Jeff Hensley was the winning crew chief in 2006 with Mike Skinner (No. 5 PC*Miler Navigator Toyota) when the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series became the first to race on Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s reconfigured track. He calls the shots for Brian Scott this season.
What makes Las Vegas Motor Speedway different from the other 1.5-mile tracks on which the series competes?
“It’s got (more) grip. When we first got there in the new configuration it was as smooth as a tabletop. Now there’s a pretty harsh bump over the tunnel in turns one and two that you have to work your way through. During the race it’s not near as critical as qualifying or trying to cut a good lap.”
Does a certain type of driver excel at LVMS?
“I think an aggressive driver does real well there. If the truck is working like it should, it’s a multi-groove track during the race and you can drive the thing hard and you don’t have to worry about tire issues.”
How will pit strategy play into the race?
“You don’t have to depend on the (new) tires to pick you up as we do at some tracks and the give-up is not near as much so you can play a fuel strategy. Last year was my first race with Brian and we weren’t that good to start the race so we made a couple of pit stops and some adjustments and by the end of the race we were good.”
How important is track position vs. other speedways?
“It’s important but not as important as it would be at a Texas or Charlotte where you run right on the bottom. When we won there in ‘06 with Skinner, we played a little bit of fuel mileage. We got inside our window and we pitted and we didn’t come back. The place lends itself to a lot of green-flag racing so you’ve got to look at all that. In Chicago, track position was important because you got really tight behind people. At Vegas, you can move up a groove and you won’t have to run in the tire tracks of the other guy.”
The gear ratio has been changed from last year. How will that affect your race?
“It actually changed the truck that I wanted to carry there because with the higher gear, you’re not going to be able to get out of the gas. You’ve got to have a downforce, side force truck. It might trouble qualifying a little bit and that seems to be our MO anyway but when the race starts, you can stay on the gas and run it wide open and drive to front.”
