Dodge/Save Mart 350 - Christian Fittipaldi Notes

Christian Fittipaldi Notes, Quotes: Dodge 350K

Stock Car Rookie; Road Course Veteran

This weekend Christian Fittipladi, driver of the #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge, will qualify and race a stock car for the first time on a road course, tackling the 1.949-mile Infineon Raceway located in Sonoma, Calif.

Fittipaldi is no stranger to road courses, having raced on the world’s most technical and difficult road courses in Formula One and CART competition. Fittipaldi will be making his fifth career NASCAR Winston Cup start but first on any road course in a stock car. It is the NASCAR Winston Cup Series’ first road course visit on the 2003 schedule - the series will race on the circuit’s other road course in Watkins Glen, N.Y., later this summer.

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

The thoughts of Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge driver Christian Fittipaldi heading into Infineon:

“This weekend will definitely be different, but it will be more of what I am used to. It is a road course and that will help but I really can’t look at it that way because I have been here in America for a while now. I have raced a lot of road courses, and ovals too, just not so much in these type of cars. I have a lot of experience in single-seat cars, and maybe because of that running a road course will be more familiar. Still, it is going to be a new experience.

“A stock car is going to be completely different. A stock car on a road course is something so different than what I have ever driven before. We tested at a road course in Virginia (V.I.R.) last week and I learned a lot. I am looking forward to trying to learn more this weekend.

“During testing, when I first started out it was hard. I found it hard to make the car stop, and found it hard to turn as well. I had to learn the limitations of the car. If you have raced one type of car for so long, you have to start over and learn how to do things a different way. It was strange when I made my first few laps with the car.

“Like many things, once you get used to what you can and cannot do with the car, it is easier. I was really impressed with the way the gears worked. They are awesome in stock cars and I was hardly using the clutch. I was amazed how easily I could up-shift and down-shift.

“Shifting with the car might be my best advantage this weekend. It’s almost second-nature to me. I have grown up with the cars you have to shift. Am I going to be 100 percent ready for Sears Point this weekend? I don’t know. I can be as ready as I can be, but I still have a lot to learn with these cars. I do feel comfortable shifting.

“It seems to me that Sears Point can put me on more of an equal footing with some of these other guys out there. I also think it will level out the rest of the field. There will be guys that will be good, guys that have always been good on road courses, but it might be a bit more biased to seasoned road course drivers. I want to try to take advantage of my experience.

“Racing the car will be a little bit different for me, but I am excited. Once I understand the nature of the car I think I will be all right. I am looking forward to getting back on a road course. I grew up on road courses and I want to get back in this #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge and see what I can do.”

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