POCONO ADVANCE
KEN SCHRADER ON SHIFTING AT POCONO: “It’s really neat to shift if you are the ONLY person that can shift.”
Ken Schrader, driver of the #21 Little Debbie Ford Fusion answers his fans questions regarding racing at and preparation for Pocono and information sharing at Wood Brothers/JTG Racing in addition to several others.
The mandatory gear rules have virtually eliminated shifting at Pocono. Has that improved or decreased the importance of the driver's skill? Do you miss that, or is just an annoyance that wears out transmissions and doesn't really change anything at the end of the day? “I don’t miss it. It’s really neat to shift if you are the ONLY person that can shift. When everybody shifts, all you did was raise the cost of racing and you didn’t change anything. It’s just like using a qualifying motor. Everybody changed the motor, and everybody picked up a couple tenths. Everybody goes two tenths quicker, but you didn’t accomplish anything. You just spent money.”
Because Pocono is so unique, is there anything you can take from any of the tracks you've already run this year – maybe Phoenix or Las Vegas - and use it to make your Pocono car stronger? “There’s always some stuff you can use from different tracks, but at Pocono you’ve got to come up with something that will get you around all three turns. You might have to give up something somewhere on the track, where at the other ones you don’t have to give and take quite that much.
Is there one turn where you want an advantage? “Coming off three down the long straightaway is big, but off one is too. You don’t want to give up anything, so you can’t look at it like that.”
Some drivers have suggested that the Pocono races could use a little shortening. How do you feel about that? “It would be a wonderful place for a 500 kilometer race.”
Any plans for racing in Connecticut this year? “Don’t have anything planned for Connecticut yet this year.”
Immediately after the finish at Darlington, it seemed that Jeff Gordon was mighty peeved with you. Though he softened his criticism a bit later, is there anything you wish you had done differently in those final laps? “No. I got out of their way.”
Do you ever give Marcos Ambrose and Bobby East advice? Do you share information with Jon Wood and Stacey Compton? “The crew chiefs share more information than the drivers. There are a lot of places they’ve been that we haven’t. The crew chiefs share set-ups and that kind of information.”
I was wondering, since Yates has announced they will be running Roush chassis if Wood Bros have also considered buying chassis from Roush as well? “We have several Roush chassis and a couple Hopkins.”
What nationality is Schrader – Swiss or German? “German, I think.”
Are you going to be signing at the souvenir trailer in Michigan? “I don’t know yet.”
Ken Schrader Career |
Starts
681
|
Poles
23 |
Wins
4 |
Top 5's
64 |
Top 10's
183 |
Wood Brothers Career |
Starts
1248 |
Poles
119 |
Wins
97 |
Top 5's
336 |
Top 10's
515 |
Schrader
at Pocono
|
Starts
42
|
Poles
5 |
Wins
0 |
Top 5's
6 |
Top 10's
12 |
Wood Brothers at Pocono
|
Starts
51 |
Poles
0 |
Wins
2 |
Top 5's
9 |
Top 10's
19 |
