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Crew chief
Drew Blickensderfer answers fan questions once a week.
Submit your question
here. |
July
30, 2009 |
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2009 Q&A
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Q |
What did you think about the new tire at Indy?
And what was the hardest thing for you guys to
overcome at the race?
Lacy Hill,
Moses Lake, Wash. |
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A |
I think the new tire was great. It had good grip
and lasted longer than a fuel run. During the race passing was very tough. Track
position was the hardest thing to overcome.
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Q |
Drew, the crew chiefs all have the telecast on
one of their pit box screens. What kind of
information do you use from it?
Abigail
Wasserman, Guilford, Conn. |
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A |
Even though we have it on, I don’t really watch
it. I am busying looking at lap times and
talking to Chip about the next adjustments.
Sometimes I watch it to see what brought out the
caution, but barely pay attention to it since we
have so much else going on.
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Q |
It looks to me like the Fords are not making the
horsepower of the Chevrolets and Toyotas and now
even the Dodges this year needed to run up
front. Is that even possible or is it my
imagination? And when will Ford have its new
engine for you guys?
Mark Haskins, Oregon, Ohio |
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A |
It could be possible for one manufacturer’s
engine to be producing more horsepower than
another during a certain year. Roush/Yates is
working hard at getting the new motor to us.
Some of our teammates have tested it and they
are currently doing durability tests on it. It
should show up by the end of the season.
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Q |
Drew, what does “race trim” mean? Thanks and
good luck in the future races.
Carol Langhoff, Greenfield,
Wis. |
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A |
It means your car is ready to race. Cars for the
race need different side and quarter windows for
the race compared to qualifying to keep the
brakes/gear/driver cool for 500 miles. There are
a lot of things changed on the car between
qualifying and race trim. Since qualifying is
only two laps, we don’t have to worry about
reliability of parts like we do in the race,
allowing us to be more aggressive.
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Q |
From a crew chief’s perspective, why is it a
driver can be so dominant one year, and have no
wins the next? Take the #18 and #99 last year, 7
and 8 wins respectively. The cars haven’t
changed, the drivers haven’t changed, and I
can’t imagine the tracks have changed all THAT
much. Is there a notable difference, or have the
other teams just finally gotten a better handle
on the COT and are now getting up to speed on
where those two teams were at last year?
Craig Haasis, Whittier, Calif. |
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A |
It seems as if it goes in cycles. I think mainly
because of the teams and not drivers or tracks.
Certain companies seem to get a handle of their
cars and the teams in that company run really
well for a while.
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