Inside the Garage: Q&A with crew chief Richert

The relationship between driver and crew chief is one that takes time, patience and many races behind the wheel and on top of the pit box to forge a successful partnership.

For Doug Richert and Brian Vickers, the challenge is multiplied as the two are part of Toyota's expansion into the Nextel Cup Series.

It's been an up and down season for Team Red Bull's No. 83 Camry. After missing the Daytona 500, they posted the manufacturer's highest finish with a 10th-place finish at California. They followed that up, though, by not making the race at Las Vegas.

Things are looking up as the team has made the field in two consecutive races and is coming off a 15th-place finish at Bristol in the Car of Tomorrow.

The scene shifts to Martinsville, another COT race, where Vickers has three top-20s in six races at the track. Richert likes where his team is headed, and thinks success is on the way.

Q: How different will the Car of Tomorrow run at Martinsville as opposed to Bristol?

Richert: I think you're probably not going to see much difference between Bristol and Martinsville because you've got the lower speeds. Bristol has banking to get the grip out of the car, but Martinsville will play a little more critical because these cars are so heavy. We have very little ballast in them. Our right-side weights are up almost 80 pounds with the new car. That's going to play a big part as far as the handling characteristics go.

Q: Are the car setups between Bristol and Martinsville different?

Richert: The springs are going to be the most different. The suspension components are going to be the same, and we're going to go there and fight the same things we are fighting at Bristol, try to get the car to turn.

Q: The COT is supposed to run at any track, could you use this Bristol car and run it at Martinsville?

Richert: All the COT cars we have, they can all run Martinsville, they can all run Bristol. That is one advantage of the COT program; you can pretty much take that car anywhere. There is no difference in off-set; there is no difference in body shape or anything like that. So you might tweak one one way or another but the general concept of the car is identical.

Q: How much will not testing at Martinsville affect the teams when they unload?

Richert: There will be a mad scramble just like always. I think having the Bristol race under our belt will help. A lot of teams have done a lot of testing on flat tracks that are not on the schedule. I don't think you're going to see it "mad as a panic" as you might think there would be but there's going to be a concern, obviously, at getting the cars to turn. (Continued)