EA Sports 500 - Kyle Petty Notes

Kyle Petty Notes, Quotes: EA Sports 500
How to make friends and influence the outcome

Kyle Petty and the #45 Georgia-Pacific/Brawny Dodge team head to the wide, fast 2.66-mile Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway this week for Sunday’s EA Sports 500 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race. The speedway is one of two that requires restrictor plates on the engines, restricting the air flow into the engines and drastically cutting available horsepower.

Petty, 44, will be making his 705th 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 $19 million.

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

“Talladega is all about air, and in more ways than one.

“The first part is how you get your car through the air – how well your aerodynamics are set up, how well you draft. The second part is how you breathe the air and, sometimes at Talladega, whether you breathe at all when things are going on around you.

“Once the restrictor plates went on these cars for Daytona and Talladega, the racing changed dramatically. The draft always played an important role in those races but nothing like it does now. Before the plates, you could use the draft to pass, to slingshot by. These days, you use the draft to hold onto what you have. I’m not saying one is better than the other, just saying things are different now.

“For a place known for ‘white-knuckle racing,’ you won’t find a friendlier place than the Talladega garage on Saturday morning. By that time, the field will be set, practices will be finishing up and you will know who is starting where and who has a good car and who doesn’t. If you are pretty good, other drivers will start coming up to you, saying hello, seeing how you are doing. If you are running really well, it turns into, ‘Hey, can I bring you a Coke?’

“You know how well you are running by how many other drivers drop by to see you. The better you are, the more friends you have on Saturday. They all want to run with you on Sunday. They all want to be able to hook up with you on Sunday. I’ve been on both ends of the deal – had guys coming over to ask about the family, and been over at somebody else’s car, seeing how their Mom is feeling these days.

“The thing is there aren’t any friends on Sunday afternoon. Once that green flag drops, it’s every man for himself. Your “friend’ becomes the car that can help you get to the front, or who will help you back in line if you are hung out in the draft. The thing is, your friend one lap might mean absolutely nothing to you the next lap. The more things change in the draft, the less apt you are to have consistent friends.

“By the end of the day, you know who is good and who isn’t. You know who you can draft with and who you can’t. You know who is going to hit you, and who is going to race you clean. And you had better keep all that information because you are going to need it.

“Used to be you could tell how close a race was by how many guys were fighting in the pits after it was over. That tended to happen just at the short tracks, places like Bristol or Martinsville or Richmond. These days, the Talladega garage is not always a fun place to be after the race. It’s usually good for plenty of yelling and screaming, and the line at the NASCAR hauler after the race can be as long there as it is at any short track.

“You go out, you take your chances. Luck plays a big role in how things shake out at Talladega. Being in the right place at the right time is a big, big deal. You have to think at least four or five laps ahead, and you have to think well into your next pit stop, on what you are going to do, who you are going to do it with and how you think it will turn out for all of you. The plates make you so dependent on the other cars you have no choice but to think that way. You don’t win at Talladega alone, you have to have help from someone. If you never have another friend, you’d better find you one at Talladega.

“In some ways, it’s a crap shoot. In others, it’s a chess game. If you do well, it can be fun. If not, it’s obviously not a fun place. We’re going into Talladega hoping for the best with this Georgia-Pacific/Brawny Dodge team, and with a little bit of luck at the right time, we can get it.”