NASCAR BGN: Fedewa believes in stategy when racing at Charlotte

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

May 23, 2001

Strategy can come into play at Charlotte. I doubt we'll see anybody do two-tire stops after watching some of the races during the past couple seasons, but we may see people try to gamble with their fuel mileage. We're coming off a good finish at Nazareth and would like to get the ball rolling up hill for Phillips 66." -- Tim Fedewa, driver of the Phillips 66 Chevrolet

Tim Fedewa's Thoughts On Charlotte . . . "Charlotte is a difficult track to get a grasp of because it changes so much. It's super sensitive to the weather and the sun. It's typically a faster track during the morning session. It gets slower as the day goes on, and it's pretty slick by the time qualifying starts. It's good racing at Charlotte though. It's considered one of the premier events on the Busch Series schedule, and it's home. Next to Daytona, this is one of the biggest and busiest weeks of the year."

Crew Chief Donnie Richeson On Charlotte . . . "Charlotte is one of those tracks that tends to be a big question mark. Cloud cover and sun dramatically change the track and the way the car responds. It can be a chassis nightmare. The crew has to be able to adjust the car with the changing track conditions. Typically, there aren't a lot of cautions, so we have to have a car that handles well on the long runs."

Equipment . . . "Willard" is the Phillips 66 Chevrolet Fedewa will wheel around Lowe's Motor Speedway this weekend in the Carquest Auto Parts 300. "Willard" is the same car the Phillips 66 team won with at Michigan Speedway in 2000.

Last Weekend In Nazareth . . . Fedewa improved his Busch Series record at Nazareth Speedway by finishing fifth in the Nazareth 200 last weekend. The fifth-place finish was Fedewa's fourth top five and seventh top 10 at the one-mile track.

"We fell a little short of the win, but the Phillips 66 car was good," Fedewa said. "The car was just a little tight during the early part of the race. It got tighter during the last half of the race. Track position is everything at Nazareth and that's why we elected to stay out during the last caution. It paid off and we left with a top-five finish."

Text provided by Penny Copen

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