 |
 |
| Nextel Cup Series |
 |
|
News and Results | Point Standings | 2007 Schedule | 2007 Teams | 2006 Schedule and Results | 2005 Schedule and Results Pep Boys Auto 500 - Chevrolet Post-Race Quotes Jimmie Johnson Wins at Atlanta; Scores 24th Victory of the Season for Chevrolet Eighth Victory of the Season Pulled Defending NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Champion Within Nine Points of Chase Leader Jeff Gordon Hampton, GA - Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's/Kobalt Tools Monte Carlo SS, scored his eighth victory of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series (NNCS) in the Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The victory for the defending NNCS champion was the 24th win for Chevrolet thus far in 2007, exceeding the 23 victory mark set by the Bowtie Brand in 2006. "We are very pleased that Jimmie's victory today at Atlanta helped Chevrolet reach 24 victories for the season, one more than our total scored in 2006," said Alba Colon, NNCS Program Manager for GM Racing. "The success that Team Chevy has enjoyed this season is the result of a tremendous amount of work by a large group of people within General Motors and all of our teams. "We are looking forward to the remaining three races of the season and watching the battle for the driver's champion as it evolves. "Congratulations to all of our teams and drivers who have contributed to Chevrolet's 24 wins and counting this season." Johnson, who started sixth in the race that went 329 laps, four more than scheduled due to three caution periods in the final five laps, led once for a total of eight laps on the way to his 31st career win. The victory pulled Johnson to within nine points of his Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) teammate and current Chase point standings leader, Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont/Nicorette Monte Carlo SS, with three races remaining on the schedule. Gordon crossed the finish line in seventh to maintain the lead in pursuit of his fifth NNCS championship. A total of four Monte Carlo SS drivers scored top-10 finishes at Atlanta. Clint Bowyer, No. 07 Jack Daniel's Monte Carlo SS, finished sixth in the race to remain solidly in third place in points battle, 111 points down from the leader. Jeff Burton, No. 31 AT&T Monte Carlo SS finished fifth and moved to eighth in the Chase standings, 400 points behind Gordon. Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Monte Carlo SS, was 15th in the finishing order to remain seventh in the standings, 392 points out of the lead. Kyle Busch, No. 5 Kellogg's/CARQUEST Monte Carlo SS, was shown in the 20th finishing position after leading three times for 77 laps. Busch is sixth in the standings, 328 points behind his HMS teammate. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Express Monte Carlo SS, finished 24th in the Pep Boys Auto 500. He dropped two positions in the standings to 10th, 424 points down to Gordon. Tony Stewart, No. 20 Home Depot Monte Carlo SS, finished 30th and dropped to fifth in the standings, 322 points out of the lead. Martin Truex, Jr., No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Monte Carlo SS, was scored in the 31st finishing position. He dropped to 12th in the Chase standings, 513 points behind. The eighth race in the Chase and the 34th race of the 36-race season will be November 4, 2007 at Texas Motor Speedway.
ON HOW SURPRISING IS THIS WIN: "We had like a 15th place car all day. Chad (Knaus, crew chief) made great adjustments on the car and got us at least in contention so we could run in the top-five and maybe a third place finish. With the pit strategy at the end, Chad made the call, the cautions worked in our favor and we were able to capitalize on the great pit call. ON THIRD TIME SWEEPING AT TRACKS THIS SEASON: "We have had some tough races this season. We had the mistake at Lowe's Motor Speedway that cost us and we have been trying to make that up. I can't thank everyone at Hendrick and the No. 24/No. 48 shop, the engine shop, the chassis shop. We come out here week after week with the kind of cars like we have had says a lot for everyone at Hendrick. We will keep putting the pressure on, we are in striking distance." ON DONATING RACE WINNINGS TO VICTIMS OF FIRES IN CALIFORNIA: "I am very proud of everyone who has jumped on board with us to donate winnings to the victims of the California fires. We talked about it earlier this week and it is really growing. Mr. Hendrick is in on it. Lowe's is going to match our race winnings, Bruton Smith is too, along with a few other major corporations. We will be able to donate well over a million dollars to the California wildfire victims."
"It wasn't a real great performance for us today. We struggled in the middle part of the race a lot. This track can change a lot and it did. It is all about sticking with it and we did. Steve Letarte (crew chief) and all the guys on this DuPont/Nicorette Chevrolet did a great job. We got it turned around too late. We were too far behind at that point. But there at the end, my car was pretty awesome. On a long run I was too tight, but on the short run we were great. We needed about a five lap run right there and we would have given them a run for their money, that is for sure."
ON THE LAST RESTART: "That was pretty wild. It was a lot of different things. Everybody was jockeying for position. I am not sure what happened that very last one, if his wheel came off or what, collected a couple of cars. We were just off a little today. We definitely didn't deserve the finish that we got, nonetheless, the guys worked hard to get us in contention. That is what you have to do. You have to at least be there to take advantage of if somebody does have trouble. Unfortunately we weren't as good as we like, but it was a decent finish." ON GETTING A BREAK TODAY WITH THE WAY THE RACE FINISHED: "I would say we got a lot of a break today. I feel bad for Truex and Kyle Busch and those guys, clearly they had the cars to beat today and ended up way back and Truex didn't finish. Fortunate things are going our way, when it is your day, it is your day, when it is not, it is not." ON WHAT WAS THE PROBLEM WITH THE CAR: "We were just way, way too loose. It was just our balance was off. It would swing lose and tight way too easy. Didn't have enough grip. Usually when that happens, there isn't a real cure for that while you are out there on the track and on pit road. It is usually something more major than that." ON FEELING OF STATUS IN CHASE: "What we have to do is keep digging. We can't give up, we didn't give up today and we won't give up. We stayed on the lead lap and probably shouldn't have, worked on it as much as we could and came out of here with a decent day." ON CONSIDERING TO STAY OUT WHEN LEADERS PITTED FOR FUEL THE FINAL TIME: "I saw the No. 11 do it and I thought about it, maybe I should, maybe I shouldn't. If I would have I might have run right in the back of him and been a wreck. So nonetheless, it was a decent day."
"We were terrible in the beginning of the race - I think we were as running in the 30's early on. We started off sideways loose and I was holding on so I wouldn't spin the car out. The track started to tighten up some and Scott made some great calls in the pits and we were able to advance positions. The guys also had great pit stops, which helped. Scott made a great call there at the end calling for a two-tire stop. We got in the back of the 26 on one of the restarts and I thought it caused enough damage to where we couldn't run well. But what a crazy finish - we'll take it and go to Texas from here."
“Man, that was a HIT! It was hard and loud! BAM into that wall. I knew when I was sliding up there it was gonna be big and it was. Loud and hard. We lost a left rear wheel. We must have had an issue with the hubs or something because we had loose lugs and a loose rear wheel several times through the day. When that wasn't a problem - we were fast as hell. We passed a lot of cars today but you can only do that if everything is tight and screwed on correctly. I knew we had a loose wheel at the end of the race, but when we pitted the last time (on lap 319), we changed two right-side tires, but the left rear was loose. It must have gotten worse during the yellow flags. I dunno. All I know is I have a headache and I'm going to my bus to rest up..."
“We felt like we were pretty good on fuel there. We were even good to real close on a green-white-checkered. All day we’d been getting water in our fuel. The water displaces fuel and so we weren’t getting the full potential of fuel. We just took it apart again and pulled some gas out of the fuel cell and once again, we got water. So it’s just a shame. It’s one of those times when you think you’re luck is going to turn around and the good Lord is going to shine on you and it’s going to be your day. And once again, it wasn’t out day. It’s just a shame that someone else had to get torn up in it, but we felt like we were good. We wouldn’t risk it. Our goal here at the end of the year is to end up in the top five in points. Now we’re just going to be lucky to be hanging on to the top 10.” HOW FRUSTRATED ARE YOU RIGHT NOW? “I’m not that frustrated because I’m used to it. The last eight weeks have been like this for us. So, it’s just one of those deals. I’m happy about the way we ran. That’s the one thing we can take out of here. This is the best car we’ve had here. This is the best that we’ve been. So as negative as I probably should be about today, it was a good day for us.” THEY TESTED THE FUEL AT THE PUMPS AND APPARENTLY THERE WAS NO WATER IN THE FUEL. WHAT DOES IT FEEL LIKE WHEN YOU HAVE WATER IN THE FUEL? “Well, I don’t know the certain situation of how it got there, but we just pulled what we had out of the carburetor out and it was a very, very good amount of water in there. Even the bolts are oxidized, so that tells you right there that there was water in the carburetor. So, you can check the pumps, but the car is what’s burning this fuel. We had some issues earlier in the race with the car stopping down the straightaway. I felt it hesitating. So they said we got water that run. Evidently we got it in the second to the last run too, and it displaced the fuel that we needed to go to the end.” WHAT DID IT FEEL LIKE ON THAT RESTART? WAS THERE A HESITATION? “Actually off of Turn 4, when I actually hit the gas, it took off and then it stopped. It took off and stopped. Usually when that happens, it will go ahead and take off. But when it actually cut off, I pulled down to the middle. These guys had already started making their way underneath of me and I was just waiting on a hit from behind. And I saw Martin (Truex Jr.) coming. It’s just tough for those guys. I’d fix their car if I had to.” HOW WOULD THE SPOTTERS ALERT SOMEBODY? “I think they knew, but we’re so blind in these race cars that we really can’t see much. It’s just a situation where the guy in front of you ducks out of the way and right there, there is a car. There is nothing he could have done. It’s not his fault that we were sitting there in the middle of the track.” HOW MANY LAPS DO YOU THINK YOU HAD LEFT? “We could have been good, we felt like, to a green-white-checkered. We would have probably ran out on the checkered flag of a green-white-checkered. We should have been plenty good. There is no way we would have risked it and been that far off. It’s just a situation where we were trying to burn water instead of fuel. I think they knew there was a problem, but there was really no way to fix it today.” ON GUYS WHO TOOK TWO TIRES “I don’t know who; I don’t know where tires were behind me. I know a lot of guys took splashes, which that would have been good because we were one of the fastest cars on the track before that caution came out. And so it’s tough to say. If the No. 48 had tires, he probably would have got around us anyway. But if he didn’t, we probably could have held him off.” WHEN DID YOU FEEL IT GOING AWAY FROM YOU? “Right there at the start/finish line is when it died. A hated it. I couldn’t even make a lap without something happening. I hate it for everyone else more so than myself.” WHAT KIND OF FEELINGS WERE GOING THROUGH YOUR MIND THEN? “It’s frustrating. It’s just a situation where, I don’t think we expect these bad luck kind of things to happen, but it’s happened the last eight or nine weeks. We’ve kind of gotten accustomed to it. We’ve just got to realize that this is the best we’ve ran here and take that and go on strong next year.”
"This is the best we have been at Atlanta in four years so it was a step in the right direction for us. We are going to take this car to Texas because it ran so well here for us."
"Atlanta is a track that we have traditionally struggled at so we put a lot of emphasis on and we built a new Monte Carlo SS for here. It ran really good and I am really proud of that effort, real proud of all my guys, the Hendrick Motorsports engineering staff. This is a little different body than we normally run here, so I am real proud of how all that worked out and the chassis shop that hung the body on this car. So, having said that, we ran real well. We just didn't close the deal there at the end. We had trouble on the pit stop, we didn't get the right side jacked up enough and had a bad pit stop. I don't know, I think Matt (Kenseth) came out seventh and we should have been right there with him. If we had come out sixth, the way it went on, we wouldn't have won the race because there wasn't enough time. I hate it for my guys, they really deserve it, Kyle drove a great race. This is a very humbling sport."
"Martin's involvement in the wreck was just an occurrence for us. Martin had a great car. He and Bono (crew chief Kevin Manion) were doing everything they needed to do and what we needed to do. Martin drove a great race. It was just an unfortunate incident. We will just come back strong next week at Texas."
"I guess the No. 11 had some water in their gas, is what they are saying, and didn't get started, plus guys who took two tires, four tires and good hard racing at the end. Just a bad result, no where for us to go. Nobody's fault. Spotter said 'Checking up'. People were going left, right, and the next thing you know bam, cars are stopping in front of us. ON DIFFERENT STRATEGIES PEOPLE WERE USING ON THE LAST STOP: "It is a free country, you can do what you want. I knew there was going to be a couple who took two tires, I didn't realize there would be that many. Still think four tires for us was the right call with the car we had. I would have hate to got beat on too. With that many short laps, I figured a couple of people would take two, I didn't think that many would. I think if ON FOCUS FOR REMAINING THREE RACES: "We are absolutely focused on winning races and getting good finishes. Really want a pole almost more than a win, either one would do right now, but the wins for sure. That is what we came in to do today, like we do every week, like every other competitor. You could have been a risky with our call and taken two tires, but like I said, one thing I have learned, right decision, wrong decision, just make a decision. the restart had gotten off ok, I still think we had a great shot at a win or a top-three finish."
THAT WAS A VICIOUS HIT. HOW MUCH OF THAT DID YOUR BODY ABSORB? “I don’t know. What kind of question is that? (laughs)” HOW ARE YOU? “I’m okay. I’m fine. David (Gilliland) is fine. That’s the main thing. It’s a disappointment but that’s what happens sometimes. I should have missed it. I told David I should have missed him. You’re going so fast and I couldn’t see him in the smoke and I really didn’t feel comfortable driving into the smoke not knowing where he was. So I tried to get under him and he came out of the smoke coming to the inside. Usually if you go high here, a lot of times it works out. But I only had a split second. But it didn’t really work out for me. I just didn’t feel like going into that smoke at that speed was going to be safe. But we’re both okay and that’s what matters. I really don't know what happened, I just saw smoke. It was a pretty hard hit, I have had harder. You know, thank God I am not racing for points. "
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT/NICORETTE MONTE CARLO SS, SERIES LEADER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT THE MODERATOR: We are joined by our points leader, by nine points, he finished seventh today, the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet driver, Jeff Gordon. Jeff, points lead dwindling a little bit but you still are it.
We finally got it tightened up there towards the end and we were coming to the front there, that long run there at the end, I was concerned whether the tires were going to make it, I had vibration. I started backing off and somebody blew a tire. I was pretty excited to get going on the restart, and my car is really good on short runs there at the end but didn't get a chance to see it, I don't know what that was, just crazy madness there at the end. Q. Earlier in the race you were talking in the radio about track position. It sounds like it was different from what you were experiencing ?? threw you guys off a little bit. Can you talk about what put you back early and forced you to have to play catch up all day long? JEFF GORDON: Yeah, all weekend, it's been different for me. I don't know if tires are a little bit different or if the track, just conditions, were different. I'm not sure. I really struggled with it this weekend. We had almost the exact same setup that we had here the last time, and you know, we were really happy with it. I just never really had the car that I wanted today, and even yesterday in practice. There were times we were fast, but we just couldn't maintain it throughout the whole run. Chalk it up to us adjusting wrong or track conditions changing, I'm not sure. At the beginning of the race, the only place I was good was up top, down one and two, and the second half of the race, I was going straight in the wall because I was so loose in the back end. I would have just spun right in the wall. I'm not sure exactly what you call that or why, but we don't have to worry about it any more, because it will be a whole new ballgame when we come back here in that Car of Tomorrow. Q. Jeff, the fact that you and Jimmie Johnson both finished pretty well today despite having mediocre cars, is that a testament to why you and the 48 are where you are in the points and why the championship is coming down to you two guys, that your team has overcome adversity? JEFF GORDON: Depends on the track. I think it's a combination of reasons of why we've had the seasons that we've had, this year, and Jimmie had it last year. Obviously our organization is well put together, good people, good resources. But I think when you bring a good car to the race track, you always motivate people to fight hard and to never give up. That allows you to be a little bit more conscious of making good calls. You know, I think today we knew that the car has got it in it, and I'm fortunate that they have confidence in me. So if I'm complaining about the car, which I did a lot of today, you know, they listen to me, and they don't get frustrated with me. They are just frustrated like I am with our performance and they fight to give me the tools to get me out there and get the car back to where we need it to be. I think the same thing applies to Jimmie, for sure, but it all starts with our whole organization back at the shop. We have a phenomenal facility that has only been growing and getting better, and the people, you know, and the support that you get, there's just a lot of confidence among everybody that knows that if you just provide the right piece of equipment, that we're going to go to the racetrack and get it done. That's very comforting and helps you make good decisions. Q. Obviously you would like to have a 200-point lead now, but with a nine-point lead does it simplify your mission, that you have to just beat Jimmie Johnson over the next three races? JEFF GORDON: Oh, yeah, that sounds simple. All I can say is that when we had a, whatever, 58-point lead coming in, we didn't feel like we had a lead and the pressure was on. Now we have a nine?point lead and the pressure is on even more. All we can do right now is go out and put up the best numbers and performance that we possibly can on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and hope that it's enough. I feel like we've got the team and the equipment to do it, but those guys are tough and they are showing it every weekend. I mean all I'm really focusing on and concerned about right now is trying not to have a bad day. For a little while today, it looked like today was going to be that day. So to me, to be able to fight back and come back and finish seventh, even though Jimmie won, it still was a great day for us I feel like, and a great motivation for us going forward. So we're just going to keep doing that week-in and week-out. We come out of Homestead and we've got a points lead, then fantastic. If we don't, then we did all we can do. Q. When you have a restart like that, is there a way NASCAR can waive that and come back, or is that the way things happen? Should there be a do over to get that screwed up? JEFF GORDON: Are you talking about the one ?? Q. The one where Hamlin ran out of gas. JEFF GORDON: I thought that's what they did do. I passed four cars and they didn't give me the spot to put them back in front of me. I thought it was a do-over other than the cars that got caught up in the wreck. I passed cars and they put them back in front of me. So I'm not sure how that whole deal worked. All I know is that we did go green and then the 8 (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) had his problem. Q. Jeff, you mentioned earlier about the tires; did that make you think about not running the test Monday and Tuesday? JEFF GORDON: No, not at all. Our teams are going to be there. We are going to be getting data. There's nothing that that is going to do to help us win the championship this year. Our focus is to win this championship this year, and that's why we made that decision. You know, we want to let our guys rest. We would rather be back at the shop working on things for Texas, for Phoenix and for Homestead, and that's why we chose not to come to the test; knowing that we were going to have Hendrick Motorsports representation here and getting laps and getting information, even though it's not my driver inputs. I think that was a good decision. I think the only reason that they are here is to try to save the team some money because of convenience of location and the fact that we are here. This is probably going to be one of the toughest places with that car next year. To me, the other thing is, it's more of a test for Goodyear than anybody else. Goodyear needs to design a tire for this car for this track, and I think NASCAR needs to look at some things that need to still be done to that car to make it work well at this race track. So to me, that's not a test that's really giving us the information that we need for this track when we come back here next year. Q. Were you hoping for a late race caution? JEFF GORDON: With how many (laps) to go? I would have liked to have seen a caution with about 15 to go, I can tell you that. My car was fast on new tires there at the end because we tightened it up so much, it was really abusing the right front tires on the long runs. I would have liked to have seen at least a 10 or 12?lap run. We got ourselves in that hole. We freed the car up too much. We got loose, and we made adjustment to compensate for that and it went the wrong way and we had a long green flag run and we just needed pit stops and we needed cautions and they just didn't come when we needed them to. But still, we were working our way up there. I was inside Jimmie there trying to make a pass on him at one time, and had it not been for my right front starting to vibrate there toward the end, you know, I probably could have picked up one or two more positions before that caution came out with the 70, I guess. So, you know, you can't predict how things are going to fall and play out. But when the car is there, you go, and when it's not there, you ride it out until you can fix it and that's what we did all day long. I mean we didn't do anything different with 50 to go other than trying to get the car where it needed to be. Q. Do you feel like you may have maybe saved your championship lead in a big way today? JEFF GORDON: Well, I think we dodged a bullet. I think Jimmie dodged a bullet, too. There were times he wasn't really that great. Yeah, we both kind of went through our cycles today and fought our way back up front. And that kind of goes back to one of the questions earlier about Hendrick Motorsports, about these two teams and why we're bound for the championship and the year we're having. It's never over until it's over, and that's why they call it racing. I mean, we knew that just being around at the end was going to be an important part of it, and we didn't run as well as we would have liked to have, you know, for most of the race. Disappointed about that. But we rebounded the way I thought we could, and I'm proud of that effort. Q. You said earlier that Goodyear has to design a tire, which will work on this track, and we saw quite a few drivers retiring or having problems with flat tires. How were the races in the previous years? Did you have the same troubles with the tires here? JEFF GORDON: I'll just add that this place is like a big Darlington when it comes to the racetrack, and that's one of the things that make this a great track is how abrasive it is. But it's a huge challenge for Goodyear because we keep making the cars better and faster, so they abuse the tires more when that happens. The concern is with the Car of Tomorrow, with the higher center of gravity on that car with less downforce and the right side weight that's on that car, they feel like it's going to abuse the tires worse with that car, even though we are going a little bit slower through the corners. So that's something that they are going to be monitoring tomorrow. I don't know how much, you know, they are going to be changing going through different set of tires or if they have a set set of tires that they are planning on going through. But the nice thing is, there's rubber on the track, which should give them an accurate wear reading when this track is green. Like we saw with the Trucks when we first got here and like Reed (Sorenson) was saying earlier in practice, you just eat up the tires here. And until you get rubber down on the track, I don't know what kind of issues we had today. I knew we wore some tires, but I don't think we ever had issues where we were down to the cords or anything like that. But that's definitely a concern at the Car of Tomorrow with a track like this and that's something that's definitely got to be addressed Q. Could you tell what happened to (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) Junior at the end? I know you were kind of close. JEFF GORDON: I wasn't that close. I was just trying to avoid it. But it looked like it swapped ends in a hurry. I think he took two tires on that last stop, if I'm not mistaken. I'm not sure. I'm not sure if it had something to do with that or maybe there was contact on that one restart and maybe the tire was cut. I'm not really sure. Somebody coming across the radio thought the left rear fell off ?? the wheel and everything? That's odd to me if they only took two tires. So not really sure what happened there. Q. On the point standings JEFF GORDON: You just have to look at it at times in the race today we were gaining points or times we were losing points. The fact we minimized it at the end, you have to take the positives that you can out of it. You know, I think that we thought we were going to come out of here with a little bit better finish than this. I got excited today because there were times when I thought, man, we've got a car that's better than Jimmie's and even capable of maybe running second or third. And those guys ended up making a great call winning the race and we had our struggles and ended upcoming back and finishing seventh. You have to look at the positives. I think one of the great things about our race team is it doesn't matter whether we win or whether we, you know, have a bad finish. We erase all of that out of our mind when we move on to the next racetrack and put that behind us. And you can't be overconfident going in. If you've won a race, you can't be down on yourself. If you had a bad day, you've just got to go on to the next one and keep putting up the fight and effort. So, I mean, we haven't gone anywhere. We're right here and we're right in the thick of it. You know, if a bad day for us is seventh, I'll be very happy with that for the next three races if a bad day is seventh. You know, it's going to be interesting to see how it all plays out. I've always been a person that, you know, you put as much effort into it as you can, you put the best team together that you can. You work hard and if it's meant to happen, it's meant to happen. You know, there are certain things out there that we can control; we control those. The things we can't control, we can't do anything about anyway. If those guys flat?out beat us by five or six positions the next three weeks, I'm going to go and high?five Jimmie and say congratulations. If we can slide our good finishes in there and maybe even get some wins before this thing is over, then we did the job we set out to do. I don't know, I think it's going to come down to one of us having problems more than anything else, and that's the thing that we're trying to avoid. You know, I don't want to ?? there's a lot of ways, you know, to lose this championship, and that's what we want to make sure that we don't do is, you know, be focused so much on finishing seventh and then winning and saying, we've got to win, we've got to win, we've got to win and then we make a mistake or crash or have a problem and just give it away. So, you know, they are not going to get it easy if they do get it; we are going to make them work for it and they are going to make us work for it, too and that's what's making it very exciting now. Q. On the Earnhardt Jr. fans joining the Jeff Gordon fans JEFF GORDON: Well, they are. They are going to be joining us next year with Junior. I don't know. It's hard for me to ?? not everybody is going to be a fan, not of mine, not of Hendricks, not even of Junior's, I guess. I think you have to respect that we are putting the kind of organization ?? I think it's easy to criticize from the outside, oh, they are spending the most money or they are buying this championship. You can't buy a championship in this thing. There are so many guys out there spending a lot of money hiring the best people and trying to beat us, and when you put together an organization like you have, you've got great leadership and it's some magical things that are possible. I've been a part of that in the past and I'm a part of it now, and you know, I haven't been to any other organization, but I've seen them get on their rolls, too, whether it's Gibbs or Roush, even Childers. When you dominate, there's going to be people that are loving it and there's going to be people that are hating it. All I can say is I know how many Junior fans are out there and they should be anxious about him getting behind the wheel of a Hendrick Motorsports car next year.
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE'S / KOBALT MONTE CARLO SS, CREW CHIEF, CHAD KNAUS, AND RICK HENDRICK, OWNER, HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS
THE MODERATOR: We have from the No. Number 48 Lowe's Chevrolet team, Jimmie Johnson driving, he has the lead cut in the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup, trails his teammate, Jeff Gordon, by nine points; Chad Knaus, crew chief; and owner of both the 48 and the 24 car, Rick Hendrick. Gentlemen, congratulations, maybe we can just start with brief openers from each of and you. Rick, give your honors.
But it's looking good right now.
THE MODERATOR: Our race winner's winnings will be donated to Red Cross Wildlife Relief Effort. We don't have the exact figure yet.
I just think that it's going to be a fight to the end. We took a good bite out of Jeff's point lead today, and it's going to come down to a position or two in the next three races. And now I feel really good about where we are in the points and we can go lead laps, we can try to lead the most laps and really race for this championship over the next three events. So I'm very excited about that. And then also with the California Wildfire Relief Fund, Mr. Hendrick and I were speaking last week, beginning of this week and we talked about donating the purse, Lowe's has jumped on board, Mr. Smith, Mr. France and I've heard of a few other corporations matching the purse today. So we feel confident over a million dollars would be raised and sent out to the Red Cross and hopefully it encourages other people to get involved. Lowe's is using their other stores (inaudible/line static) and whether it's a special paint scheme, if it's for a charity like today, we seem to deliver and get the job done, and I'm happy about that. Q. Last week you said it was your goal when you started the team to have two teams battling for the championship, but three races to go, is that going to happen? CHAD KNAUS: Looks that way. When I sat down with Mr. Hendrick and Jeff Gordon and Jimmie, and Brian Lewis and Tom Whitesell in 2002, wintertime of 2001, we said that that's what we wanted to do. We wanted to build a team that was capable of battling for wins, battling for championships on a weekly and on a yearly basis. And, you know, I think this is the first of many years to come that hopefully we can continue to do that. We've got a phenomenal staff with our engine development program, they have had the duty and task of developing the R07 engine as well as maintaining the SB2, and the guys in the chassis and body program and maintaining the Monte Carlo and improving it and testing and improving the Impala. So it's not just what we have going on in the 24 and 48 shop, but what we have going on throughout Hendrick Motorsports, and it's a great feeling. Q. How much of a testament to the crew chiefs and everybody on the 48 and 24 teams, when Jeff was having a day that could have been tough for him as far as the points goes and he was in the 20s and Jimmie was able to come out with the win; what does that say about the people with those two teams? RICK HENDRICK: I think what we have learned in racing is that you can't give up and you've got to continue to work on the car. And I think when I looked out there at one point and all three of the cars were in the top six, and then Casey (Mears) was 12th, you know, that's our goal is to try to run up front and you know, only one car can win a championship. But we were fortunate enough to battle to the end with Terry Labonte and Jeff (Gordon) at one time, the last race that was decided and Jimmie's was awfully close in '04 and so we're used to not giving up, and you have to count every point. And I think one of the strong suits of our organization is the relationship between crew chief and drivers. And they talk during the race and Jimmie kind of dissects the car and tells Chad what he needs, and Jeff and Stevie the same, and Alan and Kyle the same, and Casey and Darian. So the communication is great, and it's not over until it's over. And we've had some breaks that don't go our way. I think Kyle had it rough, if the caution hadn't came in, probably would have won the race. You just have to be ready, and again, communicate and try to make the car better and not just give up. So that's a testament to these two guys and the other crew chiefs and drivers in the organization. Q. Chad, can you explain the thought process behind that last pit stop, and is that a situation where you are always looking for an experienced position in that case? CHAD KNAUS: Yeah, I think so. We are real fortunate that Friday started out with a good qualifying effort and got it where we wanted it. And obviously you cannot perceive what's going to happen throughout the event. It's not like football or basketball where you know the cautions or innings are going to be done or when the quarters are going to end. When that caution came out, we knew we didn't have a car capable of winning the race at that point. But usually late in the race when cautions come out, cautions breed cautions, so track position was going to be important. So we were fortunate to see guys taking two tires and made a call to take two tires and went with it. Q. For Chad, maybe with about 30 laps left, you and Jeff running pretty close together on the track, was the thought to try to save fuel by just running together instead of real racing? And probably the last thing, do you think you would have made it? CHAD KNAUS: At that point we weren't really running with the 24. We were ahead of them, I believe, I don't remember what was going on there. I think we would have made it or very close. The fuel mileage was getting better as the pace was slowing down. So I think we would have made it. I can tell you this: We were not going to stop and it would have been exciting to see how it would have played out, and if the caution came out we were in a position to win and would have gone for it for sure Q. Do you feel the fact that the championship is being pretty closely fought between two teammates, two guys out of the same race shop, it's taking a little bit of the drama and out of the championship for the public? RICK HENDRICK: I don't think so. I think the guys are racing each other really hard. Each one wants to win, and I think to the Jimmie Johnson fans and to the Jeff Gordon fans, it's a battle. And they have put on a really good show at Martinsville and they raced each other hard and they raced each other clean. It sure has not taken any drama out of it for us, so I hope it hasn't for the fans. Q. Can you just tell us what you saw on Denny Hamlin with the restart when his car didn't go and how you managed to get through, around, over, between, or whatever happened? JIMMIE JOHNSON: Yeah, coming to the restart, I saw him swerving the car a little bit. And looking back on it now, I think he knew early off of (Turn) four that the car was running out of fuel, got an air bubble in the line or whatever it was. So I guess looking back on it now, I know what he was doing, and as we got up to the restart line, he didn't take off but he left the right lane open. So I was looking out there thinking, all right, he's taking us deep into the starting area where NASCAR kind of lets the leader take that control, and he wasn't going. And I could see everybody stacking up and I was starting to ease by him at that point and I saw the flag man throw the green, and he never accelerated, so I took off and realized at that point that he had a problem with the fuel pickup. And everybody stacked up after that. So I have to give Denny some credit because he could have made that one big mess, and he did pull down and leave me a lane to get by on the outside. Q. Just how aware were you throughout the day of Jeff's struggles, because he was as far back as 21 at times. And also, for Rick, tomorrow the Car of Tomorrow test, what are you hoping for out of that? JIMMIE JOHNSON: We struggled today, as well, and it seems when we were struggling, the 24 was running well and then it kind of flipped at the end. We didn't have the best of days. As the race went on, we got much stronger. Chad was making a lot of great adjustments on the car. I think the first three or four adjustments we were trying to find direction with the car and what would wake it up and then Chad got on to what was working for the car and bringing the comfort for me to drive it and we improved the car a lot throughout the event. I paid very close attention to where the 24 was and I saw his struggles but I knew just deep down inside that those guys would fight back and be in the Top?10 when the race was over. RICK HENDRICK: You know, tomorrow is going to be an important day for not only Junior, Tony (Eury Jr.) and Dale Junior, but Casey and Alan. They are going to be working together for the first time, trying to decide what they like and just starting the communication process. So tomorrow is going to be a big day for those two guys, and we are glad to see it get started, because Tony has been there working with the guys and has some ideas, and they have a lot of things to test and there will be a lot of information brought back for the 24 and 48. So it's a real important day, and it's kind of a day we've been waiting for, so we're pretty excited about it. Q. Carl Edwards said a couple of times that he thought it would have been a heck of a race if the green and white checkered had gone on through green. Can you describe how you saw it? Were you confident you would have held him off anyway? JIMMIE JOHNSON: I think so. We got a really good start at the end, and, you know, I had four or five car lengths on him getting into turn one. Our car was the best it had been, and I'm not sure where he had been running before the caution. I do know that Carl would have been committed to running wide open and doing whatever it would take to win the race. I assume it would have been a great battle but confident we would have been able to hang on and win the race Q. I was struck by Rick's comments on Jeff Gordon's fans and Jimmie Johnson's fans, because don't you think some people like Jimmie and some like Jeff, and that for those fans, there's really no loser here? JIMMIE JOHNSON: Is that to me or Rick? Q. Jimmie will be fine. JIMMIE JOHNSON: I think the potential is there, but there's more drama that you have two teammates racing for a championship. I think there's more people paying attention because of the drama and what team is going to race each other and what's going to happen. It's not like we are out there just giving each other position and pulling by, "Hi, Buddy, go on"; "no, sorry you go through." It's far from that and I think that is putting a lot of drama in our sport. Q. I was talking about the fans, not and you Jeff. JIMMIE JOHNSON: I get booed so much, I don't know if I have any fans. RICK HENDRICK: If you remember Talladega, it was a Jimmie Johnson fan with a 48 shirt that was throwing beer cans at Jeff. There's a lot; they are diehard fans and they are don't care if they are teammates. They are Jimmie Johnson fans and they are Jeff Gordon fans, and they are not going to be happy if the other guy wins. So, you know, I think the fans appreciate hard racing no matter who it is, and they like it when the cars mix it up and get up front, and nobody is cutting anybody any slack. You know, there's a lot of racing left, so I think you saw today, the fans appreciate good, hard racing. Q. Jeff said earlier that there were quite a few drivers having tire problems. What's your opinion? RICK HENDRICK: Do you want to repeat that? I'm not sure I can understand what you were saying there, something about tire problems Q. Jeff Gordon said earlier that Goodyear must design a new tire for the speedway because a lot of drivers are having tire problems so what's your opinion about the subject? RICK HENDRICK: I think this is an older racetrack, and I think I kind of like it when, you know, it wears the tires out and different cars hit the setup get to run up front. I didn't see that many blown tires today. I guess there were a few, but I think they were getting into the fence first. I think Goodyear for the Car of Tomorrow test, that's one of the things it's all about. This car won't be back next year and we'll have the Car of Tomorrow. They have already done a tire test here with the Car of Tomorrow and then we'll have a lot of cars out here tomorrow testing on that tire. And the difference ?? it's going to be totally different between the car we ran today and the car we run here next year. So I think Goodyear has done a good job and they are going to continue to work on it and we'll probably know more tomorrow night than we do today. Q. Could you explain what the thought process was in putting Junior in the 5 instead of the 88 when he goes out for the test? RICK HENDRICK: Well, the 88 is not until next year and the 5 car is now and it's a 5 team and the 25 team, and the 88 is next year. So actually Junior wants to do it and we're bringing back the All?Star racing car. And it's exactly like it was when we started with the same 5 and the same logos and City Chevrolet, my dealership, that was a lone sponsor on it at the time. It's a little bit of history coming back, and, you know, again, the cars that are out here to race now are the teams, the 25 and the 5. So that's why we are going that way. Q. Jeff sort of mentioned this but I'll ask you, we've been trying to make this a two?guy race for a month now, but the point of the matter is, all you really have to worry about for three races is him beating you and you beating him and it will take care of itself. Is that the mentality that you have or do you have to think about other things? JIMMIE JOHNSON: Well, we both need to finish in the Top?10 I would say, would be the first goal. The 07 had a good run today and then three good tracks coming up for him. So we can't get to another where we're making mistakes and having issues and running 15th because the 07 can close up if that's the case. If we're running the Top?10, and then look for the 24, going to start outscoring him from there. Just so we don't end up in a situation where it's a three?guy race, I know the fans would love it to be a three?, five?, six?guy race come Homestead, but for us, Hendrick Motorsports would like to keep it a two?car race. Q. At this point you guys have just sort of beat the Hendrick haters. Do you have any advice for them or should they just start rooting for you now or wait until next year? What would you say? JIMMIE JOHNSON: I don't know how to answer that one. I've always been one that wanted my stats to speak for me and have always been focused on racing and what I need to do for that and whenever I needed to do to get my shot to win races, to be a part of a company like Hendrick; I sacrificed it all. So I've never really been very good at playing into the fan base and getting that energy going, so I feel that over through time, that winning races and winning the championship last year has brought a lot of respect to the team and myself. Even if it's not a 48 fan, I think people respect the fact that we have been able to win races and fight for a championship so that's the road I've been going down and just let my stats speak for me. Q. This is the last race here on this track for this generation of cars and with coil?bound suspension, and with some of the tire issues that we have here, it's pretty fast and pretty scary in these cars. Down the road, will you look back on this race with any special pride with this last generation of cars? JIMMIE JOHNSON: Without a doubt. I didn't realize it until you brought it up. Things will be much different years to come. I'll be excited to see how tomorrow's test plays out and get it rubbered up and get some great information on what the Car of Tomorrow will do. It's an intimidating racetrack, and it will be interesting to see how the next few days go for everyone. But that's a great perk for today and it's a victory that I didn't think of until you brought it up. Q. For Chad, you're obviously a great strategist out there but it got to be more than just strategy for you and Steve. There's got to be anticipation and luck, even when you have a bad day, you can find a way to turn it around and make it a good day at the end. How do you explain that? CHAD KNAUS: I don't know. I can promise you that neither one of us give up, and that's been instilled in us from day one with the crew chiefs that we work for in the past, working with Ray Evernham and paying attention to the way that Rick runs his lifestyle. He never gives up on anything and he's a mentor of mine for sure. If you ever get to the point where you feel that you're in a submissive position, then you're going to be beaten, and we really don't allow that to happen. You know, we never stop working on race cars throughout an event and we've been in races where we've crashed and practiced and got to the back of the pack, and we always try to look for the upside potential; and that's the way we live and that's what we go by. The day that we stop doing that will be the day that things like today stop happening for us, so we can never give up. Q. The second to last restart, Kyle Busch had a slow pit stop and was caught on the radio saying, a bit saltier, "Don't say another word to me if it comes back wadded up." Just wanted to get your thoughts on that; seems to suggest that he might not have less than the highest regard for your race cars. Any thoughts on that? Did you hear it or anything like that? RICK HENDRICK: You know, I did not hear that. I'm sure he was frustrated as good as he was running, and, you know, to be leading the race and kind of have it going your way and then a caution comes out and you come in and have a bad stop, but there were good stops that put him in that position earlier. I kind of look at things like that as when guys are frustrated and some of them handle it better than others; it's just one of those things that we'll all talk about it next week. But I think Alan and the guys put him in a great car and he drove his butt off today and he's just disappointed. I think that's just the way it goes sometimes. Q. As we get further into the Chase, you and Jeff have talked about your friendship, but can you have a normal friendship or relationship in the next three races with so much on the line? JIMMIE JOHNSON: I don't see any more challenges ahead of us than kind of what we have now, what we've been dealing with. You know, we're both very competitive and we've been through this a bunch already. But there's a level of respect that I think Jeff has for people he races against, including me, and I have the same. And we are racing each other for a championship, but if it was Tony Stewart Jeff was racing for the championship or Kurt Busch, he wouldn't race any differently, nor would I if it was me in that situation. It just the same challenge that we've had. We need to go out now and perform one another. Whoever outperforms the other guy is going to be the champion the way this thing is shaking out. I know his weaknesses, the weaknesses of his team, and I'm going anything I can to exploit any weakness I can find and capitalize on that and I know Chad is doing to do the same thing and that's what the 24 guys are doing to us So we are really bringing the best out of one another and we are being required to step up our games to both the 24 and 48 shops and keep just keep duking it out. It is not impossible to ?? I was thinking about this earlier. If you look at Skinner and Hornaday and the battle that they have going on, on the track, two pretty intense drivers, but great friends. And it's not impossible and I don't think Jeff and I are the only ones in this situation to be racing for a championship and be friends with one another. I think there are some teammate situations out there where there is not as much love flowing around and guys are not being as good as they need to as teammates. But at Hendrick, that's something we work really hard on. And I can think of other really great teammate situations that exist out there, and if those guys were in the situation, it would be the same thing. It's just a level of respect that everyone likes to operate with.
Home | Nextel Cup | Busch Series | Photo Gallery | Forum | Silly Season | Newsletter | Fire and Ice
©Copyright 2007 Race 2 Win
|
