After a long absence from the Southwest Series Craig Raudman is ready to get back in the driver's seat. He will be competing in the Coors Light 125 at Cajon Speedway in El Cajon, California. The 37-year-old driver will again be teaming up with long-time partner, Dave Reed Racing.

Even though Raudman has not been busy racing his own cars, his Victory Circle chassis shop has been keeping him absorbed with work.

RacingWest: If you were at the Copper World, do you still have a car to race at Cajon?
Craig Raudman: As we announced earlier this year, Dave Reed Racing will be running a limited schedule of Southwest Series and Winston West events for the 1999 season. Cajon will be our first event this season.

RW: How has your team used their "free time" with almost 2 months between races?
CR: I've been extremely busy running Victory Circle, and Dave Reed has had his hands full running Advantage Memory. It's been a busy winter for all of us, but we're really looking forward to getting out on the track.

RW: What do you like the most about racing at Cajon?
CR: Cajon is a true short track, and I really like short-track racing. Also, my first Southwest Series came at Cajon.

RW: On a scale of 1 to 10 what would you rate Cajon overall?
CR: An 8 based on the fact that it's a good short track and because it has recently been re-paved.

RW: How will your team be the "team to beat" in Cajon?
CR: We're rested and motivated, re-energized and re-grouped. I'll be racing a car that has some new features on it that we've recently developed (at Victory Circle). We've come out with a new front-end geometry for the touring-type cars that we recently tested at Mesa Marin, and we'll have it on this car.

RW: Will you be excited to get back to the short tracks?
CR: As important as super-speedways are to the sport, I do like short-track racing. It's everything NASCAR is known for...side-by-side, fender rubbing action from green flag to checkered flag. There's a lot of strategy and intimidation factors that go on that you don't experience on the super-speedways.

RW: Will your team be using a different racecar for this short track than it did in Phoenix?
CR: We didn't run at Phoenix, but, if we had, we'd be using a different car, a short track car. The cars are designed differently for short tracks vs. speedways, in terms of body, balance of the car and some of the suspension parts.

RW: Does qualifying matter here?
CR: Yes, definitely, it's a tight track and hard to pass. You definitely want to start within the first three rows.

RW: What's your favorite memory of you racing at Cajon or racing in general at Cajon?
CR: Of course winning my first Southwest Series race at Cajon was great, but something funny happened the next year (1996). At Cajon that year, my brother won the pole, the inversion had me start in first place, and he won therace.
The very next week, at Altamont, exactly the opposite happened. I won the pole, he started first (after the inversion) and I won the race. So, we always have that funny memory of Cajon to look back on.

RW: Do you have any new sponsors or team members you'll be introducing at Cajon?
CR: We've promoted Tracy Norman to crew chief for the 1999 season. Mark Lundgren, who also works at VC, will join us for event. Jerry Marsh and Dan Tandle will also be there.

RW: Will you or your team be enjoying the sites in San Diego, and if so, which ones?
CR: Definitely not. We may try to squeeze in a nice dinner, but we plan to concentrate on the race.

RW: What hotels do you recommend?
CR: I would recommend the Del, but it's a little pricey for the teams to stay at (including ours).

RW: What NASCAR official has the best sense of humor?
CR: I think it's a toss-up between Ray Judy and Mike Verlatti. We're looking forward to seeing all of you there!

Source: RacingWest
Posted: 3/22/99