Tracy Krohn - Ford interview 2010-08-04

This Week in Ford Racing
August 4, 2010

Last year, Krohn Racing took the top podium spot at the Crown Royal 200 at The Glen. This year, the Ford-powered, Grand Am Daytona Prototype team to looks to repeat that performance. Team owner and co-driver Tracy Krohn talks about heading back to Watkins Glen for the second time this season.

YOU HEAD INTO WATKINS GLEN THIS WEEKEND AS THE DEFENDING CHAMPION FOR THAT RACE. DOES THAT PUT MORE PRESSURE ON YOU AS A TEAM? "It's actually always better to go back as the defending champion. The bar gets raised every year so we look forward to that. The car has actually been quite good the last couple of races. We've had a little bad luck, but everybody is pretty confident about the car and what we're doing with it. The whole team is pretty psyched up for this race. We do go in as defending champions. The car for the last three or four races has really been very good we've just had some bad luck. I feel really good about this race. I think we're looking at a really good result again this year."

YOU'VE BEEN PULLING DOUBLE DUTY THIS YEAR AS A DRIVER AND AS THE TEAM OWNER. HOW HAS THAT AFFECTED YOUR SEASON? "I've managed to pull double duty just about every year, but it always affects you if your concentration is focused somewhere else. Since a lot of our revenue and our value is derived from the Gulf of Mexico, I've been focusing on that a bit lately as you can imagine."

YOU WERE AT THE GLEN EARLIER THIS SEASON FOR THE SIX HOUR RACE. HOW DOES THIS RACE DIFFER OTHER THAN THE TIME FRAME? "Actually, it's still Watkins Glen, but it's a different configuration. This is a short track configuration which is actually much faster. Overall speed here, the average speed is actually the highest of any track that we race at all year long. Higher average speeds, not higher top speeds, so you're pushing the limits here just about every turn pretty hard."

YOU SAID THE SHORTER TRACK IS MUCH FASTER. WHY IS THAT? "The shorter track is faster because the turns that you have will allow you to carry more speed."

WITH A SHORTER TRACK AT THE GLEN, DO YOU HAVE TO GO IN WITH A WHOLE NEW SET UP FOR THE CAR? "It is a different set up. There are a couple of different things we will do for that set up, but it's also interesting to note that this race is probably going to go into the night, so it's a little bit different in that stance because we'll start out later in the evening and we will finish up in the dark."

DO YOU ENJOY NIGHT RACING? "Absolutely, I think it adds a little bit of dimension."

-source: ford racing