John Metcalf is ready to attack the Orleans 150 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 5th. Metcalf, who currently leads the Sears Point Raceway Rookie-of-the-Year points chase, has never competed in a Winston West Series event at LVMS, but does have extensive time behind the wheel of a Featherlite Southwest Series car at the 1.5-mile track.

In addition to the SWS experience on super-speedways, he recently completed at ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series event at the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway, where he finished 13th. The cars used in ARCA Competition use similar rules to the Winston West Series.

RacingWest: What's your favorite part about racing at the Vegas Motor Speedway and why?
John Metcalf: This is one of the nicest facilities we race at. I enjoy the track and racing on a 1.5 track.

RW: How do you as a driver feel about the greater speeds involved with the big tracks?
JM: It is a great rush and I love the speed on a bigger track.

RW: How much input do you as a driver give your crew chief as far as changes that need to be made on the chassis?
JM: We talk a lot about the set up and we put our heads together for the set up and we both have input.

RW: How do you feel your shock program will stack up against the other teams?
JM: Our shock program is very strong and we feel it is the best.

RW: Is the transition from Bias ply tires used on the short tracks to the radials used on the speedways a difficult one for you?
JM: No

RW: Which tire (Bias ply or Radial) are you most comfortable racing with and why?
JM: Radial- they are ver a lot safer tire and there is no guessing on the stagger.

RW: What tire do you plan to use at the Vegas race, Hoosier or Goodyear and why?
JM: Goodyear- they have the best tire out there.

RW: With the chance of ARCA drivers, or drivers from other divisions, will that change your driving style when you are racing with them?
JM: No change, I will just try to be aggressive and drive smart.

RW: With Winston Cup and Busch car owners watching the race and possibly scouting, will you change your driving style to "show off" for the car owners?
JM: No

RW: What is your goal, Win? Exposure? Experience?
JM: My goal is to win the race and also be Rookie of the Year for the Winston West Series. Each race we gain experience and learn from mistakes. Our ultimate goal to keep moving up divisions until we get to the top. We also race to get the exposure for RE/MAX and we have found motorsports to be a terrific way to accomplish this goal.

RW: Will you be doing any appearances for the fans at Vegas, if so where can they find you?
JM: We will be at the pits and fans are welcome to come buy a T-Shirt for $5.00 and I will sign and give out Hero Cards. We are staying at the MGM Grand Hotel. We may have a Show Car on the grandstand side, so look for it there.

Source: RacingWest
Posted: 2/26/99