KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing What do you think of the new Phoenix track surface? “Certainly, it’s a lot better than what we’re accustomed to here a couple weeks ago doing the Goodyear tire test. With everything and the speeds we’ve been running here are more indicative to what we expected to run on the new asphalt with the surface and everything. It’s been good. Having 30 cars here rather than five and the temperatures being about 20 degrees cooler, it’s made it for a lot better conditions.”
How different is this track surface and design compared to the old one? “Yeah, a little bit, you know. It’s certainly different. It’s not what we’re used to. Before it was a little less of a kink and you kind of still had a little bit of a bump through there, but now it’s like a big swell. You kind of go through there a lot and you know whether it makes for good exciting racing or not, it’s yet to be seen.”
KASEY KAHNE, No. 4 Red Bull Camry, Red Bull Racing Team What do you think of the new Phoenix track surface? “I think so far the track is great. I think it’s smooth, it’s going to be different. It’s going to be kind of exciting to see how it races, which is pretty cool. I’m looking forward to that. There’s not a lot of grip in the tires, so the more we run, the more rubber on the track, the better the tires feel, but I still feel to move out of that lane it’s going to be really difficult. Hopefully Goodyear really looks at it and brings the right tire to the race and the track rubbers in the right way and we have a good show. I think the track is great, I think what they did with it is really nice.”
DAVID REUTIMANN, No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing What do you think of the new Phoenix track surface? “At this point, I’m undecided. Starting off today it’s been really, really slick and it’s been hard to get the cars comfortable, so I’m still kind of undecided as to what I think about the track at this point.”
How do you think the racing will be on the new Phoenix track surface? “I don’t know what it’s going to do for the racing yet. There hasn’t been enough rubber or laps put on the race track to really know what it’s going to be, but right now it’s not very good. Not very good at all, but it’s a new race track and we’re hoping once it get some rubber on it and we all get to work on our cars a bit it’ll continue to get better.”
Do you think the redesign should have occurred after the fall race instead of during the season? “I don’t know. I mean, the track wanted to redesign. The sooner the better really is kind of how I look at it. We have to get laps on the race track, rubber on the race track and get used to it. It think the more laps we get on it the better it’ll be, but right now it’s pretty scary. As far as the Chase guys go and determining a championship, I guess we’ll find out when we get here. We all have to race on the same race track and no one has an advantage or disadvantage on a new race track. As long as we all know ahead of time what to expect — I don’t have a problem with doing it now.”
MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing What do you think of the new Phoenix track surface? “We’ve run a few laps so far and it’s a real challenge. I’m glad we’ve got two days to focus on this place. It’s a slick track and I’m not expecting it to change much when we return next month. Right now we’re trying to find the right balance and I’m looking for more grip. What we’re experiencing is pretty typical when we visit a new place like this. I’m looking forward to the race and I hope we are able to put on the show that everyone is expecting.”
