NASCAR Cup

Talladega: Kevin Conway preview

Conway 'Stoked' for Superspeedway Debut Talladega Test Helped Driver Prepare for Fast Track Statesville, N.C. (April 21, 2010) - Through his first seven races, Kevin Conway has quietly established his credentials as a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series ...

Published: Apr 22, 2010, 4:22 AM

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Conway 'Stoked' for Superspeedway Debut
Talladega Test Helped Driver Prepare for Fast Track

Statesville, N.C. (April 21, 2010) - Through his first seven races, Kevin Conway has quietly established his credentials as a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver, with each week delivering valuable experience and new accomplishments. This weekend, the 2010 campaign gets turned up a notch for the driver of the No. 38 ExtenZe Racing Ford at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway for the Aaron's 499. The race at the 2.66-mile tri-oval will mark Conway's first Cup race at a superspeedway.

The leading Cup Series Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidate tested with his Front Row Motorsports team at the Alabama track in March. Conway is now looking forward to jumping into the 200-mile-per-hour-plus draft in race conditions at one of the most exciting tracks on the NASCAR schedule.

Conway heads to Talladega coming off his seventh consecutive Rookie of the Race award and now leads fellow Cup Series rookie competitor Terry Cook in the rookie race by 51 points (77-26).

ExtenZe Racing Driver Kevin Conway Comments on Talladega Superspeedway and Earning Respect as a Rookie:

"I'm really looking forward to Talladega. They always have very exciting races and anything can happen. You see a lot of first-time winners there. I think the whole ExtenZe Racing team is super stoked to get there and get my first superspeedway start in the Sprint Cup series under my belt and have a little bit of fun in the draft.

"I think the test that the ExtenZe Racing team did earlier this year certainly helps us to have a better understanding of what we need the aero platform of the car to be and also, as a driver, it gives me a little better idea of what to expect when we get there so I'm not just jumping in. From a driver's standpoint, the racetrack is really easy to drive by yourself. It just changes a lot when you get 42 other people out there and you get three- and four-wide in the draft.

"We're still hitting our marks as far as our season goes so far. The ExtenZe Racing team is meeting the goals set out at the beginning of the year. We were really realistic in the goals we set. We really needed to stay in the top 35 so we could get to the racetrack and get as many laps as possible and not have to focus on qualifying as much as we do the race so that we can stay in the top 35. And then we're also focusing on capturing the Raybestos Rookie of the Year title, which we are leading in points right now.

"The most important thing is we're continuing to improve and become a little bit more competitive each week. So that's one of our biggest goals - to increase the level of competitiveness that we race at each week from the time we unload all the way until Sunday afternoon.

"I feel like we're starting to earn some of the respect of the veterans. I'm just trying to race those guys the same way I want to be raced. I want to make sure we're being respectful of the guys who are competing for a championship and also make sure I can stay out and run as many laps possible to gain as much experience as I can. Because if we're sitting on the side of the track or in the garage wrecked, there's not a lot I can learn from that standpoint. So I think we're starting to gain a little bit of respect, but the real respect will come as we become more competitive."

-source: front row motorsports

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