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NASCAR BGN: Randy Lajoie prepares for Sam's Club 200 at Rockingham

18 October 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

Randy LaJoie
Driver, No. 1 Bob Evans Restaurants Chevrolet Monte Carlo
NASCAR Busch Series, Grand National Division
Event Preview Fact Sheet


Event: Sam's Club 200
Track: North Carolina Speedway
Track Specs: Length -- 1.017-mile oval
LaJoie Looks Ahead to the Sam's Club 200:

"Rockingham is very hard on your tires -- that's a given. In a couple of laps, your tires are junk, plain and simple because the track just wears them down.

"The guy with the best shock package will win the race hands down. If you can get your car to handle well on a certain shock package, it's not as rough on the tires. You're really only talking about saving them (tires) for a few more laps, but that might just be the last two or three laps of the race where it counts.

"Having a car that handles well takes some pressure off the driver, but it's ultimately up to him to save the car until the end of the day.

Here, (Rockingham) the driver plays a bigger part of the equation. It's definitely not like last weekend's Winston Cup race at Talladega (Ala.), where the driver is a passenger."

Text Provided By DeLana Linville

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