KEN SCHRADER on racing at Bristol:
“It’s a very aggravating track because it is hard to pass.
You have to gouge and root.
Is your team bringing the same car that you had at Bristol in March? I think you could have had a top 5 if it wasn't for the flat tire. “We are taking the same car. It is a good car. We got together with another car there in the spring and cut a tire down. I don’t know how the race would have turned out, but I think our car was good enough to be up there in the mix in the end if we hadn’t had the problem.”
Do you like Bristol? “It’s just a track. It’s a very aggravating track because it is hard to pass. You have to gouge and root. But if your car is good, and the BAM car was good the last couple of years there, and the Wood Brothers car was really good in the spring, it’s a fun track to drive.”
Is it a demanding track on the driver? “No. It is a fast race. It’s all about time in the car. You’ve got to be on top of your stuff. But, if you get a long run, it just fall right into a rhythm.
Are you taking your Bristol car to Richmond? “No, we’re not. It will be a different car.”
When was the last time you ran the Busch Series race at Bristol and will you use the same setup as the Cup car from the spring race? “The set-ups at Bristol are all pretty close. It just takes a certain thing to get around there – ground clearance and stuff, so most of the information on set-ups can transfer. We will be there in the 66 car again next week.”
We as Schrader/Wood Brothers fans feel that TV does not do you or your team justice. Your team has had a turnaround recently for the good and yet Dave on Wind Tunnel rips on you because your not a young gun and at the end of your career. Doesn't mention your solid run on Inside Nextel Cup. NBC/TNT when they go through the field they'll skip you at 15th and talk about Dale Jr who's running 30th. We as fans are frustrated. Do you, your team, or sponsors feel the same way, or are we just missing something? “The better you run, the more TV time you get and even though we’ve run better, we haven’t been up front. I’ve heard we’ve gotten some pretty decent TV time, but I never watch the replays anyway so I wouldn’t know what we have.”
Are the Wood Brothers building the Car of Tomorrow and have you had the opportunity to drive it yet? If you have, what are your first impressions of it? “We are building, and we have two. They are kind of down the line on importance right now, but we have two frames that are in the plan. We just haven’t been full-speed ahead yet. And, I have not driven one.”
What do you think of the Car of Tomorrow - generally? “I like the idea of it. I think it will be a lot safer and in the long run I think it will save some money.”
What will happen to all the Cup Cars? “They really aren’t any big deal because they are always building new cars anyway. So, it’s not the end of the world. Half of the cars will get sold off to ARCA and other series, and half of them will get wrecked. And, the way NASCAR is going to phase the program in is good. There will be only so many races where they’ll use them to start with.”
Ken Schrader Career |
Starts
691
|
Poles
23 |
Wins
4 |
Top 5's
64 |
Top 10's
183 |
Wood Brothers Career |
Starts
1258 |
Poles
119 |
Wins
97 |
Top 5's
336 |
Top 10's
515 |
Schrader at Bristol
|
Starts
43
|
Poles
0 |
Wins
0 |
Top 5's
4 |
Top 10's
11 |
Wood Brothers at Bristol
|
Starts
60 |
Poles
4 |
Wins
1 |
Top 5's
10 |
Top 10's
24 |
BRISTOL RECAP
13 LUCKY FOR SCHRADER AT BRISTOL; NOW 30TH IN POINT STANDINGS
Thirteen was Ken Schrader’s lucky number Saturday night at Bristol. His U.S. Air Force crew worked the Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway from pit 13, and Schrader drove his Ford Fusion to a 13th place finish. It was the team’s best race since Daytona in July when he finished 12th.
“We keep stringing those teens together and that was the best one of our teens in the last five weeks, so it was a lot better. I’m looking forward to going next week,” Schrader said after the race.
Schrader’s over-the-wall crew turned in consistently good pit stops while Crew Chief Michael “Fatback” McSwain tinker with the set-up throughout the event, making the car better and better.
Ken praised his team saying, “We just didn’t have the front end stuck enough, but it wasn’t bad by any means. They kept getting it better and it was a good points night like we needed.” Schrader moved up in the point standings to 30th this week.
The driver added, “We weren’t that good and at times we fell back some, but you’ve got to finish this race – you’ve got to. When someone got on me that I knew was faster, I let ‘em go because it’s either that or you get turned around and I wasn’t gonna get turned around. But I knew once we got better, we’d get ‘em back.”
As Schrader and McSwain become more familiar with each other, the team is also benefiting from the growth of the relationship drawing energy and confidence as the 2007 season progresses.
The #21 Wood Brothers Fusion will carry the U.S. Air Force colors this coming week at California and then again at Richmond the following week.
Matt Kenseth won Saturday night moving closer to the top spot in the standings, although Jimmie Johnson remains the leader this week by seven markers going into the circuit’s final appearance on the west coast this season.
The Sony HD 500 will be contested at California Speedway on Sunday, September 3. Live television coverage on NBC at Fontana’s 2-mile track at 7:00 p.m. EDT. The green flag is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. The broadcast can also be heard on the Motor Racing Network’s radio affiliates.
Bristol results
- Matt Kenseth
- Kyle Busch
- Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
- Scott Riggs
- Jeff Gordon
- Denny Hamlin
- Carl Edwards
- Ryan Newman
- Jeff Burton
- Jimmie Johnson
13. Ken Schrader
Points after Bristol
- Jimmie Johnson 3499
- Matt Kenseth 3492
- Kevin Harvick 3178
- Kyle Busch 3097
- Jeff Gordon 3091
- Denny Hamlin 3070
- Jeff Burton 3064
- Tony Stewart 3056
- Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 3051
- Mark Martin 3049
30. Ken Schrader 2044
