Texas II: Ken Schrader preview

KEN SCHRADER
A Rare 'Home' Game

CORNELIUS, N.C. (Oct. 29, 2008) -- NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing is one of the few sports where teams don't really have a home field advantage, since nearly all teams are based in the region around Charlotte, N.C., and races are conducted throughout the United States.

For Ken Schrader, driver of the No. 96 DLP HDTV Toyota Camry for Hall of Fame Racing, as well as several other drivers and teams, races at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., have always been considered "home" races, since nearly everyone lives within driving distance of the track.

Should Schrader decide to drive in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck or NASCAR Nationwide Series events at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill., just east of St. Louis, he knows it's a "home" race, since his hometown of Fenton, Mo., is 21 miles west of the track.

However, Schrader now has a new "home" track -- Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) in Fort Worth. With Schrader's sponsor, Texas Instruments and its DLP HDTV brand headquartered in the Dallas area, Sunday's Dickies 500 Sprint Cup Series race at TMS is of upmost importance. That's because Schrader and the entire DLP HDTV / Hall of Fame Racing team understand that the thousands of Texas Instruments employees will be cheering them on as they head to the Lone Star State.

What better way to repay the employees for their support? Perhaps by delivering a solid finish in one of their biggest races of the season.

KEN SCHRADER, driver of the No. 96 DLP HDTV Toyota Camry:

With DLP HDTV based in Dallas how busy of a week will this be for you?

"It's a busy week, but I look at it as a fun week. Being in the backyard of DLP and Texas Instruments, you want to have a good showing for all their customers and employees. You're looking for a good weekend at 'home,' so to speak. It's a good chance to meet and catch up with a lot of people you might not see a lot of during the season, so I want to give them a great showing."

What does it take to be fast at Texas?

"I think Texas is similar in a lot of respects to Atlanta. The surface has gotten a little worn. It's not quite like Atlanta, where it has a really high groove. But Texas does tend to break into a second groove during the race. It's a big, fast track and you've got to have your aero package maxed out and have good power. You need to have a good handle on the car because the tires will fall off (wear out). Handling is huge. A lot of the mile-and-a-half tracks look similar from the air but have their own characteristics."

-credit: hofr