LateModelStock.com - Feature

Rookie Late Model Team Measures Progress In Steps

Raleigh, NC (May 15, 2001) - At this point in the year most Late Model teams have put quite a few laps under their belts. Team progress is being assessed and adjustments are being made to better prepare for and just survive the long months of summer.

Measuring progress, however, can be a subjective art.

Laws Late Model

For Laws Racing and their rookie Late Model driver Cliff Davis, progress has been counted in steps.

Baby steps.

'Where did we finish?' is an important question.

But so are: 'How many laps did we go down?', 'Did Cliff learn anything when he was out there?' and 'Were we any quicker at the end?'

Again, baby steps.

But for a new team and a new driver in the competitive Late Model division at Orange County Speedway in Rougemont, NC, things have been improving.

"We're picking up positions." said Crew Chief Steve Smith before the team's fourth race at Orange County on April 28th. "We're not going laps down as early."

"We've had three races so far. We've finished 18th, 16th and 15th." added Davis, "We've stayed out of trouble and we're being real courteous to all the drivers."

In fact, the team has relied on some of the veteran drivers at Orange County for valuable lessons, both on and off the track.

"When I get near one of the fast cars I can hang with them for a while." said Davis, "Just getting a visual and watching what they do -- that right there has helped me more than anything."

Smith and Davis

"Ryan Gray has been talking to him [Davis] a lot." said Smith, "We've talked to Wayne Patterson a lot and Patterson's about the best guy your going to talk to about getting around somebody up here."

For Cliff Davis, who last year ran in the Modified 4 division, the most difficult thing thus far in his rookie season has been getting used to the heightened level of Late Model competition at Orange County.

"Three and a half tenths separates first and last in qualifying. That's something I'm not used to." said Davis, "You can be close but you can still be way in the back in qualifying. It makes it real hard to get up to the front that way."

Cliff's crew chief agrees that picking up their qualifying time is crucial.

Race Time

"We need to practice on qualifying. I think our qualifying is hurting us a little bit." said Smith.

"We need to get out here and rent the track one afternoon and dedicate one whole set of tires just to do qualifying." added Smith.

The team also has to make sure that it keeps its eyes on the bigger prize - where they finish in points at the end of the season.

Owner Buddy Laws has set a goal for the team to finish somewhere in the top ten in points.

Driver Cliff Davis has internalized this goal and focuses on it at every race.

"We're looking at it as one real long season." said Davis, "We've got 2700 laps we've got to run during the season and we are going to take it as one big race and try and be around at the end."

--See Also: Laws Racing Debuts Their 2001 Late Model Team


	

		

			
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