HARRAH'S TEAM DIGS IN AT ROCKINGHAM
ROCKINGHAM, N.C. - Larry Foyt and the No. 14 Harrah's Racing
team finished 28th for the second consecutive race on Sunday in the
Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400 at North Carolina Speedway. Bill
Elliott won the race and Matt Kenseth clinched the 2003 Winston Cup
championship.
Foyt started 42nd on a chilly day and slowly picked up positions at
a place where you race the track more so than other drivers.
"This is a really tough race track, especially on tires," said Foyt.
"In happy hour yesterday we found that our car didn't fall off as
much as others and our lap times were very consistent on long runs,
which is very important here."
Foyt moved into 36th position by lap 44 of the 393-lap event despite
fighting a loose race car. The team made adjustments during the
first round of green flag pit stops and the car responded very well.
Unfortunately, a caution shortly after their pit stop left the team
two laps down.
"It was a heartbreaker when that first caution came out," said Foyt.
"We pitted early and we just caught a bad break. It's a shame
because our lap times were great and we could have picked up a bunch
of spots."
The event tied a race record for cautions with 10 and Foyt saw his
fair share of smoke a busted sheet metal.
"I think I ran through some oil when the (No.) 21 and 32 spun," said
Foyt. "I hit the wall a little bit and knocked in the toe. We tried
to fix it, but the car was never the same after that.
"I had a lot of fun out there today. The past two weeks we've run
the best we have all year and I think we're finally starting to turn
things around a bit. I guess it's better late than never."
The Winston Cup Series has its last stop of the year next week in
Homestead, Florida. The track recently underwent a major change by
adding 20 degrees of banking into the turns. The Winston Cup teams
will hold a test session at the track on Wednesday before qualifying
on Friday.
"It should be an interesting week," said Foyt. "There will be a lot
of cars there and everyone wants to put on a good show in the last
race of the year. I think this Harrah's team can continue the
momentum we've built up the last few weeks. I can't wait to get on
the track again!"
Notes
& Quotes: Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400 North Carolina
Speedway Rockingham, NC
Broadcast Information:
• Qualifying: 3 p.m. on TNT
• Race: 1 p.m. on TNT
*All times are EST
Race Length:
• 400 miles (393 laps)
Track Records:
Qualifying:
• 158.035 mph (23.167 seconds) set by Rusty Wallace on 2/25/00
Race:
• 131.103 mph set by Jeff Burton on 10/24/99
Notes:
• Last Sunday at Phoenix the Harrah's team equaled their best finish
of the year (28th) and finished on the lead lap for the first time
this season.
• This race marks the last time the Cup series will visit NCS in
November. Next year, the series will only race there after the
Daytona 500.
• NCS is not only located in the heart of stock car country, but it
is one of the premier golf destinations in the world. Pinehurst, in
nearby Southern Pines, hosted the 1999 U.S. Open and is set to host
it again in 2005.
• The best performance for A.J. Foyt Racing at NCS came in the
second event of 2000. Driver Rick Mast qualified 11th and finished
13th.
• Larry Foyt has competed four times in the NASCAR Busch Series at
NCS with a best finish of 10th in the first race of 2002.
Larry Foyt on North Carolina Speedway:
"The Rock is a tricky race track. The racing surface is really rough
and eats away the tires, so you have to be careful how hard you push
the car. I like it because it offers several different grooves, so
you can search for what works best for the car."
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