After a short
break in the action, it was time to hit the road and head to Phoenix.
We loaded up the motor coach, and ventured out of Indy for a much-anticipated
weekend of racing.
Our trip from
Indiana to Phoenix went pretty fast, taking only about 28 hours
of road time. We took the "northern" route through Flagstaff, but
we now know that it's a lot less mountainous (and thus easier to
draft) when taking a more southern route through Texas and New Mexico.
The guys in the
hauler arrived at the track a day or so ahead of us, and did so
to great fanfare. News of our new sponsorship from PickupTruck.Com
hit the press the same day they arrived, and needless to say, the
team got a LOT of attention. Our hauler has brand-spanking new colors,
the pit crew has handsome new duds, and of course, the race truck
itself looks fantastic. Along with a new look, the whole team has
a spring in their step, and is very grateful to be associated with
a class act like PickupTruck.Com.
"Being
in the desert, this track experiences probably the widest temperature
swings within a one-day period."
I arrived at Phoenix
International Raceway on Wednesday afternoon, and signed in on Thursday.
The truck sailed through tech inspection Thursday afternoon, and
we were anxious for practice on Friday. The track had a very busy
weekend schedule, with the Winston West cars there, along with the
Indy Racing League. Time was tight, and we had to practice early
Friday morning at 8:30am.
Because the track
at Phoenix is flat, setting up the truck can be very easy, or very
hard. Jerry assured me it was the best truck we've ever taken to
this track. As it turned out, he was right. In the morning practice,
we consistently clicked off top-five times, and ended up with the
ninth-best practice time overall. We did about the same thing in
the afternoon practice, despite having totally different track conditions.
Being in the desert, this track experiences probably the widest
temperature swings within a one-day period. Because the first practice
was in the morning, the track was very cool and fast. By the time
the afternoon practice rolled around, the track was about 40 degrees
warmer, and much slicker. Keeping these temperature swings in mind,
we use the morning practice to set up for qualifying, and the afternoon
practice to dial in the race setup.
