Aaron’s 499 - Kyle Petty Notes

Kyle Petty Notes, Quotes: Aaron’s 499
‘Brakes are only for going into the pits’

Kyle Petty and the #45 Georgia-Pacific/Brawny Dodge team head to NASCAR’s longest and widest track this week – the 2.66-mile, high-banked Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway – for Sunday’s Aaron’s 499 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race.

Petty, 43, will be making his 687th career start this weekend. He is 10th on the all-time list in NASCAR Cup career starts, and fourth among active drivers. His eight career victories place him 45th on NASCAR’s all-time list in 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 over $18 million.

The thoughts of Georgia-Pacific/Brawny Dodge driver Kyle Petty heading into Talladega:

“It’s just a freak of the schedule the way things work out but we go from the shortest and tightest track on the schedule – Martinsville – to the longest and widest – Talladega. It used to be the fastest too but the restrictor plates kind of changed that situation. Still, it’s fast enough.

“Speed is a funny thing. We run faster at Atlanta, and it seems pretty fast there. But Talladega is still pretty tricky during the race itself, even though it’s a bit slower now. At Atlanta, you are running 195 miles per hour and really digging going into the corners there. At Talladega, you are running 190 miles per hour, but there is a car two inches off your front bumper and a car two inches off his front bumper, and there is a car two inches off your rear bumper and a car behind him, another two inches back.

“Tap your brakes under those conditions and there is going to be a real mess. I’m not talking about stomping on your brakes or anything else. Simply tap your brakes, and they are going to be picking up car pieces for a good while.

“Sometimes you have to train your brain, and keep that in mind. Brakes are only for going into the pits. If something happens in front of you, you have to stay in the gas – the pedal all the way down – and shoot for the opening. Besides the fact that you lose the draft and your line if you try to brake, you are almost guaranteed the guy behind you is going to collect you if you do. And when there is trouble at Talladega, you usually do better to get past it as quickly as you can.

“Freezing the field under caution should help in those situations because it’s not imperative to race back once you have gotten through the mess. You know you are going to hold your position. Still, I don’t envy those NASCAR guys the first time they have a wad of cars running nose-to-tail and side-by-side, and a caution comes out and they have to sort that thing out. At Talladega, you aren’t looking at three or four cars to sort out; a lot of times, you are looking at 20 to 25 cars to sort out.

“Track position is pretty critical at Talladega. How you draft and who you draft with all depends on where you are in the field. There are some cars you are going to draft with better than others, so you want to be near them. Some cars are better behind you, so you are going to work to stay ahead of them. That has always been the case but because the field is being frozen now as soon as they pop a caution, being in the right place is even more important than ever. It’s still ‘Be in the right place at the right time,’ it’s just that the ‘right time’ is now ‘all the time.’

“You need a great engine and a very aerodynamic body. Everything needs to be perfect on your car, but you are still dependent on the cars of other people to make things work. About the best feeling in the world is to look over with 10 laps to go and see (teammate) Jeff Green sitting there, ready to draft together. But a lot of the team cars are hoping for the same thing.

“Talladega is different, for sure, but it is pretty intense. The race itself is a lot of cars bunched together and everybody trying to find the fastest line at the same time. That can get pretty interesting.

“We’re hoping for a good weekend with this Georgia-Pacific/Brawny Dodge.”