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 Atlanta:
Race Preview
Atlanta – A Love-Hate Relationship
CORNELIUS,
N.C. (Oct. 22, 2007) – Believe it or not, Tony
Raines actually likes racing at Atlanta Motor Speedway
in Hampton, Ga. That said, you wouldn't know it from
the DLP team's recent performance at Atlanta, site of
this weekend's Atlanta 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series
event.
In
his last two races at the fastest track on the circuit,
Tony Raines, driver of the No. 96 DLP HDTV Chevrolet
for Hall of Fame Racing, has not started higher than
27th, nor has he finished better than 34th.
So
what will Raines and crew chief Brandon Thomas do about
it?
Show
up, work hard, and try to get the best finish possible.
NASCAR
is a fickle sport where things change quickly. One minute
you may be down and out, and the next minute you may
be riding a wave of good fortune.
So
while Raines and Co., haven't had the best fortune at
Atlanta, perhaps this is the week that the relationship
goes from love-hate to love-love.
TONY
RAINES (Driver, No. 96 DLP HDTV Chevrolet):
Overall
thoughts heading into Atlanta:
"We've
not had a ton of success, recently, at Atlanta. It's
probably just a combination of several things. The last
time we were there in the spring, I thought we hit on
something in practice for qualifying, but then we didn't
qualify all that well. The weekend started pretty good,
but then slowly kind of went away. I don't know if we're
just not keeping up with the track or if we made changes
that I just misread. Between there and California, it'd
probably be a toss-up as to which is worse for us. Atlanta
has just not been good to us as a whole. I like Atlanta.
I like racing there. I just don't understand why we've
struggled there. It's a big question mark. But, I know
Brandon and the guys are working hard and we'll see
what we can do there."
Talk
about the surface at Atlanta. It seems as though you
can use several different racing lines throughout the
race.
"The
asphalt is worn out and the track is real wide, so that
makes it a great race track. It's got a lot of racing
room and it's got two distinct grooves. Friday (during
qualifying), you're on the bottom trying to go as fast
as you can. And then, on Sunday, you're running around
near the top of the wall. That's just the characteristic
of the track."
You
had a good points day in Martinsville and the No. 96
car is now 24th in owner points. How important is it
for the team to finish strong and finish in the top-25
in points?
"We
just need to keep running consistent and running better
each week. We were really good in practice and qualifying
at Martinsville. We just got tight in the middle of
the race. Finishing 14th was pretty fortunate. Those
are the days you need to have, especially when the other
guys around us struggled."
There
are only four races remaining in the season. Are you
surprised it's almost over?
"It
is kind of hard to believe it's almost over. It's been
a pretty up and down year, at times, for us. Part of
you is kind of happy that the end is in sight. But when
it's over, you kind of wish you were still racing. It's
just such a long season. You're kind of ready for the
break."
Chassis
No. 024:
This car was built by Joe Gibbs Racing for Hall of Fame
Racing. Chassis No. 024 was first used in July's Allstate
400 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway,
where Raines started 11th and finished 41st after getting
involved in an accident with Kasey Kahne. The only other
race for Chassis No. 024 came in September at the Cal
500 at California Speedway in Fontana, where Raines
started 34th and finished 27th.
Notes
of Interest:
- The
Atlanta 500 will be Raines' 114th career NASCAR NEXTEL
Cup Series start and seventh career Nextel Cup start
at Atlanta.
- Raines'
best result in NASCAR competition at Atlanta came
in the 2001 Busch Series race, when he started sixth
and finished 10th.
- The
No. 96 car is 24th in Nextel Cup owner points, while
Raines is 30th in driver points.
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