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North Carolina Speedway is a tough one mile race track
located in Rockingham North Carolina.
It is notorious for being "hard" on tires,
meaning the tires wear very quickly. I was speaking with
Conseco Winston Cup driver Ron Hornaday before the race started, and
he said, "Get ready to experience a race like nothing you've
ever experienced before."
He couldn't have been more right. I was happy with our 20th
qualifying position, and when the race started, I was trying my best
to go to the front and not lose any positions. This turned out to be
a bad strategy, because after five laps I had already heated up my
right front tire above optimal operating temperature. I began
dropping positions, and the harder I drove, the worse the car
handled. Unfortunately the green flag stayed out for a long period
of time, and we were unable to make a pit stop until we were already
one lap down.
The remainder of the race was a learning experience. I was
focusing on tire management, and tried running on different grooves
around the race track. In the end we finished 24th.
By no means would I consider this an excellent performance,
but considering the circumstances, and being my first trip to the
"Rock", it is a good result.
I'm looking forward to returning to Rockingham in the Fall.
Now it's off to Vegas.
I'm looking forward to this race because it is a nice
facility, as well as the headquarters for my sponsor Harrah's.
I'll talk to you after the race.
Thanks,
Larry
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