Watkins Glen: Kevin Conway preview

Another 'Right' of Passage for Conway Rookie Ready for Second Road Course Statesville, N.C. (August 3, 2010) - ExtenZe Racing Ford driver Kevin Conway doesn't expect his second road-course race to be as wild as the first, but he's still looking ...

Another 'Right' of Passage for Conway
Rookie Ready for Second Road Course

Statesville, N.C. (August 3, 2010) - ExtenZe Racing Ford driver Kevin Conway doesn't expect his second road-course race to be as wild as the first, but he's still looking forward to the challenge of adding right-hand turns to the weekend's racing. Sunday's event, the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen, will mark the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' only visit to Watkins Glen International this season.

The 11-turn, 2.45-mile road course in New York's Finger Lakes region is one of only two road courses on the series schedule. The rookie driver of the No. 34 Fusion was initiated to Sprint Cup road racing at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., in June, finishing 28th.

Conway's 31st-place finish at Pocono Raceway last weekend gave him his 20th straight Rookie of the Race award. Conway is now leading the Raybestos Rookie of the Year chase by 152 points.

ExtenZe Racing driver Kevin Conway comments on Watkins Glen International and road-course racing:

"Watkins Glen is a race I'm really looking forward to. I had a great time in Sonoma on the road course (at Infineon Raceway). There was a lot of beating and banging and overall it was pretty wild. I don't think we'll see quite the same fender action in Watkins Glen that we saw in Sonoma, with the speeds being much higher on this 11-turn road course.

"I've spent a lot of time on the simulator, working on the lines at Watkins Glen. And I've tried to glean as much information as I can from guys who really get around road courses well, like Max Papis and Marcos Ambrose, and learn all that I can heading into my first race at Watkins Glen.

"Road racing is just a different state of mind. You know all week long heading into the weekend that you're going to a road course. Of course, if it's got four wheels and a motor, you get in and drive it. It's just what you do as a racecar driver. But I think, more than anything, it's just a different mental preparation, just knowing that you have to turn right and left.

"You have to really work on memorizing the racetrack. As a rookie, it's all about just gaining as much seat time as I can to learn as much about the racetrack as I can and all the little nuances about Watkins Glen International."