DAYTONA BEACH, Florida -- After starting the season strong, Jim Inglebright (No. 20 Jelly Belly/NAPA Chevrolet) found himself trying to overcome a string of bad luck in his first full season in the NASCAR Grand National Division, Winston West Series.
He hopes to turn his season around when the series returns to Phoenix International Raceway for the Phoenix 150 on Sunday, Oct. 5. The $143,514 event is to be televised to a national audience on the SPEED Channel cable network – airing on a tape-delay basis at 9 a.m. ET on Saturday, Oct. 25.
Inglebright began the season with a third-place finish in the season opener at Phoenix in February. The 41-year-old driver from Fairfield, Calif., followed that up with a win in Las Vegas in April – propelling him into first in the championship standings. He failed to crack the top five in the next seven races, however, and slipped as far as ninth place in the point standings.
“We’ve just struggled,” Inglebright said. “It’s not that we’re not running well. I’ve been running top five and just had things happen. The only place we just flat missed the set up was Monroe. Every place else, I think there’s been contributing factors.”
Inglebright says there is only one way to deal with a run of bad luck in racing. “You’ve just got to keep your head up and keep marching,” he stressed. “That’s what I keep telling my guys. It’s not that we’re doing anything wrong. It’s just the way it is. There is so much in this sport that you cannot control.
“A lot of guys come unraveled once they start running on some bad luck,” Inglebright said. “There’s a lot more bad luck in racing than there is good luck. You’ve just got to keep digging.”
Based on his success in other NASCAR divisions at Phoenix International Raceway, Inglebright may find a return to PIR a perfect remedy to turn his season around. He won a major NASCAR event there in the NASCAR Elite Division, Featherlite Southwest Series in 1999 – as well as scoring three other top-five finishes in that series at PIR between 1995 and 1998. He has also competed at Phoenix twice in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
“Phoenix was the very first track where I raced a Southwest Series car,” Inglebright recalled. “We ran well there. For some reason I have adapted well to that race track.”
The key to getting around the one-mail, D-shaped track is maintaining momentum, said Inglebright. “You’ve got to keep momentum. I don’t use a lot of brake at Phoenix. You’ve got to let it roll. With these heavier cars, you’ve got to roll out of the gas a little earlier. It’s all about getting through the corner.”
Getting a good finish requires some added care, meanwhile, Inglebright said. “You need to keep the fenders on it and stay out of trouble,” he stressed. “We actually struggled at the first of the year there. We were dead last and were able to work on the car and get it up to third. You’ve got to take care of your car. You’ve got to be patient there. You have to stay focused. If you can keep your concentration all day and hit your marks, then you usually do pretty good.”
Although he is familiar with PIR, Inglebright will get his first look at some recent changes made to the track in turn two. “I know they moved the wall out in two. I think it’s going to be a lot faster. That will pick us up, because you will be able to carry more speed into turn one. That’s going to be interesting. I’m looking forward to it.”
Inglebright says the alteration should be a welcome change for most competitors. “I think it’s going to be a lot nicer for a driver,” he said. “That wall coming off turn two was real intimidating. At least it was for me. I’ve hit it a couple of times and it didn’t feel very good. So, I’m real glad they’ve moved that.”
