Saturday, Sept. 15, 2012
GEICO 400
Keys For Success
Chicagoland Speedway
Dodge PR
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KEYS FOR SUCCESS: GEICO 400
JOLIET, Ill. (Saturday, Sept. 15) – Each race weekend, SRT Motorsports provides insight on the ‘Keys for Success’ for the upcoming race. This week SRT Motorsports engineer Howard Comstock discusses the GEICO 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.
Track: Chicagoland Speedway (Race 27 of 36 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and first race in the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup).
Race: GEICO 400 (267 laps / 400.5 miles)
Trivia Question: (Answer Below) What driver earned Dodge its only Sprint Cup Series win at Chicagoland Speedway?
HOWARD COMSTOCK (SRT Motorsports Engineering)
Showing Some Age: “Chicagoland has lost a lot of teeth from last year. Speeds are down considerably and teams are going to have to be careful with their race plan this year. If speeds are down, does that mean better fuel economy? It’s the first time that we’ve run here with electronic fuel injection and that will make a difference. There are a lot of elements to a race plan that teams are going to have to adjust to for the race on Sunday.”
Chase Driver Approach: “You don’t have to win the first race of the Chase but you do have to finish well. Yes, the first race of the Chase sets the tone. We’ll leave here knowing a little more than we do now. The 12 guys are in the Chase because they’ve run well all year. Tomorrow’s race won’t be the end-all to the last nine races.”
1.5-mile Track: “With the changes that NASCAR instituted this week with the rear axle movement some teams are scurrying to get back to the old school set-up of controlling the rear axle. Many of the Chase teams went to Nashville to test in an effort to see if their race package is ready for the high-banked track this week. Teams are rightly concerned about a change that starts at the beginning of the Chase.”
TRIVIA ANSWER: Ryan Newman won the 2003 Tropicana 400 leading 67 of 267 laps en route to the win.
