead. Of the 11 stops remaining on the Winston Cup calendar, Richmond marks the first of seven venues where Stewart has won. Loudon (N.H.), Dover (Del.), Martinsville (Va.), Atlanta, Phoenix and Homestead (Fla.) await the Winston Cuppers, and even more impressive is the fact that of Stewart's 15 career victories, seven have come in the last four months of the season (46.6 percent).
While already rich with impressive statistics at Richmond and in Winston Cup, Stewart plans to increase his wealth with another strong Richmond run.
You're running the Craftsman Truck Series race Thursday night in a truck prepared by Andy Petree Racing. Will that help you in any way for Friday's Winston Cup qualifying session or Saturday night's race?
"I haven't run the Trucks but once, and that was clear back in '96 or '97 at IRP (Indianapolis Raceway Park). From what I understand the setups are quite a bit different from what we have in Cup, so we'll have to wait and see. I'm not sure it'll help much for qualifying, because with the Truck, you qualify it and then go right to the race. You have your race setup on the Truck to begin with. The race might give us an idea as to how the track will change on Saturday night, but for me, I'm running this race for the fun of it. I just want to go out and have a good time and not worry about points for a night. I've always enjoyed racing at Richmond, so I'm just looking forward to getting another race under my belt there."
Following this year's spring race, there were questions about whether it was the tire or the sealer that was the cause for the treacherous track conditions. You were able to test at Richmond after the spring race as part of a NASCAR/Goodyear test. What did you learn?
"We really didn't come to any earth-shattering revelations. We're probably going to end up with the same tire we had there back in the spring. I think part of the problem back in the spring was the amount of sealer they put down, but since then the sealer has had a chance to age. There have been some other races on the track since we were there, and I'm sure the track will have changed somewhat for the better. I think you'll see two-wide racing for sure this time around."
You now have three Winston Cup wins in seven career starts at Richmond. What's the key to winning there?
"You want to make sure that your car is adjustable. We start the race at the end of the day when it's usually pretty hot, but as night comes the track cools down and it changes quite a bit. That's not something you see at most of the races we go to. It's pretty much isolated to just the night races. When we tested there prior to the spring race, we actually tried to make the car drive badly so that we could figure out ways to make it drive well again. You've got to have adjustability, because you know for a fact that the track isn't going to stay the same all night long."
What do you like best about night racing?
"I like night races because I can sleep into 11 o'clock in the morning. That's probably my number one reason. I'm nocturnal, basically. I mean, the best hours of the day for me are when the sun goes down. I'm a lot sharper and a lot wider awake at night."
Do the track conditions at Richmond change much between the time when you race there in the spring and when you return in the fall?
"Of all the tracks that we go to, Richmond is one where the track changes quite a bit. To me, it's like going back to dirt track days, where you look at the race track and you look at the conditions and you adjust accordingly. The approach you used at the spring race at Richmond may not be the same way you go about setting up the car for the fall race, especially this year with the sealer they've put down. But overall, the approach you do use still is geared toward making the car rotate through the center of the corner and going forward when you get on the gas without spinning the tires. Those principles stay the same. But how you drive the track from a driver's standpoint is a little different, and that's what's fun about it. It's still a challenge for the crews, but it's a challenge for the drivers to figure out where they want to be on the race track."
Is Richmond similar to any other tracks that you've raced on in your career?
"It just reminded me of some of the shorter tracks that I've run. It had kind of the same feel that quarter-mile tracks did with some of the other cars that I've run with. It wasn't a big drastic change. It was like Phoenix the first time I went there. I hadn't been to a one-mile oval but once in my life, but when I got onto Phoenix, I adjusted and adapted to it really quickly. It was a place where I became very comfortable right away. I had that same feeling when I went to Richmond for the first time with The Home Depot car. I think every driver has a track that they go to where they get that same feeling. There are just some places that you go to where you adjust, and it really suits your driving style."
Because you won there in the spring, do you have higher expectations going into Richmond, or do you treat it as just another points-paying race?
"I think that with the way our season is going, we have to look at it like it's just another race. But it's going to be hard to not have in the back of our mind that because we've won there three times we should expect to run well. I'm not sure we'd go in there and expect to win again. I think we've got a shot to win, but to go there and expect it - we don't do that. But we do expect to run well and hopefully contend for the win."
GREG ZIPADELLI, crew chief on the #20 Home Depot Pontiac:
What is your approach going into the Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400?
"We'll go there with really high expectations, obviously because of what we were able to accomplish in the spring. That race will be all about track position, so the guys in the pits are going to play a big role, just as much as what we're able to do on the race track.
"Over the course of our three-and-a-half years of going there, we've been good enough to win all but one time. With that kind of momentum, we can't help but to expect a lot. But we'll just go there and do the best we can and try to win there.
"That's what we do every week. I don't think there is any one place that we look at as a better opportunity over another. I feel like we can pretty much unload anywhere and win right now. With the level that Tony is performing at, with the intensity level of this team, and with the 100 people that are preparing our stuff and supporting the effort back at home, it gives us a chance to be a contender every week."
Richmond II: Dale Earnhardt Jr preview
NASCAR-WCS
2002-09-04
Dale Jr. Quotes for Richmond
"This is one of the tracks where I always look forward to getting there and racing. As a team, we have always done well at this place, from the Busch Series right into Winston Cup. Plus, I'm always ready for a night race because they seem to suit me better. We qualified great here in May (2nd) and were really fast during the first part of the race before the rains came. (The first segment of the race was run on Saturday night, then rain delayed the remainder of the race until Sunday afternoon.) We were junk during the day. We struggled with the tires and the sealer on the track, and well, I think the conditions should be better this weekend."
"I thought we were going to win this one last year. We were in third place and the 29 (Kevin Harvick) and the 28 (Ricky Rudd) cars were beating on each other big time. I was kind of hoping they'd take each other out and I'd just slide on by with a wave. I went over to Victory Lane and congratulated Ricky he had a big ol' surprised look on his face. That night is an example of fun racing. Yeah, I wanted to win, but you have to be happy when the car is good and team keeps you in contention all night long. If we're competitive and have a shot at the win is when I'm happiest out there, and we sure need to get back to having that opportunity each week."
Dale Jr. has been fantastic at Richmond, starting with two victories in the Busch Series. His first Winston Cup race there in 1999 resulted in the first top-10 finish for the No. 8 Budweiser team, and then they followed that up with a sparkling victory in May, 2000. It was the second win for Dale Jr. in only his 16th Winston Cup start, which tied him with Davey Allison as the quickest multi-race winners in NASCAR Winston Cup's modern era. In his first six Cup races at Richmond, he has recorded four top-10 finishes. Night time racing is an occasional thing on the Cup circuit, but Dale Jr. has recorded three of his victories under the lights: Richmond (May, 2000), Charlotte (the Winston, May, 2000) and Daytona (July, 2001).
Is a "Speedo" the Logical Choice for a Race Car Driver?
In the July/August issue of Sports Illustrated for Women, more than 15,000 female readers were polled to determine what male athlete they would like to see in a swim suit. Dale Jr. (tan or not) ranked seventh in the voting. Apparently he needs to take up skating of some sort to move up the list next year:
1. Apolo Anton Ohno - speed skater / best name and the best soul patch* on the list
2. Alexei Yagudin - figure skater / apparently a four-time world champion
3. Derek Jeter - baseball / Yankee babe magnet
4. Patrick Rafter - tennis / Big-serving Aussie heart-throb
5. David Pelletier - figure skater / could there be any judging scandals here?
6. Landon Donovan - soccer / looks like the MLS San Jose Earthquake fans vote in blocks
7. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. - driver no. 8 / Ladies love the smell of Budweiser and Drakkar Noir
8. Sergei Federov - hockey / Russian star beloved in Detroit, a.k.a. Hockeytown
9. Eric Lindros - hockey / very popular in the concussion wards of several hospitals
10. Mike Piazza - baseball / commercials with ALF
(*for all you kids who don't know, a "soul patch" is the tuft of hair from the lower lip to the chin)
http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp...05254&FS=NASCAR
Richmond II: Jeff Gordon preview
NASCAR-WCS
2002-09-04
Gordon hunting for three in a row at Richmond.
RICHMOND, Va. - Duck Season! Rabbit Season! Duck Season! Rabbit Season!
Jeff Gordon hopes the other 42 drivers are chasing a rabbit at the end of Saturday night's Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400 at Richmond International Raceway.
Gordon, driver of the DuPont Chevrolet, is looking for his third consecutive trip to victory lane after wins at Bristol and Darlington. His "co-pilot" for the night, Bugs Bunny, is still looking for his first NASCAR victory.
"Last year, we had fire in our eyes when we were racing for our fourth championship," Gordon said. "We lost a little bit of that for a while but kept the faith in one another. After the last two wins, we have the fire back. I hope Bugs has it, too."
Gordon has climbed from fifth to second in the point standings over the past two weeks and has cut Sterling Marlin's lead on him from 150 to 91. Only once in Gordon's four championship years has he trailed the points leader this deep into the season. In 1997, he was second with only 10 races remaining and edged Dale Jarrett and Mark Martin in the closest three-way battle for the Winston Cup championship in the modern era (1972 - present).
"This year is shaping up to be another close race for the championship," Gordon said. "Five or six guys still have a shot at it.
"We're second in points right now, so we're in the position of 'the hunter.' I love it because you have nothing to lose. When you're the team needing points and wins, you go for broke and take risks which can either pay off or bite you. Right now, it's definitely paying off."
In 19 races at Richmond, Gordon has two wins, four poles, nine top-fives and 13 top-10's. While he hasn't enjoyed the type of success he has at Darlington (six wins) or at Bristol (five wins), Gordon loves the twice-annual trip to Richmond.
"I've always said that if I were to build a track, I'd model it after Richmond," Gordon said. "The fans really love it especially under the lights and the drivers like it because you can race side-by-side lap after lap.
"But at the checkered flag, you're hoping the side-by-side racing is in your rear-view mirror."
http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp...05272&FS=NASCAR
Richmond II: Bill Elliott preview
NASCAR-WCS
2002-09-05
Bill Elliott
No. 9 Dodge Dealers Intrepid R/T
RUNNING AT RICHMOND
"You're going from a mile and three-eighths (Darlington) to a three-quarter mile track (Richmond). To me, that's very little difference. We didn't run that well at the last race at Richmond. I think Mike (crew chief Ford) and the guys have expanded on our setup and hopefully we'll be better this time around. It's a raceable track and it's a pretty enjoyable Saturday night even though last time it turned into a Sunday afternoon."
POINTS RACE
"He (Jeff Gordon) is always the man to beat. Past history tells you that. Jeff is coming up on a good stretch and that team is really strong. If they don't have any bad luck, they'll be hard to beat. Sterling's got a good lead, too, so there's 11 races left to go. We've got to be a little bit better than we are all the way around. I think this team has progressed 1000 percent since last year. It seems like all the way across the board we've been a lot better. We've got to stay that way the next 11 races and we've got a lot of catching up to do. You've got to have extreme good luck and they've got to have bad luck. The odds of that happening and doing it race in and race out is pretty tough. Right now we're just concentrating on a race at a time and trying to get our stuff better so we can turn around and come in next year right off the bat and come in and run good in each and every race."
COMPETITION
"Last year we were decent at a place or two and bad at some places. This year we've got our consistency better. We're whittling away at it. We're running in the top five and top 10 and that's what it's going to take to stay competitive. Now they're kind of on a roll. They've got the momentum behind 'em. Looking at the races coming up, Jeff runs well at all of 'em coming up. Compare Sterling's record versus Jeff's record, but there again, you've got to have the luck. Eleven races with as many cars running as well as they are, you could gain or lose 100 points in a heartbeat in today's environment."
RACE NOTES
* Bill Elliott will drive the No. 9 Dodge Intrepid R/T that he drove in the season's first Richmond race.
STATS & FACTS
* This will be Elliott's 42nd start at Richmond Int'l Raceway. He has one win, three poles, eight top-fives and 15 top-10s at the track. Elliott is tied for most Bud Poles (three) among active drivers at Richmond.
* In his last visit to Richmond in May of 2002, Elliott started the race in 38th place but posted the biggest improvement of the day in finishing 14th.
* In last year's fall race at Richmond (September 2001), Elliott spent the evening picking his way through the field after starting 37th. The No. 9 Dodge Intrepid R/T was running in the top 15 past the midway point of the race until an incident on lap 362. Elliott was forced to come in for repairs to the right front, but the No. 9 crew worked quickly to repair the damage, keeping the car on the lead lap. Elliott finished 17th, earning 112 points.
* Elliott's No. 9 Dodge Dealers Intrepid R/T has led laps in eight of the past 13 races (17 at Dover, 26 in June at Pocono, 31 in June at Michigan, three at Sears Point, 35 in July at Pocono, 93 at Indianapolis, six in August at Michigan, and 43 last week in Darlington). He has led in 11 races this year for a total of 271 laps. Elliott led nine races in 2001 for a total of 171 laps.
* Elliott's win at Indianapolis was record-setting as no driver has won from the front row at the Brickyard 400.
* When Bill Elliott won the Pennsylvania 500, he became the all-time winningest driver at Pocono Raceway. Driving the No. 9 Dodge Dealers Intrepid R/T, Elliott won his fifth race at the 2.5-mile track. It was also the first time this season that a driver has won from the pole.
* Elliott's second-place finish at Dover was his 300th career top-10 finish. Elliott has 11 top-10s through the first 29 races in 2002. In 2001 Elliott earned nine top-10s. He earned a career-high 24 top-10s in 30 races in 1984, finishing third in the points standings.
* Elliott's wins at Pocono and Indianapolis were his best finishes since his Nov. 11th victory at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2001. He has 43 career victories in the Winston Cup Series.
http://www.rcrracing.com/news/020903-2.asp
Regaining Momentum
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (September 3, 2002) - Heading into the middle stretch of what is characterized as the most crucial month in the NASCAR Winston Cup Points race, Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 29 GM Goodwrench Service Chevrolet Monte Carlo, brushes Darlington's bad fortune behind him.
The third in a series of four short track events, the NASCAR Winston Cup Series returns to racing under the lights at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway (RIR) this Saturday. Another venue where someone else's bad run can quickly become yours, Harvick looks to recapture the points roll he and his team have dominated in the latter half of the season.
The No. 29 GM Goodwrench Service team will have a hand in continuing their momentum as certain Chevrolet teams will run cars adorned with Looney Tunes characters. The Tasmanian Devil (Taz) accompanies Harvick Saturday night.
Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 29 GM Goodwrench Service Chevrolet Monte Carlo, comments on short track racing and RIR last spring, lap cars, and Taz:
Short track racing at RIR
"Richmond is your optimum race track. It's a three-quarter mile, wide racetrack that you can run all over on. You can go to the top and bottom, the middle. If you've got the car you can win from anywhere. There's plenty of room to pass and the groove usually moves three lanes up.
"Night racing is the whole deal - a complete package. Your car's handling comes into major play because a lot of times the track conditions are completely different from what you qualified on or practiced on. The rise and fall of the temperature affects everything. You need to have a car that'll respond to quick changes and come around (to the changes) fast. You have to think about that as much as the guys in your rear-view.
"In the spring they put a new sealer on the track which made it a whole new place. The groove moved and it just wasn't the same. It was like the sealer was coming up in little balls. Everything was slick and you couldn't get any grip."
Lap cars
"There was a real problem with lap cars in the spring. I'm not talking about restarts. That's a different deal - fighting to get on the lead lap. What happened was a problem with cars that just wouldn't budge who were three or four laps down. When you're on a short track, that can really mess you up. If they box you out of moving through the field, pretty soon you'll be a lap down too."
Taz
"We have Taz with us again this fall. Last year this race was probably some of the best times I had racing in Cup. We had the Taz paint scheme there too. Swapping the front position with Ricky Rudd and (Dale Earnhardt) Junior on those final laps was fun like racing a long time ago used to be. I came out of that one smiling."
Note:
- Harvick will run his No. 6 Chevrolet Silverado truck in the NASCAR Truck Series event Thursday night.
http://www.rcrracing.com/news/020903-1.asp
Robby Gordon
Cingular Wireless Racing
Event Preview Fact Sheet
NOTES:
* This Week's Race Car (chassis No. 99) is a brand-new car
* The No. 31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet will carry a special "Pepe Le Pew" paint scheme at Richmond as part of the Chevrolet Monte Carlo Looney Tunes' promotion
* Gordon will be featured live on QVC's "For Race Fans Only" Thursday from Richmond International Raceway from 10-10:15 p.m.
* Gordon flew to California following the Darlington race to visit family and friends this week
* The Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400 will be broadcast live on TNT and MRN on Saturday, Sept. 7th at 7:30 p.m. ET. Qualifying is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 6th at 3:05 p.m. ET.
ROBBY GORDON QUOTES:
"We had a freak accident at Richmond in May that put us out of the race. The track was very slick at the entrance to pit road last time. As we were trying to pit, I was slowing down, turning left onto pit road and the Cingular Wireless Chevrolet picked up two or three inches of sealer or paint on the tires. The stuff coated the tires and I had no rubber to the asphalt. It was just sealer to asphalt and the car darted to the right and rammed head-on into pit wall. The yellow paint was peeling off on the track at that spot. After I ran it over, the track workers were sweeping and scraping it up.
"I know we can go to Richmond and do better this time because we've really come together as a team. To overcome my performance at Richmond last May, my number one priority is to avoid the water barrels. If I avoid the water barrels, we should have a better finish. Earlier in the season, if we had finished Richmond and the superspeedway races, we would be in the top 15 in the points now. I'll just have to pay more attention in the future to where I come off the track."
"We had a couple of more freak things happen to us at Richmond. Something broke off another car's rear bumper and it drilled a hole in our right-front fender, pierced it and went through the windshield. Then the part put a huge dent in the windshield and exited the car through the hole in the windshield. We had to pit a bunch of times to fix that damage and dropped almost to the rear of the field in the process.
"We're really on top of our short-track program lately and have a good package at those tracks. We sat on the outside pole at Bristol this year and qualified well at Martinsville, not to mention we won at Loudon last year and ran well there in July. I'd put Richmond in the same league as Martinsville, Bristol and Loudon except that Richmond is a smoother track -- it's kind of a mix of those tracks. The Cingular Wireless Chevy has handled well at those tracks lately and I think Richmond will be good to us.
"The Cingular team is working hard to get into the top 20 in points. I'm working hard on driving the car and Kevin Hamlin and the crew are working hard on building great cars. A solid top-20 finish in the points is definitely within our reach and hopefully we can get to 15th before the year is over. We just need to keep having solid top-15 and top-10 finishes.
"At this point in the season, I've run more races than I've ever run in one Winston Cup season. It's a lot of work -- more than anyone could ever imagine. Our longest CART season was about 20 or 22 races. We never ran more than that. To run 36 points races is a lot. Nobody outside of Winston Cup would believe how much work this sport is. The truck drivers go from the track to the shop to the track without a break and it just about kills them. Drivers test, do PR stuff and appearances for their sponsors. But I couldn't be happier that I'm racing in Winston Cup. It's by far the most competitive series in America.
"Brakes are so important at Richmond and that's something the guys have worked with me on this year -- not using the brakes up. Braking in Winston Cup racing is totally different than it is in the CART Series. In CART, you can drive the car into the corner as hard as you want to until you think you're going to crash, hit the brakes and then turn the thing. Winston Cup cars like to roll into the corner."
http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp...05313&FS=NASCAR
Richmond II: Kyle Petty - NASCAR spotlight
NASCAR-WCS
2002-09-05
Resurgent Kyle Petty returns to Richmond, site of first NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Sept. 4, 2002) - The NASCAR Winston Cup Series has a rich history. Many of the most significant contributions to that history have been made by the Petty family.
Which brings us to Richmond International Raceway, site of Saturday night's race, the Monte Carlo 400 with the Looney Tunes - The Rematch. Richmond is one of the most historical stops on the circuit. Again, one can credit the Pettys.
Seven-time NASCAR Winston Cup champion Richard Petty holds the record for Richmond victories, with 13. Petty Enterprises likewise leads the car owners victory list, with 15 - family patriarch Lee Petty had two wins.
There is, however, one other Petty victory to consider, when assessing the family's legacy at Richmond. There even is a touch of trivia involved.
Q: What Petty victory at Richmond came in a car not owned by the Petty organization?
A: Kyle Petty's, in the 1986 Miller High Life 400.
But by no means was the accomplishment trivial.
The victory was Kyle's first in NASCAR Winston Cup racing, making him the first third-generation driver to win in NASCAR's premier series. A footnote: It also stands as the only Richmond victory for another legendary group, the Wood Brothers.
Petty, driver of the No. 45 Sprint Dodge, returns to Richmond this week amid a career resurgence. Coming off a solid 13th-place finish last Sunday in the Mountain Dew Southern 500 - his ninth top-15 of the season - Petty is 23rd in the NASCAR Winston Cup standings, only 26 points out of the top 20. Petty is bidding for his best points finish since 1997 when he finished 15th. He's also looking like a good bet to qualify for series sponsor R.J. Reynolds' season-ending point fund payout, which handsomely rewards the top 25 in points.
RIR would seem like a place to continue the upswing - and remind people of the glorious Petty past.
"A fan from Virginia came up to me [one day] and said,' You know, the Pettys were always good at Richmond... always good,''' Kyle said."I got to thinking. Yeah, the Pettys were always good at Richmond but they were always good everywhere. Still, there were some tracks where you just knew, if nothing went wrong, one of the Petty cars was going to be hauling the trophy back home at the end of the day.
"Richmond used to be one of those places where Petty Enterprises was the favorite just by pulling into the place."
Richmond racing has been run with a variety of track configurations and measurements since the inaugural race in 1953 (on a dirt half-mile), won by Lee Petty. The latest configuration, .75-mile, was instituted in 1988. A Petty hasn't won at RIR since' 86.
But then, Kyle hasn't won anywhere since 1995, which makes his return to on-track respectability this season all the more impressive. Petty Enterprises, make no mistake, is starting to again attract attention. For example, an announcement by the organization scheduled for Saturday at Richmond is being greatly anticipated. Petty Enterprises appears to be working itself back into the competitive mix of modern-day NASCAR Winston Cup racing.
And what better place to highlight that than Richmond, a place that helped form NASCAR's foundation, with the Pettys central to the task.
"A lot of places we go," Kyle said,"I have people come up and say,' I saw your daddy race and he did this or won that.' When the Virginia fans come up they start out by saying"I saw your granddaddy race.' Most of them have been fans for a long, long time."
http://www.williamscompany.com/japr0902.htm
John Andretti
RICHMOND 400
"Looking for two grooves at Richmond"
Looking to be the first to master the tricky sealer, this weekend John Andretti and the #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker team head back to the .750-mile Richmond (Va.) International Raceway for Saturday night’s Richmond 400.
Richmond’s Spring race was full of accidents after a new sealer provided teams a very slick track, the surface’s single racing groove becoming an issue as well. Andretti started 41st, but was able to race to 20th by the end of the night. This weekend the series will race under the lights for the last time this year.
Andretti is in his fifth consecutive season with Petty Enterprises, but his vast racing experience ranks him as one of the most versatile and talented drivers on the NASCAR Winston Cup circuit. He is one of only two drivers to win in two different major racing series and also win two or more major NASCAR Winston Cup races. Winner of the 1991 Gold Coast Grand Prix in Australia, one of CART’s premier events, Andretti was also a winning driver in the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1989 in the series then known as IMSA.
The thoughts of Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge driver John Andretti heading into Richmond:
“I don’t think Richmond will be a lot different this time. The last two places that we have raced with new sealer laid down, the sealer has made things pretty tough and has taken a lot of blame. I just don’t know how - or if - the track is going to change this weekend. I am, however, hoping that having some wear on it will help. There will be another Busch race and a Truck race, and with everything else that has happened on the track, hopefully the track will have two grooves again with the top groove just as fast as the bottom groove. I don’t want to see just one groove.
“You have to adjust any time, and all the time, no matter where you are racing. It’s just that the track has changed so much. It’s almost like getting a new tire, or a new this, or a new that. You just don’t have the notes to work from. It’s a lot to figure out. It has caught some people off guard more than normal. The race then becomes different than what it was before, and it becomes more a matter of luck than experience. You just can’t predict what the track is going to do. You can only base what you know on what the track does that night.
“The track will be the same for everybody, and I figure that if the track is the same for everybody, then that is OK. I don’t like it when it becomes an issue where someone gets an advantage over somebody else. It’s going to be the same for everybody this weekend, though. Everyone will have an equal opportunity to figure it out.
“The guys who might have an advantage are the ones who tested the track. Even then, I am not sure that testing a track that has a sealer will help. The track is still going to change for them. Hopefully we will be the ones who can figure out the track the quickest this weekend.
“Generally, Richmond is a great track to race on, and the fans love it too. The length of the track and the speed are both right. When the top groove works in, the track can get really racy. If I were a promoter and building a track, I would look at Richmond and then Martinsville to copy. The fans just love short track racing. Look at the crowd we had at Bristol. They like the short track racing because it’s so close and competitive. It would be nice if we had even more short tracks on our series - just don’t ask me if I think they should copy Bristol.
“Richmond just has it all in one package. It is hard to fine anyone in this garage area who dislikes the track. The racing is competitive and I am looking to get this #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge competitive this weekend.”
http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp...05258&FS=NASCAR
Richmond II: Ken Schrader preview
NASCAR-WCS
2002-09-04
Schrader's Thoughts On Richmond International Raceway...
"If someone were looking to build a race track, I would advise them to look really closely at Richmond. It is really a great little race track, and I always have a lot of fun going there. What you get at Richmond is a lot of hard, fun, Saturday night short track racing. The cars put on quite a show for the fans there. Hopefully, the little "M&M's"® car will put on a good show of its own this weekend."
"M&M's"® Racing At Richmond International Raceway...
* Never one to pass up a chance to slide behind the wheel, Ken Schrader will keep busy on the race track at Richmond this weekend. Schrader plans to compete in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Race in the No. 52 Schrader Racing Entry on Thursday night. He'll take to the again Saturday night in the No. 36 "M&M's"® machine for the Winston Cup event.
* In many ways, Schrader considers Richmond the birthplace of his Winston Cup career. The now 18-year-veteran spent a lot of time in the Richmond area with his first car owner, Junie Donlavey, during his first few seasons.
Among Schrader's favorite racing memories, he counts his first win for Donlavey in the Twin 125s at Daytona in 1987. "Everyone was so happy that Junie was going to victory lane," Schrader said. "He is one of the hardest working men in the garage, and everyone really respects him. So it was really a special moment for me to win for Junie."
* The "M&M's"® Racing Team brought a new car to Richmond earlier this year. Thanks to several solid pit stops, the team came home with a 15th-place effort. The "M&M's"® team will unload that same car at the .75-mile oval this weekend.
http://www.joegibbsracing.com/season_2002/...03_bl_pre.shtml
Labonte Hopes Return Trip to Richmond is More Rewarding This Time Around
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C., (Sept. 3, 2002) _ When Bobby Labonte and the Interstate Batteries Racing Team showed up to race at Richmond in May they were sitting in 20th position in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series point standings following a rough start to the new season. Fast-forward to this weekend’s Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400 and Labonte will enter Richmond sitting in 17th position after what has been a very trying summer as well. However all hope has not been lost and Labonte looks for better results on the return trip.
“We came here in May knowing we needed a good run since we had started the season off so poorly,” explained Labonte. “We felt like we could have a good run and in fact we were for the first part of the race. Then the bottom fell out when we got caught up in that accident with DJ (Dale Jarrett) and John Andretti. We were behind the wall forever making repairs, but at least we were able to get back out and finish the race. Unfortunately, it is just another one of the disappointments we have had to endure this season.”
While Labonte may not of had the finish he was looking for in the spring Richmond race, he does feel confident coming back this week to Richmond’s ¾-mile oval.
“We qualified eighth in May and had a good run going so I feel like we can go back up there this weekend and have another good run,” said Labonte. “We tested last week in Kentucky and the car we are using this weekend is one of the ones that we took to that test and I feel really good about it. I have a good feel for that car and hopefully that will show during qualifying and the race.”
In addition to Labonte testing last week in Kentucky and hopefully learning some things that could be applied to the car this weekend, teammate Tony Stewart took part in tests conducted by Goodyear and NASCAR at Richmond following the first event in an effort to find a better tire combination for this weekend’s race.
“Tony was testing up there after the last race and we ran pretty good there, but got involved in that wreck,” added Labonte. “We’re still looking forward to going back up there. A couple of years ago we were really good up there and then we seemed to have lost a little bit last year, but hopefully we can get back on track and on our game. With all of the testing we have been doing, I am hoping that we are going to see it pay off on the track.”
When asked if he was surprised about running so well on the short-tracks this season, Labonte responded, “Well maybe it’s more surprising that we’re not running as well at the big tracks. If we could run well at the big tracks, maybe it would all blend together. We’ve got to get both of them better and there’s no better way than to work hard and put in the hours it is going to take to get back on top. Hopefully some of that hard work will pay off this weekend in Richmond.”
http://www.terrylabonte.net/sept-4-02.shtml
September 4th, 2002
Labonte Seeks New Reason To Keep Old Favorite At The Top Of His List
By John Singler.
Terry Labonte gets asked the question a lot.
"What's your favorite track?"
Occasionally, a smile plays on his lips and he'll ask the interrogator where he or she lives. "You're from Las Vegas? That's one of the best tracks we run on," he says. "You live in Michigan? You know, I really like that oval up there."
Truth is, the two-time champion does enjoy racing at those venues and most others on the tour. But any serious discussion of Labonte's favorite tracks will always lead back to Richmond International Raceway ….. site of three career victories and Saturday night's Monte Carlo / Looney Tunes 400.
"It was fun to race here when it was a half-mile track and I really like it now, since they made the changes," Labonte said. It was 14 years ago when the folksy Fairgrounds oval was transformed into a jewel of the Virginia Commonwealth. RIR is now a sparkling three-quarter-mile gem that'll light up the night sky Sept. 7 with 400 laps of short-track fireworks.
"Night racing this time of year creates the same kind of atmosphere you find at college football games," Labonte said. "The fans are out early tailgating, you can smell the barbecues in the air and I think we get a little more pumped for the night races."
Labonte's fondness for Richmond is well-founded. In addition to the three victories - in 1994, '95 and '98, he's finished second three times (most recently in 2000) and seemed headed for even more success here last September. Labonte rallied from his No. 26 starting spot and was running in sixth place some 150 laps from the finish before slapping the wall and retiring from the event. Designs on a Top-10 finish quickly became a DNF.
Says Labonte: "Coming back to Richmond, we do have some unfinished business."
Labonte and Crew Chief Jim Long entered this season with one major objective: to help the driver regain the consistency that's been his trademark throughout a 25-year career. Although it's not been a total success, Labonte can point to a number of statistical categories that demonstrate the Kellogg's Racing Team's steady improvement. Last year, he finished 23rd in the final series point standings. With 11 races remaining in 2002, he is 19th - four positions and 254 points higher than he was a year ago at this time.
Labonte has four Top-10 finishes, one more than he had during the entire 36-race schedule last year. He also is on a pace to break another of his personal single-season records. Labonte has run off 11 straight finishing efforts, bringing his season total to 22. If he runs to the finish in 8 of the remaining 11 events, he'll break his single-season best of 29 races completed, set in 1997 and matched in '98. Labonte also has pulled within $150,000 of the $29 million mark in career winnings.
http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp...05297&FS=NASCAR
Richmond II: Ward Burton preview
NASCAR-WCS
2002-09-05
CAT Team looks for same magic at Richmond.
"I can't wait to get back to Richmond. After running as well as we did in the spring race, I'm sure we can go back and run just as well. I just hope that this time we can get the finish to show how strong we've been at Richmond."
- Ward Burton, driver of the No. 22 Caterpillar Dodge
BURTON ON RICHMOND
"We've come a long way on our Richmond set-up. We used to really struggle on qualifying set-up and we just kept getting better and better and then put the CAT Dodge on the pole last race. The team has made huge strides in the entire short track program. We've gone from a team that used to struggle at places like Richmond and New Hampshire to being a team with a competitive race car that's capable of winning. That says a lot about our team.
"It's important to have a good qualifying run, but it wouldn't mean that you weren't going to make it to the front if you didn't. We've qualified up front and stayed there and we've qualified in the back and been able to go to the front too. I'd love to have the pole again and just stay up front the entire race. That would be an ideal race. I feel like the CAT team is capable of doing that.
"It's real nice to run well in front of fellow Virginians. I grew up and still live just a couple of hours from Richmond and always have family and friends in the stands. I'd really like to win at Richmond in front of a hometown crowd."
NO. 22 CATERPILLAR TEAM TESTS AT LOWE'S MOTOR SPEEDWAY
The Caterpillar Racing team tested at Lowe's Motor Speedway Tuesday and Wednesday in preparation for the UAW-GM 500 on October 13. Burton tested two cars and was the second-fastest team after the first day of testing. Bill Davis Racing's Busch Series driver, Scott Wimmer, also tested in hopes of qualifying for the Winston Cup race at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
CAT EQUIPMENT
Ward Burton will pilot the same No. 22 Caterpillar Dodge that he sat on the pole with in the last race at Richmond International Raceway. Burton looked to be an early contender until transmission problems eliminated him from contention. Burton also won with this same car at New Hampshire International Speedway in July. It is an in-house chassis, the first one ever built at Bill Davis Racing. The Caterpillar Dodge will also carry the flame paint scheme that ran at Bristol last month.
http://www.roushracing.com/jeff_burton/def...g090402_016.htm
2002 Richmond Track Facts
Jeff Burton and the #99 CITGO Ford
~Chevy Monte Carlo 400/Richmond International Raceway~
September 7, 2002
Burton Fast Facts--Richmond International Raceway
Jeff Burton has one win at Richmond (Fall 1998).
Jeff Burton has five top-five and eight top-10 finishes at Richmond.
Jeff Burton holds the qualifying record for the Chevrolet 400 at 21.466 seconds on September 7, 2000. He also won the pole this race.
Car #42 is the same car the CITGO team brought to the spring race in Richmond.
The No. 99 CITGO Ford will sport a special MDA paint scheme in Darlington in support of the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon.
Jeff Burton will also be driving the No. 9 GAIN Ford at Darlington.
Jeff Burton ran in the top-five for a good part of the race in the spring, but power steering problems forced him back to finish 26th.
Quoting Jeff:
"Richmond is awesome, it's one of the best tracks in the country. The CITGO team ran well there in the spring and we're looking to build on that in the fall. The guys have been working really hard on and off the track, we just haven't been able to put together a finish like we want. Richmond has been good to us in the past and hopefully we can turn a corner this weekend."
Quoting Crew Chief Frank Stoddard:
"The CITGO team is taking the same car we took in the spring. Hopefully we won't have the weather to contend with this time and we can go out and get the job done. The guys have been working really hard on the CITGO Ford and we've had some great runs the last couple months. We're hoping to capitalize on it this weekend and bring home a top three finish."
http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp...05307&FS=NASCAR
Richmond II: Jimmy Spencer preview
NASCAR-BGN
2002-09-05
Spencer proves it's hard not to look ahead.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Sept. 3, 2002) -- While standing proudly in Victory Lane two weeks ago at Bristol Motor Speedway, Jimmy Spencer loudly confirmed what many were already thinking: Richmond still awaits!
Needless to say, Spencer and his Team Yellow brethren are eager to return to the flat, .750-mile oval, and rightly so. It was there where Spencer dominated both NASCAR Busch Series events last year to claim the Richmond sweep. This season's May race featured much of the same as he passed 26 cars in the first 100 laps, only to have a broken rear end gear thwart his chances for the three-peat.
Three out of four still isn't bad, and a win in Friday night's Funai 250 (8 p.m. EDT on TNT) could be a fitting precursor to Saturday night's Winston Cup event, in which Spencer will be one of five drivers gunning for the Winston "No Bull" $1 million bonus.
With the much-anticipated return to Richmond upon us, Spencer sits down to discuss his thoughts entering the weekend, and how confidence is playing a part in the #1 Yellow Racing team's success.
Driver Jimmy Spencer's thoughts --
How difficult has it been not to look ahead to Richmond?
"I think it's safe to say that both Richmond races are ones the Yellow team circles on its calendar. That doesn't mean we overlook other races. But this team is so good at Richmond that it wouldn't be human nature if we didn't look forward to it. Richmond is a place we've tested this year, and I know the team went there a few weeks ago to test their Cup car (with driver Geoffrey Bodine.) Team Yellow puts together really good cars for this track."
You talk about testing. I know that you also tested here with your Winston Cup team. How did that go?
"We had a really good test here. I think we were all pretty pleased with the results. This is one of my favorite tracks, no doubt about it. We had a strong run going in May in the Cup race, led some laps, but then got moved by another car and that cost us. But we were still very strong, and we feel it pays to test at places you're really good at. If there's such a thing as staying on top of the game in racing, we're trying to at Richmond."
You seem very confident heading back to Richmond, and rightly so. But how much of that confidence has to do with the win two weeks ago at Bristol?
"I think even if we hadn't won at Bristol, we would still be very confident coming to Richmond. But winning sure makes everything better. It's not some kind of rocket science. Ya know, it's really simple. When you work so hard every day, you want results. That's true for anybody in any profession. It's like the drivers for Yellow who were in the National Truck Driving Championships a few weeks ago. Those guys work so hard to get that good. It's an every-day thing. There are no days off. It ended up paying off for them because they all won state championships, and they all earned spots in the national championships.
What is it like to run the night race at Richmond?
"Very cool. I don't know about other drivers, but I can see better under the lights. You can't necessarily see the track better, but you can see the other cars better. The cars look so neat under the lights that it gives a whole new perspective on racing. Everybody talks about how it throws us back to Friday night short track racing when we were trying to make a living in this sport. That's true, but you've got to remember that with this TV package, we've gotten a lot of new fans. A lot of them are young people who are cutting their teeth by watching us. So most of the time, they are seeing us race in the afternoons. When we race under the lights, the fans get to see how unique it is. It's got to be exciting."
http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp...05301&FS=NASCAR
Richmond II: Jimmy Johnson preview
NASCAR-WCS
2002-09-05
Will the second time be the charm at Richmond?
Johnson's late wreck while going for the lead ended team's hopes for win.
RICHMOND, Va. (Sept. 4, 2002) - Team Lowe's Racing is returning to Richmond International Speedway, the site where they almost made it two straight victories in a row earlier this season. Johnson was just coming of his first NASCAR Winston Cup victory at California Speedway and was battling with the No. 41 race car of Jimmy Spencer when Johnson lost control of the Lowe's Monte Carlo and made contact with the wall. The accident left Johnson with a 31st place finish and a hunger to return to Richmond and produce a better result.
Jimmie Johnson on if Richmond is a good track for him
"Yeah. I'm excited about it. We were racing Jimmy Spencer for a win there late in the race in the spring, and spun out. We will try to keep all the fenders on it and maybe have a win."
Johnson on his tire test at Richmond earlier this year
"I think there was a debate about whether the tire was an issue or the sealer on the race track was an issue for the spring race there. The way it appears, we had to run the race in the daytime and with all the heat of the cars, the sealer started to pull up and kept us from having an outside groove. The track was dirty on the outside. But now, after the IRL has raced there and after our race there and the Craftsman Truck race and the Busch race, the sealer has been down and the groove is very wide and I don't think we're going to have a problem like we did in the spring."
Jimmie Johnson Fast Facts
* Ranks fifth in the Winston Cup Series championship standings, 167 points out of first
* Has won two NASCAR Winston Cup races this season (California and Dover)
* Is tied for the fastest modern day driver to reach two wins
* Has two wins, five top-five and 15 top-10 finishes in 25 races
* Is second in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year Competition (305-300)
* Has been the highest finishing rookie 13 times this season
* The 15 top-10 finishes are the second most in the Winston Cup Series (Las Vegas - 6th, Atlanta - 3rd, Darlington - 6th, Bristol - 7th, Texas - 6th, Talladega - 7th, California - 1st, Lowe's Motor Speedway - 7th, Dover - 1st, Pocono - 3rd, Daytona (Pepsi 400) - 8th, Chicagoland - 4th, Indianapolis - 9th, Michigan - 7th and Darlington - 9th)
* Has three Bud Pole positions this season, second most in NASCAR Winston Cup (, Daytona, Talladega and Lowe's Motor Speedway)
* Only the third rookie in history to win the Daytona 500 pole
* Only the second rookie in history to win a pole at Talladega Superspeedway
* Holds the NWC qualifying record at Lowe's Motor Speedway
* Has led nine Winston Cup Series races this season (Las Vegas, Talladega, California, Lowe's Motor Speedway, Dover, Michigan, Chicago, Pocono and Darlington (Southern 500))
* Won his first Winston Cup race of his career at California Speedway, his home racetrack
Jimmie Johnson at Richmond International Raceway
* In Winston Cup, Johnson has only one career start earlier this season when he started 26th and finished 31st
* In the Busch Series, 22nd was his average qualifying position and 16th was his average finish
* His Busch Series record at Richmond International Raceway is:
* Hardees 250 - 2001: started 10th and finished 12th, 2000: started 35th and finished 12th
* Autolite/Fram 250 - 2001: started 20th and finished 19th, 2000: started 26th and finished 22nd
No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet Fast Facts
* Team Lowe's Racing will bring car 4847
* This is the same Lowe's Monte Carlo that Johnson drove during the last Richmond race. It is also the same race car that Jeff Gordon used in the three previous races at Richmond. Out of those three races, Gordon won the fall race in 2000, finished second in the spring of 2001 and took the pole in the fall 2001 race.
http://trpr.com/Newman2002/Richmond/Richmond0902.htm
... first, these notes of interest.
--Ryan and company are unveiling the new "PRS-055" for this weekend's Monte Carlo 400...
--Ryan has the most top-five finishes (11) in 2002 of any Winston Cup driver...
--"Your true value depends entirely on what you are compared with." -- Bob Wells
Newman Would Like to Finish What He Started at Richmond in the Spring
ALLTEL Team Penske Tested this Week; Bringing Brand new Car
RICHMOND, Va. (September 4, 2002) -- In what has been a rollercoaster season, Ryan Newman and ALLTEL Team Penske head to Richmond International Raceway with the most top-five finishes of any team in NASCAR Winston Cup racing and they hope to add a win to their tally.
Newman has finished in the top-five 11 times this season with the latest addition being a second place at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway last Sunday, his third career runner-up finish.
"I guess it was just kind of a textbook Darlington race," Newman said in the media center at Darlington Sunday night. "We had a couple problems there in the pits with the 99 car and the 48, just not having enough room to get stopped in there right so we could get out right and that cost us track position a couple of times, but the guys did an awesome job in the pits. Once the 99 had his problems, that opened us up to get some track position. I think we came in sixth and went out second that one time and that was all it took to get us in position to have a shot at the win."
In the spring event at Richmond's 0.750-mile oval, Newman matched his career best finish. Newman qualified 11th for the race that started Saturday night and was rained out until Sunday morning. He finished second after leading two times for 48 laps and battling eventual winner Tony Stewart in the final laps of the race.
"We definitely did have a good car in the spring," said the leader in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year race. "From the drop of the green flag Saturday night to the checkered on Sunday, we knew we had a good car. For us, it was just a matter of track position.
"Sometimes when you restart in the fourth position, you're really in eighth because you've got some guys a lap down that are trying to get their lap back and you can lose touch with the leaders very quickly. I was happy to have the run that we did. We had a car that was capable of winning, but sometimes you can't always finish what you started.
"For a few laps, I thought I had something for Tony [Stewart] and I thought it would come back to me on a longer run. Richmond is a short track, but I still got in his dirty air and I just lost the grip that I had earlier before the restart when I was out front.
"You can only do so much. You start running the car a little harder and you abuse it -- You get your tires a little hotter and you lose a little grip and that's basically what I did."
http://trpr.com/Wallace2002/Richmond/Richmond0902.htm
...but first, these notes of interest.
--transcript from Tuesday's Winston teleconference featuring Rusty and crew chief Bill Wilburn can be found at www.fordracing.com -- the exact location: http://www.fordracing.com/news/?article=20386
--highlight for Rusty & team at Darlington was the great work by the over-the-wall gang on pit road.six stops with the fastest being a 13.789 (seconds) and the slowest a 14.794 (seconds). The overall average last Sunday was an impressive 14.167 (seconds).
--"Men must reap the things they sow, Force from force must ever flow." -Thomas Fuller
WALLACE & CREW FOCUSED ON RICHMOND $1 MILLION BONUS
-Miller Lite Team Penske Driver Not Focusing On Short-Track "Payback" For Bristol Ordeal-
RICHMOND, Va. (Sept. 4, 2002) -- Things that go bump in the night at Richmond this Saturday night? Could be.but then again. More about that later.
"We're coming in there focused on nothing but winning that race and picking up the million dollar bonus," Miller Lite Team Penske Ford Taurus driver Rusty Wallace said of Saturday night's Monte Carlo 400 at Richmond International Raceway. "It's been a pretty long time since we've been eligible to pick up the (Winston No Bull) bonus and it's great that we have a chance to do so at Richmond, a track that I love so much and a place that's been so good to us through the years.
By virtue of Wallace's runner-up finish in the July 6 Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway, he is one of five drivers eligible for the special Winston No Bull 5 million-dollar bonus this weekend at Richmond.
"There's probably no better track for us to be going to left on the schedule than Richmond for us to win that thing," said Wallace. "We had an older car there for the spring race (PC-27) and just about everything you can think of went wrong. The race got rained out on Saturday night and we all had to come back on Sunday. We had two flats, got drilled once and even broke a shock (absorber). It was a terrible finish (25th) for us as far as racing at Richmond goes.
"The bottom line, though, in the spring race there was that situation with the sealer on the track and the deal with the tires," said Wallace. "We've been back up there for Goodyear since then and think everything will be okay this time around.
"I'm confident that the sealer will continue to wear off as we put laps on it. I feel sure that we'll be able to run up in a second groove as the race goes on.at least that's what we're hoping for. Regardless, it's gonna' be a great race.another super show for all the fans. Isn't that the way it always is at Richmond?
"I know I always say that Bristol is my favorite track, but Richmond is a really, really close second," said Wallace. "We're looking to bounce back from that deal in the spring. The place is super special to me and we've always been on top of our game every time we go there. If you take away the blown engine we had there while leading the fall race back two years ago, our record has been pretty spotless. We've either won or finished in the top five in just about every one of 'em.
"We have a darned good car for Richmond," Wallace continued. "It's the (PC-) 49 car that we debuted back at Martinsville (in the April 14 Virginia 500). We led that race and the car was really strong, but we had problems with the jack in the pits and then got crashed on pit road and didn't have the kind of finish that the car deserved (finished 16th).
"We took that same car to Loudon (New Hampshire International Speedway for the July 21New England 300) and started third with it. We led a bunch of laps (led 59 laps), got a lap down and made it up to finish fourth; the car was just that strong.
"So this will be only the third time that we've used this car and we expect big things out of it."
Wallace's stellar Richmond record boasts six wins, 20 top-five finishes, 26 top-10 finishes and three pole positions in 37 races. His most recent win came in the spring race in 1997 and his last pole came in the spring race of 2000. He started second in both of the Richmond races last year, a season which saw him going without a single pole, yet starting on the outside of the front row on four occasions.
Well, what about the bumping in the night? Remember the last night race.two weeks ago at Bristol where a bump from the rear by Jeff Gordon cost Wallace his 55th career victory and his 10th at Bristol Motor Speedway?
"I don't know about revenge or paybacks ," Wallace offered. "I didn't expect the bump, but I didn't expect that lapped car out there, too. It'd be my luck that I'd tap him from behind and he'd go driver-side into the wall and get hurt. I don't want to be responsible for hurting anybody. It was tough losing at Bristol that way, but I think that getting bumped and knocked out of the way didn't make me near as mad as the lapped car staying right there in the groove and not getting out of the way. That's what really cost us from winning the race.
"All I can say is if I'm close enough to win the race like he was, he's gonna get the bump too. I know everybody is on the edge of their seats and if I do bump him and he does spin, they're gonna say it's a payback when it really could not have been. It could have just been a racing accident that particular time. I'm not gonna spin anybody out and wreck him for a payback. If I get close enough to bump him and get past him, I'll absolutely do that, though."
Wallace enters this weekend's Richmond race sixth in the NASCAR Winston Cup point standings with 3,175 points. He trails leader Sterling Marlin by 230 points and is 139 points behind second-place Jeff Gordon. He trails fifth-place Jimmie Johnson by 63 points.
This weekend's schedule calls for a two-hour practice session on Friday (11:20 a.m. till 1:20 p.m.), with a 3:05 p.m. single qualifying session to allocate all 43 starting spots for Saturday night's race. The final practice prior to the race is set for Friday at 6:15 p.m. Saturday's schedule calls for the driver & crew chief meeting at 5:30 p.m. and driver introductions at 7:00 p.m. The 400-lap, 300-mile Monte Carlo 400 starts at 7:30 p.m. EDT and features live coverage by TNT-TV and MRN Radio.
http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp...05261&FS=NASCAR
Richmond II: Tony Stewart preview
NASCAR-WCS
2002-09-05
Tony Stewart
Rich look to get richer at Richmond.
ATLANTA (Sept. 3, 2002) - There is no question that Richmond (Va.) International Raceway is Tony Stewart's strongest race track of the 23 venues that make up the NASCAR Winston Cup Series.
In seven career Winston Cup starts at the .750-mile oval, the driver of the #20 Home Depot Pontiac has scored three wins, including his inaugural Winston Cup victory as a rookie back in September of 1999. All told, Stewart has only one finish outside of the top-10 and has led a total of 528 of a possible 2,800 laps (18.8 percent).
He comes into Saturday night's Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400 as Richmond's most recent Winston Cup winner, having won the spring race to secure his 14th career victory. Stewart has since added another win to his career total, the Aug. 11 road course race at Watkins Glen (N.Y.), while securing eight top-10 finishes to bring up him up to fourth in the championship point standings, 142 markers behind series leader Sterling Marlin.
With a Winston Cup championship very much within his sights, some telling statistics point to Stewart as one of the more serious threats to Marlin's long-held point lead. Of the 11 stops remaining on the Winston Cup calendar, Richmond marks the first of seven venues where Stewart has won. Loudon (N.H.), Dover (Del.), Martinsville (Va.), Atlanta, Phoenix and Homestead (Fla.) await the Winston Cuppers, and even more impressive is the fact that of Stewart's 15 career victories, seven have come in the last four months of the season (46.6 percent).
While already rich with impressive statistics at Richmond and in Winston Cup, Stewart plans to increase his wealth with another strong Richmond run.
You're running the Craftsman Truck Series race Thursday night in a truck prepared by Andy Petree Racing. Will that help you in any way for Friday's Winston Cup qualifying session or Saturday night's race?
"I haven't run the Trucks but once, and that was clear back in '96 or '97 at IRP (Indianapolis Raceway Park). From what I understand the setups are quite a bit different from what we have in Cup, so we'll have to wait and see. I'm not sure it'll help much for qualifying, because with the Truck, you qualify it and then go right to the race. You have your race setup on the Truck to begin with. The race might give us an idea as to how the track will change on Saturday night, but for me, I'm running this race for the fun of it. I just want to go out and have a good time and not worry about points for a night. I've always enjoyed racing at Richmond, so I'm just looking forward to getting another race under my belt there."
Following this year's spring race, there were questions about whether it was the tire or the sealer that was the cause for the treacherous track conditions. You were able to test at Richmond after the spring race as part of a NASCAR/Goodyear test. What did you learn?
"We really didn't come to any earth-shattering revelations. We're probably going to end up with the same tire we had there back in the spring. I think part of the problem back in the spring was the amount of sealer they put down, but since then the sealer has had a chance to age. There have been some other races on the track since we were there, and I'm sure the track will have changed somewhat for the better. I think you'll see two-wide racing for sure this time around."
You now have three Winston Cup wins in seven career starts at Richmond. What's the key to winning there?
"You want to make sure that your car is adjustable. We start the race at the end of the day when it's usually pretty hot, but as night comes the track cools down and it changes quite a bit. That's not something you see at most of the races we go to. It's pretty much isolated to just the night races. When we tested there prior to the spring race, we actually tried to make the car drive badly so that we could figure out ways to make it drive well again. You've got to have adjustability, because you know for a fact that the track isn't going to stay the same all night long."
What do you like best about night racing?
"I like night races because I can sleep into 11 o'clock in the morning. That's probably my number one reason. I'm nocturnal, basically. I mean, the best hours of the day for me are when the sun goes down. I'm a lot sharper and a lot wider awake at night."
Do the track conditions at Richmond change much between the time when you race there in the spring and when you return in the fall?
"Of all the tracks that we go to, Richmond is one where the track changes quite a bit. To me, it's like going back to dirt track days, where you look at the race track and you look at the conditions and you adjust accordingly. The approach you used at the spring race at Richmond may not be the same way you go about setting up the car for the fall race, especially this year with the sealer they've put down. But overall, the approach you do use still is geared toward making the car rotate through the center of the corner and going forward when you get on the gas without spinning the tires. Those principles stay the same. But how you drive the track from a driver's standpoint is a little different, and that's what's fun about it. It's still a challenge for the crews, but it's a challenge for the drivers to figure out where they want to be on the race track."
Is Richmond similar to any other tracks that you've raced on in your career?
"It just reminded me of some of the shorter tracks that I've run. It had kind of the same feel that quarter-mile tracks did with some of the other cars that I've run with. It wasn't a big drastic change. It was like Phoenix the first time I went there. I hadn't been to a one-mile oval but once in my life, but when I got onto Phoenix, I adjusted and adapted to it really quickly. It was a place where I became very comfortable right away. I had that same feeling when I went to Richmond for the first time with The Home Depot car. I think every driver has a track that they go to where they get that same feeling. There are just some places that you go to where you adjust, and it really suits your driving style."
Because you won there in the spring, do you have higher expectations going into Richmond, or do you treat it as just another points-paying race?
"I think that with the way our season is going, we have to look at it like it's just another race. But it's going to be hard to not have in the back of our mind that because we've won there three times we should expect to run well. I'm not sure we'd go in there and expect to win again. I think we've got a shot to win, but to go there and expect it - we don't do that. But we do expect to run well and hopefully contend for the win."
GREG ZIPADELLI, crew chief on the #20 Home Depot Pontiac:
What is your approach going into the Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400?
"We'll go there with really high expectations, obviously because of what we were able to accomplish in the spring. That race will be all about track position, so the guys in the pits are going to play a big role, just as much as what we're able to do on the race track.
"Over the course of our three-and-a-half years of going there, we've been good enough to win all but one time. With that kind of momentum, we can't help but to expect a lot. But we'll just go there and do the best we can and try to win there.
"That's what we do every week. I don't think there is any one place that we look at as a better opportunity over another. I feel like we can pretty much unload anywhere and win right now. With the level that Tony is performing at, with the intensity level of this team, and with the 100 people that are preparing our stuff and supporting the effort back at home, it gives us a chance to be a contender every week."
Richmond II: Dale Earnhardt Jr preview
NASCAR-WCS
2002-09-04
Dale Jr. Quotes for Richmond
"This is one of the tracks where I always look forward to getting there and racing. As a team, we have always done well at this place, from the Busch Series right into Winston Cup. Plus, I'm always ready for a night race because they seem to suit me better. We qualified great here in May (2nd) and were really fast during the first part of the race before the rains came. (The first segment of the race was run on Saturday night, then rain delayed the remainder of the race until Sunday afternoon.) We were junk during the day. We struggled with the tires and the sealer on the track, and well, I think the conditions should be better this weekend."
"I thought we were going to win this one last year. We were in third place and the 29 (Kevin Harvick) and the 28 (Ricky Rudd) cars were beating on each other big time. I was kind of hoping they'd take each other out and I'd just slide on by with a wave. I went over to Victory Lane and congratulated Ricky he had a big ol' surprised look on his face. That night is an example of fun racing. Yeah, I wanted to win, but you have to be happy when the car is good and team keeps you in contention all night long. If we're competitive and have a shot at the win is when I'm happiest out there, and we sure need to get back to having that opportunity each week."
Dale Jr. has been fantastic at Richmond, starting with two victories in the Busch Series. His first Winston Cup race there in 1999 resulted in the first top-10 finish for the No. 8 Budweiser team, and then they followed that up with a sparkling victory in May, 2000. It was the second win for Dale Jr. in only his 16th Winston Cup start, which tied him with Davey Allison as the quickest multi-race winners in NASCAR Winston Cup's modern era. In his first six Cup races at Richmond, he has recorded four top-10 finishes. Night time racing is an occasional thing on the Cup circuit, but Dale Jr. has recorded three of his victories under the lights: Richmond (May, 2000), Charlotte (the Winston, May, 2000) and Daytona (July, 2001).
Is a "Speedo" the Logical Choice for a Race Car Driver?
In the July/August issue of Sports Illustrated for Women, more than 15,000 female readers were polled to determine what male athlete they would like to see in a swim suit. Dale Jr. (tan or not) ranked seventh in the voting. Apparently he needs to take up skating of some sort to move up the list next year:
1. Apolo Anton Ohno - speed skater / best name and the best soul patch* on the list
2. Alexei Yagudin - figure skater / apparently a four-time world champion
3. Derek Jeter - baseball / Yankee babe magnet
4. Patrick Rafter - tennis / Big-serving Aussie heart-throb
5. David Pelletier - figure skater / could there be any judging scandals here?
6. Landon Donovan - soccer / looks like the MLS San Jose Earthquake fans vote in blocks
7. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. - driver no. 8 / Ladies love the smell of Budweiser and Drakkar Noir
8. Sergei Federov - hockey / Russian star beloved in Detroit, a.k.a. Hockeytown
9. Eric Lindros - hockey / very popular in the concussion wards of several hospitals
10. Mike Piazza - baseball / commercials with ALF
(*for all you kids who don't know, a "soul patch" is the tuft of hair from the lower lip to the chin)
http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp...05254&FS=NASCAR
Richmond II: Jeff Gordon preview
NASCAR-WCS
2002-09-04
Gordon hunting for three in a row at Richmond.
RICHMOND, Va. - Duck Season! Rabbit Season! Duck Season! Rabbit Season!
Jeff Gordon hopes the other 42 drivers are chasing a rabbit at the end of Saturday night's Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400 at Richmond International Raceway.
Gordon, driver of the DuPont Chevrolet, is looking for his third consecutive trip to victory lane after wins at Bristol and Darlington. His "co-pilot" for the night, Bugs Bunny, is still looking for his first NASCAR victory.
"Last year, we had fire in our eyes when we were racing for our fourth championship," Gordon said. "We lost a little bit of that for a while but kept the faith in one another. After the last two wins, we have the fire back. I hope Bugs has it, too."
Gordon has climbed from fifth to second in the point standings over the past two weeks and has cut Sterling Marlin's lead on him from 150 to 91. Only once in Gordon's four championship years has he trailed the points leader this deep into the season. In 1997, he was second with only 10 races remaining and edged Dale Jarrett and Mark Martin in the closest three-way battle for the Winston Cup championship in the modern era (1972 - present).
"This year is shaping up to be another close race for the championship," Gordon said. "Five or six guys still have a shot at it.
"We're second in points right now, so we're in the position of 'the hunter.' I love it because you have nothing to lose. When you're the team needing points and wins, you go for broke and take risks which can either pay off or bite you. Right now, it's definitely paying off."
In 19 races at Richmond, Gordon has two wins, four poles, nine top-fives and 13 top-10's. While he hasn't enjoyed the type of success he has at Darlington (six wins) or at Bristol (five wins), Gordon loves the twice-annual trip to Richmond.
"I've always said that if I were to build a track, I'd model it after Richmond," Gordon said. "The fans really love it especially under the lights and the drivers like it because you can race side-by-side lap after lap.
"But at the checkered flag, you're hoping the side-by-side racing is in your rear-view mirror."
http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp...05272&FS=NASCAR
Richmond II: Bill Elliott preview
NASCAR-WCS
2002-09-05
Bill Elliott
No. 9 Dodge Dealers Intrepid R/T
RUNNING AT RICHMOND
"You're going from a mile and three-eighths (Darlington) to a three-quarter mile track (Richmond). To me, that's very little difference. We didn't run that well at the last race at Richmond. I think Mike (crew chief Ford) and the guys have expanded on our setup and hopefully we'll be better this time around. It's a raceable track and it's a pretty enjoyable Saturday night even though last time it turned into a Sunday afternoon."
POINTS RACE
"He (Jeff Gordon) is always the man to beat. Past history tells you that. Jeff is coming up on a good stretch and that team is really strong. If they don't have any bad luck, they'll be hard to beat. Sterling's got a good lead, too, so there's 11 races left to go. We've got to be a little bit better than we are all the way around. I think this team has progressed 1000 percent since last year. It seems like all the way across the board we've been a lot better. We've got to stay that way the next 11 races and we've got a lot of catching up to do. You've got to have extreme good luck and they've got to have bad luck. The odds of that happening and doing it race in and race out is pretty tough. Right now we're just concentrating on a race at a time and trying to get our stuff better so we can turn around and come in next year right off the bat and come in and run good in each and every race."
COMPETITION
"Last year we were decent at a place or two and bad at some places. This year we've got our consistency better. We're whittling away at it. We're running in the top five and top 10 and that's what it's going to take to stay competitive. Now they're kind of on a roll. They've got the momentum behind 'em. Looking at the races coming up, Jeff runs well at all of 'em coming up. Compare Sterling's record versus Jeff's record, but there again, you've got to have the luck. Eleven races with as many cars running as well as they are, you could gain or lose 100 points in a heartbeat in today's environment."
RACE NOTES
* Bill Elliott will drive the No. 9 Dodge Intrepid R/T that he drove in the season's first Richmond race.
STATS & FACTS
* This will be Elliott's 42nd start at Richmond Int'l Raceway. He has one win, three poles, eight top-fives and 15 top-10s at the track. Elliott is tied for most Bud Poles (three) among active drivers at Richmond.
* In his last visit to Richmond in May of 2002, Elliott started the race in 38th place but posted the biggest improvement of the day in finishing 14th.
* In last year's fall race at Richmond (September 2001), Elliott spent the evening picking his way through the field after starting 37th. The No. 9 Dodge Intrepid R/T was running in the top 15 past the midway point of the race until an incident on lap 362. Elliott was forced to come in for repairs to the right front, but the No. 9 crew worked quickly to repair the damage, keeping the car on the lead lap. Elliott finished 17th, earning 112 points.
* Elliott's No. 9 Dodge Dealers Intrepid R/T has led laps in eight of the past 13 races (17 at Dover, 26 in June at Pocono, 31 in June at Michigan, three at Sears Point, 35 in July at Pocono, 93 at Indianapolis, six in August at Michigan, and 43 last week in Darlington). He has led in 11 races this year for a total of 271 laps. Elliott led nine races in 2001 for a total of 171 laps.
* Elliott's win at Indianapolis was record-setting as no driver has won from the front row at the Brickyard 400.
* When Bill Elliott won the Pennsylvania 500, he became the all-time winningest driver at Pocono Raceway. Driving the No. 9 Dodge Dealers Intrepid R/T, Elliott won his fifth race at the 2.5-mile track. It was also the first time this season that a driver has won from the pole.
* Elliott's second-place finish at Dover was his 300th career top-10 finish. Elliott has 11 top-10s through the first 29 races in 2002. In 2001 Elliott earned nine top-10s. He earned a career-high 24 top-10s in 30 races in 1984, finishing third in the points standings.
* Elliott's wins at Pocono and Indianapolis were his best finishes since his Nov. 11th victory at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2001. He has 43 career victories in the Winston Cup Series.
http://www.rcrracing.com/news/020903-2.asp
Regaining Momentum
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (September 3, 2002) - Heading into the middle stretch of what is characterized as the most crucial month in the NASCAR Winston Cup Points race, Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 29 GM Goodwrench Service Chevrolet Monte Carlo, brushes Darlington's bad fortune behind him.
The third in a series of four short track events, the NASCAR Winston Cup Series returns to racing under the lights at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway (RIR) this Saturday. Another venue where someone else's bad run can quickly become yours, Harvick looks to recapture the points roll he and his team have dominated in the latter half of the season.
The No. 29 GM Goodwrench Service team will have a hand in continuing their momentum as certain Chevrolet teams will run cars adorned with Looney Tunes characters. The Tasmanian Devil (Taz) accompanies Harvick Saturday night.
Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 29 GM Goodwrench Service Chevrolet Monte Carlo, comments on short track racing and RIR last spring, lap cars, and Taz:
Short track racing at RIR
"Richmond is your optimum race track. It's a three-quarter mile, wide racetrack that you can run all over on. You can go to the top and bottom, the middle. If you've got the car you can win from anywhere. There's plenty of room to pass and the groove usually moves three lanes up.
"Night racing is the whole deal - a complete package. Your car's handling comes into major play because a lot of times the track conditions are completely different from what you qualified on or practiced on. The rise and fall of the temperature affects everything. You need to have a car that'll respond to quick changes and come around (to the changes) fast. You have to think about that as much as the guys in your rear-view.
"In the spring they put a new sealer on the track which made it a whole new place. The groove moved and it just wasn't the same. It was like the sealer was coming up in little balls. Everything was slick and you couldn't get any grip."
Lap cars
"There was a real problem with lap cars in the spring. I'm not talking about restarts. That's a different deal - fighting to get on the lead lap. What happened was a problem with cars that just wouldn't budge who were three or four laps down. When you're on a short track, that can really mess you up. If they box you out of moving through the field, pretty soon you'll be a lap down too."
Taz
"We have Taz with us again this fall. Last year this race was probably some of the best times I had racing in Cup. We had the Taz paint scheme there too. Swapping the front position with Ricky Rudd and (Dale Earnhardt) Junior on those final laps was fun like racing a long time ago used to be. I came out of that one smiling."
Note:
- Harvick will run his No. 6 Chevrolet Silverado truck in the NASCAR Truck Series event Thursday night.
http://www.rcrracing.com/news/020903-1.asp
Robby Gordon
Cingular Wireless Racing
Event Preview Fact Sheet
NOTES:
* This Week's Race Car (chassis No. 99) is a brand-new car
* The No. 31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet will carry a special "Pepe Le Pew" paint scheme at Richmond as part of the Chevrolet Monte Carlo Looney Tunes' promotion
* Gordon will be featured live on QVC's "For Race Fans Only" Thursday from Richmond International Raceway from 10-10:15 p.m.
* Gordon flew to California following the Darlington race to visit family and friends this week
* The Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400 will be broadcast live on TNT and MRN on Saturday, Sept. 7th at 7:30 p.m. ET. Qualifying is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 6th at 3:05 p.m. ET.
ROBBY GORDON QUOTES:
"We had a freak accident at Richmond in May that put us out of the race. The track was very slick at the entrance to pit road last time. As we were trying to pit, I was slowing down, turning left onto pit road and the Cingular Wireless Chevrolet picked up two or three inches of sealer or paint on the tires. The stuff coated the tires and I had no rubber to the asphalt. It was just sealer to asphalt and the car darted to the right and rammed head-on into pit wall. The yellow paint was peeling off on the track at that spot. After I ran it over, the track workers were sweeping and scraping it up.
"I know we can go to Richmond and do better this time because we've really come together as a team. To overcome my performance at Richmond last May, my number one priority is to avoid the water barrels. If I avoid the water barrels, we should have a better finish. Earlier in the season, if we had finished Richmond and the superspeedway races, we would be in the top 15 in the points now. I'll just have to pay more attention in the future to where I come off the track."
"We had a couple of more freak things happen to us at Richmond. Something broke off another car's rear bumper and it drilled a hole in our right-front fender, pierced it and went through the windshield. Then the part put a huge dent in the windshield and exited the car through the hole in the windshield. We had to pit a bunch of times to fix that damage and dropped almost to the rear of the field in the process.
"We're really on top of our short-track program lately and have a good package at those tracks. We sat on the outside pole at Bristol this year and qualified well at Martinsville, not to mention we won at Loudon last year and ran well there in July. I'd put Richmond in the same league as Martinsville, Bristol and Loudon except that Richmond is a smoother track -- it's kind of a mix of those tracks. The Cingular Wireless Chevy has handled well at those tracks lately and I think Richmond will be good to us.
"The Cingular team is working hard to get into the top 20 in points. I'm working hard on driving the car and Kevin Hamlin and the crew are working hard on building great cars. A solid top-20 finish in the points is definitely within our reach and hopefully we can get to 15th before the year is over. We just need to keep having solid top-15 and top-10 finishes.
"At this point in the season, I've run more races than I've ever run in one Winston Cup season. It's a lot of work -- more than anyone could ever imagine. Our longest CART season was about 20 or 22 races. We never ran more than that. To run 36 points races is a lot. Nobody outside of Winston Cup would believe how much work this sport is. The truck drivers go from the track to the shop to the track without a break and it just about kills them. Drivers test, do PR stuff and appearances for their sponsors. But I couldn't be happier that I'm racing in Winston Cup. It's by far the most competitive series in America.
"Brakes are so important at Richmond and that's something the guys have worked with me on this year -- not using the brakes up. Braking in Winston Cup racing is totally different than it is in the CART Series. In CART, you can drive the car into the corner as hard as you want to until you think you're going to crash, hit the brakes and then turn the thing. Winston Cup cars like to roll into the corner."
http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp...05313&FS=NASCAR
Richmond II: Kyle Petty - NASCAR spotlight
NASCAR-WCS
2002-09-05
Resurgent Kyle Petty returns to Richmond, site of first NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Sept. 4, 2002) - The NASCAR Winston Cup Series has a rich history. Many of the most significant contributions to that history have been made by the Petty family.
Which brings us to Richmond International Raceway, site of Saturday night's race, the Monte Carlo 400 with the Looney Tunes - The Rematch. Richmond is one of the most historical stops on the circuit. Again, one can credit the Pettys.
Seven-time NASCAR Winston Cup champion Richard Petty holds the record for Richmond victories, with 13. Petty Enterprises likewise leads the car owners victory list, with 15 - family patriarch Lee Petty had two wins.
There is, however, one other Petty victory to consider, when assessing the family's legacy at Richmond. There even is a touch of trivia involved.
Q: What Petty victory at Richmond came in a car not owned by the Petty organization?
A: Kyle Petty's, in the 1986 Miller High Life 400.
But by no means was the accomplishment trivial.
The victory was Kyle's first in NASCAR Winston Cup racing, making him the first third-generation driver to win in NASCAR's premier series. A footnote: It also stands as the only Richmond victory for another legendary group, the Wood Brothers.
Petty, driver of the No. 45 Sprint Dodge, returns to Richmond this week amid a career resurgence. Coming off a solid 13th-place finish last Sunday in the Mountain Dew Southern 500 - his ninth top-15 of the season - Petty is 23rd in the NASCAR Winston Cup standings, only 26 points out of the top 20. Petty is bidding for his best points finish since 1997 when he finished 15th. He's also looking like a good bet to qualify for series sponsor R.J. Reynolds' season-ending point fund payout, which handsomely rewards the top 25 in points.
RIR would seem like a place to continue the upswing - and remind people of the glorious Petty past.
"A fan from Virginia came up to me [one day] and said,' You know, the Pettys were always good at Richmond... always good,''' Kyle said."I got to thinking. Yeah, the Pettys were always good at Richmond but they were always good everywhere. Still, there were some tracks where you just knew, if nothing went wrong, one of the Petty cars was going to be hauling the trophy back home at the end of the day.
"Richmond used to be one of those places where Petty Enterprises was the favorite just by pulling into the place."
Richmond racing has been run with a variety of track configurations and measurements since the inaugural race in 1953 (on a dirt half-mile), won by Lee Petty. The latest configuration, .75-mile, was instituted in 1988. A Petty hasn't won at RIR since' 86.
But then, Kyle hasn't won anywhere since 1995, which makes his return to on-track respectability this season all the more impressive. Petty Enterprises, make no mistake, is starting to again attract attention. For example, an announcement by the organization scheduled for Saturday at Richmond is being greatly anticipated. Petty Enterprises appears to be working itself back into the competitive mix of modern-day NASCAR Winston Cup racing.
And what better place to highlight that than Richmond, a place that helped form NASCAR's foundation, with the Pettys central to the task.
"A lot of places we go," Kyle said,"I have people come up and say,' I saw your daddy race and he did this or won that.' When the Virginia fans come up they start out by saying"I saw your granddaddy race.' Most of them have been fans for a long, long time."
http://www.williamscompany.com/japr0902.htm
John Andretti
RICHMOND 400
"Looking for two grooves at Richmond"
Looking to be the first to master the tricky sealer, this weekend John Andretti and the #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker team head back to the .750-mile Richmond (Va.) International Raceway for Saturday night’s Richmond 400.
Richmond’s Spring race was full of accidents after a new sealer provided teams a very slick track, the surface’s single racing groove becoming an issue as well. Andretti started 41st, but was able to race to 20th by the end of the night. This weekend the series will race under the lights for the last time this year.
Andretti is in his fifth consecutive season with Petty Enterprises, but his vast racing experience ranks him as one of the most versatile and talented drivers on the NASCAR Winston Cup circuit. He is one of only two drivers to win in two different major racing series and also win two or more major NASCAR Winston Cup races. Winner of the 1991 Gold Coast Grand Prix in Australia, one of CART’s premier events, Andretti was also a winning driver in the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1989 in the series then known as IMSA.
The thoughts of Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge driver John Andretti heading into Richmond:
“I don’t think Richmond will be a lot different this time. The last two places that we have raced with new sealer laid down, the sealer has made things pretty tough and has taken a lot of blame. I just don’t know how - or if - the track is going to change this weekend. I am, however, hoping that having some wear on it will help. There will be another Busch race and a Truck race, and with everything else that has happened on the track, hopefully the track will have two grooves again with the top groove just as fast as the bottom groove. I don’t want to see just one groove.
“You have to adjust any time, and all the time, no matter where you are racing. It’s just that the track has changed so much. It’s almost like getting a new tire, or a new this, or a new that. You just don’t have the notes to work from. It’s a lot to figure out. It has caught some people off guard more than normal. The race then becomes different than what it was before, and it becomes more a matter of luck than experience. You just can’t predict what the track is going to do. You can only base what you know on what the track does that night.
“The track will be the same for everybody, and I figure that if the track is the same for everybody, then that is OK. I don’t like it when it becomes an issue where someone gets an advantage over somebody else. It’s going to be the same for everybody this weekend, though. Everyone will have an equal opportunity to figure it out.
“The guys who might have an advantage are the ones who tested the track. Even then, I am not sure that testing a track that has a sealer will help. The track is still going to change for them. Hopefully we will be the ones who can figure out the track the quickest this weekend.
“Generally, Richmond is a great track to race on, and the fans love it too. The length of the track and the speed are both right. When the top groove works in, the track can get really racy. If I were a promoter and building a track, I would look at Richmond and then Martinsville to copy. The fans just love short track racing. Look at the crowd we had at Bristol. They like the short track racing because it’s so close and competitive. It would be nice if we had even more short tracks on our series - just don’t ask me if I think they should copy Bristol.
“Richmond just has it all in one package. It is hard to fine anyone in this garage area who dislikes the track. The racing is competitive and I am looking to get this #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge competitive this weekend.”
http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp...05258&FS=NASCAR
Richmond II: Ken Schrader preview
NASCAR-WCS
2002-09-04
Schrader's Thoughts On Richmond International Raceway...
"If someone were looking to build a race track, I would advise them to look really closely at Richmond. It is really a great little race track, and I always have a lot of fun going there. What you get at Richmond is a lot of hard, fun, Saturday night short track racing. The cars put on quite a show for the fans there. Hopefully, the little "M&M's"® car will put on a good show of its own this weekend."
"M&M's"® Racing At Richmond International Raceway...
* Never one to pass up a chance to slide behind the wheel, Ken Schrader will keep busy on the race track at Richmond this weekend. Schrader plans to compete in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Race in the No. 52 Schrader Racing Entry on Thursday night. He'll take to the again Saturday night in the No. 36 "M&M's"® machine for the Winston Cup event.
* In many ways, Schrader considers Richmond the birthplace of his Winston Cup career. The now 18-year-veteran spent a lot of time in the Richmond area with his first car owner, Junie Donlavey, during his first few seasons.
Among Schrader's favorite racing memories, he counts his first win for Donlavey in the Twin 125s at Daytona in 1987. "Everyone was so happy that Junie was going to victory lane," Schrader said. "He is one of the hardest working men in the garage, and everyone really respects him. So it was really a special moment for me to win for Junie."
* The "M&M's"® Racing Team brought a new car to Richmond earlier this year. Thanks to several solid pit stops, the team came home with a 15th-place effort. The "M&M's"® team will unload that same car at the .75-mile oval this weekend.
http://www.joegibbsracing.com/season_2002/...03_bl_pre.shtml
Labonte Hopes Return Trip to Richmond is More Rewarding This Time Around
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C., (Sept. 3, 2002) _ When Bobby Labonte and the Interstate Batteries Racing Team showed up to race at Richmond in May they were sitting in 20th position in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series point standings following a rough start to the new season. Fast-forward to this weekend’s Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400 and Labonte will enter Richmond sitting in 17th position after what has been a very trying summer as well. However all hope has not been lost and Labonte looks for better results on the return trip.
“We came here in May knowing we needed a good run since we had started the season off so poorly,” explained Labonte. “We felt like we could have a good run and in fact we were for the first part of the race. Then the bottom fell out when we got caught up in that accident with DJ (Dale Jarrett) and John Andretti. We were behind the wall forever making repairs, but at least we were able to get back out and finish the race. Unfortunately, it is just another one of the disappointments we have had to endure this season.”
While Labonte may not of had the finish he was looking for in the spring Richmond race, he does feel confident coming back this week to Richmond’s ¾-mile oval.
“We qualified eighth in May and had a good run going so I feel like we can go back up there this weekend and have another good run,” said Labonte. “We tested last week in Kentucky and the car we are using this weekend is one of the ones that we took to that test and I feel really good about it. I have a good feel for that car and hopefully that will show during qualifying and the race.”
In addition to Labonte testing last week in Kentucky and hopefully learning some things that could be applied to the car this weekend, teammate Tony Stewart took part in tests conducted by Goodyear and NASCAR at Richmond following the first event in an effort to find a better tire combination for this weekend’s race.
“Tony was testing up there after the last race and we ran pretty good there, but got involved in that wreck,” added Labonte. “We’re still looking forward to going back up there. A couple of years ago we were really good up there and then we seemed to have lost a little bit last year, but hopefully we can get back on track and on our game. With all of the testing we have been doing, I am hoping that we are going to see it pay off on the track.”
When asked if he was surprised about running so well on the short-tracks this season, Labonte responded, “Well maybe it’s more surprising that we’re not running as well at the big tracks. If we could run well at the big tracks, maybe it would all blend together. We’ve got to get both of them better and there’s no better way than to work hard and put in the hours it is going to take to get back on top. Hopefully some of that hard work will pay off this weekend in Richmond.”
http://www.terrylabonte.net/sept-4-02.shtml
September 4th, 2002
Labonte Seeks New Reason To Keep Old Favorite At The Top Of His List
By John Singler.
Terry Labonte gets asked the question a lot.
"What's your favorite track?"
Occasionally, a smile plays on his lips and he'll ask the interrogator where he or she lives. "You're from Las Vegas? That's one of the best tracks we run on," he says. "You live in Michigan? You know, I really like that oval up there."
Truth is, the two-time champion does enjoy racing at those venues and most others on the tour. But any serious discussion of Labonte's favorite tracks will always lead back to Richmond International Raceway ….. site of three career victories and Saturday night's Monte Carlo / Looney Tunes 400.
"It was fun to race here when it was a half-mile track and I really like it now, since they made the changes," Labonte said. It was 14 years ago when the folksy Fairgrounds oval was transformed into a jewel of the Virginia Commonwealth. RIR is now a sparkling three-quarter-mile gem that'll light up the night sky Sept. 7 with 400 laps of short-track fireworks.
"Night racing this time of year creates the same kind of atmosphere you find at college football games," Labonte said. "The fans are out early tailgating, you can smell the barbecues in the air and I think we get a little more pumped for the night races."
Labonte's fondness for Richmond is well-founded. In addition to the three victories - in 1994, '95 and '98, he's finished second three times (most recently in 2000) and seemed headed for even more success here last September. Labonte rallied from his No. 26 starting spot and was running in sixth place some 150 laps from the finish before slapping the wall and retiring from the event. Designs on a Top-10 finish quickly became a DNF.
Says Labonte: "Coming back to Richmond, we do have some unfinished business."
Labonte and Crew Chief Jim Long entered this season with one major objective: to help the driver regain the consistency that's been his trademark throughout a 25-year career. Although it's not been a total success, Labonte can point to a number of statistical categories that demonstrate the Kellogg's Racing Team's steady improvement. Last year, he finished 23rd in the final series point standings. With 11 races remaining in 2002, he is 19th - four positions and 254 points higher than he was a year ago at this time.
Labonte has four Top-10 finishes, one more than he had during the entire 36-race schedule last year. He also is on a pace to break another of his personal single-season records. Labonte has run off 11 straight finishing efforts, bringing his season total to 22. If he runs to the finish in 8 of the remaining 11 events, he'll break his single-season best of 29 races completed, set in 1997 and matched in '98. Labonte also has pulled within $150,000 of the $29 million mark in career winnings.