Racing on NASCAR turf as the outsider, a successful Sprint Cup debut this weekend is all about giving and earning respect.
That’s the view of DTM star Mattias Ekström, who will race the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota in this weekend’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma, Calif’s, 12-turn, 3.20-kilometre Infineon Raceway.
“I know all the drivers and I give a lot of respect to the drivers and the teams. I will go and do my best and try to earn the respect of all those guys,” he said.
“I mean these guys have been racing there all year and some are trying to get into the Chase, so I don’t want to mess up anyone’s race. I want to do my own race but you can be sure that if anyone behaves badly, I know how to behave badly too, but that’s not my ambition.”
“When things get tough, no one is shy about getting aggressive in DTM. In NASCAR, everybody pays lots of respect to each other, but at the end when a win is on the line, everybody gets tougher as well.”
The two-time DTM champion gets his first taste of NASCAR Sprint Cup action at Infineon in Friday practice before qualifying later in the afternoon. Another two practice sessions Saturday will help him get the car ready for Sunday afternoon’s 110-lap race.
To prepare for his stock car adventure, Ekström arrived in Charlotte Tuesday afternoon and spent a couple of days reacquainting himself with the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota crew the team’s headquarters before flying to California on Thursday.
The Swedish DTM driver earned his chance to race in Cup after an extraordinary performance in a late May test with the team at the Virginia International Raceway road course.
'I have been watching a lot of the races on television and I have been following it a lot. I am as well prepared as I can be without actually racing' – Mattias Ekström
“When I was testing with the team, we discussed the same things like balance of the car and race strategy, so that’s not different,” he said. “At the end of the day, I think the biggest difference will be the racing.”
Coming from a series where 18 drivers race in cars with carbon fibre brakes, serious aerodynamic elements, and stickier slick tyres, Ekström is keeping things in perspective as he gets ready to experience 43 cars doing battle on a tight and twisty road course. He’s simply not going in with unrealistic expectations.
“I think the risk of my winning is very small, but everybody has the same chance until qualifying and the race and you see the chequered flag. I will try my best and I think top-10 would be really nice that’s for sure,” he said.
“I have been watching a lot of the races on television and I have been following it a lot, so for a guy who hasn’t raced in NASCAR, I think I am pretty well sorted when it comes to how the guys race and what you have to care about. I am as well prepared as I can be without actually racing.”
And would he like to try an oval race after getting his feet wet in Sonoma?
“First things first,” he said. “I have a road course to do that I am looking forward to in Sonoma and then we will see. Actually for me it is simple: Be good and you will get a second chance and you aren’t good enough you won’t get any more chances. But I would say the short ovals like Martinsville and Bristol are quite interesting.”
Stay on track with the latest from nascar.com. You can find out more about Mattias Ekström from his personal site, follow the Red Bull Racing Team on Twitter, keep up with Brian Vickers on Facebook and check out Scott Speed's hilarious Twitter feed.
Comments
Add a comment