Austin Cameron of El Cajon, Calif., will be pulling double duty at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend. Not only will the 22-year-old be competing in the Orleans 150 Winston West Series event, but he will also undertake the task of making the Las Vegas 400 Winston Cup Series field on Sunday as well.

Cameron will face a long weekend of tough competition. With 44 drivers Winston West Series drivers entered for the Orleans 150 and over 50 cars for the Winston Cup Series, he is setting the bar high, but within his reach.

RacingWest: What's your favorite part about racing at the Vegas Motor Speedway and why?
Austin Cameron: My favorite part of racing at Vegas is first of the entire city, and most important is the wonderful facility that offers so much for us racers.

RW: How do you as a driver feel about the greater speeds involved with the big tracks?
AC: I love the greater speeds because it really separates the men from the boys, to go fast at Vegas you have to lay it all out on the line and that is what I really like.

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?
AC: It's really a group effort but 90% of the changes are made from the driver input. The other 10% is kind of a luck deal if someone has a hunch then we go with it.

RW: How do you feel your shock program will stack up against the other teams?
AC: My team and I have been studying the shock program extensively and taking numerous classes to be more in tune with the shocks. Overall I feel very confident about the shock program.

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?
AC: It's really not that big of a deal, the only big factor is that with radial tires you can't burn the tires off, they won't come back if you are too abusive.

RW: Which tire (Bias ply or Radial) are you most comfortable racing with and why?
AC: Goodyear is the tire that I am going to stick with this whole season. Goodyear’s Radial program is by far superb and they are really trying to do the same with the bias tire program as well. I have good feelings about both Goodyear's bias tire and radial.

RW: What tire do you plan to use at the Vegas race, Hoosier or Goodyear and why?
AC: Goodyear. We really like the way the radial performs on the big track I think they have more experience as well as knowledge about the super-speedway program.

RW: With the chance of ARCA drivers, or drivers from other divisions, will that change your driving style when you are racing with them?
AC: No not at all, in fact if I have to change my driving style at all then we will be out to lunch. Everybody just has to race with their head screwed on straight. We all race the same; it doesn't matter what division we are all from.

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?
AC: I think my driving style doesn't have to change at all. I just have to be really patient with the race and not get to aggressive and let things interfere. I am really enthusiastic about possible scouting going on because this is my shot. It will also help that I am going to try and make the Winston cup race on Sunday!

RW: What is your goal, Win? Exposure? Experience?
AC: All three are my goals but we all have to approach them in different styles. Winning will come as long as the other two happen. The NASCAR game really focuses in on drivers as people and attitudes as well as on the track performance. So it is important to be affluent in all aspects of the racing world.

Source: RacingWest
Posted: 2/28/99