Waltrip: Racing at Phoenix is 'about the driver'
By SceneDaily Staff
Thursday, April 10, 2008
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Todd Warshaw / Getty Images for NASCAR
Michael Waltrip isn’t in the track-building business, but if he were, he has some clear ideas about what he would do.
Suffice to say Waltrip doesn’t like “cookie-cutter” 1.5-mile tracks. No, the veteran driver and NASCAR team owner likes places like Darlington Raceway or even Phoenix International Raceway, the site of this weekend’s Subway Fresh Fit 500.
Why? They are unique.
“My favorite thing about Phoenix International Raceway is both ends are different,” Waltrip said. “If I built a track today, it would have different ends. The crazier the track is, the more entertaining the racing becomes. You have to accept what the conditions are and adapt to those conditions.
“The key to Phoenix is it takes a different setup for both ends. You will see guys who are fast in one end, and there will be guys faster in the other.”
Not only does it require a unique setup, Phoenix’s 1-mile oval requires a driver to be aggressive and attack the track, Waltrip said.
“Another thing I like about this track is Phoenix will require us to race our butts off,” Waltrip said. “It’s going to be all about a guy’s foot
getting that gas down and how he applies the brake. It’s going to be all about the driver when we get to Phoenix.”
And it’s about adjusting the chassis throughout the race, since it starts in sunlight and ends at night. Track conditions change throughout, and teams need to be on top of chassis changes.
“Yes, and that’s what I like about Phoenix,” Waltrip said. “”It’s just another element you have to be able to adjust and adapt. I think that is the most important thing to being successful in NASCAR. The good cars will be able to figure out how to start in the sun and be good. They’ll also be able to finish in the dark and be good.”
- Mentioned Drivers:
- Michael Waltrip
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