NASCAR BGN: Fedewa looks to be a repeat winner at New Hampshire

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

May 9, 2001

"Anytime drivers win a race at a track, that track instantly becomes one the their favorites. We won last year at New Hampshire and that track is now one of my favorites. I like going back as the defending race winner and hope to be the track's first two-time winner."- Tim Fedewa

Tim Fedewa's Thoughts On New Hampshire . . . "I feel confident at all the one-mile tracks, especially going into this weekend. We're coming into a stretch of one-mile tracks that I consider my tracks. That reflects on me as well as the team. New Hampshire is a tough track though. It's hard on brakes because the straightaways are pretty long and the drivers have to get on the breaks when heading into the narrow turns. It's just a tough track to grasp. Every year it seems there's something new the teams are trying to figure out. We have the new tire this year, and we're still trying to get used to it. The set up we had last year may not mean a lot this year. So we're going to have to be versatile."

Equipment . . . "Fido" is the car Fedewa will compete with this weekend in the "CVS Pharmacy 200" at New Hampshire International Speedway. This is "Fido's" first event in the 2001 NASCAR Busch Series season. "Fido" is the car the Phillips 66 team won the pole with during the 2000 fall race at Richmond. The team finished that event in fourth place.

Remembering Adam Petty . . . Fedewa won the 2000 New Hampshire 200 in dominant fashion by winning from the pole. Although Fedewa celebrated in victory lane, he did so with a heavy heart. It was at New Hampshire one year ago when Adam Petty was killed in an on-track accident during practice. As Fedewa prepares for the upcoming weekend and anniversary of Petty's death, he recalls a special memory he shared with Adam.

"It was just a few weeks before the New Hampshire race that we rode in the Kyle Petty Charity Ride together," Fedewa recalled. "We joked around a lot because here was this tall, skinny kid riding this big Harley Davidson his dad had given him. It's sad this time of the year now. I feel for the family. It has to be tough going into the next few weeks. It's that time of the year and everybody is starting to reflect. Every year at this time, there will be an empty spot."

Text provided by Penny Copen

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