FYI WIRZ: NASCAR's Top Point Aces Talk Race 5 at Fontana

Before the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup season began, Tony Stewart claimed that it takes about four or five races to identify productive teams and for offseason work to show up in results.  Both Stewart and teammate Ryan Newman are among the top-five point leaders going into Auto Club Speedway for the Auto Club 400.  Maybe Stewart had a hunch or two.  

Race five will take place Sunday on the 2.00-mile oval with 14 degree banking and will be vastly different from the racing on the high banks of the half-mile Bristol Motor Speedway last week.

Also, this year, the Auto Club 400 race has been reduced by 100 miles to provide a faster show with 400 miles (200 laps) that will air live at 3 p.m. ET on FOX. 

A shorter race means drivers have less time and fewer laps to maneuver, so strategies may change.  An all-out effort at the drop of the green flag is likely which should bode well for an exciting event for fans.        

Top-five point leaders Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman and Paul Menard gave their take on the upcoming race prior to their journey west.    

FYI WIRZ is the swift presentation of pertinent motorsports topics by Dwight Drum at Racetake.com.  Quotes derived from motorsports industry press releases. 

Kurt Busch [No. 22 Dodge]

We’ve had a solid start to our 2011 season and I’m so proud of the great job everyone on our ‘Double Deuce’ Dodge team has done,” Busch said.

“Four races and four top-10 finishes—that’s laying a pretty good foundation—but there’s never any time in our sport to rest on your laurels.  It’s always a ‘you snooze and you lose’ situation out there.

“We’ve been around long enough to know that you have to take it one race at a time. Right now, the most important race we’re facing is this weekend’s Auto Club 400 at Fontana. 

“The track has worn to the point that you can get a fresh set of tires and be Superman for the first few laps.  The fall-off rate will see you lose up to four-tenths (of a second in lap times) after one lap on fresh tires.  It can get pretty hairy out there under any long green-flag runs.” 

Carl Edwards [No. 99 Ford]

“We’re going to California to win the race this weekend,” Edwards said.

“We’ve got fast race cars and this is a great race track for us.  Our whole Roush Fenway team has just been performing really well this season”

Tony Stewart [No 14 Chevrolet]

“The track is good and it’s racy, but man, it’s difficult,” Stewart said. “The seams are slick. The racetrack is slick. It’s not an old track, but it sure races like an old, worn-out track.”

“A 400-mile race is going to be every bit as exciting, if not more, than a 500-mile race.  You don’t have to have 500-mile races to put on good shows. So 500-mile races going to 400 miles is a good thing.”

Ryan Newman [No. 39 Chevrolet]

“We ended the season strong in 2010 and have done a good job in carrying the momentum into the new year,” Newman said.

“It's a tribute to everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing for staying focused and being committed to the big picture. It's always nice to jump out to a good start so you're not playing catch up.

“I am confident about this weekend, but we have to continue to attack and race smart.”

Paul Menard [No. 27 Chevrolet]

“Fontana can be fun some days and it can be a nightmare on others,” Menard said.

“Usually we have long green flag runs there, which drivers kind of like. You really get a feel for your car and know what adjustments to make on pit stops. You just keep going to all these race tracks and learning and picking up things. Some place it applies. Some places it doesn’t.”

Photo credit: Dwight Drum at Racetake.com