Sharpie 500 - Christian Fittipaldi Notes

Christian Fittipaldi Notes, Quotes: Sharpie 500

‘Fast and challenging’

This weekend Christian Fittipaldi and the #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge team head to the .533-mile Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway for Saturday night’s Sharpie 500.

Saturday night will be Fittipaldi’s NASCAR Winston Cup race debut at the speedway but he will run the #9 Bugles/Wells Fargo Financial entry in Wednesday night’s Truck series race, and has tested at the high-banked speedway. He has also tested a Busch car at Bristol.

Fittipaldi will be driving a special Cheerios Heart Health Dodge for the three races beginning with Saturday night's event at Bristol. The car is being used as the kickoff to a special consumer promotion by Cheerios Racing, which will bring a race fan closer to the sport than ever before. Details are scheduled to be announced on Wednesday.

In the summer of 2002 Fittipaldi signed on to drive for the legendary Petty Enterprises. An open-wheel star, Fittipaldi, 33, is a two-time CART winner (California Speedway and Road America) and Formula One World Championship driver. Fittipaldi is the first-ever Brazilian native to run full time in NASCAR’s top series and is the only full-time NASCAR driver to have raced full-time in Formula One and CART.

The thoughts of #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge driver Christian Fittipaldi heading into Bristol:

“I don’t think you hear many drivers say this, but I actually like Bristol- so far. I haven’t been on the track with 42 other guys yet, and that’s going to be different, but I enjoyed testing on the track. Driving alone, it’s still a very challenging track. It’s really fast and it doesn’t seem like a second before you have already made a lap or even two.

“I got a good feel for the track and for the car when we tested. I think that in qualifying trim the qualifying speeds will be tremendous for such a short and demanding track. The high banks really allow the car to carry so much momentum around the track. It’s one of the most unique and most fun tracks to drive on the circuit so far. However, like I said, I haven’t raced with 42 other guys yet.

“It’s got the makings for a great Hollywood horror or thriller movie. Watching all of us race around the tight half-mile oval with nowhere to go. You just don’t know what’s going to happen next - where the next surprise is going to come from. I can see why the fans are on the edge of their seats. It’s an exciting place. I don’t know how excited I’ll be being in the middle of it all. I am sure it will keep me on the edge of my seat as well.

“It’s a fast track and things are going to happen fast. Tempers rise as quickly as cars spin at Bristol. It’s the nature of the game at short tracks. Everyone is vying for the same real estate and there just isn’t enough to go around sometimes. That’s what makes Bristol the place to be. It’s ‘under the lights’ short track racing and the fans love the excitement.

“I am ready to get to Bristol. We had a good test and I want to get back there and see if we can accomplish some of our goals. The first is to have to have a good day Friday in qualifying. We want to be up front so we don’t have to drive up through a lot of traffic on Saturday night. The second goal is to keep the car clean. If we can avoid the wrecks, and not beat up the car too much, we’ll be in pretty good shape.

“Speaking of keeping in shape, I am very excited to be driving a car promoting heart health and kicking off what is going to be a great promotion for race fans. It is the type of thing you can see only in NASCAR racing. Something like this in open wheel? No way. But I think a lot of fans are going to be very excited with the possibilities it offers. For me, the main thing is promoting heart health for everyone. As athletes, we all believe strongly in that. Aerobic exercise, coupled with a healthy diet, contributes very strongly to that. For me, it is running several miles every day and eating Cheerios."

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