Samsung/Radio Shack 500 - Kyle Petty Notes

Kyle Petty Notes, Quotes: Samsung/Radio Shack 500

‘Hold-on, hope-for-the-best type racing’

Kyle Petty and the #45 Georgia-Pacific/Brawny Dodge team head to the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway this week for Sunday’s Samsung/Radio Shack 500. The track has been one of the fastest on the NASCAR Winston Cup circuit.

Petty, 42, will be making his 652nd career start this weekend. He is 11th on the all-time list in NASCAR Winston Cup career starts, and fourth among active drivers. His eight career victories place him 45th on NASCAR’s all-time list in Winston Cup wins. One of the most recognizable names in international motorsports, as is his sponsor, Georgia-Pacific, Petty’s driving career began with a five-race season in 1979. The native of Level Cross, N.C., has won nearly $16 million.

The thoughts of Georgia-Pacific Dodge driver Kyle Petty heading into Texas:

“If you like fast . . . if you like a lot ‘hold on and hope for the best’ type racing . . . and if you like a lot of cars running on the ragged edge . . . you’re probably going to love what you see at Texas this weekend.

“The place was fast to begin with, and then you take the changes they have made the past couple of years . . . well . . . it’s become even easier to go fast. It’s not like we’re going to be giving the Indy cars a run for their money or anything but, for stock cars, it’s going to be a pretty fast pace.

“Basically, we drive race cars. We’re supposed to go fast. That’s what this whole deal is all about. I figure the first car race came the first time two cars were close together. From the start, it was a ‘my car is faster than your car’ kind of deal. That hasn’t changed. It’s still trying to find the fastest car out there. Drag racers do it from here to there. We do it from here to 500 miles over there.

“There are lot of things involved but it still comes down to who can get from the first green flag to the checkered flag 500 miles later. First one there wins. The trick is what you need to do to get there first.

“Being fast takes a lot. The most powerful engine in the field isn’t going to win for you if you can’t get through the turns. Getting through the turns better than anybody else isn’t going to win for you if you don’t have the engine for the straightaways. Having all of those isn’t going to win for you if the engine can’t last 500 miles or your setup goes away after 200 miles. It takes a lot of different things, all working together.

“Everything worked out fairly well last year, the first year with the ‘one-engine rule.’ Engines really got a test but, for the most part, everybody prepared for it and they were ready. Still, you have to play it smart throughout the weekend. You want to get as much practice as you can but you don’t want to do it at the expense of your engine on Sunday. Not only do you need a good engine on Sunday, you need it to last all 500 miles.

“Think about how long that engine is running and how far it goes. Let’s say you really take it easy, run 20 laps of practice Friday, qualifying, and run 40 laps of practice Saturday. That’s 100 miles before you even start the race. That’s a pretty big toll on an engine. So you can see why it helps to have Mike Ege Racing Engines putting ours together and taking care of them. A good engine program has always been at a premium at Texas; with the ‘one-engine rule,’ it’s even bigger.

“It’s going to be a combination of things that make this Georgia-Pacific Dodge team successful at Texas, and everybody is going to have to be on top of his game. It’s going to be a good weekend . . . and a fast one.”

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