Goess Gears Up For A Busy 2009 Season
Move to ARCA is Planned For Greenville Toyota Team
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With the holidays wrapped up and the New Year upon us, attention now turns to the 2009 racing season. For Craig Goess, the New Year means a new ride for 2009. Goess remains with Eddie Sharp Racing for a second season, but will move from the NASCAR Camping World East Series to the ARCA RE/MAX Series to pilot the No. 81 Greenville Toyota Camry for the full 22-race schedule.
“The switch to the ARCA RE/MAX Series was an easy decision,” said Goess. “ARCA offers a heavier schedule and a lot more different tracks than the East Series does. As far as size goes, I'll be competing at places like Talladega, Daytona, and Pocono. The biggest track in the East Series was a mile, so that kind of limited me as a driver as far as what my experience can be. To try to get to the next level after ARCA, it's best if I put myself on mile and a half and two-mile race tracks just to get the experience on my end.”
Wrapping up his rookie year in the East Series, Goess will now compete for the rookie title once again when he moves over to the ARCA Series. The 2008 season was Goess' first venture into stock cars after having competed for years in Legends Car competition. The switch to an ARCA car will not be totally unfamiliar for Goess, as the cars are very comparable in their specifications.
“There is certainly more power in an ARCA car,” explains Goess. “The cars themselves are fairly similar. They have a different tire and about 200 more horsepower, and those are the biggest differences between the two cars. We just got back from Daytona testing a few weeks ago. It was an awesome experience. I've never driven a car around there or any track that big. We were the first car out so that was a little nerve-wracking the first lap or so, but after that it felt like I had done it 100 times.”
At a track such as Daytona, the ability to acclimate to the extra horsepower is
difficult because the cars will run restrictor plates. Goess looks forward to testing again, however, before heading down to Florida for the season opener in February. Following the race, the series has a couple months off and will allow Goess and his ESR team to test at some of the other tracks on the upcoming schedule.
“It's not fair to say how well I adjusted to the extra horsepower because at a restrictor plate track the cars are powered way down anyway,” Goess stated. “We're going to be testing again before the race. There's a lot of things Patrick (Donahue, crew chief) wants to do to the car and the motor before we go back to make sure we're as competitive as we need to be. Then after the race at Daytona, we'll be testing a good amount to help get me some seat time and experience in these cars.”
With lots to look forward to in 2009, Goess also reflected on his 2008 season with Eddie Sharp Racing in the NASCAR Camping World East Series.
“It was a new venture for everyone,” stated Goess. “It was a new venture for ESR in that series and for myself getting into a full-size car. Personally, the first half was kind of rocky. We had some crew chief changes until Johnny Allen stepped in and took the reigns. We got along real well. He's been around a while and his knowledge of the cars is excellent. He brought some depth to a team that didn't have any because it was all new. Shortly after he came, our finishes immediately started getting better. Unfortunately, he was only there for the last half which was like the last six races. Our finishes started improving from the time he arrived and I think if we had him from the start, I think I would've been a lot more satisfied but none the less, we finished out the year a whole lot better than we started. He's an asset to ESR and obviously, they think so because he's going to be one of my teammate's crew chiefs for 2009 in ARCA.”
With 2008 in the past, Goess' present and future are looking very bright. He owes a lot of that to what he learned last season, as well as the team and support he's going to have on his side. The team, led by seasoned veteran Patrick Donahue, is made up mostly of last year's No. 2 team, which finished the season fifth in points.
“Last year was definitely a learning experience,” Goess said. “I learned a lot in a short period of time and I look forward to carrying that over to this season. I look forward to running more races. We only ran 12 races last year and once we started doing well, the season was over. Now, we'll have 22 races instead of 12. We've got more testing to do. If the way my crew worked on things at Daytona is any indication of what's to come for 2009, I think it's going to be a great year. I'm looking forward to working with all those guys. I'm really excited to have Patrick Donahue as my crew chief. He and I met last year, and we get along really well. He's been in the series for three years or so, so he's familiar with the tracks and the cars. I have 100 percent confidence in him and his guys to put us in position to be a top-running car week in and week out. I hope as a driver I can do everything on my end to make those guys proud of me and vice versa.”
Goess is already extremely proud of his team and can't wait to get to Daytona International Speedway for the running of the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200.
“I feel fortunate to be driving for one of the most respected organizations in the ARCA Series,” said Goess. “I feel like I'm going to have very good equipment. I've got the best owner down to the crew chief and crew in the garage. I think it's a situation where it's our second year, we all know each other and we all know what to expect of each other. I don't like to set goals or be real specific. However, my goal is to put forth 100 percent of my effort into everything I do on and off the track and hopefully good things result from that.”
With 2008 in the rear view mirror, Goess is looking out the windshield to a clear track. Stay tuned to CraigGoess.com on Craig's progress in the ARCA RE/MAX Series in 2009.
