NASCAR BGN: Tim Fedewa loves Atlanta; Plans to improve finishes

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

"There is a little more rubber on the track at Atlanta, and as more rubber gets put down, there tends to be less grip. It still has more grip than a track like Charlotte, and it just gives the team a lot more to try and keep up with when it comes to race set-up."-- Tim Fedewa, driver of the Phillips 66 Chevrolet

Tim Fedewa's Thoughts on Atlanta . . . "I like racing at Atlanta. We haven't had the finishes we'd like, but a lot of that is attributed to accidents. The car tends to tighten up as tires wear out when racing in Atlanta. The team tries to start the car out fairly loose and let the car come to the driver. It's a fine line when trying to get the driver comfortable in a loose racecar, especially at a track like Atlanta where it's pretty fast. It's hard to get the car comfortable for the driver in a loose situation. That's something we'll work on early so that when it comes to race time I'm comfortable in that situation."

Crew Chief Donnie Richeson On Atlanta . . . "The surface at Atlanta has been considerably different since it was reconfigured a few years back. It's starting to get some age on it now, and it's actually starting to display characteristics similar to those of Charlotte. We tested there two days in February. Temperatures are affecting the amount of grip on the track and it's become really sensitive to changes between sunshine and cloud cover. We'll go to Atlanta and try to adapt, improvise and overcome."

Equipment . . . "Willard" is the car Fedewa will compete with this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway. "Willard" is the same machine the Phillips 66 team won with at Michigan Speedway in August of 2000.

Fedewa Fact . . . Fedewa's best finish at Atlanta is a fourth-place finish. Fedewa started the 1995 Busch Series race at Atlanta in 30th and finished the day with a solid top-five finish.

Text Provided By Penny Cope

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