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SWS: Sears Point: Brandon Whitt preview

Young driver welcomes return to road racing roots at Infineon Raceway BAKERSFIELD, California (June 16, 2003) - Not all stock car drivers look forward to road-course events with excitement. Brandon Whitt is an exception, and when the NASCAR ...

Edited: Dec 21, 2003, 10:27 PM

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Young driver welcomes return to road racing roots at Infineon Raceway

BAKERSFIELD, California (June 16, 2003) - Not all stock car drivers look forward to road-course events with excitement. Brandon Whitt is an exception, and when the NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Series makes its annual stop at the picturesque Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. this weekend, young Whitt will be pumped up and ready to run to the front.

The Southwest Series sophomore looks forward to the Snap-On Tools/Jelly Belly 200K because the event represents a rare opportunity to dust off his road racing skills. Whitt began his pro racing career on a completely different track, aiming not for the heights of NASCAR Winston Cup racing but for the elite Formula One ranks. And though his career priorities have changed since then, his affinity and talent for the twisting, turning road courses like Infineon Raceway have not.

"I like road racing a lot," Brandon says. "It's a lot of fun for me. My background definitely will help, because there are a lot of guys in this series that have been doing this for a long time that are really good on road courses. I'm looking forward to the race because the experience I have will help me keep up with those guys and hopefully run up front."

The tough 62-lap event is also one of only two events on the Southwest Series schedule this season where the Southwest drivers will compete on the same playbill as the Winston Cup series. The top rung of NASCAR's stock car series is also in town, and Brandon knows that some very influential and critical eyes will be on him and his peers when the Southwest Series hits the track on Saturday.

"Yeah, I'm excited," admits Brandon. "It's always fun to run in front of the Cup guys, because it gives us a chance to show them what we're about and what we can do. We always want to put on a good show and run good, but this weekend we'll also have a good shot at getting noticed."

All pressure aside, though, Brandon is excited to be in Sonoma because of his admiration of the Infineon facility, which is one of America's premiere road course venues. "It's definitely not boring," Brandon explains. "There are high speed stretches with switchback turns, low speed u-turns, and elevation changes that make racing there exciting. It's also beautiful country with all of the vineyards and grassy areas. We're all looking forward to being there this weekend."

The Snap-On Tools/Jelly Belly 200K will be run at 1:00PM Pacific Time on Saturday, June 21st.

-clm-

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