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NASCAR WCUP: Skoal Racing Las Vegas Track Notes

4 March 1999

SCHRADERS THOUGHTS HEADING INTO THE LAS VEGAS 400:

After a so-so performance last year (the team took a provisional starting position and finished 21st), I believe that we can only move forward, said Schrader. Las Vegas Motor Speedway has an awesome race track. It is very smooth, with wide sweeping turns that allow the drivers to pass almost anywhere on the track.

CREW CHIEF SHOP TALK:

Rockingham was a good indication that the Skoal Racing team is on the right track for the 1999 season, said crew chief Sam Johns. We made gains at Rockingham, which was one of the tracks where the team needed to make improvements. We had a real competitive car, but we got a lap down after the race went green for so long, and we never got the chance to make up that lap. Had we been on the lead lap, I know we were a top-eight car.

Were taking a new car to Las Vegas. Although it hasnt been tested on the race track, it has been to the wind tunnel three times. We worked very hard on the down force and drag of the car, so we kept making changes and taking it back to see how the changes affected its performance at the wind tunnel. The implementation of RAD has been key in developing our aerodynamics package. Kenny Wallace and the Square D team tested at Las Vegas and they brought back valuable information about shocks. We learned some exciting information for Las Vegas and Ill be very surprised if we dont run well there.

EXCITING EXPEDITIONS:

Andy Petree, Ken Schrader and Kenny Wallace put on their helmets and protective equipment to compete in a 60-100 mile American Motorcycle Association Enduro in Columbia, S.C., on Sunday, February 28, 1999. All said they had a great time, but felt they needed different equipment to be competitive.

Following the Las Vegas 400, the Schraders and the Petrees will embark on a snowmobile trip in Montana. Schrader, his wife Ann, Petree and his wife Patrice will snowmobile Monday and Tuesday in Billings, Mont. The Petrees have never been snowmobiling, but said they are trusting the Schraders to show them the ropes on the slopes

NO. 33 SKOAL RACING TEAM:

The Skoal Racing team is currently third in the NASCAR Winston Cup point standings. This is the highest points position the team has had since Schrader and Petree joined forces in 1997.