ERIC HARDIN LOOKS FORWARD TO RETURN TO DOUGLAS COUNTY SPEEDWAY

Source: NASCAR
Date: 06/27/2007

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida – As a rookie in the NASCAR Grand National Division, West Series last year – Eric Hardin (No. 5 Alta Dena Dairy Chevrolet) was getting his first look at many tracks on the circuit. Hardin’s experience is paying off this season, in knowing what to expect as he returns to tracks he competed on last year.

“It helps a ton with the tracks that I’ve been to and it’s pretty clear in my results and how we’ve been finishing this season that we struggled more on the tracks that I haven’t been on,” said Hardin, who registered two top-five and three top-10 finishes in the first six races this year. “It just takes longer to figure them out,” he said of a first-time visit to a track.

The experience gained as a rookie helps in various ways, according to Hardin. “For me, it’s really beneficial – just knowing where to be on the track and braking points and things like that,” he said. “It helps us get more time to work on the actual car, rather than work on me as the driver. I’m excited about going to these tracks that I’ve been to.”

Hardin hopes the trend continues as the Grand National West Series returns to Douglas County Speedway for the BI-MART Firecracker 150 presented by NAPA Auto Parts in Roseburg, Ore., on Saturday, June 30.

Although he had an 11th-place finish at the fairgrounds facility last year, Hardin admits to struggling on tracks of that size as a rookie. He hopes to have that effort turned around, however. “We’ve got them figured out a little bit more than I did last year,” he said. “That’s definitely encouraging.”

Hardin has been encouraged by his team’s success this year, as they benefit from the experience as well. “We’re a lot more prepared this season than we were last year,” he said. “That’s a huge part of it.”

His game plan for Roseburg, meanwhile, will be similar to the season opener at Texas, he said. “I’m going to approach Roseburg just like Texas and keep an open mind, look for a finish and shoot for a top-five,” he said.

Racing on a tight, semi-banked track such as Roseburg does require special discipline, according to Hardin. “You have to make sure not to overdrive the car,” he said. “It took me a long time to figure that out.”

In addition to his on-track success this year, Hardin has enjoyed the support of new sponsorship from Alta Dena Dairy.

“Without them, obviously, we wouldn’t be able to be out there,” he said. “It’s been great. It’s made the whole experience a lot different and a lot more enjoyable. We have guests from the dairy and their customers at almost all of our events. It’s been really cool to get all those people out there and be around it. They’re a great group of people.”

See Also .:

• Eric Hardin Driver Card
• Douglas County Speedway Track Page

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