Emerson Radio 250 - Rookie Friday Quotes

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDER FEATURE FOR EMERSON RADIO 250 NASCAR BUSCH SERIES RACE AT RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2005.

Raybestos Rookie drivers Carl Edwards, Reed Sorenson, and car owner Greg Pollex give their opinions if a Chase-style format was used to determine the Busch Series champion.

CARL EDWARDS, No. 60 CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS FORD: WOULD YOU BE IN FAVOR OF A CHASE-STYLE FORMAT IN THE BUSCH SERIES? “I think it would be a blast. I think as a fan, when they first came up with the Chase format for the Cup series I thought ‘Wow, I don’t know how that’s going to work out.’ But I was excited to watch it last year, even though I had just started to drive in the Cup series it was still fun to watch. I think it would be neat. It’s a cool deal, makes it more exciting for the fans and definitely makes it more exciting for the drivers. The only driver who wouldn’t like it is the leader. Something that makes so many people excited and only one guy mad is a pretty good deal.” HOW MANY RACES? “I think 10 is a good number because it’s enough races to get a good sense of how fast someone is. I think it would be fine.” IS THERE A LOT OF PRESSURE ON YOU THIS WEEKEND? “Yeah, a lot of pressure but on the other hand we’re just racing cars. I’m going to do my best and I’ll be really, really happy if I make the Chase [in the NEXTEL Cup Series], I mean extremely happy. But if we don’t we still had a great season and we have a chance to go win a bunch more races. I’ll just see how it goes.” IS THERE ANY STRATEGY ON SATURDAY NIGHT? “I think just race as hard as we can, that’s the thing. We’re not locked in so we have to race. I like this place. We’ve raced pretty well here before so I think it will be fine. I don’t want to change anything.” HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO STAY OUT OF TROUBLE? “For me it’s been pretty simple so far, but it’s like at every racetrack: anything can happen. You can blow a front tire and it would be over. It stinks that we’ve had 26 races to establish ourselves in this thing and we haven’t done it yet. We’re doing alright and we’ll be alright.” ARE YOU DISAPPOINTED TO NOT BE CLOSER TO MARTIN TRUEX JR. IN THE POINTS? “On the Busch side, definitely, we feel like we should be leading the points right now but Martin and his team have done their jobs very well and haven’t had the bad days that we’ve had. That’s just racing. I wish I could go back and change a couple of little things but you can’t. We’ve still got enough races that mathematically we’re fine. We have a great chance of winning it still but it’s going to be tough.” WHAT ARE YOUR BUSCH PLANS FOR NEXT SEASON? WOULD YOU RUN A FULL BUSCH SERIES SCHEDULE? “I’m not certain what we’re going to do exactly but I would be for it, yeah.”

REED SORENSON, No. 41 DISCOUNT TIRE DODGE: WOULD YOU BE IN FAVOR OF A CHASE FORMAT IN BUSCH? “I don’t see why not. It’s definitely bringing a lot of excitement to that side [NEXTEL Cup] so I don’t see where it would be any different over here.” WOULD YOU LIKE A 10 RACE PLAYOFF? “I don’t see where you’d do it any different. We’re only one-race short from what they run. I don’t see where it wouldn’t work. It worked over there so I think it would be pretty cool.” WOULD THAT MAKE YOUR SEASON EVEN MORE PRESSURE PACKED? “It wouldn’t be any worse than it is now. If you’re not in the top-10 now you’re not going to be in the top-eight before the year is over. I don’t think it’s any more or less pressure. It’s just kind of a different deal. I think you can plan your season out differently. If you’re seventh in points, it’s not over for you. Just like the guys over there, everybody [in the top-10] still has a chance after this weekend. Up to this point I don’t think it changes your strategy, but after that it might.” WOULD THE MAIN ADJUSTMENT BE TO SAVE YOUR TESTS? “They’re talking about only having three tests over here anyway next year. I think it would definitely change that, for sure. It depends on how good your team is. If you are good enough to not test and get in the top-10 then obviously you’d want to save your tests for the end. Then again, you might be a team that needs those tests to get in there so it’s all on what you think you can do.” WHAT DO YOU WANT TO ACCOMPLISH FROM NOW UNTIL THE END OF THE SEASON? “Some more wins [smiles]. We’d like to win one or two more races and that would be really good for us so that’s what we’re trying to do right now.”

GREG POLLEX, CAR OWNER, No. 10 SERTA/HICKORY FARMS FORD: WOULD YOU BE IN FAVOR OF A CHASE-STYLE FORMAT IN THE BUSCH SERIES? “Definitely. I think it would add a little pizzazz to the series. The issue is that you’re going to have to exclude the Cup drivers and make it a true Busch Series format, just like the Cup series. You take the top-10 Busch Series drivers then and go ahead and run the format.” WOULD THAT HELP YOU SELL A SPONSORSHIP? “I think it would. I think it would because I think it will get a good deal of attention would be drawn to the series and I think if you asked Anheuser-Busch about it, they’d love to do a format like that.” THERE ARE THREE RAYBESTOS ROOKIES IN THE TOP-FIVE IN BUSCH SERIES POINTS. WOULD A CHASE FORMAT MAKE IT EASIER TO HIRE A NEW YOUNG DRIVER? “It does. If you look at the talent level in this series today, the young drivers that are coming in, it’s difficult for a couple of reasons. One, you’ve got to be like Denny Hamlin or Reed Sorenson and be with one of the huge multi funded Cup teams almost to crack the series. You take a group like us with Michel Jourdain and Brent Sherman. We struggle because we don’t have all that extra availability that they do. So that then makes a sponsor I think tend to look at it like ‘I don’t know about a Raybestos® Rookie.’ First of all, you’ve got to expand the number of guaranteed spots in the Busch Series. Why we have 35 in Cup and 30 in Busch doesn’t make any sense. You’ve got to expand it so that we have true Busch drivers in the series. And then if you do that and they’re guaranteed spot where they can amass some points. You take the format, say it’s only Busch or exclude the top 35 in Cup, however you want to do that, then they can generate a lot of internal excitement for the series and I think that’s required because if Cup goes to the testing schedule they are talking about next year, every Cup driver in America is going to be trying to test here in the Busch Series. A race is a test for them at companion events so it makes it harder and harder for a Busch guys to compete. If you expand it, you focus a little bit on the Busch guys, which is a great idea for this series. I think you’re going to have a home run.” IF YOU HAVE A CHASE FORMAT IN BUSCH, ARE YOU CONCERNED THE SERIES WILL STILL BE OVERLOOKED BY CUP? “Let’s face it, Cup is always going to be center stage. Busch has continued to grow in popularity and fan appeal, so if you give it one more little shot in the arm, if you are at level 6 and you go to level 8, that’s a lot better.” WOULD 10 RACES BE A GOOD NUMBER FOR A CHASE? WHAT ABOUT SEVEN? “I think one of the things that would be interesting is to make it a little different so if you say went to a seven-race schedule as a playoff for the Busch Series and in those seven dates you have a couple of dates that the Cup drivers cannot attend. If you’re going to focus on the top-10 Busch drivers that’s really going to increase the competition; as you know, 11-20 are really going to be fighting. Designate the seven tracks, maybe you start at the beginning of the year and say there are seven tracks that we are going to pick. At least in the last seven go to tracks that you don’t have the Cup drivers for several of the races.” HOW WOULD YOU DESIGNATE A FULL TIME BUSCH DRIVER? WOULD CARL EDWARDS QUALIFY? “Not if he is in the top-35 in Cup points. The old format was the top-35 in Cup. Why we went away from that, I don’t know. To me, you’re just robbing time from potential drivers in the Busch Series. If you are outside the top-35 and you run both, okay, fine. You’re struggling over there it’s okay. You see a number of Cup guys that struggle over there. Jason Leffler struggled but he comes over here and he does an excellent job in the Busch car. Let’s focus on our guys, for a change.”