Race quotes from the post race interviews at Texas
First up is Jimmie Johnson #48 Lowes Chevy
Question – GREAT BATTLE AT END OF RACE AFTER FIGHTING BACK FROM FLAT TIRE: “All-in-all it was a great day. We had that left front tire go down and then we were fortunate enough to catch a caution when we did. There at the end, the car was just dragging the nose too bad for the first couple of laps. I think we sat too long and the front tire pressures dropped. I lost a few spots. I almost hit the wall down in one and two trying to work the top. Once those front tire pressures came in and the splitter got off the ground, I started coming but it was like a lap too late.”
Question – WILL YOU AND JEFF JUST TALK THROUGH THE CONTACT OUT THERE? “Yes I definitely think so. I am pretty disappointed in how he was racing me today, but we will get to the bottom of it and sort it out. No need to play it out in the press and we’ll get it taken care of at the shop and during the week and come back to the next race and do it again. I think we are both pretty frustrated with how we have been racing each other. There was some things today I wasn’t real pleased with so when I had a chance to express myself, I kinda did. We’ll get it all sorted out. We don’t need to drag it out and make too much out of it. We will get it sorted out during the week.”
Question – ONE MORE LAP, IS THAT ALL YOU NEEDED? “I think so. We were in good shape there at the end. Unfortunately it took a little for our car to get going. I would go through the big bumps and the car would just take off toward the wall.”
Jeff Gordon #24 National Guard
Question – YOUR CREW CHIEF SAID IT WAS JUST 15 GUYS TRYING TO WIN A RACE, IS THAT YOUR VERSION? “Definitely. When you get a late caution like that, you are going to have guys take two and guys take four. We chose to take four. Every second, every position counts on those restarts with that few of laps to go. I saw Tony backing up and then he got loose. I was trying not to get in to him. I ended up getting underneath him and we were three wide. Then I saw the 48 out on my left corner sneak in there as well. Just saw a lot of guys racing hard and we ran out of room. I got clipped in the right rear and turned me in the wall. Just glad I am ok. Man, what a race car. Gosh what a race car we had. That is what I am bummer out the most about. right now is that we just had such an awesome race car. I want to thank DuPont and National Guard and Special Forces, it was really cool. And all these fans for coming out, they are seeing a heck of a show
Question – WHAT HAPPENED WHEN YOU AND JIMMIE JOHNSON GOT TOGETHER EARLIER? “I don’t know. He was real loose and I got to him and he got real loose. I got underneath me and he raced me hard. I slid up in front of him a little bit, maybe that was it. He ran in to the back of me for no reason. Then later he got out ahead of me after a pit stop or on a restart. He was just too loose. He wasn’t fast enough and my car was just so good I could just get right to his bumper and he got loose. I guess he thought I was being too aggressive. I don’t know, he just drove into my door. It ended up costing him. When you have a race car like that, you don’t teammates and friends out there and race hard. That is what Jimmie has had. And I am just excited that we have something to race with all of these guys out here right now.”
Question – ARE YOU ANGRY WITH HIM? “I am disappointed. But, I’ll get over it and so will he. We’ll talk about it. We are good enough friends, good enough teammates. It is more just the competitors in us coming out there and the aggressiveness of wanting to win. Not anything against one another.”
Tony Stewart #14 Old Spice/Office Depot
Question – WHAT HAPPENED OUT THERE? “I came off of four there and bounced off of Jeff’s (Gordon) right rear. It was just a pendulum and I lost it and got into his right rear and then I got us to where neither one of us could get away from it. Somebody put me three wide in one and two and that got me up to where I got a lot of crap on my tires and that started it. It was my fault. Feel bad about it, about doing something stupid like that. I didn’t plan on getting loose, but it is 100% my fault.”
Question – YOU HAD A LONG TALK WITH JEFF GORDON, WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT? “How we got to there. I think he was worried that I was going to be upset about it on his side. It wasn’t his fault, obviously. I got a chance to see it in the infield care center, it is definitely my fault. I apologize to all the teams and drivers that got caught up and their fans for it. We had a really good car there and just a shame that it happened let alone to some of your teammates like that.”
CLINT BOWYER #33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper
Question – WHAT DID YOU SEE OUT THERE? “It was a melee in front of us. I don’t know, we stayed out there and I ran over something early in the race, I don’t know. Didn’t know that I had done it. Unfortunately, I had to come in and got two laps down. Finally got back on the lead lap and it was going to look all right and that is just the nature of the beast. When you get behind like that, it is hard to get caught up.”
JAMIE MCMURRAY #1 Bass Pro Shops
Question – WHAT DID YOU SEE? “I didn’t really see anything. Those guys got two or three wide I think someone got tangled up. Those guys that had two tires, I think it is really hard for them to hold on with as many laps as we had on the left sides. It is the way it goes. I would have bet a million dollars they would have wrecked last week at Phoenix and they never did and I wouldn’t have thought we would have wrecked here, but we were able to. Had a good Bass Pro Shops Chevy, we were just not able to make it to the end again. ”
WAS THE SPOILER A BIG DIFFERENCE TODAY? “No, I thought the cars drove really well. I was a fan of everything today.”