Let's just list a few of the things that Stewart Cooper, crew chief of the No. 45 Dodge, has on his plate this weekend at Watkins Glen International.

First, WGI is a road course featuring seven right-hand corners out of 11. It's fast, features a lot of elevation change and there's going to be at least six "ringers" among the cars not in the top 35 in owner points.

“

Going anywhere with Kyle gives a guy comfort. He knows what he wants, knows what it needs to feel like right off the bat.

”

STEWART COOPER, CREW CHIEF

And Kyle Petty returns to the driver's seat after seven weeks off.

Bring it on, Cooper said.

"We had a good test with Kyle last week at Road Atlanta and we feel pretty good about it going into Watkins Glen," Cooper said. "We've been through several drivers -- Kyle, Terry [Labonte] and then Chad [McCumbee]. Getting Kyle back in, the biggest thing is we went to go and test and get used to having Kyle back in the car, used to talking to him on the radio.

"The biggest thing about The Glen is getting in the show. You're going to have a lot of your heavy road-course hitters there, and 46 cars are signed up to make the show. It's going to be a pretty big task to make sure this Marathon Dodge Charger is tuned up to go on Friday."

Watkins Glen is a high-speed answer to Infineon Raceway, the only other road course on the current schedule, and it's going to be a matter of who gets the balance right, Cooper said.

"The biggest thing is making sure the brakes and balances are right, trying to make sure your driver is comfortable under braking transitions, especially with these [new] cars," he said. "It's been very critical as far as trying to get the balance figured out and trying to get your car to turn well. You have to be strong through the esses and good through the right-handers; it's predominantly a right-handed course. We were good at Sonoma with Terry, qualified 11th and finished 17th."

The track's signature Turn 1, a 90-degree downhill right at the end of the main straight, is usually the place for mayhem at The Glen, and Cooper said it's because the drivers are asked to do so much there.

"The biggest thing in terms of Watkins Glen is, going into Turn 1, you're going downhill, so you have an elevation issue. Then you're downshifting and braking all at the same time and turning the wheel, so there are a lot of things you're doing there," Cooper said. "It's a really unique corner. If you're going to have a braking problem, you're going to have it there, getting into Turn 1, with wheel-hop issues or whatnot." (Continued)