Al
Rosemeyer’s Sears Point 2nd Place Driver Interview
Great performance today
Al finishing 2nd on a tough road course here at Sears Point!
5th top 5
finish in 5 races now! What do you feel
was the key to your 2nd place finish?
Did you have any idea or gut
feeling you had a car that could run
strong all race?
Yea, the car was more ready than I was! I’d turned some
mid 20 second laps in practice so I knew the car had what it takes to run good.
When I could keep it on the track it felt real good but I hadn’t had much luck
running more than 20 laps without getting in some kind of trouble. I bent the
car up a few times before I found my way around here, this place is tough!
Any plan in place when it came to pit? I do have to say, after the “extra large fuel tank” you had at Michigan that almost paid off for you there. LOL! I’m sure the other drivers today had that in the back of their minds wondering if you were going to adjust your gearing for that again. Did you consider or test a setup like that for Sears Point?
No, nothing went on as far as car setup or race strategy
for most of the weekend. It took me a while to find the groove here and there
wasn’t much time left by the time I did. The setup we rolled out of the hauler was
real close to what we raced and we weren’t looking to pull off anything out of
the ordinary as strategy goes.
Al, forgive me for asking this, but it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t LOL. You got loose and spun here coming outta the last turn prior to the hairpin. What happened there?
Worn tires and a moment’s brain fade is what happened.
I was determined to stay out as long as it took to lead a lap. John Hayes was
running away with the race and I knew my only shot at the 5 extra bonus points
was to stay out longer than he did. John had pitted the lap before my spin and
I was talking to my crew chief about our pit stop, guess I lost my
concentration because I got the car all out of shape under braking for turn 10
and I ended up looking at the hairpin through my window net! Got straightened
up and hit the pits without damaging the car though so I felt lucky.
How does Sears Point wear on a driver? What did you do to keep that focus throughout the race?
Well, I can’t speak for the other guys but this place
is a real workout for me, physically and mentally. The big thing for me was to
remember to breath, stay calm and stay smooth. If I can do that this track
doesn’t wear me down as fast and I’m less likely to make mistakes late in the
race, it’s tough though.
In 5 races, you’ve
finished the #42 Car, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 2nd,
and 2nd Again for 5 straight top 5 finishes! Awesome streak!, Hope we don’t have to start calling you “Mr Seconds” now? LOL
What has helped you be so consistent each week? Any tips for the SORS East rookie drivers?
I’ve been called a lot of
things, “Mr Seconds” wouldn’t be the worst of ‘em. J We’ve put this Acoustical Plus Chevy Monte Carlo in
the winners circle twice so far this year and if we can keep running up front I
think we can win again before the season is over. As far as advice is
concerned, it’s been said many times, you have to keep the car straight and
pointed in the right direction. Until you have that all the horsepower in the
world won’t get you to the front.
68 points separate the top 5 drivers now. You’re definitely in contention for the championship, and we are approaching the mid season point! What does Al Rosemeyer have to do for the rest of the season to be #1 in the end?
We just have to keep doing the things we’ve done so
far. This team knows the sweet taste of victory and we’re still hungry for
more! This string of strong finishes has kept everyone pumped up and I hope we
can carry that for the rest of the season.
2 words. “Talladega, and Daytona!” What comes to mind with back to back Superspeedways where drafting is a factor?
Teamwork! I’m going to need dancin’ partners out there
and as the only API Racing team car in this division I don’t have any built-in
friends out there. We’re talking with a few of the other teams about alliances
for the restrictor plate races. I don’t think I’ll be alone out there, at least
until the last 5 laps or so, lol.
Fantastic Finish today Al
at Sears Point with your 2nd place finish! Thank you for taking the time to speak to us today. Is there
anything you’d like to add, or any comments you may have?
Thanks again Mike! I want to thank my sponsor,
Acoustical Plus, Inc., for their continued support and involvement with this
team and SORS. I also want to thank Billy Stratton and all the guys who do so
much behind the scenes work to make SORS East the premiere league that it is.
My hat’s off to all the drivers here for racing like true professionals week
after week. I’m having a blast racing with all of you!