New Hampshire 300 Postponed: Driver Reaction

NASCAR announced earlier this afternoon that Sunday's scheduled running of the New Hampshire 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway has been postponed. Drivers gave their reaction to the postponement on Thursday.

Jeff Gordon, driver, No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet:

"I support NASCAR's decision, postponing the race was the proper thing to do. There are far more important things going on in this country right now than running a race.
"We have all been deeply affected by this tragedy and our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the victims."

Jeff Burton, driver, No. 99 Citgo SUPERGARD Ford:

"There's part of me that wants to go race this weekend. I think it's important not only for me, but my family and for everybody in the country to try to get back to normalcy. At the same time, it's difficult understanding what is the amount of time that you need to not do anything. Certainly, we want to pay respect to the victims, the families to the victims and to the whole country in general for what's happened, so it's difficult to know if it's appropriate or if it's not appropriate. In the grand scheme of things, not running this weekend is probably the right thing to do. It makes me mad. Part of my emotions in this thing is that I want to make sure that the idiots that did this don't win. With all the pain that they've caused, we've got to make sure they don't win and that's part of me wanting to get back to normalcy. I want to just shove that back into the face of these idiots and show them that we are resilient."
DO YOU FEEL THE LOGISTICS OF TRYING TO GET TO NEW HAMPSHIRE WAS THE MAIN REASON THE RACE WAS POSTPONED? "The way I was dealing with that was John Andretti and I were close to driving. We had put a deadline of six o'clock this evening. If they hadn't opened up the airspace by six, we were gonna start driving. Then I started thinking, 'That's just me, what about all of the fans and the people who wouldn't be able to get there?' So, logistically, it was certainly turning into a nightmare. This is an extraordinary situation, so I think it calls for a proper amount of attention to be paid to it and it looks like to me that's what it's getting."
NASCAR SEEMED TO MAKE THIS DECISION IN STAGES. "They certainly left themselves open to do whatever they felt was the right thing to do and I applaud them for that. We should never just give up. We need to fight the whole way. Before we postpone or delay something we've got to fight it, and I think they did that because the fans deserve it. I mean, there are times when I get mad at NASCAR because we're waiting in the rain and I'm thinking, 'What in the hell are they doing?' But you've got to fight it. You've got to try to give the fans what they came to see. We are racers and we race in all kinds of conditions."
YOU MAY GET THOSE CONDITIONS IN NOVEMBER WHEN THIS RACE TAKES PLACE. "We will get those conditions in November."

Jimmy Spencer, driver, No. 26 Kmart Ford:

"I compliment NASCAR for making this decision because even though a lot of people are gonna be inconvenienced by this, I think out of respect for being an American citizen we need to respect what happened in New York City. I feel like NASCAR has done the right thing without question. We need to mourn what happened in the United States this week and, more than ever, we need to realize how strong we have to be. We have to make our military stronger and we have to make all kinds of different things happening in our country right now stronger because I look at it in a way that it could very easily be a NASCAR event, where they could do sabotage to a NASCAR event, and that bothers me a whole lot."
WHAT WERE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THE RACE PRIOR TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT? "I thought it should have been cancelled immediately. Once we knew what had happened and knew there were gonna be thousands killed in New York and Washington, I thought it should have been cancelled. I'm very lucky. We didn't lose any of my friends or family in that situation, but there are thousands of families that have been affected by this. I tip my hat to NASCAR for doing this because I think it's a compliment to the American people."

Sterling Marlin, driver, No. 40 Coors Light Dodge:

"I think it's a good thing that NASCAR postponed the race because it would be hard to concentrate on racing this weekend. It reinforces what has happened in our nation and the circumstances that we are under. All of our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the victims."

Tony Glover, team manager, No. 40 Coors Light Dodge:

"I think everyone in the racing industry has to applaud NASCAR for standing up and honoring America and realizing that under the circumstances that the United States is in, it would be in our best interest not to have the race this weekend."

Jason Leffler, driver, No. 01 Cingular Wireless Dodge:

"I really wanted to race but considering the location of the event and all that happened to our country in the last 48 hours, I believe that NASCAR made the right decision."

Andy Graves, team manager, No. 01 Cingular Wireless Dodge:

"I think postponing the race this weekend was the most patriotic thing NASCAR could have done. I don't think anyone had their hearts set on racing this weekend. Our minds would have been somewhere else."

Matt Chambers, crew chief, No. 01 Cingular Wireless Dodge:

"I think it's the right thing to do. Everybody says that the country needs to keep going and do everything they still planned on doing but this is a big deal and I think we need to take a step back for a weekend and regroup before we continue on. I think it was a good choice on NASCAR's part to postpone the race."

Jeremy Mayfield, driver, No. 12 Mobil 1 Ford:

"This has been a horrible week for a lot of people. The lifesaving efforts are continuing and I’m really happy that they have seen some success with that. Still, there are thousands of people whose lives have been lost and tens of thousands whose lives have been changed forever.
"As the week has progressed, I think the realization of how big this is is really starting to hit home with a lot of people. The fact the rescue effort is going to continue well into next week, if not beyond, is a good reason for NASCAR to make the decision it made today. Our hearts and prayers remain with those who are working so hard to rescue the victims, and with those who are still to be rescued.
"All of us are grateful for the hard work, dedication and utter courage of those involved in the rescue effort."

John Andretti, driver, No. 43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge:

"Under the circumstances, this is the right thing to do. There were a lot of choices that could have been made but, in my opinion, this was the way to go. It’s the right thing to do and it’s the best thing to do.
"Outside of my family, nothing on earth has meant as much to me as driving a race car, since I was a little kid. That’s all I’ve ever done and all I’ve ever wanted to do. When somebody like me is wondering whether I really want to race on a weekend or not, then a lot of people must be having some pretty serious doubts.
"Everybody is going to have to readjust and re-evaluate with the new date, and it’s going to probably be pretty cold in New England when we do run. But the inconvenience we’re facing is pretty slight compared to what so many people have undergone this week in our country."

Ron Hornaday, driver, No. 14 Conseco Pontiac:

"NASCAR made the right call. I know it was a difficult decision to make, but it is the best thing to do under the circumstances. Our hearts and prayers go out to the victims, their families, and to the rescue workers during this difficult time."

Rick Mast, driver, No. 27 Duke's Pontiac:

"When I thought that we were going to race up there, I truly 100 percent believed that I was going to win my first race. This is going to be my luck: I'm going to finally win my first race and I won't be able to smile, have fun, or be able to have a good time."
"I agree with the decision 100 percent. I know that some people are saying 'Well, things must go on.' That's true, but I also think there is a certain amount of respect that should be given on something like this. The NFL is doing it, baseball is doing it, and I think we need to be doing it. I think it shows a level of respect. This is a terrible, terrible deal that happened to our country. I think it helps show the solidarity of our country, especially for us NASCAR folks to say 'Ok, let's take time out.'
"Number one is the travel arrangements for everybody. Stick and ball sports have one plane that carries all the players. Between the teams, the drivers, the media and everybody else you're looking at as minimum of 200-300 planes that go to all these races. I know for a fact that some of the teams left Thursday morning driving to New Hampshire just in case we did race and they wouldn't be able to fly up there. They didn't want to take a chance on not flying.
"Then you've got all the different things that surround the event, all the 100,000 fans that have made arrangements for that one week out of the year to get there for the race. It messes those guys up. It's just a lot that has to go on.
"I feel so bad for the Bahres. I consider Bob (Chairman of the Board, New Hampshire International Speedway) and Gary Bahre (President, New Hampshire International Speedway) one of the top three or four promoters in our sport. It just seems like every time you turn around they're getting knocked down and hit in the teeth. It's truly not fair to that family. They are such good people and they are one of the best promoters in our sport and this stuff keeps happening to them. I truly hate it for them, but there's nothing you can do about it. You preservere and go on.
"I'd say put your chains on because I'm sure it's going to be snowing, knowing the Bahres and their luck. I'm sure the snow will be a foot deep by the time we get there."

Tony Stewart, driver, No. 20 Home Depot Pontiac :

"Normally, I'll race anywhere, anyplace at anytime. But nothing's been normal since Tuesday morning. NASCAR made the right decision to postpone this Sunday's race at New Hampshire because there are a lot more important things going on in the world right now. I'm still in shock, to be honest, of what has happened, just like everyone else.
"I don't believe that we should go hide in a corner or something, because that's exactly what these terrorists would want us to do. But taking this weekend off was definitely the right thing to do. It'll give everyone some time to heal before we start returning to our way of life."

Greg Zipadelli, crew chief, No. 20 Home Depot Pontiac:

"It was definitely the right thing to do. There's a lot happening in the Northeast as everyone deals with this tragedy, and we didn't need to be up there putting any more pressure on the situation. All of our planes didn't need to be flying through that area, and the police up there didn't need to deal with any of the extra crowds our race would've brought.
"I'm not one who believes that we should lie down and stop going about our business. But at this time, we do need to stop for a couple of days and regroup. Racing just isn't all that important right now.
"We don't need to tie up New Hampshire police officers and fireman with a race at Loudon when they could be helping their fellow officers in New York City. We'd just be a burden, and no one needs that right now. This is a time to mourn and be with our families."