Brickyard 400 - Greg Sacks Notes

GREG SACKS NOTES, QUOTES: Brickyard 400
Important race for now . . . and for future

The only NASCAR team based in the same city as the home of stock car racing’s world sanctioning body heads to one of its most unique tracks this weekend. Greg Sacks and the #13 ARC Dehooker/Vita Coca Dodge team are set for Sunday’s Brickyard 400 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at the two-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Daytona Speed, Inc., which fields Sacks’ car, is preparing for a strong charge throughout this year and into next season in NASCAR’s top series. The team is planning on a full-schedule, two-car effort in 2005 following a limited schedule the rest of this year.

Because the team has minimal car owner points, provisional starting spots are virtually impossible to obtain. Sacks and the team are forced to make each race by virtue of its qualifying speed, which is did this past weekend in the Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono. Others found ways into the field by provisionals; the ARC Dehooker/Vita Coca Dodge found their way in through strong competition.

Sacks, the only Long Island, N.Y., native in racing’s most popular series, drives the Dodge for the team owned by himself, Ed Raabe and James Wilsberg. Sacks, a former NASCAR Nextel Cup winner at Daytona International Speedway, is well known throughout the racing world as a winner in every series he has attempted. From his championship days of NASCAR Modified racing – which many consider the most exciting stock car racing – to his major league days, the Mattituck, N.Y., native who now lives in Port Orange, Fla., has never failed to prove his talents.

Ed and Ann Raabe, commercial and residential contractors, head the marketing ventures of the team through their family-owned Anga M’hak Publishing, along with the team’s Director of Marketing, veteran Rick Turbin.

James Wilsberg, owner of Mattituck Plumbing and Supplies, was also the owner/crew chief of the now famous Wilsberg #5 car piloted by Greg Sacks. In 1982 together they took the Modified Series by storm racking up an incredible 28 wins in 38 races. As Sacks recently said, “What excites me the most about having Jamie with us is that he brings his own winning attitude and formula for success to our organization”

The thoughts of ARC Dehooker/Vita Coca Dodge driver Greg Sacks heading into Indianapolis:

“The Brickyard 400 is a real attention-getter. It seems anytime something is going on at the speedway, it’s a big deal – not just in the United States but throughout the world. The Indianapolis 500 speaks for itself. The Formula One race is, obviously, very big.

“The fact the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series itself is so popular nationwide, coupled with the prestige and heritage of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, makes the Brickyard 400 one of the biggest motorsports events in the country too. An event that big means everyone is looking to run the best they can run, make the best showing they can and take advantage of the size of the event.

“We’re building this team from the ground up, so we don’t have any make-or-break races. Every race is important but no race is crucial for us at this point. When you build one race at a time, what you learn and can use for down the road is more important than anything else. It’s like moving up a step ladder; if you slip on the bottom rungs, you don’t have an easy time getting to the top rungs. You have to build that foundation.

“Everything we are doing now is pointed towards the full schedule with two cars in 2005. The way we build our cars, the way we set them up, the things we try . . . everything is to give us the best run we can for the weekend but mainly to establish our race teams for 2005.

“That doesn’t mean we aren’t going to do everything we can do to run well at Indianapolis. It’s an important race in the present too. We’re pretty fierce competitors and we want to run well anytime we are out there. Racers are racers – we want to be the fastest we can be in practice, fastest we can be in qualifying, and finish the best we can in the race.

“We’re putting together a strong future, and every step is very important. We have a great plan put together and the Brickyard 400 is a key part of that. We’re looking forward to running there, and running well, with this ARC Dehooker/Vita Coca Dodge team.”