NASCAR: Patrick Carpentier California Preview

The Sprint Cup Series heads to California Speedway this weekend, where Patrick Carpentier in the No. 10 Charter Dodge Charger seeks to make his fourth career start. The No. 10 will feature the purple and yellow paint scheme of Charter Communications for the Fontana race.

Carpentier will be one of the few drivers in the field that have experience in both stock cars and open wheel at the 2-mile oval. He has raced there in both the Champ Car Series and the IRL.

Additionally he tested there in a Gillett Evernham Motorsports Dodge earlier this year. The test at California allowed Carpentier to gain the valuable seat time that the Quebec-native craves.

The No. 10 crew has unloaded fast at California Speedway in the past. Carpentier and crew are looking to make this week no exception. The No. 10's average starting spot at Fontana in 2006 was ninth.

DRIVE PATRICK CARPENTIER QUOTES:

LOOKING FORWARD TO FONTANA: "It might have felt like the end of the world after not making the 500 last week. I now feel it's the beginning of something that's going to be great. We have a strong team, both at the track and at the shop. We just have to keep digging deeper and move on to the next race. We gave it our all, we learned, and most of all, we can hold our heads high with the results we had this week. We're wiping the slate clean for California. This weekend the focus is on Fontana, it's a whole new race."

ON GOING TO A TRACK WHERE HE HAS SOME EXPERIENCE: "I have raced at Fontana before, in Champ Car and the IRL. Unfortunately there isn't very much from those experiences I can use because the cars differ so drastically. It's a much different feeling getting around there in Champ Car at 235 mph than in a stock car at 180 mph."

THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCES BETWEEN STOCK CARS AND OPEN WHEEL: "In open wheel there is so much more downforce on the car. The cars are light and the tires are very wide. They're built for speed. In these stock cars you need to have a lot more car control. It takes a little more finesse to muscle them around the track. The cars weigh more and they're always slipping and sliding around. When you're out there running with 42 other cars that are slipping and sliding equally, it makes things much more challenging. It's pretty crazy to watch all the cars around you sliding through and off the corners."

From: Heath White // Gillett Evernham Motorsports