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This Week In Ford Racing

Tuesday May 13, 2008

 

Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 3M Ford Fusion, is one of four Ford drivers (along with Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray and Carl Edwards) already locked into the Sprint all-star race this Saturday night at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Biffle commented on the race recently.

GREG BIFFLE – No. 16 3M Ford Fusion – WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF TESTING FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS FOR THE ALL-STAR RACE, AND WHAT WOULD IT MEAN TO WIN THE ALL-STAR RACE? DO YOU GUYS SPEND THE TIME ON GETTING THAT WIN OR IS IT SOMETHING YOU DO ON THE WAY TO THE 600? “It’s a little of both. We know there’s not as much importance there because there are no points, and it gives us an opportunity to maybe use it as a real live test session and try a few things. At the same time, we’re not throwing away the opportunity to win. We’re taking a gamble that if this pays off or whatever we’re kind of trying – and there are only so many things we can do – so if you’re trying something, if this works, we’re gonna beat their pants off and we’re gonna win the million bucks. We’re focused on winning that race, but at the same time we are using it to get ready for that 600. It gives a great opportunity for an engine shop to try some pieces that are maybe marginal and get some miles on them in race conditions. They can go home and look at the parts and pieces and see if in fact they feel like they’re good for competition, so there are all kinds of things but it’s a little of both. Racing is racing. We’re trying to win. We can try a few things and, most importantly, it gets us some track time and seat time for that 600, which is important.”

Jamie McMurray, driver of the No. 26 Crown Royal Ford Fusion, posted the fastest time during the second night of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series testing at Lowe’s Motor Speedway last week. McMurray will be competing in this weekend’s all-star event, which features some of the sports top stars. McMurray, who qualified for the race after winning at Daytona last July, spoke about the annual event.

JAMIE MCMURRAY – No. 26 Crown Royal Ford Fusion – HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT HEADING BACK TO CHARLOTTE? “That’s always been a really good place for me. I won my first Cup race there and I’ve always enjoyed Charlotte. We ran really well both races there last year. I think we ran third most of the race last year and a caution came out and caught us a lap down because we had pitted a little bit early, but we had a great test. I don’t know if we had the best car there, but we had a car that would produce a really fast lap and definitely had a top-10 car on race runs.”

IS THE ALL-STAR RACE ONE OF THOSE WHERE YOU HANG IT ALL OUT THERE TO WIN? “Oh yeah, I think so. It will be fun to get to race your teammates and everybody else for no points because no one is really gonna get mad about ‘why didn’t you let me go?’ or ‘why didn’t you do this?’ That race is notorious for producing mad race-car drivers after it’s over. I’ve gotten to be in it a couple of times and it’s a lot of fun.”

DID YOU LEARN A LOT IN YOUR TEST? “Yeah, we had a fast car and for the all-star race it’s just so important that your car will get up and go. Sometimes you can have a car that won’t run for 10 laps, but at the end of a 50-lap run you can make up the difference. But that race just has all these little short stints and you’ve got to get going.”

Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Office Depot Ford Fusion, will be competing in this weekend’s Sprint All-Star race and recently spoke about whether or not it would be a good idea if the Nationwide Series had a similar event.

CARL EDWARDS – No. 99 Office Depot Ford Fusion – YOU HAVE A TV GIG DURING THE ALL-STAR EVENT DON’T YOU? “Yeah, I’m gonna be a pit road reporter for the Open, which is way more fun that being in the Open, I can guarantee you that. I had a little bit of fun with it last year. I was a reporter for the all-star race and I learned that some of those guys are really hard to get an interview from after they wreck. I know how you feel. It’s very tough. You kind of have to chase them down and be as nice as you can and hope they don’t push you over.”

ANY SYMPATHY FOR US? “I had a little sympathy toward you. I’m getting my dose of sympathy once a year if I can do this pit road reporting.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT AN ALL-STAR RACE FOR THE NATIONWIDE SERIES? “That would be a lot of fun. It would be fun if once a month they had a race that wasn’t points. They could start with Talladega. It’s fun to race when you don’t have any points on the line, when it’s really just a race. I think that’s what so much fun about going and doing races like the Eldora race or the all-star race or the Bud Shootout. Everybody knows that once that checkered flag falls it’s over. There are no repercussions competitively after that.”

WOULD A NATIONWIDE ALL-STAR RACE PLAY OUT DIFFERENTLY THAN A CUP RACE BECAUSE OF THE INEXPERIENCE FACTOR? “It depends. I think that everybody races as hard as they can every week anyways, so an all-star race isn’t gonna be much different, but because of the points thing you might see people gamble a little bit more on pit strategy or do all the things that you always see at all-star races. There have been a lot of people wreck at that place just because it’s kind of a no-holds-barred race, so I don’t know if the Nationwide Series would be any different. It would be exciting though.”

WHAT WERE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE CHARLOTTE TEST? “I think if the reason was to make sure the tires weren’t gonna blow out, but I don’t think we all need to go test there at all. We shouldn’t test at all. The guys work hard enough. If everyone tests, then everyone is in the same boat as if no one tests. Competitively, it’s the same. I don’t seen any reason to go do all this testing, other than making sure that this new car is gonna work with the tire and things like that. That’s important, but you can handpick a couple teams to go do that or NASCAR could have a test team to go do that. I’d gladly go drive something like that. I know any of these guys would on a rotating basis to save everyone from having to go do that. It’s a huge burden on the teams and it’s huge on the guys.”

DO YOU FEEL DAMNED IF YOU DO AND DAMNED IF YOU DON’T BECAUSE EVERYONE IS SHOWING UP ANYWAY? “Listen, if they said we were gonna test 24 hours a day, every day of the year, we’d just be there. We’d be there in shifts and we’d test because it opens the door for someone to get ahead. What I’m saying is the less we can go test, the better. It’s not going to affect what the fans see, it’s just gonna make it easier on all the teams.”

YOU WERE FAST AT THE TEST, SO DOES THAT GIVE YOU PIECE OF MIND? “Yeah. It’s good. I was happy with our test at Lowe’s, but I don’t think that test is gonna make the race any different. I think everybody might be a tick better, but I think the best teams are still gonna be good. I was really excited with how fast we were, but we really just kind of went there and went through the motions and tried a couple of things. It was just a lot of effort for not a lot of gain.”

SO YOU WOULDN’T WANT TO SEE A SECOND TEST THERE? “We’re gonna have another test there? That’s unnecessary – definitely.”

Rick Crawford, driver of the No. 14 Power Stroke Diesel by International Ford F-150, is eager to get back to the track for this weekend’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race. Based in Concord, North Carolina, Crawford and his Circle Bar Racing team consider Lowe’s Motor Speedway one of their home tracks. Crawford sits second in series standings, trailing Ron Hornaday Jr. by 61 points.

RICK CRAWFORD – No. 14 Power Stroke Diesel by International Ford F-150 – IT HAS BEEN A FEW WEEKS SINCE THE TRUCKS WERE ON TRACK. HOW DID YOU SPEND YOUR TIME? “I went to the NHRA drag races in Atlanta and watched Ashley Force and John Force in the final. So, I saw two Ford Mustangs going for the win in the Funny Car division. I relaxed this weekend and got ready for Charlotte. We went and tested at Rockingham, so we’re ready to go.”

ON RACING AT THE CHARLOTTE, THE HOME TRACK OF NASCAR. “It’s convenient, let’s put it that way. A lot of history in NASCAR is built here in Charlotte and the Concord area with Lowe’s Motor Speedway. It is home for 90 to 95 percent of the race teams. It’s a race track that I have to look at every day and it’s very important. It’s important as far as history is concerned. It’s important as far as a win. It’s just an important race. Each race is an important race in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, but Charlotte is among those that are rated higher than others.”

SO IS CHARLOTTE A PLACE WHERE A DRIVER HAS TO WIN? A PLACE SIMILAR TO BRISTOL OR DAYTONA? “Not necessarily. You don’t have to win anywhere, but as a competitive race-car driver you want to win everywhere and you want to win multiple times. As life has it, we can’t guarantee wins, but we would like to win here at Charlotte and this weekend is probably high on our priority list to try to win.”

THIS WEEKEND STARTS A SEVEN-RACE STRETCH FOR THE TRUCKS. HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR SEVEN DIFFERENT TRACKS AFTER HAVING A THREE-WEEK BREAK? “I’ve been doing this a while in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and my Ford F-150’s have been tested and we’re really looking forward to the ’08 season. I think our season is going okay so far; we’re in pretty good shape. I want to get back to racing; I’m looking forward to it. I can’t wait to get to Charlotte this weekend. I can’t wait to get to Mansfield and the entire season. All these tracks suit me; I’m ready to go racing. I was looking at Daytona when the checkered flag flew in ’07, and now that the checkered flag already flew in ’08, I’m looking forward to Daytona again in ’09. But I’m looking forward to the entire season.”

YOU’RE SECOND IN POINTS AND TEAMMATE BRENDAN GAUGHAN IS 15TH.CAN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR SEASON SO FAR? “It’s going well. Our team, as far as I’m concerned and [crew chief] Kevin Starland is concerned, we haven’t reached our potential yet. So, that’s good. I don’t feel like we’ve reached our potential yet, but we haven’t run that bad. We’ve taking advantage of the other teams’ misfortunes but that’s all that makes a year-long season championship. You’ve got to run good at each and every race. We finished well in all the races, but it goes back to preparation, knowledge, competing on the race track. We want to run up front. We want to lead some laps. We want to get in the bonus column and we want to win some races. That’s what we’re looking for with the rest of the season.”

ON THIS WEEKEND BEING THE ALL-STAR RACE.” It’s always exciting. All the races in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series are exciting. But here at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, the promotion is done the right way all the time. There’s going to be lots of fireworks, lots of sparks flying, lots of smoke and the crowd will be entertained through 200 miles of racing. I’m excited about being in it.”

WHAT SHOULD THE FANS EXPECT TO SEE IN FRIDAY NIGHT’S TRUCK RACE? “I hope it’s a different winner (laughs) and hope it’s a Ford. I think they’ll expect to see a great race. I’m looking forward to having that built Ford tough F-150, the Power Stroke Diesel by International up front all night long.”

Colin Braun, driver of the No. 6 Con-way Freight Ford F-150, eagerly returns to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series this weekend at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Braun leads the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings and seeks to maintain his lead and climb into the top-10 in series points.

COLIN BRAUN – No. 6 Con-way Freight Ford F-150 –SOME NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCKS SERIES DRIVERS SAY THAT DRIVING THE NEW COT CAR IS SOMEWHAT SIMILAR BECAUSE THEY BOTH PUNCH THOSE BIG HOLES IN THE AIR AND THAT THEY HAVE A SOMEWHAT SIMILAR FEEL. DID YOU KIND OF GET THAT SENSATION? “Well, it’s kind of hard to say, driving the trucks on the ovals only. I’ve never driven a truck on a road course. I tested the COT car a few weeks ago in Iowa on the oval track. To me, it felt pretty similar to a truck. It was hard for me to get a feel for it really on the road course because I’ve never driven a truck on a road course before. I hear from a lot of different people out there that they’re pretty similar though and from the few laps I did in Iowa a couple of weeks ago in the COT car, it felt pretty similar to me as well.”

YOU WERE BEING FITTED FOR ANOTHER SEAT. WILL YOU BE TESTING IN A NATIONWIDE CAR? “Well, actually, it’s going to be another COT car test. We’re going down to Road Atlanta, I guess, in a couple weeks here. We’re going down there and doing some more road course COT tests. I’m looking forward to going down there. I’m going this time with Jamie McMurray. I know he’s a pretty good road-course racer, so it should be a lot of fun and I know I’ll learn a lot from him. Certainly, [I’m] going to try and get some more laps in the car than the last couple of tests we’ve had here.”

YOU TESTED THIS WEEK AT LOWE’S MOTOR SPEEDWAY WITH GREG BIFFLE. THAT WOULD SEEM TO BE A BIG ADVANTAGE FOR YOU TO GET THOSE LAPS IN AND GET YOURSELF FAMILIARIZED WITH THE WAY THE TRACK IS AND ALSO MAYBE TO HAVE THE CHANCE TO BOUNCE SOME STUFF OFF OF GREG AT THE SAME TIME. “Absolutely. Greg is a really great guy and he’s helped me out quite a bit. I’m looking forward to working with him and listening to what he’s doing and try to pick his brain as much as I can. I’m sure I’ll learn a lot and that will help me out quite a bit when it comes down to driving the No. 6 truck on Friday night.”

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT WORKING WITH THE NASCAR FOUNDATION AND HELPING BUILD A PLAYGROUND IN THE CHARLOTTE AREA? “I’m looking forward to it. It will be a lot of fun. I know the KaBoom! Foundation has a pretty cool project lined up there. It should be interesting to go out there and try to help out as much as we can. Certainly, I like doing the charity event and things like that, it’s always good to give back and be a part of that.”

AFTER A COUPLE OF WEEKS OFF, IT GETS BUSY – SEVEN RACES IN A ROW FOR THE NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES, STARTING THIS WEEKEND AT LOWE’S MOTOR SPEEDWAY. “I’m excited. It’s going to be great. I’m really excited for all the guys in the shop. Hopefully, they get a chance to come out with their families and watch. They work so hard back there in the shop. The guys who don’t always travel on the road, it’s a good chance for them to hopefully to come out there and watch what’s going on and be part of it because they are huge part of the success that we’ve had. I’m really looking forward to that. It should be neat from that aspect and also from the aspect of just having all the people from Con-way out. There’s going to be quite a few people from Con-way coming as well as some of the executives there. It should be a really big weekend for us. I’m really excited about it.”

YOU DID A LITTLE TESTING IN THE COT ON A ROAD COURSE AT VIR AND YOU’VE BEEN IN A NATIONWIDE CAR AT LOWE’S, BUT YOU HAVEN’T BEEN IN THE 6 TRUCK FOR AWHILE. HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE FOR YOU TO READJUST? “I don’t think it’s going to take too long. We were at the wind tunnel about a week ago with the truck that we’re going to be racing at Charlotte. I know it’s a really good, fast truck. That gives me a lot of confidence going in, knowing that I’m gonna have pretty much the same kind of truck that I drove at Kansas. I don’t think it will take too long. I have the Nationwide test on Monday that I went to, I should have good knowledge about what the race track is going to be like. I think it should be pretty good.”

LAST YEAR THEY REPAVED LOWE’S MOTOR SPEEDWAY AND GREG BIFFLE TALKED ABOUT WHEN THEY DID THE SPRINT CUP TEST THAT HE THOUGHT IT WAS BEGINNING TO WEATHER ITSELF IN A LITTLE BIT AND HAVE THE FEEL OF KANSAS SPEEDWAY. DOES THAT MAKE YOU FEEL A LITTLE MORE POSITIVE GOING IN, THAT IT’S NOT GOING TO BE A COMPLETELY UNKNOWN SURFACE LIKE IT WAS A YEAR AGO? “I think it does. Last year the number 6 truck was fast at Charlotte. My crew chief, Mike Beam, has a great starting set-up for us. I don’t really care where we go or what kind of surface it is. I just want to go out there and race. I know this whole number 6 Con-way Freight Ford F-150 team can pretty much adapt to any kind of race track, any conditions because they’ve got a lot of experience and certainly a lot of tricks up their sleeve. I think whatever we’re doing, if we’re gonna go race on the dirt, I think we’d be really fast at that as well. It just comes down to how great this No. 6 team is and how well prepared they are when we show up to the race track.”

YOU’VE BEEN EAGER TO GET BACK TO RACING, NOW YOU’LL HAVE SEVEN IN A ROW. “Yeah, I’m really excited to finally get into the swing of things. And I think that’s really where this team is going to shine. When we get into the middle part of that stretch and it’s back-to-back weekends and it’s tough and grueling, I think that’s where this number 6 team is really going to be strong. I think they really have prepared well during the off-season and I think we have all the ducks in a row. It should be a lot of fun when we get in the middle of this seven-race stretch and see what happens.”

THIS IS A STRETCH THAT CAN PROPEL YOU UP IN THE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR STANDINGS AND ALSO THE OVERALL POINTS STANDINGS. THIS IS A BIG SEVEN-RACE STRETCH FOR YOU. “Right now, I think we’re 16th in the points and only 90 or so points out of fifth place. Hopefully after the Charlotte weekend we can boost ourselves back up, maybe, into the top 10. After that, we’ll see what happens in this seven-race stretch. This is going to be a pivotal moment to this season for us. We’re certainly prepared for it and ready to go after it. I’m excited to finally get into the swing of things and have a couple of races where we can get some momentum going and kind of build on that. It’s going to be really nice for everybody, I think, to kind of know what we’re doing and not have these long breaks where everybody gets too antsy.”

Mike Neff, driver of the NHRA POWERade Old Spice Ford Mustang Funny Car, and development driver for the new Ford BOSS 500 nitro engine, heads into this weekend’s O’Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway in eighth place in the standings, following his first-ever finals appearance a couple of weekends ago at St. Louis.

MIKE NEFF – Old Spice Ford Mustang Funny Car – YOU REACHED THE FINALS OF AN EVENT IN JUST YOUR NINTH RACE AS A DRIVER. “To be honest with you, we were hoping that it wouldn’t have taken that long, because our car has been running and qualifying really good. But, for some reason, we just kept getting tripped up first round, so, yeah, to get past that first round was a big one, and then to go on to the final, that turned out to be a good day for us.”

BEFORE YOU WERE A DRIVER, YOU WERE A CREW CHIEF. DOES A SUCCESSFUL SUNDAY LIKE THE ONE YOU HAD AT ST. LOUIS SEEM LONGER WHEN YOU’RE THE DRIVER? DID THE DAY SEEM DIFFERENT THAN WHEN YOU WERE ENJOYING SUCCESS AS GARY SCELZI’S CREW CHIEF? “Yeah. It’s all new, you know, just doing what a driver does, and worrying about that part of it. I had been a crew chief for long enough that you just kind of get in your routine and you know how that drill goes. But to be a driver, it was a neat experience. That first round, I still had the first-round jitters just like you do as a crew chief, and then I got more comfortable as the day went on – kind of as I did as a crew chief also. It was exciting to make it to the final round, to say the least. Just came up a little bit short, but it was a good, respectable race, and will definitely help with my confidence, and I’m sure the whole team’s.”

IS DRAG RACING LIKE OTHER SPORTS, WHERE MOMENTUM CAN CARRY OVER FROM ONE DAY OR EVENT TO THE NEXT? CAN YOU CARRY YOUR SUCCESS FROM ST. LOUIS INTO BRISTOL? “Absolutely. It works the same way, I think, as anything. It just seems like no matter what you’re doing, playing basketball or football, as teams go, things just either are going your way or not going your way, it seems like. It seems like, for me, that you go through cycles and rolls where even when you make mistakes, the guy next to you makes a bigger one and you’re able to go on, and you’re winning all the close ones, and it seems like you can get to a point where you can’t do anything wrong – and that’s when you’re winning and things are going real good. Also, when you’re on the flip-side of that, it seems like you can’t do anything right – you’re losing all the close races and you make a good run and the one guy that runs better than you is the guy you’re racing. So, yeah, I think that that’s real similar, as far as that goes. A lot of luck involved, you know? Luck’s a big part of it.”

DID YOU GET A SENSE OF THAT BEFORE SUNDAY? OR DID THAT GROW WITH YOUR SUCCESSES ON SUNDAY? “Actually, I’ve felt good going into every Sunday that we’ve had. We’ve qualified well at just about all the races, and that’s what was getting so frustrated. It was like, ‘Man, I feel so good.’ Even the previous races, it was like, ‘We’re going to do good. I can feel it.’ And I thought I could feel it, and then yet something would happen first round and we’d lose. So, going into St. Louis first round, it was like, ‘Whatever happens, happens.’ I’ve felt good before and it hasn’t worked out, so ‘whatever was going to happen, was going to happen’ was kind of my attitude. But once we got by that first round, I always felt that once we could get by that first one, that the next would come a lot easier and we were going to go some rounds.”

WITH AN EVENT THAT PASSES THAT QUICKLY, AND WITH THOSE BEING YOUR FIRST ROUND-WINS AS A DRIVER, DID YOU KNOW AS YOU CROSSED THE FINISH LINE? OR, WERE YOU SO FOCUSED ON GETTING DOWN THE TRACK THAT IT TOOK A MOMENT OR TWO? “A lot of times there are win lights on the wall or something that you can look over and see as you cross the finish line, if your win light comes on. I haven’t done that yet, because I’m not sure exactly where they were, plus I’m too busy just trying to keep the thing going straight and haven’t looked over for the win light like I hear a lot of guys – ‘Ah, I saw my win light on.’ But I haven’t. I don’t know where the win light is at on the walls. You’re looking straight ahead, you’ve almost got tunnel vision in that car because you can’t see, really, out the sides. For you to see the guy next to you, he’d probably have to be at least a car length or two car lengths ahead of you for you to be able to catch him out of your peripheral vision. So, these close races, like [Tim] Wilkerson [in the final], I never saw him. I didn’t even know he was there until right after I had lifted after the finish line, he must’ve stayed on the gas a little bit longer, because then I saw him and then I knew, man, he was right there. But, you really don’t know. You don’t know if the guy next to you smoked the tires or what happened.”

SO, HOW DID YOU FIND OUT? OVER THE RADIO? “Over the radio. John Medlen [crew chief] usually talks to me and he just said, ‘Oh, he just nipped you. He ran an .87 and you ran an .88.’ He more or less told me, but for the previous rounds, I didn’t hear anything on the radio. When you pull around the corner, they’ll be there to direct you. If they direct you to pull over to the side where the TV camera is set up, you know you won. If they’re telling you to go the other way, you know you lost. So, that’s one way if you don’t hear anything.”

YOU MENTIONED JOHN MEDLEN. YOUR TEAM IS USING THE NEW FORD BOSS 500 MOTOR. DO THE TWO OF YOU FEEL PRETTY COMFORTABLE WITH WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT IT AND WHAT IT CAN DO? “Yeah, we’re really thrilled with the BOSS 500. It makes more power than what we were running, and we’ve adapted to that. The parts look good. It’s real durable. And, yeah, we are thrilled that project has gone as well as it has. It hasn’t caused us any problems, and we’re really thrilled about that.”

YOU’RE EXPECTED TO DO A BURNOUT WITH YOUR FUNNY CAR AT LOWE’S MOTOR SPEEDWAY BEFORE THE NASCAR RACE IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS. “I think they’re going to look at where we’re going to do it, and they still want to make sure that it will be feasible for us to do it to where it will be safe, and there’s not crown on the track. It needs to be pretty flat because any type of a crown and that thing won’t want to be going straight. Actually, Guido [Dean Antonelli], Ashley’s [Force] crew chief, he’s on his way down there right now to take a look at it and to make sure everything’s safe with it. If that’s the case, then, yeah, we’re planning on doing a burnout right before the Coca-Cola 600.”

FOR RACE FANS WHO ARE USED TO WATCHING STOCK CARS AND NOT DRAG RACES, THEY’LL BE IN FOR QUITE A SURPRISE. “I think definitely people who have not been to a drag race – TV just doesn’t do the Top Fuel cars and the Funny Cars any justice. When you’re there live and hearing it, just feeling the vibration that they put out, it’s just a whole different world. We’re excited about doing it, especially with the race that’s going to be coming up, the inaugural race there in Charlotte this year for us. Hopefully, we’ll get some people excited about it and have them show up at the drag race.”

Memo Gidley, co-driver of the No. 77 Doran Racing Ford-Dallara Daytona Prototype, has run numerous laps throughout his racing career at Mazda Raceway in Laguna Seca, the site of this weekend’s Grand-Am Rolex Series race. He has driven several cars at the track and stood on the podium there after a second place finish in a Champ Car race. Gidley, who came away from the track with a 10th-place performance in last season’s Rolex Series race, talks about his experience on the track and the upgrades that have been made to his car this year.

MEMO GIDLEY – No. 77 Ford-Dallara Daytona Prototype – YOU FINISHED 10TH LAST YEAR IN LAGUNA. “Last year it was fairly new, me running with Kevin [Doran]. We made a lot of changes on the original Doran chassis and we got the car to be pretty competitive. Actually at Laguna, I remember vividly, it was the first time that I felt like we were actually pretty competitive. We ended up 10th, but everybody was pretty much nose-to-tail – it was very, very tight. So, I was pretty happy with the performance last year.”

YOU’VE DONE A LOT OF LAPS AT LAGUNA SECA THROUGHOUT THE YEARS. HOW MUCH WILL THAT HELP GOING INTO THIS WEEKEND’S RACE? “Well it helps, for sure, on any weekend, I think, because our schedules are so condensed. But Laguna, even though it’s a couple of hours from where I actually live, it is for sure where I started racing, where I went to my first Indycar race and where I worked as a mechanic for Jim Russell. That was the first track that was in my mind. So I’m very familiar with the layout of the track. I really like it. Having a lot of family and friends down there also always helps. I think it’s definitely going to be an advantage having that much time around there.”

YOU’VE BEEN RUNNING WITH A NEW CHASSIS THIS SEASON. HOW HAVE YOU HAD TO ADAPT TO IT? “From a team standpoint, it’s always fine-tuning and making improvements and going from there. I felt comfortable in the car from day one. Driving-it-wise, the Dallara works real well. Our car is actually a Doran that was updated last year with Dallara bodywork. I’m very comfortable with the car. I really think that this year, we’re going to for sure get on the podium and I really expect us to win a race. I think that the Ford motor is as strong as it’s ever been. Ford has made a lot of improvements there and I think that with the Dallara upgrades and the chassis improvements we make on the Doran, it’s very competitive. The last three races, we’ve been very, very competitive and now it’s just a matter of putting together a solid weekend and I think we’re going to end up on the podium.”

Eric de Doncker, driver of the No. 1 Ford Mustang FR500GT4 and co-driver of the No. 22 Ford Mustang FR500GT3, is preparing for this weekend’s GT4 European Cup and FIA GT3 European Championship races in Monza, Italy. De Doncker, who is the defending GT4 champion, talks about Monza and working with co-driver Scott Maxwell in GT3.

ERIC de DONCKER – No. 1 Ford Mustang FR500GT4 & co-driver of the No. 22 Ford Mustang FR500GT3 – SILVERSTONE WAS THE FIRST TIME YOU RAN IN BOTH SERIES IN THE SAME WEEKEND. NOW THAT YOU’VE GOTTEN THE FIRST ONE OUT OF THE WAY, DO YOU THINK IT WILL BE EASIER THIS WEEKEND IN MONZA? “I think Monza will suit the Mustang better than Silverstone did, and hopefully the weather will be better as well. I am really motivated to win the races in Monza in GT4 after the coming in fifth and second at Silverstone. In GT3, the goal will be a top-10 finish. Physically, I had no problem in Silverstone racing in both GT3 and GT4. The only difference could be the weather; it could be very hot in Italy. But Monza is not hard, physically.”

HAVE YOU EVER RACED AT MONZA BEFORE? IF SO, WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT THE TRACK? DO YOU HAVE ANY CONCERNS ABOUT IT? “I raced at Monza in GT3 last year with Gunnar Jeanette. We were able to get a 13th-place finish. I do like this track. It has very fast speeds and corners, and usually has really close battles. One thing to worry about is the fuel consumption in the Mustang FR500GT3 since we have such a powerful engine and Monza is very demanding on fuel. For the GT4 race, I am concerned about the tires. In Silverstone, my tires were dead after 25 minutes. Monza is a 50-minute race in hot weather. But I’ve talked with Pirelli about my concerns, so hopefully they have made some changes on the new tires. I have a good feeling about Monza for both the GT3 and GT4 races. Jamie Allison [Manager of the Ford Racing Performance Group, North America] is flying from the U.S. to Monza, so we will try to show him a good event.”

WHAT WAS IT LIKE WORKING WITH SCOTT MAXWELL FOR THE FIRST TIME DURING THE FIRST EVENT? HAS IT BEEN HARD COMMUNICATING WITH EACH OTHER ACROSS SEAS? “No, communication is fine with Scott. In fact, Scott does almost all the work in GT3 because I am busy with my GT4 team and he is the development driver of the Mustang. He knows the Mustang FR500GT3 very well and he works with his engineer. Scott is a really good driver, and a great guy. Scott and all the Ford Racing people and the Multimatic crew are very nice people, and it has been a real pleasure working with all of them. I really hope I will have a chance in the near future to come race in the U.S.”

FRONTSTRETCH LIVE AT THE TRACK THIS WEEKEND AT LOUDON!
Popular writer Amy Henderson will be tracking all the action at New Hampshire from inside the garage, giving you the stories you’re looking for with a special edition of our Newsletter planned over the weekend. It all culminates on Sunday with her special participation in our LIVE blog during the Lenox Industrial Tools 301, paired with our usual panel of expert analysts! It’s three days of going the extra mile for you … so we hope you enjoy it!

This report was provided by an outside PR source and posted by Kim DeHaven.

 

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