NASCAR Winston Cup Bud at Watkins Glen Preview: Quotes from Dallenbach
6 August 1997
NASCAR Winston Cup Series Pre-Race Quotes The Bud at the Glen Watkins Glen International WALLY DALLENBACH (#46 First Union Monte Carlo) - One of the most accomplished road racers on the NASCAR Winston Cup circuit, Dallenbach has high hopes entering Sunday's Bud at the Glen. He discusses the strategy for Sunday's race at the historic 11-turn, 2.45-mile Watkins Glen International layout. "This will be the first time I've been to Watkins Glen with the First Union team. We didn't get to test there, but I'm going to drive hard just like I always do at Watkins Glen. You've got to race the track, but I've always been real aggressive there and it's worked for me in the past. I just never seem to qualify well there for some reason, and that can really hurt. Track position is so important. You've got to have some good equipment under you to make it work, but I think I'm just too cautious in qualifying. "I usually try to be smooth in qualifying, but it takes a little longer to get heat in the tires and you usually blow the first two turns before the tired heat up. I might drive hard and sloppy from the beginning in qualifying and see what we get. Then I won't have to kick myself for not driving hard enough. Of course, if we don't make it around the track, I might be kicking myself for trying too hard. "We didn't have a good race up there last year. We rode around most of the day with a broken sway bar and didn't know it. We ended up finishing 10th, but we were never in position to win the race. I drove Bill Davis' car up there in '95 and got robbed. I had a nine-second lead late in the race and suddenly a mysterious caution flag came out for oil that didn't need any speedy dry. "Mark Martin was about a tenth faster per lap then me, but we had pitted out of sequence and got a big lead and Mark wasn't going to catch us without that yellow flag. That's all water under the bridge, but we had that race. "We're going to take the same car we raced at Sears Point. We out-tricked ourselves a little at Sears Point. We're going back to basics with it at Watkins Glen. We shook it down at Road Atlanta, so I think we'll be pretty good when we get to The Glen. Mark Martin may be the guy to beat when we get there, but you never really know anymore. I'd say 25 guys have a chance to win that race. It's not like it used to be when only three or four drivers had a chance to win. I know Mark's got a new car and they tested it up there, but he's not invincible. "I'd say the three Sabco Chevrolets have a good chance at Watkins Glen. You've always got to watch out for Front Row Joe when it comes to qualifying, and he's a good road racer, too. Robby Gordon is a good road racer, so any of Felix's (car owner Sabates) could win at Watkins Glen. We've just got to figure out a way to finish the race. If you don't finish, you can't win. "Track position is so important. There's really no trick to winning on a road course or anywhere else. You've got to have good equipment and make the most of the opportunities that come your way. Geoff Bodine is a good example of that. He made the right call and was in the right position to win last year at Watkins Glen. You don't have to have the fastest car. You just have to use your head in the pits." By Chevrolet Motor Division, General Motors Corporation Public Relations
