FLOODS WON’T IMPACT TRACK AT NEW HAMPSHIRE

 

This week Ken Schrader, driver of the #21 Sunbelt Cereals Ford Fusion answers his fan’s questions regarding the track conditions at New Hampshire, set up challenges, his dirt track schedule this week and the Busch Series going to Canada.

 

Our area got hit with almost 3 feet of water from flooding.  Do you think it may have some impact on the track condition?  “No, that won’t make any difference in the race track.  The water won’t have any effect on the track.”

 

You tend to always run good at NHIS and Martinsville, two places where I can't get the car to turn when running simulated racing. Is the driver a big factor here in getting the car to turn and avoiding having to use a loose setup?  It seems to be a challenge getting the car loose enough to turn but then not too loose off the turns and thereby not getting the speed down the relatively long straight-aways.  “That is a problem we fight every where – getting the car to turn and still get traction up off the turns.  There is a little bit you can do on the driving side, but you can’t do it if the car won’t let you.  It is tougher to come up with setups for places like Loudon, but David Hyder has had good setups for there, and New Hampshire has been pretty good to us.”

 

Are there any plans for racing in New England other than Cup in New Hampshire and Barre, VT?  “We’re also going to go to Wiscasset, Maine on Saturday night.  We went up there last year and we won the thing, and we’re going to go up there again.”

 

Since it looks like the Busch Series racing in Montreal is all but a signed contract away. I was wondering how you think my fellow Canadians will perceive NASCAR after watching the F1 race less than a month earlier?  “I think the Busch race will be well received.  I don’t think the Formula 1 race will have any impact on that.  We went up there a couple of years ago for a race a Cayuga, and they had about 20,000 people there for a half-mile, and there were like five of us just playing.  So I think the Busch race will be really good.  I think it will be better than Mexico City.”

Also, will you enter the race if given a chance since it looks like the Cup series will be given a week off.  “No, I won’t enter the race in Canada.  I’d go dirt racing instead if it is a week off, but I say that not knowing right now about my Busch commitments for next season.  If we had a sponsor that just really, really wanted to go to Canada then I would, but otherwise I’ll go dirt racing.”