Cassill says his confidence grew during 1st year of Nationwide racing
By SceneDaily Staff
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
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One year ago this weekend, Landon Cassill made his debut in what is now known as the Nationwide Series at Gateway International Raceway.
Cassill, whose birthday is July 7, didn’t turn 18 until a few days before the race. NASCAR rules, which mandate that a driver be 18 to compete in one of the sanctioning body's three national series, forced Cassill to wait until Gateway to make his first start.
Since then, the Hendrick Motorsports development driver has earned two top-10 finishes and a pole while driving a partial schedule this season for JR Motorsports.
How much has Cassill grown as a driver in the last year? Plenty, he says.
"I feel like I have a higher level of confidence than I did a year ago,” Cassill said. “I know my way around the garage a lot better, and I know NASCAR race procedures so much better. Just to have that seat time is pretty important, and, obviously, I'll be better next year than I was this year, too."
Perhaps the biggest sign of Cassill’s progression has been qualifying. He has qualified inside the top 10 in each of his last six attempts, including at New Hampshire, where he won the pole.
Cassill will make his 17th career Nationwide start in Saturday’s Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 at Gateway, where he started sixth last season and was running 10th on the final lap before a late spin relegated him to a 32nd-place finish.
"It was pretty special being able to qualify so well last year in my first career Nationwide Series start, and I think we could do it again this time around,” Cassill said. “I just want to go there and wear the other cars out with our National Guard Chevrolet. I think we're going to have a good flat-track race car like we had at Loudon [N.H.], so we can go tear them up this weekend. My team continues to work hard week in and week out, and I'm always confident each weekend that I have one of the fastest cars in the field."
Cassill enters the race riding the momentum of a 10th-place outcome in last Friday’s event at Chicagoland Speedway.
He’s hoping to improve on that finish and accomplish even more in the coming weeks.
"I could improve on my aggression, physical fitness and mental toughness,” Cassill said. “I think there's always room for improvement in every area. By getting more seat time, I get to keep that going."
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