Colin Braun Posts Second Fastest Time in Opening NASCAR Nationwide Practice at ORP

 

COLIN BRAUN – No. 16 CitiFinancial Ford Fusion – YOU WERE SECOND TO MIKE SKINNER IN TODAY’S FIRST PRACTICE.  IT LOOKS LIKES LAPS YESTERDAY HELPED. “I think they helped.  My crew chief Eddie Pardue brought a really good No. 16 CitiFinancial Ford Fusion for us today.  It’s the same car that we ran at Milwaukee and it was pretty good there.  He made the body a little bit better, I think.  It’s certainly a very good car for today.  It turns really well, it does the things I want it to do and seems to race well.  I’m excited about tonight.”

 

WHAT DO YOU MEAN ‘IT DOES WHAT I WANT IT TO DO’? “For me, the biggest thing is that I want to be able to drive it hard and not have it get free.  I want to have it roll in the center and turn in the center pretty good and have really good grip coming off.  Those are the things that we’ve definitely got.  I feel like I can drive some different lines.  I feel like I’m able to pass some people here.  That’s something that’s going to be important for tonight.”

 

ON THE RADIO, YOU SAID THE FUSION WAS A LITTLE TIGHT? “Yeah, it was a little bit tight in the center, just rolling through the center.  I think this race track is going to free up tonight kind of like it did last night. So, we don’t want to make too many adjustments and changes here.  I think we’re going to take it easy and be smart about what we’re going to do here.”

 

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE DIFFERENCE RACING A FUSION AND A TRUCK AT ORP? “It’s not that different.  It feels like you’re sitting down a little bit lower and the wall are a little taller, but they’re not.”

 

LAST NIGHT THE PREFERRED GROOVE WAS THE TOP.  DOES THAT APPLY HERE TODAY? “I think it will be.  I think you’re going to have guys on new tires that are going to run the bottom just to get passed people on the old tires.  Just a little bit of going where everybody else isn’t.  I think the preferred groove is definitely the top, but at the same time, I think you can make it work on the bottom, too.”

 

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