Van Way - Ford 100 Acre Rally interview

This Week in Ford Racing, February 23, 2011

This weekend Dillon Van Way, driver of the No. 600 2WD Ford Fiesta looks to carry the momentum from his win at Sno*Drift into this weekend's 100 Acre Wood Rally in the RallyAmerica Series. Van Way talks about the second race of the 2011 season and balancing his schedule as a full-time student and driver.

THIS WEEKEND YOU HEAD INTO THE 100 ACRE WOOD RALLY. CAN YOU DUPLICATE THE SUCCESS OF MICHIGAN IN MISSOURI? "We're going to try and do our best of course. We're hoping to have the turbo on but there was some complications in our tuning and we weren't able to get the car fully charged. Like I said before, the Fiesta is a fully capable car and we will be able to do well if not win it again."

WITH ONLY SIX ROUNDS IN THE RALLY AMERICA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP, HOW CRITICAL IS IT TO AVOID DNF'S? "It's everything. Putting the turbo on and other things on could make the car less reliable. It's almost worse than going in and not being able to run it in the pace that we want to. It's better to finish with a second or a third than not to finish at all."

WILL YOUR FIESTA BE AT THE RALLYCROSS KICK OFF AT IRWINDALE? "I don't think I'll be able to make that because I am a full-time student and my schedule is already tight with just the Rally America Series. The RallyCross and any addition to it makes it difficult for school."

IS IT DIFFICULT BEING A FULL-TIME STUDENT AND KEEPING UP WITH THE RALLY AMERICA SCHEDULE? WITH YOU BEING VERY INVOLVED WITH YOUR CAR, DOES IT BECOME DIFFICULT AT TIMES? "Absolutely, I just had a meeting today with one of my professors about rescheduling a test that falls on a race date. School is pretty understanding and they're pretty cool about it, but it definitely gets difficult to juggle both."

DO YOU BELIEVE IN MOMENTUM GOING INTO THE RALLY THIS WEEKEND AS THE WINNER OF THE FIRST RACE? "Definitely, I think that confidence in the car and in the team has a lot with doing well at the race. Everybody is still on a high from the win in Michigan and we hope to keep it going in Missouri."

-source: ford racing