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Silly Season | Newsletter | Racefan's Rave | In the Pits | Fire and Ice News and Results | Point Standings | 2003 Schedule | 2003 Teams | 2002 Schedule and Results
Aaron’s 499 - GM Post-Race Quotes
(ON THE LAP 5 INCIDENT) "I almost had it missed, but they kept piling in
and driving me in there.
"It's not very good racing. It might be great for the fans, but when you've
got half the field in the garage area it can't be a very good race for them
either."
(ON THE LAP 5 INCIDENT) "It's just a shame. I hate it for our Kodak Racing
Team. I hate it for Pontiac. I hate it for this race team. It looked like
the car was a lot better than it was yesterday. But, things happen.
"Ryan Newman told me he blew a tire. That's the best we can tell. Obviously,
when you blow a tire there is not much you can do. It wasn't anybody's
fault."
(ON THE LAP 5 INCIDENT) "It looked like we had a lot of it cleared. But, a
lot of guys were wrecking and coming down the racetrack. We were on the
bottom of the racetrack, went all the way to the grass and about had it
cleared, but couldn't miss all of it. It's just one of those unfortunate
deals."
(ON THE LAP 5 INCIDENT) "At first I thought somebody may have screwed up,
but I guess it was a tire. We saw one in the Busch race and saw one today,
so I don't know what to think. It's just a terrible deal to wreck a lot of
race cars. We felt we had a pretty good car and we were looking forward to
it.
"It's one thing if guys start bumping and banging, which is usually what we
get yelled at for. But, like I said, yesterday and today - I don't think you
can blame any of that on us - and not that we're trying to blame anybody,
either. But, in the same token, we saw a couple problems yesterday and we
saw a pretty big one today. Man, it's just tough."
(WAS THAT THE HARDEST RACING YOU'VE EXPERIENCED HERE FOR AN ENTIRE DAY IN A
WHILE?) "Yeah, especially there at the end. It got pretty crazy. Now, we
come to Talladega to basically race like a short track where you just root
people out of the way and use your bumper. That's why some people like this
place - and they're usually the fans and not the drivers. But, we're real
thankful to come out of here with a top 10. The car was awesome. At one time
I thought we really had the piece to win. You've just got to be in position
at the right time and we weren't there at the end.
"The car is in one piece and we can take it to Daytona in July, now, so
that's always nice, too."
(DID DALE EARNHARDT, JR., APPEAR TO BE BELOW THE YELLOW LINE WHEN HE MADE
HIS PASS FOR THE LEAD?) "He was clearly below the yellow line, in my
opinion. His pass got me shuffled out and that's when I started falling
back. He was clearly below the yellow line. I watched him drive across the
'flat' up on to the track. Anybody else whoever dances down there gets in
trouble. He did a great job all day long and those guys had the car to beat
again. But, from my vantage point, I didn't think it was a legal pass, due
to current rules.
"I haven't seen the video. Hopefully, the video will show the truth. If he's
illegal, he's illegal. It's just a shame that we weren't able to capitalize
on a good day."
(HOW DID YOU GET SPUN AT THE END?) "I just tried squeezing into a hole that
wasn't big enough. We've got these little mirrors on the left side that you
try to use and try to judge how much room you've got in there. I squeezed
down in there and I turned around. It was just kind of a racing deal. But,
we had a great race car all day long and too bad we came home 15th. I
thought we had a shot at the win, but things really got shuffled when Junior
made his pass. It looked like he was below the yellow line from my vantage
point. But, when everybody shuffled up the racetrack it put me in the third
groove and everybody else behind me just stayed in the second groove and it
shuffled me out."
(ON THIS WEEKEND'S PERFORMANCE) "It was actually good and bad. We had a
pretty good car in qualifying, but something happened to the car on the
second lap and we didn't actually get up to speed. I think we would have
been about 15th to 18th, so we got the last provisional, which might have
been a blessing. We missed that first big wreck and that obviously is a key
why we had a good finish. But, we were up in that lead pack throughout the
whole race. On that last fuel stop we got hung up in the pits. Something
happened and we ended up spending a lot more time in there than we should
have.
"We lost the draft and finished 16th, so I was a little disappointed about
not being able to possibly get a better finish at the end. But, all things
considered, the way the last two weeks have went - a lead lap finish and the
car is in one piece - that is what this team needed."
(HOW DID YOU MANAGE TO GET THROUGH THE WRECK ON LAP FIVE?) "We started
43rd, which was obviously the key. But going into one, I saw the smoke and
I've never stood on the brakes that hard in my life. I think I was almost
stopped when I got to it. The spotter said, 'Stay high, stay high.' But,
when I got to where all the cars had wrecked and the oil and all that on the
track, I had the wheels turned to the right and the car just went straight
down into the pile of cars. I finally got smart enough to let off the brake
and it quit sliding, I steered right through it, came out and thought,
'Well, that was worth about 20 spots, so that's the move of the season for
us.' But, everybody seems to think we're going to have a big wreck here and
you either need to be first or last because anywhere in between is bad
news."
"Today was actually fun. I don't remember the last time I said Talladega
was fun. At the end of the race we had a piece, and the Tide Pontiac was up
front. This is a great team and we're getting better and better, and
gaining more and more momentum. I usually don't complain, but the great
thing about the end is that teammates meant nothing. This teammate thing is
ridiculous, it's unbelievable. I'm a stand-alone guy out there with no
help, and these teammates, it just really, really frustrates me. It's
always been an individual sport - one against 42. A lot of these guys I'm
referring to are friends of mine, but they don't play this game the right
way. It's all about teammates. That is a very disappointing part of this
business right now."
"It was a good finish for us. We've had really good cars the last three or
four races, but we've had some trouble. So today it was nice to finish and
not have anything go wrong. It was a good run for us, we stayed out of the
wreck there, and the guys had a great pit stop there at the end and we got
pretty good track position. It was a good finish. (AT ONE POINT HENDRICK
MOTORSPORT WAS FIRST THROUGH FOURTH - WERE YOU WORKING TOGETHER OR WAS THAT
JUST THE WAY IT WORKED OUT?) "No, that's just the way it worked out. We
weren't talking to each other or nothing. We knew what to do, and we knew
if we stayed in line there, hopefully we could finish that way, but it
didn't work out that way."
"The Cingular car handled great all day and was pretty fast. We had a
little problem around Lap 30 when something kicked up off the track and hit
the windshield and bent one of the brackets. It was bad enough that it made
the windows vibrate. When we pitted we had to take a lot of time for the
guys to bend that bracket back so the windshield could be pushed back up.
It took us awhile to break into the top 10 again after that. I also kept
having to step out of line to let the motor breathe because it was running
hot. But everything was okay until I got hit in the incident that brought
out the caution with the No. 97. Someone got into the back of me, dented up
the rear bumper and knocked a hole in the left rear quarterpanel. Today was
a good day to make up points. We were so close between 10th and 20th last
week in points that this race became very important. The RCR cars are
usually good here if we can have some decent luck - we just didn't get that
today. But we weren't just running for us today, though. Cingular is
donating $100 for every lap I completed today, so that's a good chunk of
change for a good cause."
(ON THE RACE) "It was an up and down day, to say the least. You'd think
you'd get yourself in the right spot, then you'd be in the second lane and
somebody would get under somebody on the inside of you and you'd get hung
out all by yourself in the top lane. There at the end I pretty much just
said the heck with the middle and the top and just planted myself on the
bottom. Your odds are better down there of having a good day. That way you
can only go one way and that's forward.
"It was a good day for the GM Goodwrench Chevy. The guys had good stops all
day and we came out with a good finish."
(ON EARNHARDT'S PASS AT THE END) "I hope he was a damn long ways below it
when they get ready to look at it. But, either way - it was a good day for
us. Whatever the decision is, we'll be happy with it. I didn't have a view
of it, so I can't give you an honest opinion and I have not seen it on TV or
anything, so I can't answer that."
RAINES:
(WAS THE YELLOW LINE RULE ADDRESSED AT THE DRIVERS MEETING THIS MORNING?)
"Whenever I was coming down the straightaway I made sure I got as close to
the yellow line as I could so nobody would pass me. I'm sure that is what
everybody did all day. The rule is if you get pushed down there, they may
penalize the pusher. If you push somebody down there you could get in
trouble. If you go down there to try and pass somebody, as long as you
correct it, you'd be OK. But, I was just trying to finish today, so I was
watching all them guys beating and banging and I was moving up every time
there was a crash, so it didn't factor into my day."
HARVICK:
(WAS IT A LAST MINUTE DECISION TO HELP JUNIOR AT THE END?) "Once we
got there, Matt went high. There were several times during the day that
Junior and I got together and went the right direction. There are just a lot
of obvious ties between the two organizations. Everybody always talks
about - at Daytona - how it was a feud and this and that. I think today, I
think that really put it all to bed. We worked together well. When I needed
a push, he pushed me and I pushed him all day. When it came time to see who
was going to win out of the two in front of me, that was the obvious choice
for me. If the roles had been reversed, he would have pushed me, too."
(IF YOU HAD MADE THE PASS THAT JUNIOR MADE, WOULD YOU HAVE BEEN
PENALIZED?) "Like I said, I don't know what the circumstances are or what
the situation is. I have not seen it. That's a good question. I don't know.
I'll plead the fifth on this one."
(ON THIS BEING A FUN AND INTENSE RACE) "My hands hurt right now from
holding onto the steering wheel. It was an intense race. I believe Ryan blew
a tire at the beginning, is why they all wrecked, so you can't blame that on
anybody. I think the only other wreck we had all day was Michael. It was a
pretty intense day, but a good race. Even though there wasn't the whole
field I think it was as good a race as any we've ever had here."
(WHAT IS YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE YELLOW LINE RULE?) "The way I
understood it - because my truck was below the yellow line twice - if you
have any part of your tires below the yellow line, that is the rule. But,
there is also another side of that - if you're force down there, so it could
go either way."
(ON BECOMING THE FIRST DRIVER TO WIN FOUR IN A ROW HERE) "I just never
thought I'd do it. Coming in this weekend, I was kind of preparing for worst
and hoping for the best, basically - like when we were down in Daytona when
we were winning all them races. The odds were against us to come in here and
do it four times in a row. It still didn't look good up 'til there at the
end of the race. We had led a little bit, but didn't really have a real
strong car. I got to figuring how who could help me the most and got trying
to run with those people. We got to staying up toward the front there at the
end and I got to leading a little bit. I showed them boys - I showed the
'24' and the '48' there a line around the middle of the track that was good,
as far as blocking the bottom and it was a lot of fun. We were just passing
and racing. That was a lot of passing, I felt like, for no more cars than we
had on the racetrack. That was a good bit of passing we had going on in
there for the lead. It was just real exciting. I don't think I've ever torn
up a car like we did today here at a plate track. There was just some
gouging going on. You had to really be tough or get knocked the hell out of
the way."
TONY EURY, SR., CREW CHIEF, NO. 8 BUDWEISER CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO:
(ON WINNING FOUR IN A ROW) "We work hard to run good every week. But,
our speedway program - Dale, Jr., loves to draft - and I think we put an
extra effort into that just to come down here and run good and draft good.
We did have a body change this year. The car we've been winning here with,
it's sitting in the museum so all the race fans to come by DEI can see it.
It's sitting right in front of the window. This car that we have here, it's
still an old car, but it's a car that we kept. It's the car we ran the Bud
Shootout with every year. It's kind of a backup car. We cut the body off of
it and rebuilt it. It was still planning on being a backup car. We bought a
new chassis and built a new car that we were planning on being a primary car
and it never really turned out that good. We went and tested and didn't run
good. This car here ran the best so we just went home and massaged on it a
little bit and made it the best we could.
"The fuel mileage that Richie Gilmore and them guys in the engine shop
get is just great. I think it helped us on the little fuel cell because the
fuel mileage is so good we can actually - if the race went green all day
long, I think we can run one less stop than the rest of the guys. It seems
like us and the Hendrick cars are getting real good gas mileage. The rest of
the guys aren't really that good, so the small fuel cell, I think, has
helped us out a little bit, anyway."
EARNHARDT, JR.:
(ON THE PASS AT THE END) "We were going down the back straightaway
and Matt and the '48' were real close together up against the wall. There
was about two and a half lanes or racetrack underneath me on the outside of
the yellow line. I got a push - might have been from Harvick - going down
the back straightaway and was running up on them boys. They were up there
racing against the wall. I was watching Matt to see if he had noticed me and
was coming down to block me. When we went into turn three, I had the left
sides down there on the apron and drove into the corner on the apron. I
didn't really pull out down under the line on intention, nor did it have any
affect one way or the other on getting by Matt. I was going by Matt whether
I had the left sides underneath the line or not. I did it basically because;
one, I wasn't really watching. I was watching him and trying not to run into
him if he came down and crossed the nose of my car, so it more not to cause
a wreck than anything. But, I didn't necessarily, intentionally end up
there. Again, I don't think it was an advantage on getting by Matt. There
was still two and a half or three lanes of racetrack up there left when we
went down into the corner. Plus, it was real late down at the end of the
straightaway. It was almost down into the corner...so I think it was just
one hell of a move more than anything."
(WHAT IS YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE RULE?) "NASCAR tells you that you
don't advance your position by going below it. That would mean to me that I
would be behind somebody, pull out to go under him and be underneath the
line the entire time. I do believe that there is a judgment call as far as
trying to avoid a wreck.
"Or, we've seen guys be shoved down below the line. I haven't always agreed
with NASCAR's judgment on every one of those calls. But, it's tough. There
are a lot of situations and we're seeing it more often every day that NASCAR
has to make the decision. There is no way, I don't think, to go for a
clear-cut rule and NASCAR has to make the call. They're pretty much the
final say on everything.
"I feel like that today, Matt wasn't down there against the line.
There was a lot of racetrack left underneath him. I didn't pull out to go
around him under the line. I can't sit there and watch him and make sure
he's not going to come across the nose of my car and wreck me, and be
watching this line at the same time. I just ended up below it late into the
corner.
"I really wasn't paying attention to the line, period, and it wasn't
necessary for me to watch the line because he wasn't in front of me. He was
up against the wall. Not pointing a finger at Jimmie [Johnson], but you saw
a lot of evasive moves to block a run all day long - a lot of moves - and
Matt could have done that. I done knocked the bumper bar after that when I
was trying to push him. It would just pick his rear tires off the ground and
about spin him out. I didn't want to end up running into the back of him or
into the quarter panel of him. Just when I got down into the corner I had
the left sides on the apron. I was trying to pay attention, so we didn't run
into each other."
(DO YOU FEEL YOU HAD MADE THE PASS?) "Yeah, I do. I was up above the
line going down the straightaway all the way to the corner. Him and '48'
were coming down into turn three and I ran onto the apron in the corner to
keep from running into the side of them. By that time, Matt was already on
the quarter panel and I was already past him. It wouldn't be no different
than me coming down through [the tri-oval] with the lead and dip the left
front below the line. It would be no different than that, in my opinion.
But, I'm sure it's going to get a lot of publicity. It's unfortunate that
that's going to get the publicity and not the four in a row."
(WERE YOU CONCERNED THAT NASCAR MIGHT BLACK FLAG YOU?) "I didn't even
think about it. I hadn't even realized at all until we had gotten in the car
and we were listening to the press conferences on the way over here -
listening to Jim Hunter - and I hadn't even realized that I had done it.
That tells me that I wasn't completely below the line. I haven't seen a tape
of it, but I know in my heart that I didn't go below the line to go around
him. I was clearly up on the racetrack, in my opinion, when I was going past
him. I went down on the apron in the corner to keep from running into him. I
was past him. If I would have went into the corner without going down, we
would have hit and gone up into the wall. I had already made the pass and
was clearly making the pass and had the pass on Matt, and we just avoided a
crash, more than anything."
(WAS THIS A TOUGHER WIN THAN ALL THREE OF YOUR PREVIOUS WINS HERE
COMBINED?) "I think so. I think today was real tough. When the crash was
happening down in the middle of one and two, we were just getting into turn
one.
"I didn't have any confidence I could get the car slowed down. I couldn't
see what was happening. I could just see a glimpse of a fender or a quarter
panel of somebody's slamming around and I just tried to guess which way they
were going or which way they were sliding or why they were where they were
and where they were headed. I just made some lucky guesses. I did go below
the line there to get below some people. But, it was a bad wreck. Once we
cleared through it, I knew that the potential, as far as maybe tearing up
the brakes on the car, we tore the nose up a little bit - I didn't guess
that we were going to be competitive the rest of the day. If anything, we
could just hang on to the draft. But, it don't take much to take a very,
very good race car -- it don't take much to upset that car to where it
won't run right or where there is a little bit of drag on it. Even midway
through the race I didn't feel like I had a competitive car. We got to the
lead one time and got passed and I just felt like we needed a stronger car
or the rest of the field that was pushing me or the guys I was working with
needed to have more confidence in my car because I hadn't been there all day
and they hadn't raced with me and hadn't seen what my car was capable of.
But, at the end of the day there we were able to make the moves we needed to
make and get the help we needed to get."
EURY, SR.:
(WHAT DID YOU HAVE TO DO TO THE CAR AFTER THE LAP 5 WRECK?) "When we
got in the wreck down there it knocked the nose apart. The nose is made in
two pieces and it split the nose apart, so there was nothing to put the nose
back together with. So, we ended up putting a piece of aluminum on the nose
and pop-riveting it and trying to tape it. I think we ended up stopping 17
times or something to get it fixed, but we just stayed at it. We knew the
car wasn't hurt that bad. We knew it was going to hurt it a little bit, but
we ran here one time at Daytona with a fender gone and ran real good, so we
knew we could get the car back to where it was capable of running up front
and get the best finish we could get out of it. We didn't think we could get
it good enough to win, but we thought we could run in the lead pack all
day."
EARNHARDT, JR.:
(WAS THERE A REASON THIS RACE WAS MORE INTENSE AND EXCITING THAN USUAL?)
"I think we were all just running each other really close. There are just
guys out there that run real close to you. When they do it and everybody
else sees it, then they do it, too. Before the end of the race we were all
running into each other and crashing and just doing what everybody else was
doing. There are just some guys out there than make certain moves that we
normally don't see or normally don't make and drive with a certain style
that isn't necessarily recommended for the races that we're normally running
here. Everybody had to get physical just to race with those guys.
"It was pretty interesting. I had a lot of fun out there. I'm glad it
turned out like it did because there were a lot of people out there that
were working against us and it's good that we ended up in victory lane."
(HOW COMFORTING WAS IT TO SEE THE CAUTION AROUND LAP 60 WHEN YOU HAD LOST
THE DRAFT?) "I lost the draft twice. One was my fault clearly. Coming to
the green, we got the green going and I didn't get up to speed. It was
really a rookie kind of deal and I lost the draft pretty bad there. Then,
Michael got spun around there and hit the wall down there. I saw the crash,
but I didn't know it was Michael until I came around the corner, so that was
kind of tough. You knew you didn't have your teammate to help you the rest
of the day. I was trying to get up there to work with him a little bit. I
had made some mistakes as far as trying to stay with the draft and we just
got lucky. Every time the caution came out we just got lucky and were real
fortunate."
(OF THE FOUR WINS HERE, IS THIS THE SWEETEST?) "Yeah, this is
definitely the sweetest, regardless of the controversy of going below the
line or whatever. To me personally, I worked real hard there today - the
moves that we made at the end that worked. This race really wasn't kind of
ours to lose. It was ours to win today. I feel like we all, as a team, come
together and worked real hard to make it happen. We just realized today that
even when you feel like things aren't working your way or things are working
against you, you can come together and work your heart and you can get what
you can get. You just might get more than you expect and that's what
happened today. It was a big surprise to all of us that we had the car that
was shot into the lead there with three laps to go. I was just as excited
and happy about it as those guys in the pits. Normally, you're out there
running up front. The last three races we've won here, you're leading the
race sitting there going, 'What in the hell am I going to do to mess this up
and how am I going to explain it to them guys how I lost it?' Today, it was
fun because I got to tell them how I won it, so it was pretty cool."
(ON THE HENDRICK CARS TEAMING UP AT THE END?) "It was pretty neat to see
them all running down there together. You could watch everybody's attitude
and kind of tell what they're thinking and what they're wanting to do. You
could tell Jeff was wanting the'48' to work with him, even when Jeff was
running second to the '48,' he just wanted the '48' to be in one part of the
racetrack all the time. The '48' just kept moving up into whatever line was
going and trying to block the outside run and trying to block the inside
run. He'd keep doing that and everybody behind him was just getting pissed
off because he was all over the place. When you got to him you just ran into
him, trying to knock him out of the way. You could tell Jeff was wanting him
just to sit still - 'even if they do go by you on the outside, we'll be here
together and we'll work back toward the front, one way or another,' so that
was kind of tough watching them racing each other and getting competitive
like they were. They had great cars and I think Jeff saw the potential for
them to hook up and work together and win this race together, and I don't
think Jimmie actually saw that or understood that.
"But, the '5' car was pretty good. The '25' was pretty good. But, I think
there were only four or five cars maybe that people will really work with
and that is what keeps the '8' car, the '24,' the '29' - that's what keeps
us up front. We've got people that decide, 'Alright, I'm going to help you
because I know you're going to the front.' That's what keeps us up there.
>From there on back, nobody really works with each other. There are none of
those guys that you'll see work together all day long and that is why it
kind of shuffles around all day long. It's got to be tough. I can't imagine
how hard it would be to have be back there racing around and not have
nobody - everybody's main goal is just to get by you. We're real fortunate
to be one of them teams where people's main goal is to get behind us. It
pays off in the end for us."
(HOW GOOD WAS YOUR CAR...WAS IT THAT GOOD AT THE END OR DID IT HELP THAT
EVERYBODY ELSE WAS BANGED UP, AS WELL?) "They were all racing real hard.
Now, if they had settled down - it would have been hard for anybody to win
if they had settled down and run in a single-file line. But, you would have
to expect teammates to be doing that and there weren't really any teammates
put together, racing together on the track. Me and the '17' sent each other
up toward the front. He got to racing really hard with the '48' and that
just slowed them down and I got a push then and shot past on the inside
there. I thought for sure the '29' would get a run on me sooner or later,
but he never did. I don't know why. They had a crash and didn't throw the
caution. We thought we were coming to the caution for the win there and kept
our foot in it luckily and they didn't throw the caution. I think a lot of
guys thought the caution was coming out and maybe lifted a little bit. That
helped us some because I saw that we got us a little bit of a breakaway -
five cars or whatever there at the en. But, they were beating on each other
and racing really hard. You want to get out there and run and just knock
laps off and get the race toward the end to where everybody can start racing
real hard then. But, everybody wanted to lead. It seemed like everybody in
that pack wanted to be the leader. Any run they got they used it to try to
pass you or to pass somebody, so it was kind of tough. But, it gave you a
lot of opportunities at the same time. But, it was neat, because today
instead of leading all day. We were front to back, front to back. It would
be cool because we'd get shuffled to the back and I'd be like, 'Alright,
here we go. We're going back to the front.' We'd get back to the front, we'd
get shuffled back to the back, so that was fun. Other than just trying to
dodge any potential wrecks, it was pretty cool."
(WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR DAD WOULD HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT THAT PASS?) "I think
it was pretty cool. When I drove down into three with the lefts on the apron
and I had a real strong run going - I had a pretty big push from the '29' -
so, I just kind of drove it sideways up onto the racetrack and I looked in
the mirror and the'48' and the '17' was way up against the wall still - I
think it scared them a little more than anything."
(DO YOU THINK YOUR DAD WOULD HAVE APPROVED?) "Oh, hell yeah. Anything to
be sitting here, he'd have approved of it. I didn't run over nobody, but I'm
sure he wouldn't have been upset about that either."
EURY, SR.:
(WAS THIS THE HARDEST YOU'VE EVER HAD TO WORK FOR A WIN?) "Believe it or
not, we were at the motel at 5:15 this morning - we had two guys that didn't
set their clocks, so we were over there beating on doors trying to get them
out of the bed. We were sitting in the van and I told Tony, Jr., I said,
'Boy, this day is starting off good, isn't it?' Then, we came to the
racetrack and the oil tank is full of water. 5:15 this morning our day
started off that way and we've been at it all day long. I know I've said it
all year long, but we've got a new group of guys there at DEI. They've all
got some big hearts and they want to win a championship and they want to win
a lot of races. We've got a new crew that is going over the wall. We've just
got a lot of good people and we've got some people down there that's never
won a race before today, so it's pretty exciting for them guys down there to
actually win a points race. We've got some good guys that got some big
hearts and they want to win. They want to work. They don't bitch about
working. They work as hard as they can work. They go home when we tell them
they can go home and that's what it takes to win a championship and that's
what we're trying to put together."
EARNHARDT, JR.:
(NOW RANKED SECOND IN POINTS, ARE YOU PRETTY HAPPY WITH THE WAY THINGS ARE
GOING?) "I am, myself. I know Tony and the guys would have liked to have
done a few things different. They can see where I can't where we could have
done something different for each race or maybe improved our position. But,
as far as my effort, I feel pretty good about it. I feel real focused. I've
got high demand out of my guys. I hope that they see that is just
determination and my drive to win the championship. Hopefully, they give me
what I ask of them and they did today. I don't know why this year is any
different than another, but it's just time to be buckled down and it's time
to look forward to the end of the year. I plant to be a big part of the
team's success all year long by keeping things mellow and together when
we're having bad days. We can cuss and throw (stuff) when the season is over
with when we didn't get the championship we wanted. Instead of doing it
after each race, let's just keep our heads up and go on. That's been pretty
good to us up until this point. We've got a few new guys that came in over
the winter that have interesting attitudes that have kind of rejuvenated
some of our hopes and desires and initiatives. Tony, Jr., and Tony, Sr., are
working really, really good together.
"I feel like this is the strongest they have ever been as a combination up
on top of the box. I feel like our relationship and our communication is
just so much better and I feel like we were pretty damn good before, so
we've got a good potential to win this year."
(WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THE YELLOW LINE REMOVED?) "I could take it or leave
it myself. As a driver, when the (deal) is on, you ain't really thinking
about no yellow line. Normally, you'd see races where everybody would be
blocking the bottom, blocking that yellow line and we didn't see that today.
So, we all pretty much had not even thought about the yellow line the entire
race. Normally, you see races where the entire field runs right against it
and the only way to get past them is to go shove them up the racetrack some
way or another. Somebody leaves just enough hole to get the radiator through
there, then you shove the rest of the car through it or if you pulled out
you got left on the outside and everybody run on the bottom. But, today the
pack wasn't that big or for whatever reason we call kind of ran around the
middle of the racetrack. The top was actually where you wanted to be passing
most of the race. Now, I got that run and they left the bottom open, so I
went for it. But, I think it's a judgment call. I'm not kissing NASCAR's
butt or anything like that for making the call for me today. But, if we like
racing cars and you guys like these nice press boxes, we've got to get
behind them when they make a judgment call. They are the ones that are
running the show. When they make a call - I question them, too. But, it's
tough. They're not in the easiest position. I can honestly say that I
believe if I felt like I had done anything wrong I'd be the first driver out
there to admit to it
"Another thing - I'll be reading on Jayski (jayski.com) all these articles
and for any of you suns of guns that are wanting to talk (expletive) about
me - you know where you can go.
"As far as it coming or going, I can take it or leave it. I like it there
for reasons when you need it and there are times when you do need it. We
used to see races where guys would get shoved down into the grass down there
on the back stretch years ago and sometimes you see them races and sometimes
you don't. I don't know why that is. Sometimes we can run around the top
here and that's where everybody wants to be. You come back next time and
everybody will be on the bottom. I don't know why and what the difference is
between making that happen. But, if we ran a little bit faster you wouldn't
be worried about it because you'd be chasing that son of a bitch all the way
to the wall down there. Maybe they ought to speed them up a little bit."
(WITH THE PROBLEMS YOU HAD TODAY, DID YOU FEEL YOU COULD WIN THIS RACE AFTER
ABOUT THE FIRST 10 LAPS?) "When they first dropped the green, I was kind of
wary about what was going on in front of me. I was watching way out there
and I saw that wreck happen.
"I wasn't worried about the motor. Richie's motors are all right there
together... We weren't the toughest car here today, but that could have been
because of what we suffered in the wreck. But when it counted we had the car
that would do it - would do what we needed."
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