Sirius at the Glen - Klaus Graf Notes

Klaus Graf Notes, Quotes: Sirius At The Glen
Second Cup start for German driver

Klaus Graf will drive the #59 SEM Dodge this weekend in the NASCAR Nextel Cup stock car race at the Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International race course. The car is fielded by BAM Racing, which also fields the #49 Schwan’s Home Service Dodge of driver Ken Schrader.

Graf will be making his second start in the Cup series, coming off a solid 17th-place finish in his inaugural Cup race at Infineon Raceway in June. In his first race in the large heavy stock cars, Graf was leading late and finished third in an ARCA race at Nashville, Tenn.

The thoughts of #59 SEM Dodge driver Klaus Grad heading into Watkins Glen.

“As far as my background is concerned, I am 32 years old and I am a German native. I live in the middle of the Black Forrest in a town called Dornhan-a really pretty area. My background is basically single-seaters. I was on the road to Formula One, but as we all know, it's very difficult so I changed my path and went to sports car racing. I lived in America from 1999 to 2001 and raced in the American Le Mans Series. I did that very successfully and also raced in the Le Man 24-hour race and the 12 Hours of Sebring. Since 1999, and even before, I always kept an eye on NASCAR. We all know it is very hard to break into, especially Nextel Cup. We finally managed, with BAM Racing, make it work out and here we are.

“I am really looking forward to racing Watkins Glen. No matter where it is or what form of racing, your first race in any series is difficult. It’s more than just what the cars will do or won’t do, and it’s even more than quickly learning your way around the track. Everything affects what you do. You walk in and, outside of your own team and family and friends, you don’t know anybody else in the garage. What might be an uneventful moment for a veteran driver could take five or 10 minutes out of your day. Simple things, like knowing where the bathrooms are.

“Getting that first race under my belt was good. I felt we were representative, especially on race day at Infineon. We did some pretty good things, moved up through the field and I learned a lot of as driver in regards to what these Cup cars will do.

“My time at Infineon got a tremendous amount of attention in Germany. There were several journalists who came to Infineon to follow it, and many more who followed from over there. It was a big moment for me, but the race this weekend will be just as big. I am trying to build a career in NASCAR racing.

“Running with BAM and the expertise they bring is important too. Kenny (Schrader) is a good road racer. He has proved that in the past often. It's just matter of bringing back the memory and the feeling for a road course and road race. These guys go 34 times a year on an oval, and on a road course, you need a different kind of approach and different kind of driving style - at least that's what I found out driving on an oval. It's hard, even if you have done some testing before this weekend, to adjust quickly to the different kind of driving style.

"Going to an oval is a whole different story. I really enjoyed testing at Kentucky and racing at Nashville in an ARCA car. Going out on your own is maybe not as big as going out there and racing with 42 other drivers. The ovals are quite a bit of difference for me.

"I've come from long-distance racing. The way our equipment is there, even though for 24-hour races we have two or more drivers, you are still in the car for maybe three hours at a time. I am used to being in the car for a long period of time and still keeping up a high concentration level. That was not a problem at Sears Point, and I don’t foresee it being a problem at Watkins Glen. I think the key for the race, for any race, is to take care of your equipment, and especially your tires. You have to be there at the end of the race, and be able to charge hard when it matters in the last 20 to 30 laps.

"I am used to heel-and-toe shifting. In my Porsche GT car in Germany we have to do the same thing, and it's very similar to the Cup car. I have always been someone that is used to this procedure of shifting. I don't think it will be a bog change for me. You have to treat these cars, with the amount of horsepower and torque they have, in a little special way to keep them smooth on the track. So far in testing I didn't have any problems adjusting to it.

“Climbing into the car the first time, it was not culture shock or anything. Suddenly you are looking again at normal gages. You see the RPM, fuel, and the temperature gages. I am used to digital stuff and high-tech cockpits almost like plane cockpits, but then again when I started racing it was the same way. It's just a matter of adapting to it, and sometimes it's good to bring back old memories. You switch your memory on to remember to look at the gages and you cope with it. At the end of the day you're still getting the same information of it, it's just a different way of getting it.

“We’re looking forward to a good weekend. We’d like to do well for the people at BAM and certainly for SEM, our sponsor. But we’d like to do well for ourselves as well. We feel we are capable of doing just that.”