Chevy Notes - Daytona Test Jan. 14, 2004
CHEVROLET NOTES & QUOTES
NASCAR NEXTEL CUP SERIES
PRE-SEASON THUNDER TEST SESSION II
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
January 14, 2004
BRIAN VICKERS, NO. 25 GMAC CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO VISITED WITH THE MEDIA PRIOR TO THE MORNING TEST SEGMENT.
(ON RACING IN THE NEXTEL CUP SERIES AND THE DAYTONA 500 FOR THE FIRST TIME) "It's very exciting, obviously. Being down here (Daytona) with Hendrick Motorsports and GMAC and Chevrolet and all these engineers is great. Jeff (Gordon) and I were talking about this the other day and how it brings back memories about his first time here with Hendrick Motorsports and all the engineers and all the great people. That's what it comes down to is the people that put everything together. It's a really neat time. You see a lot of these veteran drivers coming back down here and they enjoy getting in the race car but it's still a Daytona test. Daytona is awesome racing and I love it when I'm racing. Testing - just going out there by yourself for two laps and coming in and switching cars was starting to wear on me at the end of the day. I want to be around somebody, not by myself. It's a neat time and a neat experience. It's a goal and dream of mine that I've worked for all my life. To finally be here means everything."
(CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR GO-KART EXPERIENCE HERE AT DAYTONA?) "I can't remember my exact age. When I was 15 years old I was racing Hooters Cup. When I was 14 and 15 I was racing Late Models. So, I think I was between the ages of 9 and 13 when I was at Municipal Stadium. I don't remember a whole lot of it because I was so young. But I do remember a lot of key things like riding by the Speedway and my dad saying something about wouldn't I like to be racing there. Heck yeah, that would be a lot of fun. That place is so big and the cars are so fast. That's where I wanted to race someday. I raced here last year in the Busch Series but it still wasn't the Daytona 500. This year is going to be a really neat time for me and for my family as well. My mom and dad worked so hard and gave up so many things like I did to help me get here. It's a pretty neat experience for me."
(HOW ARE YOU PREPARING YOURSELF FOR THE VARIOUS TYPES OF TRACKS YOU'LL RACE ON THIS YEAR?) "We're going to be testing a lot and I'll be talking to my teammates about some of the differences - Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Terry Labonte - I've got a lot of great resources there. There are good notes at Hendrick Motorsports. I'll just be focusing and concentrating. To me, everything is mental. You just switch your mind to it and you learn to adapt. You think about the differences and test at these race tracks you haven't been to and you go our there and do your best."
(WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE STANDARDS THAT RYAN NEWMAN HAS SET FOR NEWCOMERS TO THE SPORT AND CAN YOU WIN 8 RACES IN 2005?) "That would be awesome. I think everybody grows at different rates. And yeah, we want to win 8 races. We want to win 10. Actually we want to win 38. But no matter what, we're going to go out there and do our best and get as much experience as possible. A lot of it is my growing and learning these cars and adapting to them. A lot of it is just the team doing the same thing. Most of it is just us working together and the chemistry between the team and me. I think that will be there and it'll be great. But it's going to take time. When all that comes together and gels, I think is when you'll see the wins start coming. Hopefully we can get that accomplished in a short about of time and we'll have a chance to win those races."
(ON THE BATTLE OF THE BUMPER STICKERS WITH JEFF GORDON) "We have a place together in Charlotte with Ricky (Hendrick). We just play pranks on each other a lot. We've become good friends over time. Actually it was Ricky and I who got him on that one. His car was sitting out in the driveway. We loaded it down with Mercury Outboard stickers and Jeff Gordon stickers. We got him pretty good on that one.
"A friend of mine had given me an old bumper sticker and a Jeff Gordon hat and had asked me to get Jeff to sign it. It was sitting in the back of my car. We had just gotten back from the gym and we were at the grocery store when Jeff said he had to go outside and change his shoes or something. So we came out and he had put this Jeff Gordon sticker on the back of my car. He said he got it out of the car so now he owes me a bumper sticker. He's got to get my friend one and replace that one. We just have fun and kid around. I think how all that got out was because of Bobby Labonte. Back home in Thomasville I lived in the same neighborhood with Bobby. One day he saw me driving the car. Somehow I ended up with Jeff's car and he ended up with mine. I guess that's how word got out."
(ON BEING A FAVORITE TO WIN THE '04 ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AWARD) "I appreciate the support. It means a lot. I don't think anything has been decided yet. We've got a lot of races to go. There are a lot of great candidates for the title - a lot of people I've raced with in the past in the Busch Series and in Late Models - like Scott Riggs. It means a lot to me and the Hendrick Motorsports GMAC Chevy team as a whole to know that people feel like we're the number one candidate. We're going to do our best to live up to that."
(ON THE DISADVANTAGES OF BEING A YOUNGER DRIVER SUCH AS NOT BEING ABLE TO COMPETE IN IROC THIS YEAR BECAUSE HE'S NOT 21 YEARS OLD) "There are advantages and disadvantages to everything. Sometimes your greatest strength is your greatest weakness at the same time. Mine is being 20. It's a great strength and something I can use it to my advantage a lot and sometimes it hurts me in a lot of ways. I want to thank IROC for giving me the opportunity, but for certain reasons I'm not going to be able to run the IROC Series this year. And I hate that. But the invitation is still there for next year and in the future. I'm excited about that.
"I think being young has its advantages like the youthful desire that we young people have. But it has disadvantages because sometimes we don't know when to stop. Also, this (NASCAR) is about entertainment and marketing. The sponsors enjoy that youthful appearance. Certain ones do and certain ones don't. When you can start in the sport at 20, you've got 10 more years of experience when you're 30 than the guys coming in at age 25. A lot of team owners look at the long-term and those advantages of having a young driver. So there are a lot of advantages there and some disadvantages as well."
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE'S CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO was the fastest in yesterday's afternoon segment and today's morning segment.
(TALK ABOUT BEING FAST TODAY AND YESTERDAY AND ON THE IMPORTANCE OF MAYBE WINNING YOUR FIRST DAYTONA 500) "There is so much that goes into qualifying. It seems like there is such a build up to what goes into it. Everybody gets focused on that. But Chad (Knaus, crew chief) is great at the restrictor plate races - especially on qualifying. So we are trying to find speed like everybody else is. But really, we've got a workhorse car and a car that we're trying to get speed out of. And we're really focusing on getting a good driving car for the 500. It's great to be able to be on the pole and we were able to do that in our rookie year and we really want to come back and have a shot at winning the race. We came close last year."
(HOW IMPORTANT WOULD IT BE TO WIN THAT RACE AND HAVE THAT TROPHY ON YOUR MANTLE?) "That would obviously be our biggest event. Coming out as the first race of the year, it supercharges everybody's emotions and nerves. To be able to start off the season with that win and have the trophy for my mantle would be a huge accomplishment. It does not mean that the season is going to be a championship season. There's so much other racing that goes on and other types of racing that it's a nice twist but it doesn't mean everything."
(ON TESTING FOR AND COMPETING IN THE ROLEX 24 HOUR) "I'm really excited to drive the Daytona Prototype car. I've never been in anything that's driven like that. The braking ability and the downforce is quite an experience. I'm real thankful that Rick (Hendrick) and everybody at Lowe's is going to let me drive this car. Not only is it a great experience, but I think we actually have a legitimate shot at winning the race. That would be another great addition to the mantle."
(ON COMPETING WITH RYAN NEWMAN) "We have been competing against each other since 1999 when we were both trying to get into the NASCAR world and competing for Busch rides. We've always had a great relationship. We really respect one another on and off the track. That has carried through to today. We had a great season last year and a lot of battles together. When you race with him, he's not going to give you much room. He races you hard and doesn't give an inch. But he doesn't cross the line. You can race hard and know that you're not going to have demolition derby out there with him."
(ARE YOU STILL ON INFORMATIONAL OVERLOAD ON THE PROTOTYPE?) "Yeah, I'm still in that state. I was hoping to be able to test the car again on Monday before we came down. They wanted to do another shakedown test. But it's ended up being later in the week and I'm obviously here so I can't do it. I don't know how many laps I'll get before I climb in the car and drive it (at the Rolex 24 Hr). But the pace that I ran and what I was able to do in the car is all that they want out of me. They feel they've improved the car since then. So I'm coming back feeling good about it. But that first segment that I'm in the car I'm going to be watching myself and making sure I don't mess anything up."
(BEFORE RACING HERE IN BUSCH & CUP, DO YOU HAVE ANY HISTORY AT DAYTONA?) "I grew up in Southern California and it was hard to catch any NASCAR races on television. But one of the ones you could always count on was the Daytona 500. I remember being pretty young and watching this race with my dad and only a few others. I've watched it for a long time and have always wanted to be a part of it. I have great memories so far. We came out in our rookie year and won the pole and finished 15th. Last year we finished third. Everything has been really strong for me here and I hope to win it someday."
(ON HIS SCARY EXPERIENCE OF SWIMMING WITH THE SHARKS DURING A SCUBA DIVE IN THE BAHAMAS WITH JEFF GORDON) "Just before New Year's we went on a dive. I had never been in the water for any length of time before but I took a quick (scuba) course. Before I knew it, we were swimming around a ship that they sunk there. Jeff spotted a shark and then chased the shark, which I thought was a bad idea (laughs). As he is chasing the shark, it led us to probably 15 more sharks. It's weird on how calm you are when surrounded by one of your biggest fears. I realized there wasn't anything that I could do to get away from them and if they wanted to they would just swim over and take a bite out of me. I hung on to a rock on the bottom and watched for a little bit and then left. I climbed out of the water basically speechless. But Jeff was high-fiving one of the guys who was with us on the dive. They thought it was one of the best dives they'd ever had and I couldn't really see or understand that (laughs).
(ON IMPROVING THE '03 SEASON IN '04) "The first thing that comes to mind is the $5 million difference between first and second place. It's something like that. It's a huge amount. As far as the season goes - especially with the way the rules look like they're going to turn out for the points - you don't know until the end. We all had a feeling that Matt Kenseth was in control and would stay in control. But when it was all said and done, it was only 90 points (between first and second). There were some mistakes that I made. We had some failures and bad luck. If one of those races had been different, maybe we would have been the champions. But everybody looks back on their season and looks at a few things that changed the outcome. This coming season, we will try not to make those mistakes again. I was too aggressive early in the race a couple of times. I'm going to really work hard at not driving outside of my means and not take unneeded risks and be there all year long and hopefully be the champion."
(ON AERO CHANGES FOR '04) "With my off-road background, I don't mind a loose race car at all. Taking three-quarters of an inch of spoiler off the back definitely will free the car up. With what we know and what we've been dealing with aero-wise, I think we'll be able to get the balance back after some time. The crew chiefs and engineers are working hard to try and get us back to where we were. Eventually I think we'll end up with cars as stable as they were before by themselves. In traffic, you can't deny the fact that the spoiler is missing back there. So it's going to make the cars a little unstable and hard to predict. I don't know what that's going to turn into on the race track and how races are going to play out. But I'm hoping that it gives us an upper hand. We're looking forward to going to Las Vegas. We tested in Kentucky at the end of last year --- took some spoiler off just to see what it would do - and it changed it a little bit. But we knew enough to get it back at that point."
(CAN YOU HANDICAP THE FIELD?) "It's hard to say because there's such a shake-up during the winter. You've got key personnel moving around. It looks like a new tire is possibly coming out and a new spoiler. It's really who hits it first. The teams that have been up front and that are able to respond quickly to rules changes will continue to be there. I certainly feel that my team is going to be one of those. Yates didn't have the type of year that they wanted to have last year and I think those guys will be up front a lot more. I still think it'll be the same guys."
(WHAT WOULD IT MEAN TO WIN THE DAYTONA 500?) "I don't know. I really haven't thought about it. I can say all the things that everybody else would say - that it would be the greatest thing. But I don't anybody can really appreciate it until you're there the next day watching your car be put in the museum. That's when it probably finally hits people. I just look forward to that experience."
(WITH THE POINTS REVISION, WILL YOU ADJUST YOUR TESTING SCHEDULE?) "We've adjusted our road course testing a little bit. We're not going to go out to Infineon. We're going to try to save that test and try to use it at the end of the year. Hopefully we're in the top 10 or wherever that cutoff is. Then we'll have a test leftover for then. I think that's the only big change that's been made in the test schedule. It is changing the way the crew chiefs look at the season and the way they plan out their tests, definitely."
(ON THE NEWCOMERS/ROOKIES COMING INTO NEXTEL CUP) "It's amazing to see the talent that keeps coming up from the Busch Series and other series into the NEXTEL Cup Series. Brian Vickers showed what he could do in qualifying last year and he also had some great races. When I came in as a rookie, I definitely knew about Ryan Newman and his track record. He was going to be tough to beat. I thought he would win the Rookie-of-the-Year battle by a long way and that I would be struggling. I was surprised that we were one of the guys who led the rookie battle at times and won more races and finished higher in points.
"With that being said, I think you can't rule anyone out. Maybe these guys will raise the bar again. I didn't think I would be able to do it. And it happened. It's just having the right people in the right places. All the rookies that are coming in have great backing and good teams. They're going to be tough."
(DOES BRIAN VICKERS SEEM YOUNG TO YOU?) "He does. In a lot of ways he does. But when you're around him on the track and you see his professionalism and commitment to racing, I think he's 30 or older. But when you step out and look you think, yeah, he's 20. But somewhere along the line, he's picked up a great deal of maturity and commitment to racing and it shows. To be able to win the Busch championship and be as competitive that I know he's going to be in Cup, he definitely has his act together."
(ON THE SOFTER TIRES) "Here at Daytona, until you have about 20 cars in the draft it's hard to get the car moving around enough. With the restrictor plates on the cars, they're very limited on the speed and really how the cars react. It's going to be hard to tell anything from that aspect. But what we have noticed in years past is that when you are testing or getting ready for qualifying, you'll run four or five runs on your tires to take some of the grip away because it slows the car down and binds the car up too much. For some reason, stickers are picking the cars up a little bit here. It doesn't make a lot of sense. They're softer, so they should grip more which in the past has slowed us down. But in the last two days they've picked up the speed of the car a little bit. I think you'll see more guys qualifying on stickers than on scuffs."
