Rookie Rick Ware and the Ware Motorsports crew are making the long haul from North Carolina to Las Vegas Motor Speedway. With the Orleans 150 just around the corner, they are all geared up for the event.

This will be Ware's second time to LVMS. Last November he made his series debut, qualifying 23rd and finishing the race in 14th position.

Racingwest: What's your favorite part about racing at the Vegas Motor Speedway and why?
Rick Ware: The larger the tracks, the better! I really enjoy the high speeds and the dicing are really what I love as a driver.

RW: How do you as a driver feel about the greater speeds involved with the big tracks?
Ware: LVMs is one of my favorite tracks. It's not as banked as Charlotte and Atlanta (my other favorites) but the speeds are similar. You get a sense of rhythem going that you don't scrub of speed. You can go 187mph into turn 1 without a lot of banking. The track is wide and has two grooves--it races well. It's just a great track when you can have 4-wide racing on the straights!

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?
Ware: Anytime you have a track with corners without steep banking and long sweeping corners, you better be in touch with your crew chief. I give "Bird" (crew chief) all of the info and hopefully it is what he wants to hear.

RW: How do you feel your shock program will stack up against the other teams?
Ware: Can I tell you about 8:30 Friday night? I believe it is a very good program for the race. We could use a little more R&D. We don't get a lot of practice time in Winston West so you better fine tune and scuff tires right away.

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?
Ware: It is no problem for me or most drivers as far as I feel. It is only a problem if the car is not set up right. You can kill tires pretty quick on radials.

RW: Which tire (Bias ply or Radial) are you most comfortable racing with and why?
Ware: I would rather be on radials everywhere we go. It is great to save tire money at short tracks, however, for the big cars and for trucks, a team that knows about radials will progress.

RW: What tire do you plan to use at the Vegas race, Hoosier or Goodyear?
Ware: Our associate sponsor is Hoosier Racing Tires. I wanted to build a relationship with a tire manufacturer. Hoosier's commitment to the radial tire in '99 excited me. I convinced Hoosier that we could contribute vital equipment and personnel to help achieve their R & D goals. Corporate and Hoosier West believed in us...now it's our turn to make them happy!

RW: With the chance of ARCA drivers, or drivers from other divisions, will that change your driving style when you are racing with them?
Ware: The more the better. I have raced in a lot of different series and you learn from everybody, every time! The biggest difference is learning how new people race.

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?
Ware: We need to win races and get points regardless who is watching.

RW: What is your goal, Win? Exposure? Experience?
Ware: Stay out of trouble and win the race! You haven't heard that before have you? As a southeastern team, we need all the exposure and experience we can get. That's the only way you can progress in this sport. The problem is there are 40+ drivers that have the same need.

Source: RacingWest
Posted: 3/3/99