NASCAR BGN: Tim Fedewa knows track position is everything at Bristol

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

March 22, 2001

"Bristol is a place where if you complete all the laps, then nine times out of 10 you're finishing in the top 10. If superspeedway races are considered to be high-speed chess matches, then Bristol is like a game of craps. There are a lot of things going on at the same time. It's pretty much survival of the fittest." -- Tim Fedewa, driver of the Phillips 66 Chevrolet

Tim Fedewa's Thoughts on Bristol . . . "Track position is everything at Bristol. It's real easy to go down a lap early at a track like Bristol if you start to far back in the pack. There are a few things I've learned to expect when going to Bristol. You'll see a lot of rubbing, bent sheet metal and plenty of yellow flags. That's just the nature of the beast when racing at a high-banked, half-mile bullring. Given all of that, it's still one of my favorite places to race. Most of us got our start on short tracks. Those are the kind of tracks where I've had the most success."

Crew Chief Donnie Richeson On Bristol . . . "Everybody outside of racing looks at Bristol and think it's a bump-and-run kind of race. They think it's just wide open and that the drivers just drive the wheels off the cars. It's really not. This is how a driver gets around the track because there's just not a lot of room on a half-mile track. That situation creates itself. A driver does have to be crafty and methodical. Drivers have to think and then project their moves. A driver has to be savvy when planning his passes on the track because if you catch the car in front of you and close right up on the bumper, then the guy in front will start blocking to keep you behind. That's how the accidents happen. However, if you sit back, analyze where you are better at on the track and then take advantage of the situation, you can get around Bristol without a lot of problems. It's kind of like watching a sea gull cruising the ocean looking for its prey. It's flying high above the water and then suddenly swoops down on its target. That's what a driver has to do to be successful at Bristol."

Equipment . . . "Twister's Sister" is the car Fedewa will compete with this weekend in the "Cheez-it 250" at Bristol Motor Speedway. This will mark "Twister's Sister's" first appearance at Bristol. "Twister's Sister" turned in some solid performances for the Phillips 66 team in 2000. It scored a pair of fourth-place finishes at Atlanta and Texas, as well as a pair of fifth-place finishes during the spring events at Charlotte and California.

Text provided by Penny Copen

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