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Raybestos Rookie Coke Zero 400 Practice Day quotes: Regan Smith

Thursday July 3, 2008

 

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDER PRACTICE DAY QUOTES FOR THE COKE ZERO 400 NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES RACE AT DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY, JULY 3, PAGE 6.

Regan Smith was the top Raybestos Rookie in today’s first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice session at Daytona, posting the 11th-best overall speed. The second session was rained out.

REGAN SMITH, No. 01 PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL GROUP/DEI CHEVROLET: “The scoreboard looks cool but we need to get a little bit better. We’ve got a pretty good idea of some stuff that we’re going to change and hopefully we’ll be better for tomorrow night. I don’t think we’re going to get another practice in. Dan [Stillman, crew chief] and all the guys on The Principal Financial Group Chevy will go to work and get it ready for race trim and see what happens.” IS IT A DISADVANTGE IF YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO GET ADDITIONAL TRACK TIME TONIGHT? “I don’t think it really affects it. I mean, the main thing is there’s not going to be as much rubber on the track and it sounds like there were some tire issues. We didn’t have any issues but it sounds like there are guys having tire issues which means there are a couple problems out there. I think short of just getting the chance to try a few more things to get the balance how we want it, that’s the main thing that’s going to hurt us.” DID FOCUS ON RACE SETUP? “Haven’t even thought about qualifying. It’s not going to matter.” EARLY IN THE RACE, DO YOU THINK IT’S BETTER TO BE AT THE FRONT OR AT THE BACK HERE? “I’ve wrecked at both of ‘em before so I don’t think there is a safe place to be [laughs]. You need to go where your car is comfortable and go where you can put your car in a position and be smart about it and hope that the guys are doing that same thing and work on it and if it gets better then you move up the positions. You can move up as long as you’re still comfortable. I think if you’ve got one car driving over their head someplace in the pack it could cause everybody problems and you just need to keep your eyes open for that and pay attention and put yourself where you need to be.” HAVE YOU PULLED OUT OF LINE IN PRACTICE TODAY? DID OTHER CARS GO WITH YOU? “I’ve pulled out. I haven’t seen anybody go with me yet [laughs].” IS THAT GOING TO BE BIG FACTOR IN THE RACE? “Oh, it’s going to be a huge factor. You’ve got to have help. I’m hoping that during the race people will help out a little bit more. It’s going to be a little different situation because if you’ve got a run and somebody needs to get by somebody, chance are they’ll go with you a little bit more. Hopefully they’re starting to get used to the Raybestos Rookies out there and maybe a couple with go with us anyways. We’ll take a risk and hope that it pays off in the long run [smiles]. This race is nothing more than a handling race. You spend all the time in the wind tunnel and doing all this stuff to get speed and reduce drag and this and that and what it all comes down to at this particular race here seems like it’s won by the best handling race car when it’s all said and done so that’s what we need to focus on.” IS IT GOOD THAT YOU AND YOUR CREW CHIEF CAN MAKE DECISIONS TO MAKE THE CAR BETTER? YOU’RE NOT JUST ALONG FOR THE RIDE. “I think it good for the drivers and the teams, you know. I’m not sure that it’ll necessary be what people are used to seeing on the speedway race. You might see a little more single-file. Maybe a couple of cars can actually break away from the pack. So from that standpoint, it might not be what the fans want to see but it’s going to be good for the drivers.”

®Raybestos® brand brakes are produced by the Affinia Under Vehicle Group, the leading manufacturer of braking systems and components for the automotive industry. The line includes everything from brake drums to rotors, pads, shoes and hydraulic parts. Affinia Under Vehicle Group is at the forefront of research and development in brake technology and operates manufacturing and distribution facilities throughout North America.

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

 

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