Temperatures are expected to soar near 100 this weekend at California Speedway. Dave Charpentier, crew chief for Raybestos Rookie Paul Menard and Steven Becker, tire specialist for Raybestos Rookie David Ragan, discuss how big of an issue heat will be here this weekend.

DAVE CHARPENTIER, CREW CHIEF, No. 15 MENARDS/JOHNS MANVILLE CHEVROLET: HOW DO YOU GUYS COPE WITH THE HEAT? “Make sure there’s plenty of cold water to drink and just pay attention to the guys and make sure they’re not over doing it. If they are, kind of pull the guy aside and say ‘Hey, slow down and get something to drink. Cool off a little bit, go sit in the truck for a little while where it’s air conditioned.’ Just pay attention to it. These guys are, for the most part, pretty young and in pretty good shape. They deal with it every week. At Bristol last week with the humidity it was probably just as bad. It’s my job to pay attention and make sure nobody is over doing it and the guys are hydrating themselves properly because they’ll work until they drop if you let ‘em.” ARE THESE THE TWO MOST BRUTUAL WEEKS OF THE SEASON? “I think so. It’s too early to tell about this week [smiles]. We haven’t seen the worst of it yet. But Bristol in August, that Friday afternoon is always really bad it seems like. But I’ve seen some Daytona races and remember years ago we used to race Talladega in July and that July race at Talladega used to be pretty brutal. It can happen anywhere. We’ve been here this time of year when it’s been nice and cool and we’ve been here when it’s really hot. This would be right up there with the worst of ‘em.” DURING THE RACE EVERYONE HAS TO TOUGH IT OUT. “It’s going to be really hot when it starts. We’ll have areas under the pit box and places where people can stand to get out of the sun but the first couple of hours are going to be pretty tough. Gather around under the awning of the pit box.”

STEVEN BECKER, TIRE SPECIALIST, No. 6 AAA INSURANCE FORD: “I guess the best thing to do about the heat is try to drink enough water. Going in and out of the trailer all the time, you go in and you get cool but then you have to come right back out so you’re kind of defeating the whole purpose of trying to stay cool. But whenever you get a slow minute or a little bit of downtime, try to get drink enough water or Powerade or something like that. You want to stay away from the sodas and stuff like that and just try to stay cool as best you can. It’s tough out here with it being 105, 106 degrees. You do nothing but run for an hour and a half on Friday and then you’ve got two hours worth of practice on Saturday in the heat, especially tomorrow with the way we’re at the track and the times that we’re going to be here [practice is scheduled for 4 p.m. local time] it’s going to be really hot. The best thing to do, and what I’ll do, is drink a lot of water and try to stay hydrated.” AS A TIRE SPECIALIST, YOU HAVE A PHYSICAL JOB, LUGGING AROUND 60-POUND TIRES ALL WEEKEND. “Every day and these tires sitting out in the sun, they get hot. You’re always touching ‘em and always moving ‘em. I mean, it gets really hot and you just do what you can to try to stay cool. I mean, it’s tough, it really is. Bristol last week was tough. I was sick all last week and having to run around there. It’s a lot of running but you’ve got to do it. It’s part of the job. At the start of the race it’s going to be hot. Even last night here, and I expect it to be this way every night; it’s warm at night. It’s still hot. Yeah, the sun might not out but you’re still running around doing things. It’s still pretty brutal out here.” ARE BRISTOL AND CALIFORNIA THE MOST RACES FOR BATTLING THE HEAT? “As far as heat-wise, yeah. Indy is tough because your truck is so far away from the garage and Goodyear is so far away and pit road is so small. That’s a tough place, too. Bristol was all day Friday and it was really hot up there and here is even worse. There’s no humidity but it’s just hot. It’s a dry heat.”