|
 |
|
|
|
|
2011 California (Fontana): Brian Scott NASCAR Nationwide Race Preview
Brian Scott and the No. 11 Shore Lodge Toyota team travel to Auto Club Speedway for this weekend’s Royal Purple 300 in what will be Scott’s fourth career start at the two-mile California track in NASCAR Nationwide Series competition.
|
|
|
In three previous starts at Auto Club Speedway, Scott has one top-10 finish. He finished 10th during the spring race in 2010.
During his previous three starts at Auto Club, Scott has completed 454 of the 454 laps that have been run during those three races for a 100 percent lap completion rate.
Last Race: Scott earned a career-best 12th-place Bristol Motor Speedway finish last weekend in the Scotts EZ Seed 300. Scott started the race from the 13th position and avoided the multiple accidents that took place for his third finish of 14th or better in the last three Nationwide Series races.
· Scott’s 12th-place finish at Bristol moved him up a position in the NASCAR Nationwide Series driver point standings to 10th place. He is a mere 17 points out of third place and 35 points behind championship point leader Jason Leffler.
· Chassis #119 is the car Scott will race this weekend at Auto Club Speedway. The car is a brand new chassis for Joe Gibbs Racing. The backup car for the race will once again be Chassis #106. This chassis has been the backup for all of the races in 2011 and is also new for this season. The car was used at the test in which Scott participated at the Walt Disney World Speedway in January.
· To access information on Brian Scott and No. 11 Team visit: www.joegibbsracing.com and follow twitter.com/bscottracing and twitter.com/joegibbsracing.
Scott Quotes on the upcoming race at Auto Club Speedway:
"I’m really excited going to California. I feel like it’s one of my better tracks. If you look at last year that was the first place that we had a really strong run. It was the second race of the season and we ran second most of the race behind my now, current teammate of Joey Logano. We had a really good car. I like the place. Really pays off the high line. It’s a difficult line to run, but if you can run it then it pays off. I feel like I’ve got the high line figured out. I feel like I’ve got the race track figured out and I feel like I’m with a team now that has the equipment even more figured out. I think we can be a deadly combination at California."
What are the benefits to having teammates in NNS that are only focused on wins?
"It’s been a tremendous benefit for me to have teammates like Kyle Busch and Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin - guys that are on the Cup side and going for the wins. How they are approaching practice and how they approach a race is different and more experienced. To see one, for myself what they’re doing and be able to talk to them after the runs. Two, for the team and for Kevin (Kidd, crew chief) to be able to communicate with their crew chiefs and know that if they were going for a championship then we probably wouldn’t do this, but we’re going to roll the dice. It allows different strategies to play out and it allows us to have better information, better data and everything for when we go back to race tracks a second time. We can see what risks worked, what risks they didn’t so then we can create a better game plan."
How is the relationship with Kevin Kidd?
"Me and Kevin (Kidd, crew chief) are great. I feel like we’re on the same page. I don’t say anything bad behind his back -- I don’t know what he says about me when I’m not around. I think we understand each other. I think that we have similar mentalities and I think that we both know what the goals and objectives are week by week. I think that’s all you can really ask for in a crew chief and driver relationship."
PaddockTalk Perspective
|
|
|
| |
|
