|
Location: Dover,
Del.
Shape: Oval
Distance: 1.0-miles
Banking, Turns: 24
degrees
Front Straight: 1,076
feet
Banking, Front
Straight: 9 degrees
Back Straight: 1,076
feet
Banking, Back
Straight: 9 degrees |
|
Dover Downs International Speedway
|
Race Recap:
 Disappointment in Dover
Kansas City, here I come.
After my race weekend in Dover, I can't wait to get to Kansas
City.
Actually, the week started out well because it began with a
trip to Atlantic City on New Jersey's southern shoreline to
visit the Showboat Casino. Owned by Harrah's, the Showboat was
doing a racing-themed promotion and I acted as the host, doing
both the emcee honors and selecting the lucky prize winners.
It was hugely successful -- nearly 2,000 people were present
hoping to win one of the five $1,000 cash prizes or one of the
two Foyt/Harrah's Racing leather jackets (they had to be
present to collect!). Afterwards I signed autographs for
hours.
The next day I drove to Dover, Delaware with Ron Hicks, the
director of motorsports for Harrah's. Dover is about an hour
and a half from Atlantic City. People in the northeast speak
about distance in terms of time, not miles. I guess that's
because of the traffic congestion, traveling five miles can
take five minutes or an hour depending on when you travel.
Fortunately, we got there in the expected amount of time.
We started practice with a problem in the car's rear end
alignment which the crew fixed straightaway but we lost some
practice time in the process. We never could find the set-up
that the car liked. It was complicated by the fact that
Goodyear brought a different tire from our race here in the
spring so our set-ups from that race didn't work, even as a
baseline.
We qualified the Harrah's Chevrolet in 30th position at a
speed of 152.123 mph which was our best practice speed, so at
least we were able to duplicate it. Some teams weren't able to
even do that. We were still struggling in our final practice
session so when my dad's Winston Cup car qualified 21st, we
took Conseco crew chief Mike Hillman's advice for our race
set-up.
At first it seemed to work as I went from 30th to 20th in the
first 20 laps. But then the car's handling went away and
despite numerous changes on pitstops, it went from bad to
worse. I am sure we'll find something to explain what was
happening once we tear the car down back at the shop. I
finished 29th.
This week we are going to Kansas with a new car which we are
testing at Kentucky Speedway on Tuesday. On Wednesday, we'll
do a "Meals on Wheels" delivery to the seniors at the Don
Bosco Senior Center (they'll be in for a shock when I pull up
in my stock car!) Afterwards, I'll return to the Harrah's
Casino to meet many of Harrah's fine employees who make the
"Harrah's Oh Yeah!" experience so enjoyable.
In the evenings, we'll be busy entertaining customers at
various Harrah's functions. Of course, the primary focus will
be on the race car and giving the Harrah's Chevrolet its best
run of the year on Saturday in the Mr. Goodcents 300. It will
be televised live on TNT at 2 p.m. Eastern Time.
Thanks for your support!
Notes & Quotes:
Larry Foyt on Dover: "I think I have a good feel for
Dover – it's a high-banked concrete track like Bristol and we
had a good car there. In qualifying, the key is to set up the
car so it is free enough to run on the bottom and not have a
push. It's a ‘hold-your-breath' lap. It's real fast and you
dive off into that banking and it gives you a real loose
feeling like it's going to snap around on you. It's quite an
experience. In the race, the track seems narrow but there are
two lines so you can race. Things happen so fast you can't let
yourself get lulled – you have to keep focused on just how
fast you're going because there are walls everywhere. If you
spin, you are going to hit something."
Richmond Race Recap: Had to take a provisional due to
problem in qualifying when the car before him blew an engine
and dumped oil on the track. NASCAR didn't address the issue
until after Foyt qualified poorly and the next driver spun and
hit the wall, at which point officials stopped qualifying and
cleaned the track. In the race, Foyt made several pitstops
early to adjust the car's set-up (too loose). In trying to
avoid being lapped, he drove too hard into the turn, spun and
hit the wall, ending his night after just 30 laps. He started
and finished 40th but gained a spot in the driver standings.
Atlantic City Showboat: Foyt stopped into Atlantic City
this week to meet and greet Showboat Casino (owned by
Harrah's) customers and participate in a Foyt/Harrah's Racing
themed promotion. Nearly 3,000 people turned out for a chance
to win one of five $1,000 cash prizes or one of two Foyt/Harrah's
Racing leather jackets which were given away by Foyt. The
promotion was deemed an overwhelming success by the casino's
management.
Foyt is 18th in the NASCAR Busch Series standings; he has
earned $453,620 to date.
Dover 2001: Foyt back in car for first time since
sitting out Richmond due to injuries sustained at Darlington.
He started 23rd, ran the entire race without incident and
finished 23rd.
Best 2002 Start: 5th at Nashville (Apr. 13) and
Kentucky (June 15)
Best 2002 Finish: 8th at Talladega (Apr. 20) |
