After earning a career-best 19th-place finish at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeeday in May, Josh Wise is eager to go back to a restrictor plate track. His No. 35 MDS Transport Ford team will be ready to go racing at Daytona International Speedway this week for Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400.
The team’s 19th-place effort at Talladega was part of Front Row Motorsports’ best day at the track in team history, in which David Ragan and David Gilliland finished first and second for FRM’s first win ever. Wise’s result was the No. 35 team’s best of the season and the best of the driver’s Sprint Cup Series career.
Saturday’s night’s race on the 2.5-mile superspeedway will be Wise’s third Cup race at the Daytona Beach, Fla., track.
Comments from MDS Transport team driver Josh Wise heading to Daytona:
“I don’t know if the night race at Daytona will be much different from the previous two restrictor plate races we’ve seen so far. I know all of us at Front Row Motorsports are really excited about going there with the success we’ve had this year on the speedways. David Ragan and David Gilliland ran 1-2 at Talladega, and we (No. 35 team) had our best finish of the year in the restrictor plate race at Talladega as well. So, it will be a race that we’ll all look forward to. The guys are working hard on the cars and we’ll get out there and mix it up.
“The last laps in these races are crazy. It’s kind of interesting to see just how it all unfolds and the times that it becomes important to jockey around for position. You see guys start to get desperate knowing that they’re not in the position they need to be in to really make a run at the end of the race. And then there’s a wreck, so that kind of resets it all. It’s one of those crazy things. You don’t want to get caught out of the mix and not be in position to make a run at a race where it’s really anybody’s race until the last lap. But at the same time, you’ve got to be smart and watch out for these big wrecks. You’ve got to make it to the end so you can have the opportunity to win.
“We are learning more about this new car and teams are getting better at making the cars better. As far as the racing goes, I think as drivers, we just go and drive hard every week. And I think we’ve seen some great racing with the Gen-6 car all year this year. It’s been a testament to the car and the changes that NASCAR has made. Everything from the appeal of them when they’re just sitting in the garage to how they race on the track has been pretty awesome to see unfold.”
FRM PR
