Riggs, Keller, and Hamilton Discuss Championship Battle

On the eve of the NASCAR Busch Series season finale, the top six drivers in the point standings took part in a Q&A session in the Homestead-Miami Speedway media center. Three Ford drivers are still in contention for the championship, with Jason Keller, Scott Riggs, and Bobby Hamilton, Jr., currently fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively. Keller trails leader Brian Vickers by 70 points, while Riggs is 15 points behind his ppc Racing teammate, and Hamilton is just four points out of fifth. Hamilton is the series leader in victories this season with four, while Riggs has tallied two wins and Keller has one.

Scott Riggs

SCOTT RIGGS-10-Nestle Nesquik Ford Taurus - TALK ABOUT YOUR SEASON. "It's definitely been an up and down year for us this year. We just tried to take every race and use it as a learning experience and try to see how we can be better. Like I said, we've had good races and we've had races we've been struggling at, too. No one really knows why momentum comes and goes, and we just tried to learn from it and see how we can keep our ball rolling a little better the next go-around next year. We still have a shot at it trying to do the best we can. The thing is no one on the team is giving up. Everybody is staying very focused, especially considering the turmoil that we've been going through as far trying to find a sponsor for the team next year, different people including myself leaving the team, and trying to keep a lot those guys motivated and focused. I think they've done a great job, we just haven't been able to quite put it all together and show it on the race track every single race like we need to. Like I say, just learning from it and keeping everybody positive and trying to finish this year out on a positive note."

ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT SLOWER CARS OR TEAM CARS INTERFERING WITH THE CHAMPIONSHIP? "I don't think anyone who brought an extra car or who has an teammate this weekend, I don't think any of that is going to play any kind of factor in the race, except maybe put another car in the battle for the win of the race. I think that all of us are going to continue to do the same thing we've done all year and that's try to get the most out of our race cars and get the best finish we can. The one thing that most of these guys have touched on that I think, and you asked how do we expect other people to race us. I think we all have expectations of how we think other guys who are here for one race or here for no points at all or maybe not having a good day, we all want those lapped cars and those other cars to give us a little extra room, but I think we all know that they're not going to. We've seen that all year no matter what we preach or what we say, that's not going to happen. I think that nothing is going to change in this last race."

DO YOU FEEL ADDED PRESSURE THIS WEEK BECAUSE YOU MIGHT NOT BE IN THIS SITUATION AGAIN IN YOUR CAREER? "I guess he's right (Green). I don't think you put any added pressure on yourself, but there is the thought, and I think all of us think this, not just myself or anybody else, but anyone who is this close to winning a championship, I think the other five that don't win it are all going to be saddened and disappointed because you don't know what's going to happen next year. No matter how strong you might be this year or how good you feel about next year, you never know what's around the corner, you never know what's going to happen. I think we're all going to be disappointed to know that we were all this close and weren't able to capitalize on it and win the championship. Like David said, we all need to be proud of our teams and proud of our guys to put ourselves in this position in the first place."

Jason Keller

JASON KELLER-57-Albertsons Ford Taurus - TALK ABOUT YOUR SEASON. "The end of the year hasn't gone quite as we had hoped. It's been a great points battle; it's been great to be a part of it. I've been fortunate to be part of these points battles over the last couple of years, but this one, and I've said I since about mid-season, this thing is going to shake up and separate itself and one or two guys, but, man, it seems like more guys keep coming into the mix. It's been a great season in a lot of areas, but we haven't accomplished our goals in a lot of others. We just have to work hard and hopefully we will accomplish all of them next year."

DO YOU LIKE THE IDEA OF COMING TO A NEW TRACK WHERE NO ONE HAS ANY NOTES TO SETTLE THE CHAMPIONSHIP? "Some of us are going to adapt quicker than others, and I'm one that hasn't adapted to this race track as quick as I needed to. You're going to have pros and cons to every situation. Even if it wasn't a new race track, even if it was a flat race track, I would like that. Some people like banked race tracks and some people like flat race tracks . Just because it's new I don't think it matters too much. Everyone has the same anoint of time and everyone has to do the best they can."

ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT SLOWER CARS INTERFERING WITH THE CHAMPIONSHIP? "David (Green) and I were racing at Phoenix, not for the win, but for about 15th place. We were both having a bad day, and the guys back there, trust me, they weren't racing us any different than anybody else because we were back there clawing for everything we could possibly get. I don't think anybody is going to race us differently. You just have to try to go out and do the very best you can. The only way that they're not going to race you hard or race around you is if you can be out front and get away from them because they are going to race you as hard as they possibly can. There are so many different agendas. We're in this driver's points battle and it's a huge deal, it's a huge deal with the media, but there are a lot of guys out there racing to finish in the top 10, maybe top 15 to obtain their goals. Although we may want it to be a little different and them to pull over and give us a little bit more room, there are so many different agendas out there that you just have to race hard and at the end of the day count the points and hopefully you've got enough."

SHOULD THEY RACE YOU ANY DIFFERENT? "No, I don't personally think so because I've been in their position trying to race for the top 15, top 20. What the six race teams that are represented up here have done is very special. They've gained the most points, they've done their homework, they've worked real hard. That doesn't mean any of the other teams have worked any less, but these six teams have gained the most points. That doesn't matter to a lot of people because they have a lot of different agendas, so they're going to work as hard. I'm looking at guys in the top 10. Stacy Compton is 10th in points and he wants to stay 10th in points. These guys want to continue to stay up there and obtain their goals. Maybe that's a goal he set a the beginning of the year, 'Hey I want to go to the banquet, I want to finish in the top 10.' From a selfish standpoint, yeah, I wish they would race us differently, but I've been in their shoes so I can see it from their standpoint as well."

Bobby Hamilton, Jr.

BOBBY HAMILTON, JR.-25-Team Marines Ford Taurus - TALK ABOUT YOUR SEASON. "We set our goals when we hired Harold Holly in the middle of the season and tried to get the most top 10s, most top fives, the most money an the most wins, everything that was possible. We were about there, and the one thing we've been doing the last month is just forget about the points situation, do what we can do to lead laps and win races and whatever falls falls, and that's what we've been doing. The best thing that we're going to do, the green flag, if we can go out and lead every lap we're going to, and if we can win the race, we can, an if we end up sixth, fifth, fourth, first, wherever, that's what we're going to do. What we're pretty much doing is building for next year. We started running for the championship in the middle of the year, so when you look at it, it's almost unbelievable that we're in this position. Wherever we end up it's a bonus because we were just trying to get back in the top 10 and here we are mathematically with a shot, so if we end up wherever, we're super-tickled with my team. We'll try to continue doing the same thing, trying to get us another win, another top-five, another top-10 and go from there."

ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT SLOWER CARS OR TEAM CARS INTERFERING WITH THE CHAMPIONSHIP? "They are all professionals. We all know what we have to do. We all know what the teams have worked for. For instance, for me to win the championship the 5 and the 37 are really going to have to do something to take themselves out because usually when one falls out, the other is one is second or third. So when it's all said and done, you really have to be careful not to put yourself in a position to make a change in the championship for something that you've done. You all have your little battles somewhere. It's all the same goal - to win the championship. I think we're all going to do the same thing as to get the best finish we can, win the race and if we can't get a top-five, if you can't get a top-10, put yourself in that position to keep doing what you've done all year long. Whatever is going to happen, there are so many obstacles that can happen. You can blow a motor, cut a tire, you can run over a lapped car, they can run over you. There are all kinds of different things, so you just have to do your normal deal that you've been doing all year long to get you in this position, and if you do that, whatever is going to fall is going fall.