NASCAR WCUP: Crew Chiefs comment of Martinsville racing, improvements

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

April 8, 2001

JIMMY MAKAR, CREW CHIEF, NO. 18 INTERSTATE BATTERIES PONTIAC GRAND PRIX:

(ON TIRE STRATEGY FOR SUNDAY) "It's nothing to run 150 or 200 laps on tires here, so I've got a hunch that that is what you're going to have to do. You're going to have to stay out and keep track position because it is probably going to be very tough to pass. The tires are probably not going to give up speed, so it's not going to matter whether you come in and get four tires or not. You're going to be able to run the same speed, so track position is going to be very important."

(ON THE WIDER PIT ROAD) "It looks like they made a lot of improvements to it. It's wider. It looks like it's got two full grooves to come down pit road on, so that is going to help a lot. We shouldn't have to worry as much about somebody pulling out in front of you and then having to stop because of that."

(WHAT IS THE KEY FOR SUNDAY?) "What we saw at Bristol could happen here, too. I've got a feeling you're going to see a good bit a caution flag laps - especially towards the end of the race. You're going to have to have track position. That is going to be the key."

JAMES INCE, CREW CHIEF, NO. 10 EAGLE ONE PONTIAC GRAND PRIX:

(ARE YOU ALREADY PLANNING STRATEGY FOR SUNDAY?) "I think basically you have to react to it when the time comes to react to it. This is one of those places where track position actually means way more than speed does, so we want to make sure we get the car good and then react to whatever we've got to react to on Sunday. I don't know what that is at this point."

(HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHEN TO TAKE NO TIRES OR TWO TIRES FOR TRACK POSITION AND WHEN TO TAKE FOUR?) "You always want to put yourself in a position that when you take your two or take your none that it cycles out right for you at the end of the race, so you don't have many laps on those tires. A lot of that depends on how the cautions go, and really what everybody else does. That's what you've got to watch."

(SOUNDS LIKE KIND OF A HEADACHE FOR YOU ON SATURDAY NIGHT?) 'Oh yeah, but it's a lot of fun."

Text provided by Al Larsen

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