ROAD COURSE RINGERS AT INFINEON

Source: Jeff Dennsion
Date: 06/17/2008

Marc Mitchell, Driver of the #15 Ergon Toyota in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series:

“Growing up, watching races at Infineon during the ‘90s, there used to only be a handful of drivers who stood a legitimate chance of winning. There were a few of the Sprint Cup regulars that mastered the right-hand turns, but there were a lot of drivers who had trouble staying on the course. That’s why road course ringers got a reputation as the ones to beat – you knew they were going to stay on course.

“Nowadays, nearly the whole Sprint Cup field is a threat to win on a road course. Guys like Jeff Gordon, Montoya, Stewart and Robby Gordon are the ones to beat. The road course ringers are trying to keep up with them now.”

Bobby Labonte, Driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series:

“It goes to show that it’s not easy for these guys to come in, without a lot of time in the cars or practice, and run well. A guy like Boris (Said), he’s been in the Cup cars at different tracks besides Infineon and Watkins Glen. He knows the characteristics of these cars. A guy who’s coming in for a one-off race, no, it’s not that easy. They have a lot of road racing skill, maybe better than most of us, but they don’t have that time with the cars.

“Robby Gordon and Juan Montoya are the best now. They have had so much time on road courses, but also have had a lot of seat time in these Cup cars. That makes a huge difference. It’s going to be tough for any ’ringer’ to come in and win without some time in these cars.”

Jeff Anton, Driver #30 Chevrolet in the Camping World East Series:

“Well, the point is, these stock cars are heavy. They have a lot of roll in them, and I know the new Cup cars do that too. It’s like ‘old’ school and ‘new’ school. Today’s Cup cars, they are more ‘old’ school. They have a lot of roll. They feel out of control. A ‘ringer’, sure, he can be out of control for one qualifying lap in these cars. He probably likes that feel. But, you try and do that for a long race– it’s not that easy. That is why you don’t see the results.

“Our cars in the East Series, they are stiffer. We have a bar and stiffer springs as our race package. It takes some time to learn. Then, if you move up to Cup, you have to go back to a car that rolls a lot more. It’s hard for us, and it has to be near impossible for a non-Cup regular to put a whole race together.”

John Andretti, Driver #24 Roth Racing Dallara-Honda in the IndyCar Series:

“It is easier to jump into a Cup car on a road course. There are very few guys who can win on a road course because there are very few guys who have much experience on a road course. Then you take guys that are really good at it who have little experience like Tony Stew­art and Jeff Gordon who have gotten most or essentially their entire road racing experience in a stock car by jumping in the deep end, and have gained tremendous ability. It would be much more difficult to jump to the Indy Car because they have the oval experience and road course experience because the season is so split between all those kinds of races.

“In the stock cars, there are only two road races a year. Some guys don’t work that hard at it because they don’t consider those two races as being the “make or break” deal. My idea is that when everybody is weaker, that is when you should be attacking it. Some drivers have gone after it to get better and better. Jeff Burton has made the effort to get better. He says, ‘I may never be a great road racer, but I can be a very good one going to them and getting good results’. He has done that.”

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