Friday, Oct. 14, 2011
Dodge Charlotte Keys For Success
Dodge Motorsports PR
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Bank of America 500
Charlotte Motor Speedway
KEYS FOR SUCCESS: Bank of America 500
CONCORD, N.C. (Friday, Oct. 14, 2011) – Each race weekend, selected Dodge Motorsports engineers, Penske Racing engineers and crew chiefs, drivers or engine specialists give their insight on the ‘Keys for Success’ for the upcoming race. This week, Howard Comstock, Dodge Motorsports engineering, provides the keys for Sunday’s Sprint Cup race.
Track: Charlotte Motor Speedway (Race 31 of 36 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series)
Race: Bank of America 500 (334 laps / 501.0 miles)
Trivia Question: Which Dodge driver has won the most races at Charlotte? (Answer Below)
HOWARD COMSTOCK (Dodge Motorsports)
Boy, It’s Fast: “The concern is that the pace will be so fast, especially as the night wears on, that if you’re off on your setup at all you’re in great danger of the leaders coming to get you because we see long green flag runs. With the fast pace and green flag runs, you’d better not be far off on your setup. If you’ve got increased average lap speeds, you’re going to have increased corner-entry speed and increased speed through the corners. Those factors are going to play into tire wear; they’re going to play into spring selection, bump stops, shock absorber selection, even gearing for the engine.”
Way Cool: “The cool temperatures and the good grip are going to make for high RPMs for those engines. We’ve already seen in practice that people have run low, high and in between so it’s been more about the cool temperatures and less about the track itself. I think you’ll see plenty of side-by-side racing. You want to set the car up as free or as loose as you can in order to turn fast lap speeds. But you can’t drive a car loose for 500 miles. Eventually, it’s going to catch up with you and it will come to a bad result. You’ve got to be able to tighten these cars up enough that the drivers are going to be able keep the car up under ‘em for 500 miles.”
No Track Position, No Problem: “A lot of places you want to start up front. I’m not as concerned about starting a little bit farther back in the pack if you’ve got the right car. This is one race I don’t consider a track-position race. Charlotte is big enough and wide enough. I think a good handling car will trump track position here just about every time. It’s 500 miles, which is a long race. There’s going to be some green flag pit stops where teams can employ strategies and there’s going to be some cautions where teams will have more time to employ different strategies. I don’t think getting to the front of the field early will be foremost on the mind of most crew chiefs.”
Friday Practice Makes Perfect: “Practice on Friday will be important because it’s going to be 100 percent race practice. We will be able to practice until 7:50 Friday evening which should simulate race conditions. We’ll see at the end of the final practice on Friday who’s got the stuff.”
Trivia Question Answer: Buddy Baker with four victories (1967 National 500, 1968 World 600, 1972 World 600, 1973 World 600).
