Ross Brawn, Team Principal

Q. How important to the team was Jenson' Buttons sixth place in Barcelona?

"We were extremely pleased to pick up our first points of the season in Barcelona and it was just reward for the efforts that everyone has put in over the last few months. We took many positives from the race weekend, including the good performance of the new aero package and our strategy working well, with the execution of the pit stops being especially good. Of course, there are challenges to be overcome, however I am confident we have the right attitude and commitment to resolve these. There is tremendous potential in this team and our three points in Barcelona was the first step at the start of a very intense few months of racing."

Jenson Button, Driver

Q. Knowing the strengths of the RA108, do you expect the car to be competitive at the Turkish Grand Prix?

"The Spanish Grand Prix was our first major upgrade to the RA108 and the new aero package definitely gave us a performance improvement over the weekend. It's good to know that we are improving the car step-by-step and I was able to develop a good understanding of the new developments. The car that we take to Turkey will be essentially the same package, therefore our focus will be getting onto Q3 and qualifying in the top ten. Turkey is a circuit that I have always been competitive at, and really enjoy driving, so I am hopeful that we will have a good race."

Rubens Barrichello

Q. You reach 257 Grand Prix appearances this weekend. What does this mean to you?

"Becoming the most experienced Formula One driver ever means a great deal to me. I've had a long career in Formula One and I have so many wonderful memories, but I don't feel any different today to the day when I started out on this journey in 1993. My first race, at Kyalami, seems like yesterday. I must thank my family and friends for their unwavering support through the years. I was lucky enough to start my career in F1 at a young age and I love racing as much as ever and, importantly, I still love Formula One. Whilst people will look back at my 16-year career in Turkey, I'm still looking forward and the next race is the one that matters the most."

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Mike Wallace (No. 7 GEICO Toyota) has completed more laps this season than any other driver in series competition with 1,912  —failing to finish only six total laps thus far.

David Reutimann (No. 99 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota) is one of only two drivers among the top 10 to have not led a single lap this season.

Watch for two series-only regulars to run up front – Jason Leffler (No. 32 Great Clips Toyota) and Kenny Wallace (No. 28 U.S. Border Patrol Chevrolet).  Leffler has finished in the top 10 in each of the last two Darlington races and has scored a Driver Rating of 104.8 and Average Running Position of 10.2 during that span. Kenny Wallace knows his way around Darlington as well.  He’s scored a pole (1990) and eight top ten finishes in the Nationwide Series, with a career best runner-up finish in 2005.

Due to Morgan Shepherds "oh so excellent" and most popular 13th place finish at Talladega - and all of the support streaming in from within the NASCAR community and racing communities in general - TheHotLap.com has decided to start a "Sticker Tires For Faith" fund with the goal of donating a set of tires for Sat May 24th's NASCAR Nationwide CARQUEST Auto Parts 300 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. 

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Heading into Richmond sitting 9th in points, Mike Wallace was looking to make up ground on the Top 5 with a good finish on Friday night.  On Lap 171, Wallace would approach the Top 10 and run in the 11th position before recording a 13th place finish under the lights at Richmond International Raceway. The 13th place finish would help Wallace remain in the 9th position in the point standings, but stretch his lead to 120 points over David Stremme in the 10th position.

“It was a good points night for us, but we were hoping to get a win for GEICO in their backyard,” Wallace said. “We’ll head to Darlington next week and hope to continue to make up ground in the points race. Our goal is to finish in the Top 5 in points and win races and we will continue to pursue those things until they happen.”

This week, the Germain Racing team heads to Darlington, South Carolina, for another Friday night race under the lights. This time it will happen on a newly-paved 1.366-mile race track.  The Diamond Hill Plywood 200 is on Friday, May 9th, and it will be televised live on ESPN2 beginning at 7:00 PM (ET), while the Motor Racing Network (MRN) will carry the live radio broadcast.

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Roush Fenway Racing's Jamie McMurray led the final of six test sessions held at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Monday and Tuesday.  Has he adjusted his car so that it is yawed out like Carl Edwards' has been running his on those mile and a half tracks where he has been successful?

Crew chiefs and engineers took the yawn out of Sprint Cup testing at Lowe's Motor Speedway (LMS) and put in the yaw.  The hope is to close the gap between Roush Fenway Racing's Carl Edwards and the rest of the field at 1.5-mile tracks such as LMS.  Edwards' car, according to several crew chiefs and drivers, has been dominant in part because he has been able to handle a setup in which the rear housing is turned to the right, making it appear the car is going sideways down the straightaways.  This gives Edwards more yaw -- movement in the back end -- that creates more downforce and allows him to make a better transition going into the corners.

"I think everyone sees it, even on TV," said Denny Hamlin, who is sixth in points.  "It's very, very noticeable for us drivers. To those that don't really know the nuts and bolts of the cars, they don't really see it. We see it, the attitude of his car is a little bit more I guess 'yawed out' more than everyone else's.  There are reasons for that.  We as a team are starting to pinpoint that and really starting to show up."

Many teams used the two-day test at LMS to experiment with setups similar to what they believe Edwards has.  NASCAR allows only a quarter-inch adjustment in the rear housing and monitors it with gauges. Tony Eury Jr., the crew chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr. can't go quite that far without making the car tough for his driver to handle.

Earnhardt crashed during Monday's practice sessions at Lowe's. 

Four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon said that much yaw makes his car very tough to handle.  Two-time champion Tony Stewart said everybody is trying to get a feel for it.

Now we know whats been bugging Jeff.

"It's a driver feel, there's no doubt," Eury said. "Some drivers like it. Some drivers don't."

Edwards apparently does. He's used it to win at 1.5-mile tracks at Las Vegas and Texas and the 2-mile California Speedway.  He was headed for a win at 1.5-mile Atlanta before his engine expired late.

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http://www.scenedaily.com/news/articles/sprint
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