Speaking
with reporters Friday afternoon, the Team Penske driver said the payout of the track
demands a certain degree of aggression. “Speeds are low and you’re trying to
pass people into braking zones,” he said. “You’ve got to get right up on them
on (corner) exit and then you’ve got to out-brake them. You’re both braking
with everything you’ve got (and) you’re trying to go a little further to get
him.
“It’s
not really there,” he admitted. “It’s not possible. Your tires are wearing and
your brakes are getting hot. Everything gets worse throughout the race, so
at the end of the race when the intensity level is up and everyone’s car is not
handling as well, we run into each other.”
The
Shell/Pennzoil Ford driver said
that in marked contrast to the Golden Rule, drivers generally want to do unto
others at Sonoma before someone does unto them.
“You
want to be the guy that’s being aggressive,” he said, “and not the one that’s
getting pushed around. That’s important. That’s why you want to make
sure you have a fast race car and you’re good in the right areas (of the
track). That’s why practice is so important here; to make sure we’re good
in the areas that are danger zones on this race track.
“I
think everyone has gotten spun out at this race track at some point,” said
Logano. “That just happens. When you’re trying to slow down these cars… think
about the way you get into (the turn), how fast you’re going (and) how slow
you’ve got to get this thing whoa-ed up. There’s a lot of wheel-hopping and you
get a lot of issues.”
With
so many variables at work, Logano said contract between cars at Sonoma is inevitable.
Repeated contact, however, often leads to overheated tempers and rumpled race
cars.
“The
first (hit) is always an accident,” he laughed. “After that, I don’t know how
much is an accident. I think it depends on what’s going on. Usually, we
all try to start the race calm, cool and collected. Everyone is just
running their deal, then one person gets hit and knocked out of the way. (Now) he’s
mad and he hits someone else. Now the next guy is mad, and that just triggers
it.
“Everyone
starts with the right attitude, (but) at the end, all manners are out the
window and it’s about getting those positions. There are four or five
people that are pretty calm (and) might not have a mark on their race car,
(but) everyone else is going to get beat around. And when you get beat around,
you get ticked off. It happens.”
The
Connecticut native added that this year’s revised Chase system has added
additional fuel to the fire.
“Look
at the guys that are good at these road courses and look at the guys that
haven’t won yet this season,” he said. “They’re starting to get desperate, I’m
sure. They’re starting to get into panic mode at this point in the season,
and if this is one of the race tracks you feel you can capitalize on, (you’re)
going to be desperate and do some crazy things out there.
“That’s
why it’s so important to be on the aggressive side. I want to be the guy
pushing. I don’t want to be the guy getting pushed around. If you’re running
up front and you look at the top three, four or five cars, they will be the
ones that don’t have many marks on them.
“You’ve
got to be patient,” he stressed. “You can’t get too fired up, but you’ve got to
be the aggressive one. And I think the guys that haven’t had a win are going to
get desperate.
“It’s
going to be either checkers or wreckers for them. Hopefully, I’m far enough
ahead that it’s not a problem.”
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