ARCA

Townley - Ford Kentucky Friday interview

John Wes Townley, driver of the No. 09 Zaxby's Ford F-150 takes to Kentucky Speedway twice this weekend. He will run in the ARCA RE/MAX series race of Friday night and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Built Ford Tough 225 presented by the Greater ...

Published: Jul 18, 2008, 11:12 PM

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John Wes Townley, driver of the No. 09 Zaxby's Ford F-150 takes to Kentucky Speedway twice this weekend. He will run in the ARCA RE/MAX series race of Friday night and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Built Ford Tough 225 presented by the Greater Cincinnati Ford Dealers on Saturday night. In his third truck race this season, Townley talks about being a double-duty driver and his expectations for this weekend.

YOU'VE HAD SOME TRACK TIME THIS MORNING IN YOUR ARCA FUSION, CAN YOU APPLY WHAT YOU LEARNED IN THAT PRACTICE TO THIS AFTERNOON IN YOUR FORD F-150? "I think the line will be a big benefit to me. The only thing that I think that will differentiate here will be the lift points and brake points, which there probably won't be any brake points here. It will take a little bit to get used to; I would think five laps at the most. It definitely is a great wholesale deal to come out here and do this. It's definitely worth it for me to race the ARCA event and the truck event. I really have to thank Ford and Roush Fenway for giving me the opportunity to do this, and of course, my sponsor, Zaxby's. It really is a good deal. Hopefully we can come out of this pretty good."

TO COMPETE IN BOTH EVENTS THIS WEEKEND SEEMS LIKE A BIG DEAL. WHAT ARE YOUR EMOTIONS? ARE YOU EXCITED? "Coming here last night, I guess I had a little trouble sleeping just thinking about it because I've never really done two serious events like this in the course of two days. It's just a matter of getting all your thoughts processed and knowing what you're going to do and remembering the marks you left in your other car and the marks you're going to take with you in the truck. It's a little challenging, but I think as a wholesale deal, this is going to be a great weekend for us."

ON RACING AT KENTUCKY. "This is actually one of my favorite tracks. It's a driver's race track and it's really easy to drive. It's been a little hard on us today [in ARCA practice] but last time we were here in the ARCA car we really couldn't hook the corners pretty good. We came out of here with a top five. We've just been struggling a bit today in the ARCA car. I think in the Ford F-150 truck, hopefully we'll have a little bit of difference there. We're going to work on it and we'll see how it plays out here in the truck practice."

YOUR LAST TRUCK RACE WAS MILWAUKEE. YOU'RE TEAMMATE BOBBY EAST HAD A TOP-10 FINISH IN MEMPHIS. HOW MUCH DO YOU RELY ON EAST AND CREW CHIEF CHAD NORRIS TO CARRY SUCCESS FROM RACE TO RACE? "When you go to different race tracks, each one feels different. It is great to have Chad for information. Bobby East is a great teammate and I rely on him for information, but as far as the track goes, you get a different feel for each track you go to. It's just different."

WHAT TYPE OF RACING SHOULD THE FANS EXPECT TO SEE AT KENTUCKY? "I don't think we'll see too many cautions, but nobody knows that for sure. I think we will probably have a green flag pit stop. It all depends, though. There will be some good competitive racing. It is a driver's race track and real easy to drive. You can get up on the wheel and muscle it around sometimes."

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR THIS WEEKEND? "My goal is a top-five in ARCA and a top-five in truck, but more realistically, probably a top-10. Of course you can't set your goals too high on your third truck race. I definitely feel very positive about the situation that I'm in. I think it will be a good weekend for us."

THIS IS A BIG FORD RACE. IS THERE MORE PRESSURE FOR THE FORD DRIVERS BECAUSE IT IS A FORD RACE? "Yes, that is very true. We've got Ford and the Greater Cincinnati Ford Dealers to that for it. I am really thankful to all of them for sponsoring this race. It is a big motivation to have Ford backing the race. If a Ford driver were to win, that's what every body is looking for. It would be a great deal. It doesn't put any real pressure on me. But it does really inspire me to go out there and do the best I can for me because they put me in a great Ford Fusion and F-150."

-credit: ford racing

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