In the Pits- KSR

NASCAR tees up its own 'majors'

If the PGA golf tour has its four “majors”—the Masters, U.S. Open. British Open and PGA Championship; the big-time events that separate the game’s all-time champions from the “rest of the field”—why can’t the Nextel Cup?

That was the question put to Ken Schrader on the eve of the Allstate 400 held at the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway. More precisely, Schrader was asked to name the four Nextel Cup events that he considered to be “majors.”

“My first thought was, ‘There’s no way you can narrow it down to four, but I started thinking about it and came up with this,’” Schrader said on the eve of the Aug. 6 race at Indy. “Obviously, the Daytona 500 is one. The Darlington race—whatever used to be the Southern 500—and the 600 at Charlotte would be two more. Then it’d have to be Indy. Not necessarily in that order. I was just walking through the schedule in my head, but those four races probably have the most prestige as any we run.

“Obviously, Indy has become a huge deal. Virtually every team spends two days testing at Indy before we unload there on race weekends. Most teams bring brand new race cars designed specifically for Indy. The only other race on the circuit where the entire garage puts more time and energy into it is the Daytona 500. Indy is historic, challenging and, hey, it pays pretty darned good, too.”

Schrader’s #49 Dodge was emblazoned with the Red Baron frozen pizza colors for Indy, rather than its usual Schwan’s motif.

“The Red Baron Dodge was pretty good during testing a few weeks back,” Schrader continued. “I think we ended up seventh overall on the speed charts. Now that’s all well and good, but it doesn’t mean a whole lot once everyone gets out there and starts turning laps. The repaving made this place a lot faster. It has a lot more grip, which means you don’t have to stay off the gas quite as long getting down into the turns.

“Beth Ann is always excited about coming to Indy,” Schrader said about team owner Beth Ann Morgenthau. “She’s been to more Indy 500s than just about everyone in the garage. The track is the oldest on the circuit and with that comes a lot of history; something you can really sense as you walk out onto the starting grid. It’s hard to explain, but it’s definitely there.”

Schrader is the busiest driver in major league motorsports. Schrader has raced and continues to race on virtually every type of speedway in virtually every type of racecar. Throughout his career, Schrader has raced at more than 310 different racetracks around the nation.

Source: thatsracin.com