SONOMA, California -- Looking to make another leap forward, Nick Lynch heads for Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California and Round 7 of the NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Southwest Series, Saturday, June 25.
"This will be the second time I have raced on this track," says Lynch, who hails from Burley, Idaho. "This marks the half-way point in this year's series and we are hoping for another strong finish to propel us even higher in the point's battle. But, truth be known, this is a tough event. First of all, it is the only road race circuit we run the entire season. Most of the time, we run on oval tracks with two left turns. Infineon is a 1.99 road course and each turn is different. You definitely need a strong vehicle and I think we have some advantage there. We tested earlier this season and that provided the crew with some extra knowledge. Lately, our No. 29 Mr. Gas Chevy has been really good and I think the same will be true this weekend. We finished in the top twenty last year. Now we want to do even better this time out."
Running 200 kilometers for 127.36 miles, drivers will certainly have the work cut out for them beginning with qualifying. "Since our race runs the same weekend as the Nextel Cup, a number of drivers will be looking to make the field," explains Lynch, "Including names like Michael Waltrip, Kyle Busch, Boris Said, Hermie Sadler and more are entered. It all adds up to a little more pressure and qualifying well will be all important. In the last two events, we have moved from 11th to 8th in the point standings and a strong finish here will help us achieve our goal. We have a two-hour practice on Friday morning and that should provide us with amble time to dial our Chevy in for both qualifying and the race.
A strong contender, Lynch is well versed is what is needed to finish in the top. "It takes a lot of patience," he says with a smile. And, that is something that can be tough. Your immediate reaction is to rush to the front, but that sometimes doesn't work. You need to pick your time for moving forward and you have to concentrate every second, ready to pounce when the guy in front of you makes a mistake. This is definitely a fast track and precision is important. Making a mistake is not what you want to do. Our whole team is definitely incredibly motivated and although you can't ever predict the outcome of a race, the one thing that's for sure is when the Green Flag flies, we will be ready to do our very best.
Qualifying for the Blue Lizard Australian Sunscreen "200" takes place on
Friday, June 24
At 1:30 PM and racers will take the Green Flag on Saturday at 1PM.
