Samsung 500 - Chevrolet Friday Quotes
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MARK MARTIN, NO. 01 U.S. ARMY MONTE CARLO SS BEHIND THE HAULER CHAT
MARK MARTIN, NO. 01 U.S. ARMY MONTE CARLO SS, 15TH IN POINTS, MET WITH MEDIA TO DISCUSS HIS RETURN TO THE TRACK AFTER THREE WEEKS OFF
ON THE HANDLING OF THE MONTE CARLO SS VS. THE IMPALA SS: "Well we've been doing a lot this year even a little bit of truck racing too so variety is the spice of life they say."
ON HIS THREE WEEKS OF AND IF HE FEELS REJUVINATED: "Well I'm excited about being here, real excited. I've really enjoyed being around my friends and being back in this environment. I had some of the weekends off but not a lot. I've still been doing an awful lot but it's a nice break to be at home on Friday or doing some different things the last three weekends than spending them at a NASCAR track.
"I love it. I'm back with my friends and the people I love actually. To be honest with you I was surprised how good it was. I knew it's going to be great because it's what I do but these people in this garage have been my family for 20 years and I enjoy coming to the race track and being a part of that."
ON BEING BACK AT TEXAS: "We're glad to be here working together. There's a lot of competition. It's quite a challenge. We enjoy working together. We really have a good time and we're looking forward to this weekend."
WHAT WILL BE THE KEY FOR BEING SUCCESSFUL HERE? "(The key is) if we make our car faster than everyone else's."
ON GOING TO OHIO SPEEDWAY ON JULY 13th: "That's where we'll be Friday night. I haven't gotten a chance to see it yet but we'll see it soon. We're excited about it. (I'm) looking forward to it."
ON GOING TO PHOENIX: "It will be my first race in the Car of Tomorrow but I've done three or four tests with the U.S. Army team. I don't know exactly what to expect. Our testing has been a little bit disappointing to me. Really to be honest with you we haven't tested as well as we did with the regular car and we've raced much better than we tested with the regular car so if we race better with the Car of Tomorrow than we tested then we'll do well."
IS PHOENIX A PLACE YOU LIKE GOING TO? "Yeah, that's why it's on my schedule. I had the option of going or not going to Phoenix. Sure I want to go. I love going out there. I like the race track. I love the fans there and their support and I look forward to working with this whole team on sort of a new challenge, especially for me, with the COT."
WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE NASCAR GO NEXT TO BUILD A NEW TRACK? "I don't know. I'm more interested in making my car go fast. Let them figure out where they're going to take the tracks."
WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE TRACK? "I don't know. Charlotte I guess."
ON DRIVING TWO DIFFERENT CHEVROLET RACE CARS THIS SEASON: "Yeah, you have to take into consideration what car you've just strapped into. You can't just get out it, strap into something and go out on the race track. The difference between the trucks and the Busch cars and the Cup cars is significant on one hand. On the other hand, a car is a car is a car."
ARE YOU EXCITED TO BE BACK RACING OR DID YOU ENJOY BEING AWAY? "Both. I'm definitely liking this being away for a couple of weekends and doing our fan appreciations deal. Easter weekend in Arkansas was really fun. We had great support from our fans and getting to race with Ricky Carmichael was really special for me. I'm just really excited to be back at the race track with my friends as well so now I've got a set of friends away from the track and a set of friends at the track."
WHEN'S THE LAST TIME YOU HAD A SET OF FRIENDS AWAY FROM THE TRACK? "When I was 14. It started diminishing when I started racing and the last 20 years or 25 years, nearly 30 (years), outside of my wife my crew chief and my team have been by best friends."
IS THE PARTIAL SCHEDULE WHAT YOU EXPECTED? "It is, everything that I had hoped for and I'm loving it."
WHAT WAS THE BEST PART ABOUT YOUR LAST THREE WEEKS? "When I woke up Friday morning at home instead of a race track with no anxiety, no pressure, being able to take my son to lunch Friday. So Friday, that was the best."
WHAT WAS IT LIKE TAKING YOUR SON OUT TO LUNCH? "Oh, we do it regularly. We don't do it on Friday. It's just quality time. It's hard to have quality time with a 15-year old. They're got their own lives and I have mine. I've enjoyed the Fridays the most of all of it. I have worked harder this year than I ever have in my career so I haven't been on vacation the last three weeks. I've been digging as hard as I can go but it's been different and it's been wonderful - racing with Ricky Carmichael, having a weekend off, fan appreciation - all real special weekends, all three different weekends."
DID YOU WATCH ANY OF THE RACES ON TV? "I watched them all."
WHAT WAS IT LIKE WATCHING IT ON TV? "It was fun because I did it with friends."
DID YOU FEEL LIKE YOU WANTED TO BE THERE? "No."
DO YOU EVER HAVE ANY MOMENTS ON THOSE FRIDAYS OF NOT WANTING TO GO OUT THERE AND PRACTICE? "No, I want to race. It's the greatest day of my life. Bristol Friday morning when I woke up, I had worked really hard all week. I had everything organized and I didn't have anything to do except whatever it was I wanted to do. It was wonderful. I took Matt to lunch and then we went off short track racing. I had a blast. All three weekends have been completely different and they've all been wonderful. They've been something that mean so much to me that I don't think I'd give that up."
ON IT BEING A TEST OF BREAKING THE ADDICTION TO RACE EVERY WEEKEND: "It was going to be a true test. After Bristol was over with I knew I was fine and that I had made the right decision."
ON IF HE HAS ANY SUPERSTITIONS: "No, just please no four-leaf clovers. I've got one of those, taped it in my race car once at North Wilkesboro and I got crashed before the green flag came out so I don't believe in good luck charms and I also don't believe in anything that's supposed to be back luck."
ON IT BEING FRIDAY THE 13TH: "I don't think Jason is out there anywhere. Or is Jason Freddy Krueger (laughs)?"
WAS THERE EVER A TIME YOU WISHED YOU WENT TO BRISTOL OR MARTINSVILLE? "Never, no I'm very, very happy. I made the right decision."
ON REGAN SMITH'S PERFORMANCE: "Regan did a fabulous job. We're so proud of him. I look forward to continuing to work with him. He's really coming along."
ON HOW STRONG THEIR TEAM'S HAVE BEEN: "I'm really proud of what we've been able to accomplish here at Ginn Racing but I honestly know we have a lot of work in front of us. Even though we've got great results we all want more."
ON WHAT THE TEAM HAS DONE DIFFERENTLY: "I don't think they've done anything differently. I think this was a great team before I came here and they're excitement and enthusiasm of my coming really sparked some good karma. We had some good luck. We could have had accidents in all four races and everybody would be saying boy that was mistake. We had fast cars, did a great job, incredible on pit road and Ryan (Pemberton) has proven to me that he's one of the smartest crew chiefs in the garage and I feel like I'm one of the luckiest guys in the business."
ON HIS BET WITH JEFF BURTON: "I don't think we bet. I think he bet with somebody else. I haven't collected anything."
ON IF HIS PARTIAL SCHEDULE WILL HAVE ANY AFFECT ON HIS PERFORMANCE THE REST OF THE SEASON: "It won't have any affect on my performance. It won't. It could possibly have an effect on the team's performance but I don't think so."
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JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT MONTE CARLO SS BEHIND THE HAULER CHAT
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT MONTE CARLO SS, TALKS WITH MEDIA ABOUT THE STRENGTH OF HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS, RACING WITH JIMMIE JOHNSON AT MARTINSVILLE, TRADING SET-UPS, AND MORE
HOW WAS PRACTICE? "Well, the time sheet might not look too good, but we were in race trim. I think a lot of guys were in qualifying trim. But the car felt really good -- even though the speeds might not show it on the sheet. We're obviously a little concerned because we were in race trim and didn't get any laps in qualifying trim. If it dries up and we get qualifying in, it's going to be very interesting so we'll see what happens. But I know Jimmie (Johnson) made some qualifying runs, so hopefully we can learn something from them."
IS THIS AN INTERESTING WEEKEND BECAUSE YOU WANT TO GO BACK AND WORK ON THE NEW CAR EVEN THOUGH YOU'RE BACK IN THE OLD CAR NOW? "Now that we've gone ahead and we're racing the car of tomorrow -- we've tested at Darlington -- if that's the direction we're headed in and NASCAR is happy with it, I'd like to see us do more of it. The uniqueness about this car is that it's a little bit different from a drivers standpoint, but mainly different for the team in the set-up and preparation and the whole inspection process and everything. It's not that much for the driver. It makes for an interesting weekend because you bounce back and forth. The only good thing that's saving us right now is the downforce -- an intermediate track where we really haven't had the car of tomorrow, the Impala, on anything but the short tracks."
WITH HENDRICK ON A ROLL AND JIMMIE JOHNSON WINNING THREE OUT OF FOUR, HOW DO YOU VIEW BEING THE SECOND-PLACE GUY? "It doesn't really matter to me that it's Hendrick that we're finishing second or third to, it's anybody. I feel like we've been capable of winning already in a short period of time this season, and that's what I have to remind myself of. We're having a great year so far and it's early. We've had some great race cars capable of winning, but it's early. So I try to constantly remind myself of that. But what's frustrating at Martinsville was that it was the third time this year that I felt like we had the car to beat and we didn't pull it off and so that's definitely frustrating. But it has nothing to do with my teammates -- Jimmie, in particular -- winning those three races. I'm excited for Hendrick motorsports and how we're running and how things are going. And we're running equally as well and having those opportunities. But it's good to be frustrated over finishing second. And it's been a while since we've been in that position. So I'm for the most part pretty happy with that. But I'm a competitor. It's pretty hard when you're in that moment. And the microphone is in your face right there, man, and you're like, I wanted that win!"
WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THE FACT THAT THERE HAVE BEEN 12 DIFFERENT GUYS TO WIN AT THIS RACE TRACK AND NONE HAVE BEEN HENDRICK DRIVERS? "Obviously, nobody seems to have a script for it or we would have seen multiple winners here. But there have been changes in this track over the years and that's contributed to it. But to me, it's just a very, very tricky place to get the right combination of aerodynamics, horsepower, mechanical grip, and set-up and get comfortable as a driver with the speeds we carry here. Twice we've had cars that were capable of winning here. Once, I think it was the first year, when we got taken out when leading or running second. And then the other was when Elliott Sadler won and we had electrical problems. So we've been in position to win here -- just not recently.
"Recently we haven't been very competitive and that's been frustrating. It comforts me a little bit and I try not to put too much blame on myself (knowing) that all of Hendrick Motorsports just hasn't been that good here. So, it's something internally that we're working on. Anytime we don't have the combination we feel like is a winning combination like here or Richmond or Phoenix or Homestead, it motivates us to figure it out. We look at all the telemetry and everything we possibly can to get closer. I can't tell you all of what we've hit on this year, but the guys building the cars have just done a fantastic job finding a little bit in all these different areas. And the cars are just so much more comfortable to drive and that's where the speed comes is when that comfort is there. I feel like (if) any time we've had a chance of a Hendrick car winning here or ourselves winning here, it's this year.
WHY IS HENDRICK SO DOMINANT RIGHT NOW? CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE LEVEL OF COMPETITION BETWEEN YOU AND YOUR TEAMMATES? "When you go to work over the off-season and you look at your results from the previous year and what you worked on and so forth, it's just really doing your homework. When you're starting to hit on something, it takes a year sometimes for it all to materialize. We all said last year was a building year and it was. I really think it took a good eight, to 10 months to a year for us to really get into our own stride and be able to make the most of our own resources. When you tour Hendrick Motorsports and you see the ins and outs of that place, anybody would tell you in this garage area, 'How can you not be successful?' All the tools are there. We have great people. We had very little turnover from last year to this year. We had a championship with Jimmie (Johnson) winning. We had three of the four cars in the Chase. That's momentum to build on.
"Over the off-season, the crew chiefs and engineers and everybody really did their homework and that's paying off. And I'm not saying that other teams have not done their homework, it's just that whatever direction we were moving into that we focused on that we thought was going to make us better, has. And that's a good thing.
"I think this who car of tomorrow shows you which teams are strong, which teams are united, and which teams have the best overall combination. Obviously Hendrick, right now, is on top of their game. I think Gibbs is, as well, and Childress. It's not so much Chevy as it is just the teams. Chevy provides us great tools as well. But I look at those teams.
"As far as teammates, over all the years, I can remember when Terry (Labonte) and I were going for that championship. Jimmie and I are a lot closer in age and also in the friendship we've had for years. Terry is a more reserved guy and I never really got to know him on the level that I have Jimmie. There's no doubt on the race track that we're very, very competitive. And yet off the race track, we can laugh about it. Early on, we talked about as teammates keeping things (that happen) on the race track, on the race track and letting things go off the race track. And it gets tough at times because we were bumping and banging pretty good there at Richmond. But we laughed about it at the test at Richmond and on the phone afterwards. Having other teammates that run good, and that are solid like we have right now, only makes all of us stronger. I believe in that. The whole organization believes in that. And yes, there are challenges with that because sometimes you have to beat yourself almost, or your teammates to win these races. But all of us recognize the information we share in the meetings we have and the unity we have among the crew chiefs that that's a very good thing for us as a whole. Let's let it come done to one of us winning this race or one of us winning this championship. We just hope that one of us gets it."
THE CREW CHIEFS SEEM TO BE FRUSTRATED WITH THE TIRE LIMITS AND TESTING LIMITS. DO YOU THINK NASCAR SHOULD OPEN UP THE NUMBER OF TESTS AGAIN ON THE TRACKS YOU ACTUALLY RACE ON? "Oh, my goodness, I've been testing so much this year I don't know what to do with myself. I can't imagine that. We've been testing so much this year -- even with the car of tomorrow. I can't believe they're saying that. But I don't like testing at all (laughs). But that's just me. I've been here 15 years. Testing is a necessity and I know the importance of it, so you kind of muscle through it. I don't know. I don't know if they've really solved anything by cutting back. We've been going to different tracks and testing different tire manufacturers. We're still going to these places anyway, so are they really resolving anything? I can't necessarily say that we are. I think it's important for NASCAR to have some limitations on testing in the number of places.
"But as far as limiting us on getting the tires -- that had to do with going to Kentucky. Manufacturers had the track rented out every day for the whole year and teams just kept going and going there all the time. That wasn't necessarily a good thing. But trying to find ways to limit it even more is going to be tough for NASCAR. But I do think that trying to get us some tires back is something they should do. For us to run on other manufacturers tires when we race on Goodyears and believe in Goodyear, is not necessarily a good thing.
REGARDING THE CHANGES TO THE BUMP IN TURNS 1 AND 2, HOW MUCH WILL THAT CHANGE YOUR ABILITY TO PERFORM ON THIS TRACK? HOW MUCH OF A DIFFERENCE DOES IT REALLY MAKE WHEN YOU'RE IN THE CAR? "I didn't even know they'd made the changes until a couple of days ago. We talked about it a little bit this morning before I went out there. I wanted to know what they'd done because I didn't know how elaborate the changes were. But, I think they're so minor that you really can't tell. I'll be honest; I only made about four laps. But had it been a major change and I didn't know about it, then shame on me, or shame on whoever didn't get the information to us. But I don't think it is. I think it's very insignificant, which I'm glad. I'd rather it be a minor change than a major change without us being able to test on it. I was afraid they'd cut a whole section out or something. But so far, what I could see and what I felt in the few laps I was out there, it's very minor. But the bump down in (turns) 1 and 2 over there by the tunnel gets worse as you go higher up the race track. And I never got off the white line, or yellow line, or whatever it is here. So I don't know. I saw sparks flying off of all the cars going through there, so I'm guessing it wasn't all that different. We don't have telemetry on the cars during race weekend. Going back to the question about testing, I've pitched a few teams on the idea us have telemetry on the cars maybe on Fridays and letting us have the information. We wouldn't need to test as much if we could do that. That information would be very valuable to us. It's all based on what I feel. And I wish I had the telemetry to take back to the team and we could see the difference and know for sure."
WAS THE HARDEST PART ABOUT JIMMIE JOHNSON WINNING AT MARTINSVILLE KNOWING THAT YOU SHARED YOUR SET-UP WITH THE NO. 48 TEAM WHEN THEY WERE STRUGGLING? "If anything is going to get blown out of proportion, it's that one. I mean how many times have I been asked about Jimmie's set-ups and race cars and us using it and running good with it one weekend? That had very little to do with it. We do that every weekend. Sometimes we'll be out there on the edge, trying something unique and different and they'll be running their standard package. And if we don't really find some speed with what we're doing, we go back to what they have. And vice-versa with the No. 5 and No. 25 as well. I feel like they were really trying some special things. They knew they could do that because we were running a fairly standard Martinsville package that's not too far from what we'd normally run. So they knew they could try some stuff. That's all they did. That part is definitely blown out of proportion. That had nothing to do with it. It had everything to do with that I finished second and I felt like I had the car -- even with the set-ups being as close as they were -- I felt like I had a better car. We showed that throughout most of the day. Track position played a role. He did everything he should have done. He raced perfectly. He picked up the pace when I got there. He ran a line that made it very difficult for me to pass him. And I felt like I did everything but wreck him to try to make the pass clean. That was what was frustrating to me was that I wasn't able to make a clean pass. And that when I caught him, we didn't actually have a good enough car to pass him."
MORE EXPLANATION ON TRADING SET-UPS: "I'm mainly going back to when Jimmie and Chad (Knaus, crew chief) first came on board and everybody was saying that oh, they took Jeff's cars and Jeff's set-ups and they're beating them with their set-ups and so on. Us giving them our set up this time was no real difference than what's happened in the past. Jimmie has won a lot of races over the past few years, but we've had our success too where sometimes we've gotten our information from them too and used their set-ups and finished ahead of them with their set-up. But we've found that where we've gotten to where we're much closer than we used to be, but we still know that I have to run a little bit different -- like maybe a little bit more left rear spring, but we can be very close."
AT TMS, YOU'VE GOT MORE SUCCESS THAN JIMMIE HAS, WOULD WE BE SPLITTING HAIRS TO SAY ONE OR THE OTHER OF YOU HAVE PICKED UP SOME SET-UP? ARE YOUR SET-UPS THAT CLOSE NOW? "Let me explain the process a little bit better. It happens every weekend. Basically, we set up a time when all four drivers and crew chiefs and engineers from each team can get together. It's usually after final practice. Sometimes the Busch race affects that. But we just go through everything we did through practice. Steve (Letarte, crew chief) and I explain everything that we did and what we tried -- lap times, set-ups and so forth -- and I'll give the feel of what I think I need to go faster. We all do this. Based on this, Steve and I might get together and take one piece of somebody else's set-up and piece it together. Sometimes at the end of the day those set-ups will be identical. Sometimes they look on paper totally different but we get the same results. So that's the process that happens. Sometimes you use a set-up that ends up being the same and sometimes you don't.
"That's probably how it got blown out of proportion at Martinsville because if you looked at it, there probably were some differences in my set-up and Jimmie's set-up. But they weren't happy with their results after practice and I was feeling pretty good about mine. And so we laid it out there to them and Jimmie has really done a fantastic learning how to drive Martinsville and I think they just agreed that they thought they needed to go more toward what we had."
IN ALL YOUR NON-TECHNICAL CONVERSATIONS WITH JIMMIE, HAVE YOU TALKED ABOUT REPEATING HIS CHAMPIONSHIP? HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO REPEAT TODAY THAN IT WAS 10 YEARS AGO? "I think it's harder in general to win championships because of the Chase. You're battling with nine other guys in the past -- this year, 11 other guys -- and I think that in itself just makes it more competitive; and the fact that they pretty much just level the playing field once the Chase starts. No matter how much momentum you had going into that, it just takes it all away and you have to start over. So it's already just increasingly harder to win, period. So obviously that means that repeating can be even that much tougher. But I think it's always been tough to repeat championships. But if you really connect and you have very little turnover and if your organization and your team particularly hits on some things and continues to move forward and continues to have success like they've had this year, it increases your chances to be able to repeat.
"Have Jimmie and I talked specifically about it? I'm trying to think of specific conversations that we've had. I think we've maybe touched on it -- about maybe not getting overwhelmed with the increasing responsibilities that come along with it. But I can't think of any real sit-down, serious talks about it."
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JEFF BURTON, NO. 31 PRILOSEC OTC MONTE CARLO SS BEHIND THE HAULER CHAT
JEFF BURTON, NO. 31 PRILOSEC OTC MONTE CARLO SS, 2ND IN POINTS, MET WITH MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA DURING THE WEEKLY TOP-10 BEHIND THE HAULER CHAT TO DISCUSS THE UPCOMING RACE AND THE SEASON SO FAR
ON HIS RECENT PERFORMANCE AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY: "I think we finished sixth in the Spring race, which wasn't terrible. In the Fall race - it pretty well took away our Championship hopes. We come back here thinking about that a little bit and trying to get a little vengeance. It's a great race track and there's no reason that we shouldn't be able to compete. The reality is that we haven't been able to compete as well as we need to and hopefully we can turn that around this weekend."
ON THERE BEING NO REPEAT WINNERS AT TEXAS: "I don't have an answer for that. I do think that early in the deal, when the track was new, it seemed like it was a new track, three years in a row. That had some bearing on it, but I don't have an answer . I don't know why . I think it's cool there hasn't been a repeat winner. I think it would be even cooler if we could stop that this weekend. I don't even have a clue as to why that is."
IS THIS DIFFERENT FROM OTHER MILE-AND-A-HALF TRACKS? "I think it is different. How quickly your car changes direction here is different . that doesn't make it wrong . thank God it is different, that every mile-and-a-half isn't the same (although) they may look the same. I'm still a little surprised that the top groove hasn't continued to come in. We did see the top groove a little bit in the Spring for sure . there's no reason why the top groove shouldn't come in.
"One thing about fixing the bump. I think that may fix that (the top groove coming in). The higher you ran the bigger that bump was. So maybe that will help.
"It is different from other mile-and-a-half tracks, not necessarily in a bad way."
SHOULD NASCAR OPEN UP TESTING BY GIVING REAL TIRES? "It's a Catch 22. I thought a couple of years ago it was a great idea to offer more test dates with a combination of two-day tests and some one-day tests - I thought that was a great idea because we were going to Kentucky and all these places and why not test where we were going to race? I didn't see how it was going to cost the car owners any more money because we were going to go testing somewhere anyway. We did that and everybody complained about it and said there's too much testing. And now they're complaining there's not enough testing. So I don't know what the answer is. I do believe that with the Car of Tomorrow they should let up some tires so that we can do some more testing. I don't think it ought to be an unlimited number of supply - it should be you can get X number of tires for X number of weeks. Something like that. Because, for example, road course testing. We've never had an Impala SS on a road course. We don't have any tires to go run an Impala SS on a road course. There's some things like that that NASCAR needs to look hard at and at the same time all the car owners complain about how much money it costs to go racing and one way to limit that is (to limit) testing. It's a balance but I believe they do need to let up some tires to let us go testing at some places, especially with the Car of Tomorrow program going on. I think that would be in the sport's best interest."
ON MANY OF THE TRACKS BEING RE-PAVED. AT WHAT POINT DOES THE SPEED BECOME EXCESSIVE AND YOU HAVE TO START PUTTING RESTRICTOR PLATES ON FOR THESE TRACKS? "Re-paving is the worst thing you can do to a racetrack. The only time you should re-pave a racetrack is when you absolutely have to. It sounds like Darlington is in that category where they're having some issues with the track settling and the track will start to come up if they don't pave it. With the exception of that, I am totally opposed to the paving of racetracks. History is they screw them up more than they help them. History is we're going to go have tire problems for a certain amount of races there. The only way to solve that is to bring a type of tire back that everyone whines about. So why pave it? It doesn't enhance the quality of the race, all it does is make it more difficult for Goodyear to make a tire that can withstand the loads. Especially at a mile-and-a-half - those sort of racetracks. I'm not in favor of paving racetracks, I'm not in favor of putting new asphalt down for the sake of finding more grip. I think that's the exact opposite of what we should be doing. So with the exception of a maintenance issue, I don't think they should ever pave a racetrack. When the speeds are too excessive that's when Goodyear brings a tire that everyone whines about, like we had at Vegas. We can get the speeds down but for a week all you hear is all the whining about how bad the cars drove. So - it's a no-win situation and that's why I don't think they should ever pave racetracks."
COULD THE CAR OF TOMORROW HELP? "I can't imagine how the Car of Tomorrow could help that problem."
THE SUPERSTITIONS OF OLD-TIME DRIVERS SEEM TO HAVE FADED AWAY. WHY? DO YOU HAVE ANY SUPERSTITIONS OF YOUR OWN? "(It's) because they haven't had enough experience of bad things to buy into it. You do this long enough and you'll start believing almost anything. The older you get, the more you see things happening, the more you wonder why. I think that's where superstitions came from originally and that's why they get enhanced. That's the only answer I have. I understand why people are superstitious and because a) happened and b) happened at the same time and c) was a result, it's pretty easy to come to that conclusion in this sport. "Do I have some superstitions. I do . some that are kinda quirky."
WOULD YOU PREFER TO BE HAVING ANOTHER WEEKEND WORKING WITH THE IMPALA SS OR ARE YOU HAPPIER TO BE BACK WITH THE MONTE CARLO SS? "I think the formula NASCAR had - in walking us into the Car of Tomorrow - is correct, instead of wiping the slate clean and starting with just the Car of Tomorrow. The negative is that we're going to go back and forth from one car to the other throughout the year. That's a challenge for us as teams to overcome. I'm comfortable with it. The overall game plan was right and the only way to execute that game plan is to alternate when you're in the cars. Keep this in mind too. Bristol and Martinsville are completely different from Texas. So when I walked in the gate this morning I didn't say: "You're in the old-style car and you need to drive it this way." I was thinking: "You're at Texas Motor Speedway, this is what you need to accomplish." I'm not really paying much attention to what car I'm driving, I'm just trying to make it go around the track as fast as I can. And I think that's probably what everybody's doing."
AT&T HAS ITS DAY IN COURT SOON. ARE YOU HOPING FOR A SOLUTION TO THE ISSUE? "As I said a couple of weeks ago, it has to come to a conclusion. We can't as a company continue without understanding what the result is and nor can AT&T. Nor can NASCAR, for that matter. So there is some form of resolution coming quickly and that is a good thing. It's a good thing we'll know what direction we're heading in and we can plan accordingly. Cingular's been so great to work with and we certainly want to continue that relationship. If for whatever reason it doesn't go our way - we have to plan for that as well. It has to come to a conclusion and we're glad that it will come to a conclusion soon."
ARE WE MAKING TOO MUCH OF THE HENDRICK HOT STREAK? HOW MUCH IS DOMINANCE AND HOW MUCH GOOD BREAKS? "When things are going well for you, you are having good breaks, but they're earned breaks. This is a continuation from last year. If you look at the performance in the last eight or 10 races of the year the 24 and the 48 were really, really good. So it continued into this year. There's no question that - in my opinion it's the 24, the 48, the 20 and the 31 that have been the four best cars overall. There's been periods when other people have been better but on average they've been the best four. The 24 and the 48 have been really good and no, I don't think you've been making too much out of it. I do understand that they've got some good breaks, but they've also got some bad breaks, (yet) they have put themselves in position to win almost every race and that's what you have to do, to put yourself in position to win. You have to put yourself in position in this sport and they've done a remarkable job of putting themselves in position."
IS THERE ANY PARTICULAR THEORY AS TO WHY THEY'RE DOMINANT? "I'll give you my theory. I can't say this is the garage's mindset - I don't know. But my theory is that they are well funded, they are well organized, and exceptionally talented. From top to bottom: drivers, crew chiefs, engineers, crew members, pit crews. Rick Hendrick is an incredible car owner that provides a lot of things that make the team work. They have talent. They have well thought-out plans. They have a goal and they try to accomplish it. That's over-simplifying why they are so good but Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch and Casey Mears are all top-notch drivers. That's just how it is and they have great equipment and great people - they have a lot of people, they have a lot of funding, they have a lot of it. They're probably the biggest team. I'd be willing to bet they are the biggest team. Big doesn't make you successful. The right game plan, with the right people and the right funding and the right parts and all the bits you need to be successful and you couple that with the right game plan you're going to have success. That's my theory. It's not one thing. It's not because they have Jeff Gordon. We saw at times last year when Jeff looked an average driver and you always knew he wasn't an average driver, he was a great driver. They have stepped their equipment up so that Jeff can execute. When you give Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson . you put them in the position when they can finish the deal. That's proven. They know how to finish the deal. So they're taking advantage of a great opportunity in front of them. To me that's why."
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BEHIND THE HAULER CHAT WITH JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE'S MONTE CARLO SS
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE'S MONTE CARLO SS, DISCUSSES WITH THE MEDIA HIS WINNING STREAK, THE STRENGTH OF HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS, AND WHAT TO EXPECT AT TEXAS THIS WEEKEND
THIS IS NOT AN EASY TRACK FOR YOU: "No, it's not. But if I remember right, we have a second place here. But it wasn't like we were fighting for the win. And that was at the end of last year, so I'm encouraged. We've made some gains during the off-season that we should hopefully be able to be in a position to win. We've been strong in Las Vegas and California and Atlanta, so I think, as a company we're coming in more excited for this race than we ever have before."
IS IT GOOD TO GET BACK TO A TRADITIONAL RACE CAR OR DOES IT CREATE MORE PROBLEMS TO SWITCH BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN THE IMPALA SS AND THE MONTE CARLO SS? "I have mixed feelings because we've been running good in both cars. At the end of the day, they're going to drop the checkered flag and I want to be the guy getting that checkered flag first."
NO PROBLEM FOR THE TEAM TO ADJUST? "There certainly is an adjustment going from car to car and this will be our first time going back the other direction. So I think it's safe to say there will be an adjustment period in getting the right mindset with this car."
SOME OF YOUR TEAMMATES ARE RUNNING THE NEW CHEVY RO7 ENGINE THIS WEEKEND. WHY DID THE NO. 48 TEAM DECIDE NOT TO RUN THAT ENGINE? "I thought we had the intention of coming here and running it, but through management they made some decisions to send half the cars out with the RO7 and the others with the other package. The engines are very similar in horsepower, so we don't feel like we're giving anything up. We're just trying to have an executed plan to take to the race track and work through the new motor program."
FOR SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T KNOW ABOUT THE RO7 ENGINE, WHAT IS NEW ABOUT IT? WHAT IS CHEVY TRYING TO DO WITH IT? "The old engine has been around since 1955. There have been a lot of technology advancements since then -- materials are one. But NASCAR's got a real tight control on the materials and things that we use.
"I think the biggest thing that we're going to see is that we can cool the engine more efficiently. We had some areas in the cylinder walls that we couldn't get enough water to and we couldn't keep the pistons in a stable situation. The walls in the cylinder were getting too hot in some spots and we were seeing scuffing of some pistons and things like that. So I really think the new engine is going to let the engine cool more efficiently and we're going to have a little bit better reliability."
WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO RUN THE NEW RO7? "I tested one at Richmond. And we have them in a couple of cars here, and I'm sure that if things check out here, we'll be putting them in every week."
WITH THE SUCCESS OF HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS SO FAR THIS SEASON, HOW TOUGH IS IT FOR THE SENIOR DRIVER, JEFF GORDON, TO BE IN THE RUNNER-UP SPOT? "I'm not sure it's hard on him that the company has been winning. I think it's harder on Jeff Gordon, the racer, because the guy wants to win and he's a very competitive person, as you all know. He has had a lot of seconds. I think he's happy to be where he is, but the guy likes trophies. He's won more than 70 of them and the guy wants more."
HAVE YOU TALKED TO HIM SINCE MARTINSVILLE? "Oh yeah. That was just good, hard racing. And I think once Jeff was able to think about things, he realized it was just great short track racing."
IS HE KIND OF GLAD, IN RETROSPECT THAT YOU RACED HIM HARD AND GAVE IT EVERYTHING YOU HAD? "I think so. We haven't talked about that angle or that thought. But I think I was able to show not only Jeff, but also the racing community and the fans out there that I'm serious about winning races. We race to win and we raced hard for that win."
WHAT IS IT ABOUT THIS TEXAS TRACK THAT IS SUCH A CHALLENGE FOR YOU? "I don't really know. This hasn't been one of our better tracks. I think trying to get from the corner entry to the center of the turn, there's a real big transition; and we haven't been able to get the car real stable and comfortable through that transition into Turn 1 and into Turn 3. We've made it better over time but other guys seem to have that part figured out a little bit better."
SINCE 2002, HAVE YOU SEEN MANY CHANGES IN THIS TRACK OR HAS IT PRETTY MUCH BEEN THE SAME? "I've seen the grip level changing and a second lane working and even a third lane at times really getting up high in Turns 1 and 2 and trying to get up high around that bump. And now since they've been shaving the bump down, I'm eager to get out there and see. But as we all know, the more time these tracks get on them, the better they become."
HOW IMPORTANT IS IT FOR HMS TO WIN FIVE RACES IN A ROW AND WHAT WOULD THAT MEAN TO THE COMPANY? "It would be a great thing to accomplish, but I'm not sure that we're sitting back saying we've got to win five to keep the streak alive. We're all coming here with our agendas to run well and do well in the points. If we can get a victory and more points toward the Chase, we'll work toward that, but it's just really business as usual and if we're in a position to do that, we'll celebrate in victory lane."
IF YOU AND JEFF GORDON WERE TO GET IN THE SAME SITUATION HERE ON SUNDAY THAT YOU WERE IN AT MARTINSVILLE, WOULD IT BE EASIER TO HOLD HIM OFF, HARDER TO HOLD HIM OFF, OR WHAT? "I think here there is more room to race and I'm sure he'd try in a second or third lane to get by me. But if it was like you saw it in Martinsville, I'd be in the fence. There's no doubt about it."
WHAT DID YOU DO FOR YOUR SPRING VACATION? "I went down to the islands and worked on a sunburn. I don't think I tan all that well. It was great. And as I was flying home I was thinking okay now, we've got a bunch of races in a row and not another off weekend until July and then we've got to buckle down again. So I very much enjoyed the off-weekend. It was a little bit short because I had to test at Richmond."
WHAT COOL WOULD IT BE TO KEEP THE STREAK ALIVE AND WIN HERE AT TEXAS? "We would have a couple different streaks to celebrate -- the 13th different winner at Texas and five in a row for Hendrick and back-to-back wins for us if that was to take place. So there are a lot of things out there that we'd like to take advantage of, but it's a new race a new weekend and we're back with the old-style car. So there are no guarantees and we'll have to get into race practice here and see how everybody shakes out."
DOES A STREAK LIKE THAT HERE DEFY LOGIC? "Well, streaks come together and we can't explain why it goes on or what causes it. But we certainly don't want to change anything in case it's something that we don't notice. But we show up every week and do all that we can to win and put ourselves in position to win and sometimes things just click for a month or two and you're able to knock them off."
DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE SEATING FOR THE CHASE JUST YET? DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE EXTRA POINTS FOR A WIN? "I think as the season wears on, we do. To have the victories that we do right now could be a good advantage for us. It just depends on how the season unfolds. It might be a nice advantage that we have or you never know. Somebody else could go on a tear and it would just be a wash."
REGARDING REPEATING AS THE CHAMPION, DID YOU EVER THINK YOU'D START OFF THIS SEASON THIS GOOD? DID YOU SEE IT COMING AND FEEL LIKE YOU'D HAVE A JUMP ON PEOPLE? "No, I really don't try to get ahead of myself -- especially during the off-season and show up at Daytona with the fear of making the race or making the Chase for that matter. And I think our team does that as well. We try to refocus and not take things for granted. So winning was good. We're relaxed. We're thinking, we can win. Now to get three of them is like we really have held on to that momentum and speed that we had and we just happen to be taking advantage of that right now."
DO YOU NOTICE ANY DIFFERENCE IN RUNNING THE UNLEADED FUEL? "I see a lot more exhaust coming out of the cars -- especially going into the turns. You can see some black smoke flying out. In the current car, I really didn't notice much. But when we tested at Richmond, for whatever reason I was getting a lot of fumes in the car. I don't know if it was a problem we had on our end, with the test car not being sealed up enough in the crush panels, or if the design of that car let fumes in the side window and filled the car up with fumes."
YOUR AVERAGE FINISH AT TMS IS 6TH, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF LAST YEAR. DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'RE DUE TO WIN AT THIS TRACK? "I wouldn't say we're due. But we keep getting better each year we come to this track. We come in with more and more confidence and this year is another example of that with the 1.5-mile wins that we have right now. I feel that this is our best chance so far for us to win -- not only for the No. 48, but for the Hendrick Motorsports."
YOUR TEAM IS ALWAYS ON TOP OF THINGS ANY TIME THERE IS CHANGE. DID IT SURPRISE YOU TO BE ON TOP OF THE NEW GENERATION CAR AS WELL? "There is always a little doubt in your mind starting the season. But to sit back and watch the effort that's gone into the new car and to keep on top of things with the current car, I'm not surprised. It's just been a lot of work and preparation to keep both cars up front."
DOES IT FEEL STRANGE GOING BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN THE TWO CARS? "With this car, you can be more aggressive, I think. I'm excited to get out there and really drive the car hard. The new generation car seems to need a little bit more finesse. It's got a higher center of gravity, so it isn't as crisp and as racy. I'm looking forward to getting in the car and having some fun here."
WHAT IS IT ABOUT HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS THAT MAKES IT SO DOMINANT? "I just think that Rick (Hendrick) has done a great job of assembling people who are really focused and dedicated to the sport. We might not have the speed all year long and we may even have a down year, but over time, the commitment that Rick has and the organization has in running up front, we seem to find our way back. I'm proud to be a part of it. It's really about the people at Hendrick Motorsports that make it happen."
THE HMS TEAMS SEEM TO REALLY CLICK "Rick is really great at putting people together. He can see relationships and how they work -- not only with the driver and the crew chief, but also with management, the engine shop, and the chassis guys. It's hard to explain it. I'm not sure we could recreate it. But it's worked for a lot of years."
DO YOU HAVE ANY SUPERSTITIONS ABOUT FRIDAY THE 13TH? "No, I don't. But I was thinking of Ray Evernham and hope we get qualifying in so we can have this field determined on speed and not based on points."
CAN YOU DEFINE THE WORD TEAMMATE? "A teammate is someone who you can work with and go to and count on to further your organization and your team. As drivers, it's our job to be honest and communicate about everything you feel in the cars and make post race notes and be involved in all the meetings and debriefings we have and put it all out there. I think over time, we've been able to prove that we can work together as teammates and it helps the organization. And when you're having a problem, they're willing to help you.
"So it's really about having a partner in this deal and not being a single car team out there on your own. I think that's what happened in years past and why there are multi-car teams."
WHEN, OR AT WHAT POINT IN COMPETITION, DOES THAT END? "I don't think it does. Rick preaches this to us all the time. We've worked years and years and years to get the company to where it is. With one wrong move, you can unravel all of that. I think there is a line that you need to pay attention to, and some respect that you have to have with your teammates on and off the track. But there's a fine line. You have to get up there and lean on the line but you can't cross it."
YOU USED THE NO. 24 CAR SET UP AT MARTINSVILLE. WILL THAT APPLY AT TMS TOO? "Here, we have some notes and history about Jeff Gordon likes in a set-up versus what I like, so I'm not sure we'll be that far off. At Martinsville, we unloaded with the No. 24 set-up -- really, all four cars did. I didn't like what I felt. So we went a completely different direction and tried that and it failed miserably. So we put in the refined set-up that the No. 24 had been working on. We were kind of experimenting and trying some things out at Martinsville and realized that it wasn't working and so we went the other way."
SO IT DEPENDS ON THE RACE TRACK? "Well we have some history here. Jeff likes things certain ways and I like certain things. With the new generation car we don't have any history. We were just taking a shot in the dark and it didn't work."
HOW DO YOU FEEL THAT THE CAR YOU'RE MOST LIKELY TO HAVE TO BEAT MIGHT BE YOUR TEAMMATE? "I think it's great. To be one of the top five guys week in and week out is great. Jeff is certainly one of them. And to be able to work as closely as we do with our crew chiefs and teams is something we're real proud of. There is nobody else I'd rather race against or lose to than my teammate. I hate losing, but I'd rather have it be to Jeff, or Kyle (Busch) or Casey (Mears) than anybody."
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE HAVING YOUR TEAMMATES AS THE MAIN COMPETIION? "Unlike F-1 or some other forms of racing where teammates are so focused on beating each other, we're worried about taking care of the company and making sure we have good cars for a long period of time. And if you get too selfish and look at the short-term gain, you can unravel what's been put together and hurt everyone. We all understand that. There's a line we can get up to and push against and race each other hard and challenge each other, but one race isn't worth unraveling an entire season."
IS THERE ONE THING YOU CAN POINT TO THAT'S MADE THE NO. 48 TEAM A SUCCESS? "It's maturity for the No. 48. We've been able to grow more and refine what we have as a team. It's been a lot of hard work and focus for everyone."
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KYLE BUSCH, NO. 5 CHEEZ-IT/CARQUEST MONTE CARLO SS BEHIND THE HAULER CHAT
KYLE BUSCH, NO. 5 CHEEZ-IT/CARQUEST MONTE CARLO SS, 5ND IN POINTS, MET WITH MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA DURING THE WEEKLY TOP-10 BEHIND THE HAULER CHAT TO DISCUSS THE NEW RACE CAR, THE SUCCESS OF HIS TEAM AND OTHER SUBJECTS
HOW COMFORTABLE ARE YOU SWITCHING FROM CAR TO CAR? "It's all about balance. We've just got to work on some things to try and get better. We've been pretty good with the new one and pretty good with the old one. We'll just keep going and keep trying to learn; just try to do what we know how to do and try to win races."
"I don't think so. That's Jeff Gordon - he's a four-time champion. He's got 74 wins already. How many more trophies does the guy need on his shelf?"
IS THAT THE WAY YOU AND JIMMIE JOHNSON LOOK AT IT? "You'll have to ask Jimmie how he looks at it but for me, he's as competitive as any of the rest of us. I mean, he wants to win just as bad as all the rest of us but there's still 40 other competitors out there that want to win just as bad."
PHOENIX WILL BE A WHOLE DIFFERENT BALL GAME. "Yeah, it's the Car of Tomorrow. It's going to be a whole different ball game. Phoenix is a good place, I tend to run well there. There's been some good races there for us but some bad races as well. We'll just go out there and see how it's going to be for the new Impala SS on a bigger race track."
CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR LEVEL OF CONFIDENCE RIGHT NOW? "We've got some confidence. We've got some know-how on what we need on our cars to get the job done but I know it changes every week."
IS ID DIFFICULT SWITCHING BETWEEN THE OLD CAR AND THE NEW ONE? "No, it's just like anything else. If you're a race car driver then you can pretty much switch between anything?"
ON YOUR COMMUNICATION AND RELATIONSHIP WITH CREW CHIEF ALAN GUSTAFSON: "We've been working together since the beginning, since my beginning in Cup, and it's just gone well. We've been able to keep maturing and keep developing together. Like I say, it keeps getting better and better every week and that's what matters most."
ARE YOU HAPPIER WHEN YOU'RE NOT IN THE NEW RACE CAR? "Probably. But it's here and it's going to be here so we'll just keep working on it and try to make it better."
ARE YOU MORE COMFORTABLE IN THE NEW CAR OR OLD CAR? "It's no different, really. The new car or the old, I don't see much difference between the two. The only thing I do notice is that I hit my elbow on the left-side door bars in the new car. They said they were going to give us more room and I fit my arm fine in the old car so we'll see if we can't move our seat or something."
ARE YOU MORE CONFIDENT SIDE-BY-SIDE RACING IN THE TRADITIONAL CAR? "Not really. Short tracks don't have much aero dependency really but running side-by-side was a little bit of an issue at Bristol. It was really, really slick, trying to run side-by-side because we were all sliding around anyway. But we're here this weekend and just back to normal."
WHAT CAN YOU SAY ABOUT THE SUCCESS OF YOUR TEAM THIS SEASON? "Work. Everyone's been working really hard and putting their focus in depth and trying to get done what they want to get done. Working on the new car, working on the old car and trying to get everybody on the same page."
HOW MUCH BETTER IS THE DIP IN THE TRACK NOW? "It's not bad. It's pretty good. The new dip is the same as what it was, just a little bit better. It's still there but they ground on it a little bit and made it smoother than it was before. Now we can drive over it faster. Before it was actually kind of a tool that would slow you down a little bit and you wouldn't be able to get back on the gas until after it but now you can probably be able to drive through it and go faster."
IS THERE ANYTHING YOU CAN TRANSFER FROM DRIVING THE BUSCH CARS AND THE IMPALA SS IN A WEEKEND? "Not really. Just mainly racing lines, tire pressures and stuff like that. There are some things that we've done with the Impala SS is completely different than what we've done with the car that we have now so not much."
WILL IT BE WORTH IT TO RUN BOTH SERIES IN A WEEKEND? "There's not much transfer between car to car but the extra track time I believe helps. For my age, I'm still only 21 so I'd love to be able to get more track time any time and just get more experience. To become a little bit better quicker."
HOW HAS YOUR TEAM FARED HERE IN THE PAST? "Jeff's had terrible wrecks here. Just stupid things have taken him out of races and wins here. Jimmie has been pretty good here at times but hasn't been able to hit it on the dot and I've just been terrible here. It doesn't much matter but the No. 5 car has won here before with Terry Labonte and that's pretty cool and we'll just see if any of us can change that around this weekend."
DO YOU THINK THIS MIGHT BE THE WEEKEND FOR YOU GUYS? "We hope so. Any weekend we try to go out and win the race anyway so I think Jimmie probably has the best chance out of all of us. He ran really strong at Atlanta and Tony Stewart pretty much lapped everybody at Atlanta and Texas here last fall, so hopefully Jimmie's got something for him but we'll try to work on our stuff."
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DENNY HAMLIN, NO. 11 FEDEX EXPRESS MONTE CARLO SS BEHIND THE HAULER CHAT
DENNY HAMLIN, NO. 11 FEDEX EXPRESS MONTE CARLO SS, 6TH IN POINTS, MET WITH MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA DURING THE WEEKLY TOP-10 BEHIND THE HAULER CHAT TO DISCUSS HIS EXPECTATIONS, THE TRACK AND OTHER SUBJECTS
ON EXPECTATIONS FOR THIS WEEKEND: "Hopefully, it'll be another top-five finish. We had a really good run here in the Spring and not so stellar in the Fall, so we're hoping to get back to the rhythm of things with this car and hopefully we're still on top of our game."
ON THE ELIMINATION OF THE "BUMP": "Just from running the Busch car here it really seems like it's been effective. It looks like the speeds were a little higher than in the past. We had it kind of set up for the bump otherwise the car would get airborne. We can get a little more aggressive on our packages because of the smooth surface. I didn't run up high so I don't know if it's been fixed up high as well but certainly down low it's a lot better."
ON NEXT WEEKEND AND RUNNING THE IMPALA SS AT PHOENIX: "The biggest concern for me is going to be how aero tight we're going to be. How hard is passing going to be next weekend. We know from testing at Richmond that you can't even get close to anybody before it pushes. You can be three-tenths faster and all of sudden you're three-tenths slower. It's a concern for us but we've just got to work through it."
ON THE YEAR SO FAR: "We knew all along that this year's car was hopefully going to be better. We had to see if all the work we did was going (to make it) better than the opposition . It's been a year we've been hoping for."
IS THERE SOMETHING YOU'VE DONE DIFFERENTLY? "Well, no. It's just part of our team. We don't talk about things we're struggling with when we're at a racetrack. The only time we think about it is when we read about it in the paper or see it on the news. The rest of the time we're just handling business."
ANY PROBLEMS WITH FRIDAY THE 13TH? "Other than it's probably going to rain? I think that the other time it was Friday the 13th we actually had a pretty good practice."
NO SUPERSTITIONS THEN? "I used not to like the color green on any racecar but one of my favorite race cars (a FEDEX car) was green so that blows that out of the window. So there are no real superstitions for me."
WHERE DO YOU THINK THESE SUPERSTITIONS HAVE COME FROM? "Over the years, people watching, deciding what's good luck, what's bad luck."
ON WHY THERE HAVE BEEN NO REPEAT WINNERS AT TEXAS. "One guy's not gotten hold of this racetrack since we starting coming here. Well I think that the track changes every time we come back here. Since it was brand new each time we've come here it's got faster, it's got wider. And the competition has got tighter. I think that's why there have been so many different winners."
IS IT GOING TO BE A DIFFERENT RACETRACK AGAIN THIS WEEKEND? "Somewhat. A few things are going to change but for the most part it's going to be the same old Texas. It became a two, three wide racetrack and now with the bump gone it's going to be even better."
ON RACING CLOSELY WITH JEFF GORDON AND JIMMIE JOHNSON: "All of us we race against each other every week. We're all around each other every weekend. If I was with a guy I rarely raced it would be different. Maybe I'd be more aggressive. We're competitors with each other every week and we have to respect that.
ON MARTINSVILLE FINISH VERSUS LAST YEAR'S CHASE BATTLES: "Last year we were in the middle of the Chase battle was different. I knew that if he (Gordon) hit me or I hit him and took each other out the Championship would be over. That's what I was thinking at the time. This year if it had been the same situation I maybe would have been more aggressive - but I would have still had the same respect for him."
WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM RACING GORDON AND JOHNSON AND THE FINISH AT MARTINSVILLE? "I think Gordon pushed it to the absolute limit that he could push it without stepping over the team. I think that Johnson did exactly what he had to do in the race. It's hard for me to fault any one of them. If I'd been in the same situation I would have done the exact same thing . In fact I was watching them and thinking I would have done the exact same thing."
IS THERE ANY MENTAL TRAINING YOU CAN DO TO GET YOURSELF READY FOR THE RACETRACK? "I've got a lot of good people on the radio keeping me informed and calm ... helping with decisions. There's no real way to prepare yourself for those (race) situations. You have to always know in the back of your mind that (things) can happen."
IS THERE ANY CONCERN OVER THE DOMINATION THAT HENDRICK IS HAVING? COULD THEY RUN AWAY WITH IT? "There's nothing to say they could run away with it. There's too many good cars. I mean, it is hard to argue with the way that the #48 has started and the way the #24 has started. But they're not going to be up front all year long. We're still only six races in. A lot of times it takes a little time for a team to catch up. I think that Gibb is one of the organizations (that can). We've just got to get back into the rhythm of things to be where Hendrick's at."
WHAT IS IT LIKE TO WORK WITH (CREW CHIEF) MIKE FORD, WHO HAS SO MUCH EXPERIENCE AND HAS HAD SO MUCH SUCCESS?"I get excited at some points and he's the guy who keeps me level. I think it's a good combination with experience and some inexperience. I think we can be very successful."
DO YOU LIKE TEXAS, THIS TRACK?" Yes. Texas is one of the best big tracks we go to."
ARE TIRES GOING TO BE AN ISSUE? "I don't think so. I don't think they've had a whole lot of tire issues at this racetrack. It's a good racetrack where we don't have to be so aggressive with our setup. I think the worst part is going to be pretty good."
HOW'S THE NEW CHEVROLET R07 ENGINE GOING TO HOLD UP? "That's hard to say. I'd like to get out there and practice and see what I've got. Everything should be better with this engine. We've run it through many tests. We're very excited about it."
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CLINT BOWYER, NO. 07 JACK DANIELS MONTE CARLO SS BEHIND THE HAULER CHAT
CLINT BOWYER, NO. 07 JACK DANIEL'S MONTE CARLO SS, 7TH IN POINTS, MET WITH MEDIA TO DISCUSS EXPECTATIONS, THE NEW CHEVY ENGINE, DIRT-TRACK RACING AND OTHER SUBJECTS
YOU ARE SEVENTH IN POINTS RIGHT NOW. WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECATIONS FOR TEXAS? "Good. We ran well here in the fall and we're really excited about coming back here. I really like this race track and I think Gil (Martin) brought me a good hot rod so hopefully we can make the best of it."
SOME OF THE NEW CHEVY TEAMS ARE RUNNING THE NEW R07 ENGINE. WHAT ARE YOUR TEAM'S PLANS FOR THAT? "It's down the road. We're working on it. We just want to make sure that we've got everything ready to go. When we do run it it's going to be strong, it's going to be impressive and more importantly, it's going to be there the whole race."
DOES CHEVY HAVE A PROGRAM ON WHO IS GOING TO BE RUNNING THE R07 AT A SPECIFIC TIME? "Well, it's just your R&D (research & development). We're working on ours and it's not quite where we want it yet and when it is it will be in our cars as well. We're close but not quite there yet."
LOOKING AT WHERE YOU ARE IN THE STANDINGS, YOU MAY BE THE SURPRISE DRIVER TO ENTER THE CHASE. HOW DO YOU VIEW THIS? "I don't know what to think about that (laughs.) It's truly, honestly not a surprise to me. I think Gil and everybody has worked hard over the winter and we were strong at the end of last year and we just picked up where we left off last year. More importantly, the difference between this year and last year is the finish. We ran well but we just couldn't get the finish. We're starting. I'm starting to learn the car and starting to learn how to communicate with Gil a lot better. We're just learning each other better and experience is key especially when you're racing against these guys. Once you get up to this end of the garage - guys with a lot of experience - are pretty good company. Just learning and we keep getting better and better."
IS GOING BACK AND FORTH FROM THE MONTE CARLO SS TO THE IMPALA SS DISTRACTING? "It is but it isn't. It seems the first two tracks we took the Impala SS to are so unique race tracks on their own that having a totally different car doesn't matter anyway. Because they don't handle the same there at Texas or something like that. I was worried and concerned when they decided to run the first race at Bristol but maybe that wasn't such a bad idea anyway. It always seems like at first you think 'what are they thinking' but after you get it done, maybe that wasn't such a bad idea."
HOW MUCH ADJUSMENT DID IT TAKE FROM SWITCHING FROM THE BUSCH CAR AND THE IMPALA SS AT BRISTOL? "I can tell you at Bristol you didn't want to get out of the Busch car, I can promise you that, knowing that you had to get into that Cup car the next day. It is what it is, you just have got to make the best of it. Especially after the test and practice sessions back at Bristol and Martinsville, I wasn't really confident. We were decent but not really where we needed to be. As soon as the green flag dropped they are really raced very well."
WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM A WEEKEND LIKE THAT? "Laps, what the track goes through, what the track's going to do throughout the race. It's a big part of it. People don't really realize that these tracks change so much and that day on Saturday gives you a pretty good idea of what it's going to be like on Sunday."
WHAT'S THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THIS YEAR AND LAST YEAR FOR YOU AND THE REST OF THE ROOKIES OF LAST YEAR? "Experience. Last year it seems like we all did pretty good and then we got to the tracks that we've never been to before. Then we were all in the back, in the fence, or wrecked. We made major mistakes that cost us a lot of points and got us behind. It's been a big challenge to learn those tracks and coming to this year there are no more excuses. There's no more 'I'm a rookie, this is my first time.' You've got to make the best of it and you've got to get it done."
BEYOND EXPERIENCE, WHAT'S THE BIGGEST CHANGE IN YOU AS A DRIVER? "Confidence, I think. Confidence is a big part of anything you do. You show up here at Texas knowing you're going to run up in the top five and race for a win, it's a lot easier to go out there and do it. You get here questioning yourself, your equipment and your team, it just leads to excuses and every time you have just a little bit of a hiccup, well, that was to be expected. There's no more excuses anymore. We're a top-10 car and we need to be a top-five car. That's what we're after."
ABOUT PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY: "I really like Phoenix. It's always been a really fun, short track to run on. I think it races really well and I have a lot of fun racing on it. We've had a lot of success there but never won there. Hopefully we can change that next week."
ANY DIRT-TRACK PLANS THIS YEAR? "Oh yeah. We've already ran one at Martinsville - ran (New) 311 (Speedway) - and we're going to run Talladega here in a couple of weeks. I'm just really looking forward to that. That's where my heart is. I just really love dirt racing. Getting back to grassroots racing and what you started this whole mess for, that's what brings it all back together."
ARE YOU INVOLVED IN ANY OF THE DEVELOPMENT FOR TY AND AUSTIN DILLON? "I'm in tune with it. I go to the dirt shop every day and I try to help Austin and Ty as much as I can. They're good boys; they've got good parents and they've got a heck of an opportunity. I want to make sure that I help them as much as I can and make the most of their opportunity."
TALK ABOUT YOUR COMPETITORS AT HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS: "It's pretty incredible, but they're just a little bit better than us right now. We've go to dig a little bit deeper and learn a few more things but I think that new engine will be part of that factor. Hopefully we can get that in as soon as possible and work that into our deal and I think when we do we'll be where we need to be."
WHEN WILL THAT BE? "As soon as possible. They're doing their research and development the best they can. Richard (Childress) won't put it in until we know that it's going to live and it's going to be better. It's got a lot of things better but there's years and years of R & D work in the engines we're running now and you're not just going to build an engine in a couple months and outdo what you've spend the last 10 years doing. I feel like when they do it's going to be a huge gain for us and we'll be able to step up a notch."
DOES IT BOTHER YOU WHEN PEOPLE SAY YOU'RE THE FORGOTTEN MAN AT RCR? PEOPLE SEE JEFF BURTON AND KEVIN HARVICK BUT OBVIOUSLY YOU ARE UP THERE TOO. "I don't mind it at all. They've been in this sport a long time and worked hard. They've had a lot of success to deserve those title roles at any organization. To be the third guy in command, that's not a problem. With guys with those credentials, as long as they've been around I would hope they would be the number one guys."
HOW EXCITING IS IT TO COME TO THE TRACK WITH CONFIDENCE THAT YOU WILL RUN WELL? "It's really exciting. There's no more coming and thinking 'man, I hope we can get a top 10'. At Martinsville we ran 11th and I was pissed. We ran all the way up to third and we were a top-five car all day long. We just made a mistake and didn't. I make mistakes in the car and the guys are bound to make mistakes in the pits and we're not going to let that get us behind. We're going to get us another top-10 here, hopefully a top-five, maybe a win."
THIS TEAM IS REALLY COMING TOGETHER... "Absolutely. I feel like we're getting smarter about the race and we're no longer out there just making laps. Especially me in the car. I'm learning where we need to be and our communication is a whole lot better. I think that's been key to our success."
HOW CLOSE ARE YOU TO WINNING? "Hopefully about three days away, that's what you hope. More important, I just want to keep doing what we're doing and not lose focus. If we can race for a win, you're darned right we're going to race for a win. In Vegas, that's the one time this year we had a very fast car and I made the mistake of pushing too hard and trying to race for that win. I'm not going to do that again. If we have a fifth-place car, we're going to finish fifth. If we have a tenth-place car, we're going to finish tenth. There's no more 'we've got a 15th-place car and we're going to win with it. That doesn't work."
YOU FINISHED SECOND HERE LAST YEAR. DOES THAT GIVE YOU CONFIDENCE? "Absolutely. Coming off the success we had last year, this should be a good race track for us. Our 1.5-mile tracks have been really good to us this year and in the end of last year. If we were going to call where we were going to win a race, I would say it's a mile-and-a-half. The last two short tracks have kind of been a struggle for me last year (but this year) was a good race for us. We're just getting so much better everywhere it's catching me somewhat off guard. It's a lot of fun to be a part of."
DO YOU FEEL YOU'RE GETTING BETTER? " Absolutely. I think that's probably the biggest part of it. I think I'm learning what it takes to drive a top-five car and what it takes to communicate a top-five car. I think either one of those are equally important."
WHAT DO YOU DO DIFFERENTLY NOW THEN YOU DID A YEAR AGO? "Confidence and being calm. Knowing that if you get back a little bit, it's not going to be a big deal. We're going to be able to get it back and (so we) just stay calm and relaxed. Not 'we're in the top five, oh my God!'. Now it's 'we belong here and we're going to brace up and try to win the thing.'
WHEN DID YOU GET OVER THE IDEA THAT YOU MAY LOSE THIS JOB WHENEVER? "Well, I don't think you ever get over that. I can win the next two races and win the third one and on the way home be thinking 'man, I hope he don't fire me'. It's an unbelievable opportunity for any of us drivers to be involved with."
FEELING LIKE YOU'RE GOOD ENOUGH AND KNOWING THAT YOU'RE GOOD ENOUGH, HAVE YOU CROSSED THAT THRESHHOLD YET? "I think so. That's important that you say that. As a team, we're all confident that we can go out there and race to win. Given the right opportunity, which I think will come, we're going to."
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KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 SHELL/PENNZOIL MONTE CARLO SS BEHIND THE HAULER CHAT
KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 SHELL-PENNZOIL MONTE CARLO SS, 10TH IN POINTS, MET WITH MEDIA TO DISCUSS RACING AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY, SEASON TO-DATE:
ON REPAIR TO BUMP HERE AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY: "They fixed a lot of it, probably about 75% of it. It is a lot better. I think they did a good job."
ON ANY CONCERNS ABOUT THE NEW GENERATION CAR AFTER FIRE AT MARTINSVILLE BASED ON KYLE BUSCH CONTINUING TO COMMENT UNFAVORABLY ON C.O.T: "They have addressed it very well. They were at the shop at 7:00 a.m. Monday morning to work on it. I think Kyle Busch needs to quit whining about the Car of Tomorrow and realize that he has got to race it. If he doesn't like it, maybe he can go race A.R.C.A. cars.
"I believe NASCAR has made some changes, I don't know that for sure. I haven't been around a lot the last week and a half. Last I have heard, they were going to move the foam up from the floorboard to keep it from getting so much heat in the phone.
"I have been in cars on fire in a lot worse condition than that one was, it is no big deal, just another race car."
ON LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK IN TO MONTE CARLO SS: "It really doesn't matter to me. I know what my schedule is, I know what cars we are racing, we are just happy to be at the race track and back racing."
ON ON-TRACK INCIDENT AT NASHVILLE BETWEEN RCR DRIVER TIMOTHY PETERS AND KHI DRIVER KERTUS DAVIS: "I didn't really get a good look at it. I watched the race but didn't pay much attention to the incident. I would hope they can handle it amongst themselves."
ON BEING SUPERSTITIOUS ABOUT FRIDAY THE 13TH: "I just noticed that today about two hours ago. Once we raced the car with peanuts all over it and won races in it, I kinda threw all that stuff kind out the window. So I stay away from the Friday the 13th movies and things like that, so I don't keep myself up at night."
ON STRENGTH OF RCR AS A WHOLE NOW: "It takes communication all the way around. I think Richard (Childress) made a lot of changes to keep up with the sport and keep it what it has come to today. He moved the people around, got drivers and crew chiefs that get along. Performance wise, obviously all three cars have been really really good over the past couple of years. We have had a lot of bad luck the first part of this year. But our performance has been good. But you just ride those waves as they go up and down. Hopefully we can get Clint (Bowyer) and Jeff (Burton) in victory lane here before long. Everybody has really run good every week since last year. It is nice to part of that. I have been a part of this from the time we were on the bottom of being bad and top of being good. Glad to be a part of it."
ON RACING HARD AGAINST TEAMMATES: "Obviously you create a different respect for your teammates when you are in that position. Jeff and I have been in that position and Clint and I were in the Busch cars. You race each other hard. But you also have to remember that a lot of the guys that work on their cars work on your car too. Without those other cars, our car wouldn't be as good as it is and their cars wouldn't be as good as their cars are without our car. There is a lot more that goes in to it than knocking somebody on the way whether they are on your team or not."
ON PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY: "Phoenix has been good to us over the years. We won both Cup races last year. Won a Busch race and finished second in the other. Phoenix is one of those places I grew up racing on and have a long history there. I have been fortunate to have had a lot of success there and look forward to going back."
ON HOW IMPALA SS WILL RACE THERE: "It will be a lot different setup wise than Martinsville or Bristol. Jeff went out there to do the tire test and he said it drove better than the car he raced there last year. I think people are making a bigger deal of it than they have to. Obviously we will have some kinks to work out but I think that is the responsibility of the drivers and the teams to make the cars better and in the end, it is safety first. That is where we started."
ON TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY: "We have always run good here. For whatever reason, I like this race track. We don't seem to qualify very well here, but we always race very well. It is one of those places that fits really well in to what we do."
ON ISSUES WITH UNSOLD SEATS AND TV RATINGS: "I am not a statistician. I just go to the race track. I don't really know. Everybody has done a good job. I think our sport is very big, we have a lot of Fortune 500 sponsors. I don't really know all the ins and outs of why the TV ratings are up or down, why the tracks are or are not sold out. I still say the crowds are bigger than any other sport so I would say we are doing ok."
ON FEELING BEING BACK TO THE TRACK AFTER A WEEK OFF: "Glad to be back at the track. It is nice to have a week off and enjoy it, but time to go back to work."
ON BEING ANOTHER FIRST TIME WINNER AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY: "That is our plan. We will see what happens. It is always neat when you come to a race track and the winning is spread out among different teams and drivers. It is something I hope we can keep that streak going in the right direction."
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TONY RAINES, NO. 96 DLP HDTV MONTE CARLO SS BEHIND THE HAULER CHAT
TONY RAINES, NO. 96 DLP HGTV MONTE CARLO SS, 26TH IN POINTS, MET WITH MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA DURING THE WEEKLY TOP-10 BEHIND THE HAULER CHAT TO DISCUSS THE UPCOMING RACE AND THE SEASON SO FAR
ON THE TRACK AND "THE BUMP": "I didn't think the bump was that bad particularly if you were at the bottom of the track. But as the race wore on it definitely got more noticeable. But when we get on the track here in a half-hour or so we'll know a lot more for certain."
ON GOING TO PHOENIX WITH THE IMPALA SS: "I think Phoenix is going to be a really good first test for the Impala SS on a bigger track. It's a little over a mile and Bristol is a unique case unto itself. I think it's going to show what you can and can't do with (the car). I've tested at Richmond and Richmond and Phoenix are pretty similar, so we'll see what happens."
IS THERE ADDED PRESSURE ON BEING WHAT IS IN EFFECT THE TEAM'S HOME TRACK? "I don't think there is anyone putting any additional pressure on us. It's like being at Charlotte where we all live and you want to run do well on your home turf. And obviously that's the case here with TI being based in Texas and (team owner) Troy (Aikman) being here, and there are employees, friends and families - so we'd like to run well here. But we'd like to run well everywhere. It would be fun to have a good run here in front of the home crowd."
IS THE CAR OF TOMORROW GOING TO EQUALIZE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE BIG AND SMALL TEAMS? "I don't know. So far it hasn't. We had pretty good cars at both races but didn't get the finish we were looking for. The Richmond test went fair. There definitely is a smaller window for everybody."
ON GOING FROM THE IMPALA SS TO THE MONTE CARLO SS? "The first 20 minutes or so of practice it might take a bit of getting used to but it'll come back pretty quick I'm sure."
ON THE YEAR SO FAR: "I think we're about where we thought we'd be - other than the wreck in Daytona (which) put us back a bit. We've been a little faster everywhere and we've raced a little better. The potential's there. We haven't seen the results that we're capable of yet. We need to improve more. We need to improve every week because everyone else is improving too."
ON QUALIFYING AGAINST SO MANY TEAMS: "It's going to be more difficult. It's going to be a dogfight all year. We're not out of the top 35. Being out of the top 35 makes it worse as you've got to work harder to get back in. The competition (there) is definitely much tighter."
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CASEY MEARS, NO. 25 NATIONAL GUARD/GMAC MONTE CARLO SS BEHIND THE HAULER CHAT
CASEY MEARS, NO. 25 NATIONAL GUARD/GMAC MONTE CARLO SS, 33RD IN POINTS, MET WITH MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA DURING THE WEEKLY TOP-10 BEHIND THE HAULER CHAT TO DISCUSS THE UPCOMING RACE AND THE SEASON SO FAR
ANY ISSUES IN RUNNING THE NEW CHEVY R07 ENGINE? "We wouldn't put it in if that was the case. It's just an opportunity to run it, to put a lot of miles on it. It's done a lot of testing on the dyno and they've told me to just forget about it. We've done a lot of testing at Richmond and Kentucky and we don't have any issues. You've got to run it at some point and we're looking forward to seeing how it will run with Kyle (Busch) and I being the testers this weekend. It was an opportunity to run it and we took it. We had the cars that were capable of accepting it - the No. 24 and No. 48 car didn't have a chassis built yet to accept the new motor. From everything I've heard about it there has been all positive feedback. I'm really excited about it."
ON THE UNLEADED FUEL'S AFFECT ON THE ENGINES: "The first time I have thought about it was just now when you brought it up. I couldn't tell anything differently. The car goes when you put your foot on the gas."
ON DRIVING THE IMPALA SS VERSUS THE MONTE CARLO SS: "I think you will see a lot of what you saw at Bristol. (The Impala SS tends to be) very, very tight. It's all relative to the rest of the field, though it's not like anyone else has anything different. It's a little bit more difficult to get to turn. I think once we get in traffic there, it might be a little more difficult to turn. We noticed that in Richmond at the test. I think the higher the speed the more difficult they may be to get to turn.
"The setup's completely different (for the Impala SS versus the Monte Carlo SS) . the car's are completely different, nowhere even close to the same. A lot of the basic ideas come from the same areas but our setups are totally different. You have to run the cars way, way loose to try and compensate for the car not turning very well. "I think the crews learned how to work on them over the first two races. They learned how to change springs and things like that. But as far as stuff that is going to help at a place like Richmond or Phoenix, those are going to be a whole new ball game."
