Valvoline
Talladega Preview
NASCAR is reducing the size of the cars' fuel cells for
Sunday's Winston Cup
race at Talladega Superspeedway. Its impact is unpredictable
according to #10
Valvoline Pontiac driver Johnny Benson.
Benson said there could be twice as many pit stops as
normal. But if those stops are two, four or no tires will be
determined by crew chiefs as the race proceeds. No matter
what the result, Benson applauds Nascar for taking a step to
break up the large packs that lead to multi-car accidents on
the superspeedways.
Also this weekend, a version of the SAFER barrier installed
earlier this year at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, is in
place for Sunday's race. The track has installed the Steel
and Foam Energy Reduction system on the inside retaining
wall of its 2.66-mile oval, extending from the exit of Turn
4, along the main straightaway and trioval and into the
first turn - a distance of about 3,000 feet.
Benson On Fuel Cell Rule Impact
“I think pit stops are important every race but this weekend
they are going to
be extremely important. There are a lot of questions. Will
you do twice as many
stops during the race? Are you going to come in and do gas
only stops? Do you come in by yourself or in a group and how
big of group do you want? It will
also be interesting to see how long the field stays spread
out before it gets
back together. And that’s all if it goes green.
“I don’t think it will change the way we drive Talladega. I
think it will be
like it always is and that’s leave the gas pedal on the
floor all the way
around the track and race.
“I’m glad they did this. It is something we need to try.
Everybody wants a
change of some sort and this is a good way to try something
different that
doesn’t cost a ton of money for the race teams and won’t
ruin the show for the
fans”
Will It Change Strategy?
“Everybody will probably look at it differently. I think all
of us would like
to be up front the whole race, but by the same token I was
up front the last
two races there and got taken out in wrecks. I don’t think
it matters where you
are at at Talladega. You can be in a wreck anywhere on the
track.
“I hope this fuel cell rule will give the drivers a chance
to relax a little
bit and maybe get the field spread out. Then it might not be
so bad when later
in the race you are running three and four wide. Again, I
really don’t know how
this is going to work. I guess we will have to wait until
after the race and
see what the teams think and what the fans think.”
Benson on SAFER Barrier:
"It's great that Indianapolis and Talladega have taken us to
the next step in
safety. As a driver I'm glad NASCAR is right there
supporting them. This will
help driver safety now and even more so in the future as
more tracks use this
technology. I think at some point every racetrack in the
country if not the
world will go to something like this. I'm sure cost is a
factor but as this
technology becomes more and more available in the future I
think the cost will
go down and we will be able to afford installing it at most
places. I think
everyone will look at this.
“NASCAR is going in the right direction. Between the head
and neck systems, the data recorders in the cars and this
new system, NASCAR racing has taken steps to toward safety
that will also pay dividends in the future. You can never
make this sport totally safe but we should work to make it
safe as possible.”
Race Information
THE RACE: EA SPORTS 500
Winston Cup Race #30 of 36 for the 2002 Winston Cup season
Race: Sunday, October 6, 2002 in Talladega, AL
NOTE: Talladega is located in the Central Time Zone, all
times listed here are
in Eastern Time Zone (1 hour ahead)
TV: NBC - 1:00pm/et
Race re-air: TNT on Tues, Oct 8th at 1:00am/et; Speed
Channel on Wed, Oct 9th, 8:00pm/et; Thurs, Oct 10th,
1:00am/et
Pre-Race Show: NBC - 12:30pm/et - Hosted by Bill Weber
NASCAR.com's NASCAR on TV
Announcers: Allen Bestwick, Benny Parsons and Wally
Dallenbach
Pit Reporters: Bill Weber, Matt Yocum, Marty Snider, Dave
Burns
Purse/Race Awards: $4,158,532 (last year 3,535,901), plus a
possible 1 million
to a No Bull 5 Winner
2001 Race Winner: Dale Earnhardt Jr, 164.185mph, started 6th
Track Race Record: Mark Martin, May 1997, 188.354mph
Track/Race Length: 2.66 mile quad oval, 188 laps, 500.08
miles
Pit Road Speed: 55mph
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Practice
Practice: Friday, October 4th, 12:00noon - 2:00pm/et;
Saturday, October 5th,
10:30 - 11:15am/et.
Happy Hour Practice: Saturday, October 5, 12:15 - 1:00pm/et
on TV-Sports
Channel live.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Qualifying
Qualifying Draw: Friday, October 4th, 11:00am/et
Qualifying: 2 laps for positions 1-36, Friday, October 4th
at 4:05pm/et,
TV-Speed Channel and live via MRN Radio, XM Satellite Radio
and via
NASCAR.com's Racecast (paid). Re-air on Speed Channel at
8:00pm/et.
Track Qualifying Record(no restrictor plate): Bill Elliott,
April 1987,
212.809mph
Track Qualifying Record(Restrictor Plate): Bill Elliott, May
1990,
199.388(15/16th inch plate)
Event Qualifying Record: Bill Elliott, July 1986,
209.005mph(unrestricted)
Last Year's Pole Sitter: Stacy Compton, 185.240, finished
11th
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Track Specs:
Superspeedway: 2.66-mile trioval 48 feet wide (12-foot
apron)
Turns: Banking: 33 degrees Length: 3,750 feet Radius: 1,100
feet
Trioval: Banking: 18 degrees
Frontstretch: Chute length: 2,150 feet (from turn to middle
of trioval) Total
length: 4,300 feet Banking: Minimal for drainage only
Backstretch: Length: 4,000 feet Banking: Minimal for
drainage only (Talladega
Website) Grandstand Seating: 143,000
#10 Valvoline Pontiac Team Television Information
Pit Contact: James Ince or Drew Brown
Owner: Valvoline/MB2 Motorsports (Tom Beard, Nelson Bowers,
Read Morton)
Crew Chief/Car Chief: James Ince
Engine Builder: Hendrick Motorsports
Spotter Brian Dantinne
Engine Tuner: Ondre Rexford
Over The Wall Pit Crew
Gas Man: Jimmy Watts
Front Tire Changer: Richard Boyles
Front Tire Carrier: Steve Genenbacher
Catch Can: Steve Mann
Jackman: Rob Jones
Rear Tire Changer: Greg Burkhart
Rear Tire Carrier: Shane Cooke
Other Crew Members
Truck Driver: Jerry Hess
Shock Specialist: Mike Cluka
Tires: Jeff Johnson
Mechanic: Roy Gidland
Engineer: Tim Turner
Computers: John Hayes
Scorer: Terry Lane
PR Rep: Drew Brown |
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