No. 10 Charter Dodge Charger
Las Vegas Preview

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will unload at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend. Patrick Carpentier and the No. 10 Valvoline Dodge Charger will again have to roll the dice and gamble with their chances of getting into the field.

After missing last week’s race because rain cancelled qualifying, the No. 10 crew is looking ahead to finally get a qualifying attempt in at Las Vegas. This is also a homecoming for Carpentier. Originally from Joliette, Quebec, Carpentier has called Las Vegas home for the past eight years.

Carpentier participated in the Las Vegas pre-season Sprint Cup Series test in late January. But, the former open wheel standout’s Champ Car statistics at the 1.5-mile tri-oval are remarkable. Although he only has one start at Las Vegas in open wheel, he was able to take the pole position and finish third, earning his fifth and final podium of Champ Car in 2004. The strong finish helped propel him to a third place finish in the season end championship standings.

Behind the Hauler Open Interview Session: Patrick Carpentier will be available to all interested media behind the No. 10 Valvoline Dodge hauler on Friday, February 22nd at 5:30 p.m. following qualifying.

DRIVER PATRICK CARPENTIER QUOTES:

ON THE DISAPPOINTMENTS OF NOT EVEN GETTING TRACK TIME AT FONTANA: “It puts us behind a little bit and for us we were kind of banking on these tracks because we tested here. We tested at the first three tracks on the schedule and after Vegas we’ll be going to places we haven’t tested at. I said that I knew it was going to be a challenge but I didn’t think it was going to be that big of a challenge. We’ll see. For me, I firmly believe that we’re going to get out of it, going to come back in top-35 but it’s going to take time.”

LOOKING AHEAD TO RACING IN LAS VEGAS: “We are still optimistic. There is nothing we can do about this kind of situation. Fontana was the second week in a row that we’ve failed to make the race because of something that is out of our hands. But we will bounce back. The No. 10 team has a test at Rockingham on Monday. We’re looking to learn a lot that we can take to Vegas. I’m really excited to race at Vegas. It’s my residence now and both my children were born there. We will have a lot of friends and family there and we’re looking to perform well. We are just going to go one step at a time. The first thing we need to do is make a race and the rest will come.”

ON TESTING AT ROCKINGHAM THIS WEEK: “It’s similar to Vegas. It’s smaller, a lot smaller, but it’s very similar track to Vegas as how you enter the corner and how you approach it so for me that’s the best. Hopefully, no rain; it’s going to rain Tuesday-Wednesday but Monday is supposed to be clear. But I just need to sit in that car. I’m not sitting in that car anymore and it’s going to cost us in the long run. I just need to drive something.”

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