The #78 Furniture Row Chevy that Regan Smith will drive in Texas this weekend will be the same Richard Childress Racing-built car that he drove last week in Phoenix. The Phoenix race was the first time that Furniture Row Racing entered a RCR-built car since the two companies formed a technical and engineering alliance at the beginning of the season. “Texas will be our second straight race with a RCR car,” said Smith. “On paper the Phoenix finish (26th) wasn’t that good, but we sure made some gains after slipping with poor performances in Bristol (36th) and Martinsville (32nd). Having the same RCR car in Texas as we had in Phoenix gives us a good feeling about this weekend. We know Texas is a fast track and we’re fine with that.” Smith, his crew chief, Ryan Coniam, and other members of the Denver, Colo-based team got together for a post-Phoenix debriefing and a pre-Texas game plan. “It was a great meeting as we addressed many issues,” noted Smith. “We felt that we were heading in the right direction, but have plenty of work ahead of us, especially with our qualifying performances. We haven’t been qualifying that well and need to bump up that effort. Where you start has a lot to do on how the race plays out.” After seven races, Smith is 32nd in Sprint Cup driver points.(FRR)(4-16-2010)
