SCHRADER ON DRAFTING AT TALLADEGA: “You go with whoever your car runs good with, who is around you, whoever you trust.”
Ken Schrader, driver of the #21 Motorcraft Ford Fusion, answers his fan’s questions regarding Talladega and wind tunnel testing this week. Schrader has two poles and a win at the high banked Alabama super speedway. Wood Brothers Racing has five poles and five victories there.
Are you going to use the same car that you finished 9th with at Daytona for Talladega? “I would think so.”
Do you have a soft spot for Talladega or do you dislike it as much as the rest of the drivers? “I definitely don’t have a soft spot for it. I have a soft spot for Daytona because you get to drive at Daytona. At Talladega you are just riding around in formation.”
What do you think the new pavement will do for the racing at Talladega? “I don’t think the pavement there will make any difference. We’ll just have a smoother ride. Grip is not a question. We had plenty of grip before even though it was rough. New pavement at Daytona would make a difference, but new pavement at Talladega won’t because grip is just not a problem.”
Do you have any concerns about what affect the diesel fuel from paving could have on the tire compound and wear? “It’s no different than any other paving that is done. There is a lot of stuff that is slick in new pavement, but the new pavement makes up for it.”
How important are spotters at Talladega? Can they prevent wrecks at this place? “I think spotters cause more wrecks than they prevent because a spotter will tell you clear and you move up and clip somebody – hey, it looked clear from three quarters of a mile away. We didn’t used to have quite as big a wrecks, but then we didn’t used to run quite as close so who knows. We’ve got an extremely good spotter who does a really good job, and he helped me a bunch at Daytona and Talladega. He helps everywhere, but spotters are not the end all.”
Who will you team up with to get the #21 to the front, and will it matter if they are in or out of the chase? “You go with whoever your car runs good with, who is around you, whoever you trust.”
Wind Tunnel questions:
How does the 21 team know when a car shows good numbers in the tunnel? “You see it. It is just like getting a grade on a test. Sometimes you get 100; sometimes you get 80 or 90. The numbers that show down force and drag are on a paper, and they tell you which car should be better.”
Who does the team gauge their numbers by to see if they are good or not? “When you go to the tunnel you are usually with the manufacturer, and they tell you if you are good or not. They might not tell you other people’s numbers, but they’ll tell you if you’re close or if you are good, or if you’re in an area where you need to do some work in one area or another. That’s one thing about teammates; you’ve got more cars and see all the numbers.”
Are the numbers the same at all wind tunnels or do they vary depending on where you go? “The tunnels vary from tunnel to tunnel, but there are only a couple different tunnels that we use, and you have enough information built up from those tunnels to know where you’re at. It’s just like engine dynos or anything else, they vary a little bit.”
How many times does the team go to the wind tunnel during the year? “That all depends on how big a team and budget. I don’t know how many times we’ve been to the tunnel this year. There are teams that go every week, but that depends on budget. I really don’t know, but it is used a lot.”
Does the team take the same car back? “Sometimes - but not unless you are making changes to that car.”
Ken Schrader Career |
Starts
696
|
Poles
23 |
Wins
4 |
Top 5's
64 |
Top 10's
184 |
Wood Brothers Career |
Starts
1263 |
Poles
119 |
Wins
97 |
Top 5's
336 |
Top 10's
516 |
Schrader
at Talladega
|
Starts
43
|
Poles
2 |
Wins
1 |
Top 5's
6 |
Top 10's
12 |
Wood Brothers at Talladega
|
Starts
72 |
Poles
5 |
Wins
5 |
Top 5's
17 |
Top 10's
28 |
