Photo Courtesy of NASCAR Media
News and Notes From Pocono – Here are some of the questions asked to the drivers this afternoon after they practiced for the Sprint Cup race on Sunday at Pocono.
Jeff Gordon:
HOW WAS YOUR BIG BIRTHDAY?
“It was great! It was really sweet. My daughter came in in the morning, singing Happy Birthday to me. That was very special. And throughout the day, you start thinking wow, I’m 40. Every once in a while it kind of sinks in, but again it’s just another day and it’s been 40 great years. Especially after having that spectacular run at Indy; and the way we did it, it made for a great week.”
HOW WAS PRACTICE?
“We struggled today. We pretty much came back here with the same set-up that we had here the last time; very similar, we’re trying to make a few improvements in our qualifying runs because we’re afraid it might rain tomorrow. We’re pretty far off. We looked at our notes from the last time we were here and we pretty much have the exact same situation. We struggled in practice for qualifying runs but we qualified really well. So hopefully it doesn’t rain tomorrow and we can get that run in. If not, we’re going to be starting middle of the pack. And when we went in our race runs, I thought we were pretty competitive.”
WHAT IS IT ABOUT ‘SWEEPING’ BOTH RACES AT POCONO SO TOUGH?
“Well, the conditions; even though it’s a short period of time that goes by (between the two Pocono race dates), it just seems like the track conditions are quite a bit different when we come here the second time. The first time usually it’s a little cooler and I don’t know what it is, but the track just seems to have a little more grip. When we come the second time we just really struggle to get the grip in the car. We’ll find out. So far, it hasn’t been really super-hot here today or anything. So far, it seems like the conditions are fairly similar to what we had the last time.”
HOW DOES THE WILD CARD IMPACT THE SEASON?
“It’s making it very interesting. I think it creates a lot of story lines. It basically keeps everybody in it. In the past, when you were outside the top 12; let’s say you’re 16th or 18th, you pretty much feel like you’re out of it. Where now, especially somebody like (Brad) Keselowski, who has won a race, you know he wins one more race and his chances of being in there are very, very good. I like the fact that it pushes people to take a little extra risk to try to win races. I wish Paul Menard hadn’t taken quite as much of a risk as he did last weekend (winning at Indy), but I think that’s what it opens the door for is somebody who is capable of winning races to still be in the Chase. So, I like that.”
Tony Stewart:
HOW WAS YOUR CAR DURING PRACTICE? “I think we’re all right. I feel like we are better on both qualifying package and race package than we were last time we were here. We’ll wait and see but I am cautiously optimistic that we are better.”
HOW HAS THE WILD CARD IMPACTED THE SEASON? “I think it has definitely opened up opportunities for guys that may not make it in the top-10 but that one win is going to be a big deal. I think it has a lot of potential to add a spot for somebody that’s had a lot of bad luck in the year but was still able to put together that good day and put themselves in the Chase because of it.”
DO YOU GUYS LOOK AT IT AS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU? “I don’t know. We are kind of in the that weird spot in the points where we are trying to make it in on what we’ve got and not have to not rely on that wild card spot. If you finish 11th in points and you didn’t get one of those wild card spots, you’d say it hurt you. Hopefully we’ll get in on our points and won’t have to worry about it.”
IS THERE ANY IMPACT PSYCHOLOGICALLY WHEN YOU ARE NINTH IN POINTS VERSUS BEING 11TH? “Not really because one day can still change all that. You still just have to take it a week at a time. You really don’t think about it during the race. I don’t think about it from the driver’s side, I don’t know if Darian (Grubb, crew chief) thinks about it. From our side every week, just trying to win the race and not really worry about the points side of it. There is nothing you can do, you just have to go out and get as many points as you can and that s the same thing you do to try to win the race each week so it just makes it easy.”
Clint Bowyer:
TALK ABOUT COMING HOW YOUR TEAM IS PERFORMING RIGHT NOW: “We ran well at Indy. We didn’t finish well. I felt like we had a shot at even winning the race there at the end before that last pit stop. We just played our cars wrong. It seems like that’s what these races are coming down to anymore is the pit strategy and making the right decision and then having a little bit of luck involved in that. That is the thing. At Kentucky, it bit everybody and what everybody thought. Obviously at Indy, it stayed green and Paul (Menard) won the race. That was probably the neatest thing about Indy was seeing my teammate who had never won a race win one of the biggest races of the year. I was really excited about him winning that race. Bummed out about where we finished because we had a lot better car than that. Biggest thing was the huge boost in confidence going into to Pocono that we have got things turned around. We had speed back in our car. We learned some things. I feel like we will have a good weekend here at Pocono.”
SINCE CARL HAD MADE HIS DECISION, WHERE DO YOU FIT IN? “We’re working on it. That is the biggest thing as far as contract stuff. I feel like we are getting close and we are working on it and hopefully we’ll have that done. But right now, I’m not worried about that at all. I’m worried about getting this thing back in the Chase and taking care of business on the race track. Those two DNFs in a row killed us. That took us from seventh-eighth in points to 12th, outside looking in. The wild cards are obviously taken it looks to me like and we’ve got to focus on gaining as many points as possible in the next six races and get ourselves back in. I think that is our best chance of making the Chase is consistency and running up front and racing our way back in the Chase. That is what we are made out of with our race team and the organization at RCR. That is what is going to be getting us back in the thing as we do.”
IS IT GOING TO BE TOUGH FIGHTING FOR A SPOT WITH YOUR OWN TEAMMATE? “No, because I’m not really fighting him. I’m not racing him. I’m racing Junior, Denny Hamlin…the guys in front of me…Stewart, Newman. Those are the guys you are going to have to race for ninth and 10th. Paul looks like he has a really good chance of being in the Chase using one of those wild cards. But I feel like I racing to be able to race my way in for ninth or 10th place.”
DO WE NEED TO GET RID OF THE WAVE AROUND RULE AND OPEN UP PIT ROAD ALL THE TIME, NO MORE CLOSING TO IMPROVE COMPETITION? “I’m not on-board with that. You are on your own with that. There are so many things they (NASCAR) has done good to get the product better on the race track. I feel like the wave around rule if you need it, it is very handy. But if you don’t need it, it costs you points. If you are points racing, if you are trying to catch up, it makes it difficult because somebody can have a bad day and at the end of the race how these cautions come out sometimes can put them right back on the lead lap and get a decent finish when they would have had a really bad finish and you could have gained a lot of points there. But, I’m telling you on a day when you need it, it makes it pretty handy. It just depends on what side of the fence you are on. As far as the fans, there are two ways of looking at it. Obviously it makes a difference on the points side of it if your favorite driver doesn’t. But if your favorite driver gets that wave around and gets back and in the race and is able to run up front, there is a lot of different ways of looking at that. I think that as far as that goes I am satisfied with what we have right now because even if you get it, you still have to race hard to get back up through the traffic even if you are on the lead lap. You are in a bad predicament right there in trying to dig yourself out still.”
Ryan Newman:
HOW IMPORTANT IS NUTRITION TO YOU AND WHAT IS YOUR DIET BEFORE YOU GET IN THE CAR?: “I just did the Goodyear boot camp and I made it in a minute three seconds on my first round and 42 seconds on my second round. I made some improvements and I’m up here sweating like a pig. I’m not the best guy to ask that question to. I know for me it’s really important, as you can see right now, I sweat a lot even when it’s this cool and humid, I do sweat a lot so inside the race car I sweat even more. Staying hydrated is a big part of staying fit because once you become dehydrated, your body locks up and therefore your mind locks up and then you get a little frustrated inside the race car. For me, I’m all about staying stretched, staying limber and staying hydrated. I have enough muscle mass, I just have to make sure I get to the end of the race.”
WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR THE NEXT SIX WEEKS BEFORE THE CHASE?: “We’re by no means locked into the Chase because of our victory. We’re in a good position and we’re in a much better position after the last three weekends than we were before that. I don’t think we go out here and try anything. I don’t know if there’s anything that we try as far as a setup or anything like that. We have things that we always want to try with the testing policy and procedure the way it is, there are things that we have a list on that sometimes you don’t have the guts to try on a race weekend because in hindsight you say, ‘I wish I hadn’t of tried that,’ more often than not. Ultimately, we do what we think we need to win and sometimes when it calls for thinking out of the box or trying something because we’re struggling and we need to try something, that’s what you do. That’s usually up to the crew chief more than it is the driver to figure out what you’re struggling with and making those calls.”
WHAT HAVE YOU SEEN FROM DANICA PATRICK AND WHAT KIND OF SPRINT CUP TEAMMATE DO YOU THINK SHE WOULD BE?: “I see just like you guys do, the things that are written, the things that are speculated and at the same time, if you were to grade Danica’s (Patrick) NASCAR success’ and failures, what would that grade be? I think she’s done a good job. I’ve said before and I would say again, and I don’t mean this at all in a negative way, if she wasn’t a she, she wouldn’t have gotten as many chances as she has. I know she’s got plenty of talent. I’ve said from the very beginning that when I saw her save, I think it was in qualifying a few years back at Indy, she saved the race car when it got loose and most people can’t do that whether it’s a she or a he. She’s got a ton of ability and she’s been put in an extremely new situation and we’re in a roundabout way, a bunch of wolves as drivers. When she came to NASCAR, she took a big step and I don’t think she’s tripped or fallen. I think she’s had to lengthen her stride a few times, but she’s done a fair job in my opinion.”
Kevin Harvick:
WE’VE GOT SIX RACES LEFT BEFORE WE START THE CHASE, YOU’VE GOT THREE WINS, OBVIOUSLY YOU WANT MORE THAN THREE WINS, TALK ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT AND TALK ABOUT YOUR TEAMMATE PAUL MENARD WINNING THE BRICKYARD. “The whole dynamic of the way that the wild card situation works I think has really made it exciting leading up into these last few weeks because you have a situation like Paul’s last week that leads you into not only your first career win and a great moment for him and his family and the team but it puts you in the championship contention of making the Chase with that win. It really revitalizes the enthusiasm in the team. A lot of the other guys are in the same situation and when you look at how many people have won this year I don’t think anybody would have thought as many people, different drivers have won races and its made it really interesting to see how it’s all going to play out. When it comes down to one win its going to come down to who is the highest in the points. For us it’s a little bit different. We’re trying to make our way through a lot of scenarios with our set ups and taking too many chances and sometimes they’ve worked out and sometimes they haven’t. Right now I still feel really good about where our team is. I think we have a good plan for the Chase and some good R&D projects that are coming up over the next couple of weeks and we’ll see how it all plays out. So far so good and we’ve just got to keep doing what we’re doing and keep trying things.”
YOU AND CARL EDWARDS HAVE COME TO TERMS AND MADE PEACE, WHAT’S YOUR TAKE ON THE DRAMA THAT’S PLAYED OUT OVER THE LAST MONTH OR SO WITH HIS CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS; IT’S OBVIOUSLY BEEN A DISTRACTION TO HIM. “Being in that situation before it’s a tough situation to be in with your team just because all the guys look at you like man why are you leaving, things are going pretty good. Really the way he’s handled it has been very quiet and kind of his own way and it looks like it all worked out. So I think the guys that it effects the most, you know as a driver it really doesn’t affect you, it’s kind of just part of it and you kind of just do what you do but the guys on the team and the part that you affect the most if you’re in a situation where you don’t have sponsors, it’s impossible to get a sponsor, so I think that’s probably what it came down to more than anything, was when it’s time to resign your sponsors and you don’t have a driver you’re not going to sign a sponsor.”
YOU TALKED ABOUT R&D PROJECTS, THE NEXT SIX RACES ARE PRETTY UNIQUE TRACKS, WHAT CAN YOU LEARN THROUGH THAT THAT YOU CAN USE IN THE FINAL 10 RACES? “I think everything applies. No matter where you go. It may not be exactly the right bump stops or this or that, the little detail things that you do at every race track but overall you have the basic car and set ups and aerodynamics and all the things that come with that, they’re going to apply everywhere. You’re not going to have that fine tune, you’re not going to have the right travels with the front of the car and things like that but overall if it’s better at one place it’s going to be better at the next.”
Paul Menard:
A BIG VICTORY FOR YOU AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY. TALK ABOUT WINNING THE BRICKYARD 400, ABOUT YOUR WEEK, AND COMING INTO POCONO. YOU’RE OUTLOOK HAS GOT TO BE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT NOW THAN IT WAS BEFORE
“Yeah, I’ll try to talk up. I’ve been nursing a little bit of a sore throat here. I woke up Sunday morning with a little bit of a sore throat and this was not a good week to help that. It was just a really neat deal that the marketing team and everybody had set up. Obviously we won the race, but it was four hours after the race by the time w got back to the airport. I went home and had maybe two or three hours of sleep. Woke up at 5:30 Monday morning and got on a NASCAR plane to go to Bristol, Connecticut and ESPN and got to see how SportsCenter and all the different programs up there work, which was pretty cool as a lifelong sports fan. We got back at a decent hour and I finally had some time to sit by myself Monday night and have a drink and just enjoy the moment, I guess. And then Tuesday was a little bit slower. I actually worked out with my trainer Tuesday morning and got a little sweat going, so that was good. I did all the SPEED studio stuff on Tuesday afternoon.
Wednesday, I took my guys out for lunch and spent the day up at the shop between RCR and KHI; and here we are at Pocono. I actually got about 11 hours of sleep last night trying to kick this cold and its helping.
YOU SAID YOU ARE SICK THIS WEEK. HOW IMPORTANT IS NUTRITION WHEN YOU’RE OUT THERE DRIVING? DO YOU HAVE A DIETICIAN OR A NUTRITIONIST? WHAT IS YOUR DIET LIKE? WHAT DID YOU EAT BEFORE THE RACE AT INDY LAST WEEK?
“Oh, I had pancakes for breakfast on Sunday. That was the first time all year I had pancakes. Normally I have cereal or oatmeal. So I think Jennifer is going to be cooking pancakes a lot this year! During the week I try to watch what I eat; low sodium stuff. If you go eat out, obviously sodium is your worst enemy. I just try to watch my sodium intake and if I have too much, then I definitely know it on Friday or Saturday when I’m sweating in the car. It’s nothing special. I don’t have a dietician or anything. Thirty years of living, you kind of know what works for you.”
WE’VE SEEN GUYS WHO GET A WIN AND SOMETIMES THEY RATTLE OFF TWO OR THREE MORE; AND SOMETIMES THEY GO YEARS BEFORE THEY WIN AGAIN IF THEY DO. WHAT DO YOU THINK MAKES THE DIFFERENCE ON THAT?
“Yeah, I hear you. I’ve got a really strong race team. We won a fuel mileage race. I understand that, but we also had a really good car all day long and we’ve had good runs this year with three or four top-fives. If we just kept knocking on the door, I felt like we were going to get one (win) if things just kind of played our way. We’ve had fast cars. Some guys maybe had to stretch fuel mileage a little bit differently or just kind of lucked into one. I don’t feel like we lucked into one; and I feel like we can get a few more.”
HAVING HAD A WEEK NOW TO TAKE IT ALL IN (WINNING THE BRICKYARD 400), WHAT IS THE SENSE OF VALIDATION IS THAT DAY FOR YOU?
“It’s hard to say, but on my cell phone, and this is probably the coolest part, I have a picture of us in victory lane and that’s something that I’ll probably have on my cell phone for the rest of my life, do you know what I mean? It’s just something that I’ll always have with me. As far as myself personally regarding validation or anything like that, I’ve spoken to that before, they’ll still be detractors or whatever and I don’t really care about that. But we won the Brickyard 400 with Slugger Labbe and Richard Childress and all the guys that have put so much work into that car. It was a brand new race car. And I held off Jeff Gordon to do it and got my dad his first win. That’s validation enough for me.”
