Richmond II: Todd Bodine preview

Discover' Card Racing is ready to roll at Richmond.

The entire Discover Card Racing team is ready to roll into Richmond International Speedway (RIR) for Saturday night's 400-mile event.

That's because they've already got 500-laps under their belt after testing at RIR for two days last month. Bodine hopes the extra seat time leads to his first Winston Cup win. Here are Bodine's thoughts heading into race number 26 on the NASCAR schedule.

FROM THE COCKPIT:

Todd Bodine, driver, No. 26 Discover Card Racing Taurus:

RICHMOND'S TRACK CONFIGURATION IS POPULAR WITH DRIVERS, WHY?"
"Richmond is a fun track to race because it's fast enough to get speed and it's small enough for the fans to really enjoy the bumping and banging. Another good aspect of the track is that it's a two-groove track. That makes the racing better to watch and it makes it better for the drivers to move around to gain position."

HANDLING IS ALWAYS AND ISSUE... WHAT ELSE?
"Brake management is critical at Richmond. During the night race, you'll see the brake rotors just glowing from being overused. The brakes need to be there at the end of the race if you want to be there. The car also has to rotate good through the corners and get good forward bite. The key to getting around Richmond quickly is not about how deep you drive the car through to corner, but how hard and fast you can get back on the throttle."

WHY IS NIGHT RACING SO MUCH FUN FOR FANS AND DRIVERS?
"Night racing is great for the fans because it adds an element of excitement to the race that you can't get during the day. Plus, it's a lot cooler not to sit in the hot sun and the crews and drivers stay cool, too."

DOES IT TAKE YOU BACK TO YOUR RACING ROOTS?
"It definitely takes me back to the Fridays and Saturdays that I spent racing on the short tracks. There's something about night racing that brings back an element of fun that we had back in the good old days."

A FEW WEEKS AGO YOU TESTED YOUR CUP AND BUSCH CARS, WHY?
"We haven't run well the last few times at Richmond, so we needed to test and find out why. We came out of the test with a lot of good information and with a set up that we think we can go back and win with.

"Richmond is a track that takes the total package -- horsepower, brakes, handling. There's a balance there because it's important to take care of your equipment so that you can be in contention at the end, but also for the driver to be aggressive and know how to use it all."

DOES RICHMOND CHANGE FROM THE SPRING TO THE FALL? IF SO, HOW?
"Typically it doesn't. But it has this time because the (track) sealer has worn off. It makes it so that the bottom groove won't be so good during the race. So that forces the driver to move around trying to find that sealer and more grip. It will get better once some of the drivers start running in that second groove and putting down rubber, but that's what will allow for two-wide racing and a good race."

Todd and the entire Discover Card team participate in Bud Pole qualifying for the Monte Carlo 400 starting on Friday at 3:05 p.m., ET. Saturday night's Discover Card pre-race show begins at 7 p.m., ET LIVE on TNT.

-h/cm-