Posted on 03/03/2006 10:33:12 AM PST by NormsRevenge
MEXICO CITY (AP) -- This time around, the cry ``Caballeros arranquen sus motores,'' Spanish for ``Gentlemen start your engines,'' might not sound so foreign.
A year after it held the first NASCAR race in Mexico, the Busch Series is south of the border again, preparing for Sunday's second installment of the Telcel-Motorola 200 without many of the concerns about security and logistics some teams raised before taking on the 2.518-mile Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez road course here in 2005.
``We put a system in place for operations and logistics last year, when the task was on us to prove that this could work,'' said Robbie Weiss, NASCAR's managing director for international affairs. ``Going into the second year, it's always easier after you've had a dry run and people have been through the race once.''
Last year's winner in Mexico City, Martin Truex Jr., isn't coming back, but 29 Busch Series regulars are expected to run, as are nine Mexican drivers, all of whom are familiar with Hermanos Rodriguez.
Also hoping they will have an edge on the track are open-wheel veterans such as Paul Tracy -- who raced here with Champ Car -- and road course specialists including Boris Said, who finished fifth in last year's race.
``Racing should go a lot smoother this year, but most of us, we already look at it like we're going to any other race,'' said David Green, who finished 39th out of the 43-car field here last year because of transmission problems.
``We're still just racing,'' said Green, the 1994 Busch Series champion. ``Now we're doing it in a city we're a little unfamiliar with, but the excitement level is sky high and the competition is just as fierce.''
Weiss said NASCAR officials ``generally do not get involved in all the areas of operations and logistics that we do in this event to make sure things are easier for everyone.''
``The teams came out of last year's event feeling this was a very positive step for NASCAR and I think that shows by the starting grid Saturday,'' he said. ``Teams vote by their attendance, and I think it's clear by the group you're going to have that they believe in this event.''
The curvy track was built for open-wheel racing and only slightly modified to make braking easier for NASCAR's less-agile vehicles. There is little opportunity to pass, except near the end of a tight straightaway, and the city's 7,400-foot altitude doesn't help.
Last year, Mexico's Jorge Goeters stunned the field by winning the pole. He led the first 24 laps, but his first NASCAR pit stop was a disaster and he never recovered.
``I know that everyone was surprised. I can tell you I was even surprised,'' Goeters said of taking the pole. ``That was part of the reason I made a lot of mistakes in the race and lost position, especially in the pits.''
Carl Edwards, whose No. 60 Ameriquest Ford took third here a year ago, said the Mexican drivers could surprise some people again.
``Absolutely they can win,'' said Edwards. ``That's why I'm so worried.''
But for all last year's talk about how unique Mexico City would be, the final results looked a lot like any U.S. Busch Series race, with well-known driver Truex using an early pit stop to outlast regulars Kevin Harvick and Edwards.
Green said this year's race likely will go the same way.
``Most of the hype prior to the early stage of the race will go to the Mexican drivers because they know the track and are excellent competitors,'' he said. ``But when it all shakes out and the day is finished, I'm going to put our chances, those of the Busch Series veterans, at very good. Being in these cars, over the 80 laps we'll run, isn't like anything they've experienced.''
A good time to prune the bushes and fruit trees and clean out the garage.. Nyaaah.
See all ya FR regulars and loose lugnuts in Vegas. Be safe!
The Mexican drivers that will be trying to qualify in the upcoming NASCAR Busch series race participate in a news conference at the Hermanos Rodriguez racetrack in Mexico City, Mexico on Thursday March 2, 2006. From left to right top row: Carlos Contreras, Rogelio Lopez, Adrian Fernandez, Jimmy Morales and Caros Pardo. Bottom row from left to right: Michel Jourdain, Patrick Goeters, Luis Diaz and Jorge Goeters.
(AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)
A worker cleans the trailer rig of NASCAR driver Johnny Sauter before Sunday's Busch Series race in Mexico City, Mexico, Thursday, March 2, 2006. A year after it held the first NASCAR race in Mexico, the Busch Series is south of the border again, preparing for Sunday's second installment of the Telcel-Motorola 200.
You're in trouble Norm. I went to an online translator and there is no Spanish word for Boogity.
Want me to send ya my taped Daytona 500? :)
No, Thanks! I'll be building a mini-ark this weekend just in case, we're supposed to get wet for the next week or so.
I've been watching, be safe.
Imagine how many illegals we could get in one of those carriers.
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