Ricky Craven Event Preview
No. 32 Tide Chevrolet Monte Carlo
Round 3 of 36 - UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
HICKORY, NC (March 1, 2004) - Ricky Craven, driver of the No. 32 Tide
Chevrolet, heads to Las Vegas looking to change his luck at the 1.5-mile
track. The team tested at Las Vegas over January 27-28, 2004.
Ricky Craven, driver of the No. 32 Tide Chevrolet:
Las Vegas is one of those tracks you haven't been able to post the finishes
you'd like to see. What makes it so challenging?
"Las Vegas is really not that challenging. It is a fun race track and a
great place to race. I enjoy going to Las Vegas and actually have run well
there in the past, but have never been able to finish the job. I'm
determined to go back and correct that. I know the Tide team is up for it."
What does it take to be successful at Las Vegas?
"Las Vegas is no different than any other race track. It takes a nearly
perfect day. You need be perfect with the car, the engine, on and off pit
road and behind the wheel. You have to make good decisions and if you have
a nearly perfect day, you can win."
You tested at Las Vegas last month. Were you pleased with the results?
"We did test at Las Vegas last month and it was good that we tested. We
were able to find out where we were good and where we needed more work. We
tested at Nashville over the off-weekend and I'm pretty excited about the
package we're bringing back to race."
Dave Charpentier, crew chief of the No. 32 Tide Chevrolet
What are the biggest concerns for a crew chief at Las Vegas?
"Las Vegas is a high-speed, high-downforce track, so you have to have a good
aerodynamic package. The track has fairly flat corners, so you have to have
a car that turns really well also. Another challenge this year, as it will
be at all the tracks, is the new tire. This tire for Las Vegas is
significantly new. We tested with this new tire in January at Las Vegas and
found the tire falls off much quicker than last year's tire. Last year, you
could run for an extended period, even seeing some teams taking no tires in
certain situations. Now, tires are a big factor again and I'm not sure how
I feel about that yet. I'm going to wait to weigh in until I see how the
racing is. When we tested there, the tires wore quickly, which put a lot of
rubber on the race track, which made it a one-groove track. Ricky said it
was harder to pass. You'll see more pit stops, more tires used and a lot
more happening. That's the challenge."
What are your expectations for this weekend?
"I think we'll do real well this weekend at Las Vegas. I'd like to see us
walk away with a top-12 to top-15 qualifying run and then the same for the
race."
How did the test go for the Tide team at Las Vegas?
"We were really pleased with the results and Ricky was really happy with how
the car drove in qualifying setup. We found the track was really
temperature sensitive also. The first day we were decent on old tires and
the second day we were good on new tires, but the tires fell off too
quickly, so we're trying to find a common ground between those two setups.
One thing we did do is test at Nashville Superspeedway over the off-weekend,
so we felt like some of the things we learned in Nashville will apply real
well in Las Vegas."
Chassis No. 42: The Tide Racing team is taking Chassis No. 42 to Las Vegas
this weekend. In 2003, the car made one start at Charlotte.
