“We’re approaching California with more optimism then we have had all year. We feel like we ran very well in Texas and I think we can run even better this week in California. It would be ideal if we could have a top 10 starting position and then stay up there all day with good pit stops and a good handling race car.”
Frank Stoddard, crew chief of Caterpillar Dodge
CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY
AUTO CLUB 500
BURTON ON RACING AT CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY…
“I think we are starting to get a grasp at what is aero and what is mechanical, both from a driver standpoint and crew chief standpoint. I feel like that is one area that we lost track of in the last couple of years. We used to be very strong in those areas and we let it get away from us. Seems that with some of the changes we have seen, that is with the aero anyway, that we can fix the aero looseness getting into the corners and then we just need to get the mechanical side of things working once we get to the track so the car will turn from the middle out. We are concentrating a lot on getting the car secure both entering and in the middle of the corner. I think we have a good opportunity to hit on something, something that will give the right feel so we can be consistent and run well, not just this weekend but every weekend.”
STODDARD ON THIS WEEK’S RACE IN CALIFORNIA…
“We raced at Las Vegas and left there very disappointed in how we ran. We made some changes to the car before heading to Texas and then went there and had a good qualifying run and backed it up with a good race finish. I got Ward on pit road too late and he spun getting onto pit road, which got us behind on the track. It was very hard to get back through traffic and had to settle for a 12th-place finish. But, I think we had a solid top-10 car all day.
“We’re taking our Texas car to California and are hopeful for at least the same results, but really expect better for us. I think it should be a good weekend for us. We’ve made a lot of progress in our speedway programs and it can only get stronger. Everyone has been working hard at finding every little bit that will help.”
CAT TEAM NOTES…
The Caterpillar team returns to Martinsville Speedway with the same car that they ran at Texas, where they started 33rd and finished 12th.
Ward Burton will make an appearance at Johnson Machinery in Riverside, Calif., on Thursday, April 24, where he will visit with CAT customers and dealers.
