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[/media-credit]TOYOTA NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) Clint Bowyer — Notes & Quotes Michigan International Speedway – June 14, 2012
CLINT BOWYER, No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing How has the test been on the new Michigan surface? “It’s been good so far. Our MWR (Michael Waltrip Racing) cars have been really good speed-wise. It’s going to be interesting to see. It seems like the more it’s heated up the more we’ve rubbered in that one exact groove. I think it’s only a matter of time when that starts widening out, it did so at Pocono a little bit. I think here as wide as the track is, it’ll be interesting to see what groove becomes the preferred line. Obviously, that’s where it is now, but I think like in (turns) three and four, I could get below the seam in the asphalt and get a little grip there. It’s going to be interesting to see where you can move around and hopefully where you can pass. Really, it just feels like running Nationwide cars, to me. Not a lot of throttle response, it just doesn’t slow down a whole lot in the center of the corner and just continues the speed all the way through the lap.”
What options are there to slow the cars down on a track like Michigan? “I don’t know, they’re not our options. Maybe NASCAR has some options, but certainly I haven’t heard anything. I don’t know what a restrictor plate race would be like at a track like this. It would be almost interesting to see. I think no matter what we do, I think we’re going to keep it the same. It’s just going to be interesting to see. This is the first time a track this size has been repaved like this since I’ve been in the sport. It’s amazing how much difference it’s made. Just the center corner speed is so much greater than it used to be. It’s going to be interesting to see how we can race around cars and around each other and put on a show.”
Does the extra testing time benefit your team? “Well, it does, but I’m glad we only have one day here. I think two days of testing at Pocono was too much. These teams with the simulation package, engineering and everything that we have, we don’t need two days to do that. In my opinion, it allows everybody to catch up too much and there’s no separation in the field and things like that, which I feel like we need. Nine times out of 10, you unload — these guys bring the best that their simulation package will put out on the computer and that’s what you unload with — and nine times out of 10 for me it seems like we spend a day or two days last week getting right back to where we started. I haven’t beat that damn computer yet, it’s pretty good setting up a car.”
What did you experience at the Bristol test you participated in this week? “The very top groove is gone. That third groove that you saw people running in the race really, really high is gone. There’s still two grooves, there’s still going to be racing there. I think there was a lot of different compounds and stuff like that Goodyear really put a lot of emphasis on and tried really hard to come up with something different. It seemed like the right sides were, it didn’t really matter what side they went softer with as long as they just went a little bit softer with one or the other, it seemed like it created a little bit more grip enabling a car to get underneath that guy running the outside line and stay with him. That was the struggle in races past, even if you could get in there with him, you couldn’t get off the corner with him on the throttle and I think making sure we have the right tire is crucial to putting on a good show there.”
Do you feel comfortable at speeds of 200 mph at Michigan? “It’s pretty fast — it’s really fast. The center corner speed is fast. It doesn’t feel any different, down the straightaway or whatever else, your car is handling good. Let me tell you, the start of practice I was a second off and it felt really, really fast. At the end of practice, I was top-10 in speeds and it didn’t feel as fast because I had a good handle on my car — a good balance on the race car. That makes all the difference in the world. Let me tell you, when you’re fighting loose conditions and the thing snaps sideways on you and you’re running 200 mph, it gets your attention pretty quick. You usually don’t make it very many more laps before you come in and ask for an adjustment.”
