Brad Keselowski and Jason Allgaier, the Penske Racing Dodge drivers in the NASCAR Nationwide series, are looking forward to competing in the NAPA 200 on the Gilles Villeneuve circuit at the end of August.
During a press conference held Thursday, both drivers said they really enjoyed racing in Montreal last year despite the treacherous and slippery conditions.
“It is an honor to be here. We had a good race last year, finishing in 5th place just behind Jacques (Villeneuve) and I look forward to win my first road course race in August,” said Keselowski, first in the standings with one victory so far this year.
“Last year was my first season in the Nationwide. I was discovering a lot of new tracks. Things are different this year but I had an altercation with the same car in the last three races. But it was driven by three different drivers. Looks like there’s a magnet attracting our two cars!,” said Allgaier, currently 4th in the standings with one victory.
Keselowski explained that the NASCAR drivers don’t get a lot of testing mileage on the road courses.
“We run something like 36 races on four different types of tracks: short ovals, intermediate, superspeedways and road courses,” said Keselowski.
“There’s no way you can be perfectly prepared for each and every track. There are compromises to be done. Each track requires different skill sets. However, you need to be quite good on each of them. But we do very limited testing on the road courses. The emphasis is put on the ovals.”
Justin Allgaier does not have a lot of road racing experience under his belt.
“I played a lot on my PS3 to get the feel of it. But I meet Ron Fellows last year and he taught me a lot. He helped me immensely. Unfortunately, I took him out of the Montreal race last year. I got caught by axle hop in a corner and ran into him… I had no idea what I was doing! Not great…” said Allgaier.
The NAPA 200 presented by Dodge will be held in Montreal August 28 and 29.
During a press conference held Thursday, both drivers said they really enjoyed racing in Montreal last year despite the treacherous and slippery conditions.
“It is an honor to be here. We had a good race last year, finishing in 5th place just behind Jacques (Villeneuve) and I look forward to win my first road course race in August,” said Keselowski, first in the standings with one victory so far this year.
 |
| Charles Dube of Chrysler Canada, Justin Allgaier, Brad Keselowski and François Dumontier, promoter of the NAPA 200. (Photo: Matthieu Lambert Auto123.com) |
“Last year was my first season in the Nationwide. I was discovering a lot of new tracks. Things are different this year but I had an altercation with the same car in the last three races. But it was driven by three different drivers. Looks like there’s a magnet attracting our two cars!,” said Allgaier, currently 4th in the standings with one victory.
Keselowski explained that the NASCAR drivers don’t get a lot of testing mileage on the road courses.
“We run something like 36 races on four different types of tracks: short ovals, intermediate, superspeedways and road courses,” said Keselowski.
“There’s no way you can be perfectly prepared for each and every track. There are compromises to be done. Each track requires different skill sets. However, you need to be quite good on each of them. But we do very limited testing on the road courses. The emphasis is put on the ovals.”
Justin Allgaier does not have a lot of road racing experience under his belt.
“I played a lot on my PS3 to get the feel of it. But I meet Ron Fellows last year and he taught me a lot. He helped me immensely. Unfortunately, I took him out of the Montreal race last year. I got caught by axle hop in a corner and ran into him… I had no idea what I was doing! Not great…” said Allgaier.
The NAPA 200 presented by Dodge will be held in Montreal August 28 and 29.
Article Gallery