Friday, July 8, 2011
Dodge Motorsports PR
Kentucky Speedway
Quaker State 400
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
KEYS FOR SUCCESS: Quaker State 400
SPARTA, Ky. (Friday, July 8, 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, Travis Geisler, Director of Competition – Penske Racing – provides the keys for Saturday night’s Sprint Cup race.
Track: Kentucky Speedway (Race 18 of 36 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series)
Race: Quaker State 400 (267laps / 400.5 miles)
Trivia Question: The first NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Kentucky Speedway was in 2001. Three current Sprint Cup drivers finished 1-2-3 in that race. Who are they? (Answer Below)
TRAVIS GEISLER (Director of Competition, Penske Racing)
Go Team! “Anytime that you come to a new race track, it presents a unique challenge. You don’t have inaugural races very often and it’s something that hasn’t happened recently. Having the test day yesterday, teams tried to develop a package that they’re going racing with. It was the ultimate test of teamwork and the strength of your race team. As an engineering staff, we have to respond to what the drivers are telling us about their Dodge race cars and generate a setup. Typically on a race weekend you only have about an hour to focus on what you have for a race setup. This weekend, we had seven hours of practice and plenty of tires to try and get a feel for our race package. Making use of that time better than the other teams in the garage is a key for tomorrow night’s race.”
Look out for the bumps! “Getting your car over the bumps will be key. Guys aren’t complaining too much about them. The speedway did a good job grinding the track. But the bumps are big enough that it affects your race setup. We have to try and do a better job getting our cars over them without scrubbing off too much speed.”
Turn 3: “We need to get our Dodges more secure during entry into Turn 3. If we can do that, it will allow us to free the car up a little better and do other things to the car for the track. We’re at the limit of how much we can free the car up because of the entry in (turn) 3 right now.”
Trivia Question Answer: Kevin Harvick, Greg Biffle and Tony Raines.
