Charlie Westcott Jr.
We were in constant preparation leading up to the U.S. Nationals Mopar® HEMI® Challenge event. We don’t take a month off in the middle. We went to the Vegas and Belle Rose races earlier in the year, and then we have three more events after the U.S. Nationals. You kind of need to have your ducks in a row and get everything figured out. You need a spare motor because if you blow something up you hardly have time to fix it for the next week.
We test a lot and I’m on the dyno all the time. We’re always making new parts and going forward with our power and performance of my car. The biggest gains we’ve made lately have been in my dad’s [Charlie Westcott Sr.] stick shift car. It ran really good at Indy. He was the No. 1 qualifier for a little while. I ended up being No. 1, but he took the No. 2 spot. He made a mistake at the starting line in the third round and lost that match, or it probably would have ended up being me and him in the finals.
The race went very smooth. It was probably the smoothest race at Indy we’ve ever had. We never had any problems with rain and the track was really good. It was an enjoyable event.
We got to the track on Monday of race week, and then teched the cars on Tuesday. Basically, I didn’t get more than 50 feet from our trailer the whole time of the event, other than the one time I rode over to the other side of the track to get the ignition box back to MSD. It’s not like a social gathering. We came there to win the race, and that’s all I care about. My customers [Westcott owns Jackson Engine Tech in Parma, Mich.] were all parked pretty close to me and I had to help them do some things. Some of my friends stopped over to see me, and I went out to dinner a few times, but it’s not like a party. We just go down there and get the deal done and go home. We left Saturday night after they tore us down [for post-race inspection] and didn’t even put the car back together. We had some regular work we had to get done on Monday at the shop.
The U.S Nationals is the biggest payout race, and it gets the most attention, but to me it’s just another race. It’s not like I try harder at that one than any other one. I try as hard as I can at every race we go to. We’re going to one in Norwalk, Ohio this weekend, the Chrysler Classic event. I actually enjoy going to those races more because they are so laid back. At Indy there are so many people, it gets to be too hectic. Most people stay back alright, but it can get pretty busy in the pits.