NASCAR BGN: Tim Fedewa looks for fun at a tough track

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

March 15, 2001

Darlington is a tough race track and it's a fun race track. I won my first pole there. It's somewhat like Rockingham in that tire wear tends to be a big issue. We're really hoping to put together a good finish this weekend. It's been a tough four races for the Phillips 66 team and we're ready to move on. Maybe the track that's "too tough" will help us in turning around our luck." -- Tim Fedewa, driver of the Phillips 66 Chevrolet

Tim Fedewa's Thoughts on Darlington . . . "Darlington is a uniquely-shaped track. It's one of only a handful of tracks that's not symmetrical. It's egg-shaped which tends to be a challenge, especially for rookies. It's the oldest track the series visits, so it has a fairly coarse surface. The good thing is that there is more than one racing groove which provides more options when it comes to setting up the race car. It's up to the driver to determine which groove is going to work best when it comes to qualifying and race set-up. Only 43 drivers will make up the starting field at Darlington. Most drivers consider the track itself to be the 44th competitor. People always talk about how drivers have to race the track at Darlington. It's true. Turn four sweeps pretty wide and the cars are literally inches from the wall at the exit of the turn. The set-up on the race car is usually right on the edge of being out of control. Handling is everything at Darlington."

Equipment . . . "Hillbilly" is the car Fedewa will wheel around Darlington Raceway this weekend. "Hillbilly" is one of the oldest cars in the Phillips 66 Racing stables. The Phillips 66 team scored a fifth-place finish at Darlington one year ago with "Hillbilly." "Hillbilly's" 2000 season list of accolades also includes a third-place finish at Bristol and a pair of fourth-place finishes at Dover and Rockingham.

Fedewa Fact . . . Darlington Raceway is the track where Fedewa scored his first career Busch Series pole award. He accomplished that feat during the spring event in 1995.

Text provided by Penny Copen

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