Chevy Happy Hour Notes - Gordon, Johnson, Nemechek - LMS

TEAM MONTE CARLO Contact: Nancy Wager
Coca-Cola 600 Happy Hour Notes nmwager@aol.com
Saturday, May 25, 2002 GM Racing Communications
Lowe's Motor Speedway (727) 784-8465
Page 1

Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet Monte Carlo: "I think if there's
anyplace we can find our way to victory lane it would certainly be here.
Charlotte has been a great place for us, and the 600 has been a good race
for us."

(On a NASCAR race stealing the spotlight from the Indy 500) "The Indy 500 is
still a great race and we are great fans of it. You can't always control who
watches it from home and what takes off in popularity and what doesn't. But
ever since the split (from CART), it's taken some time for it to regain its
popularity. But it seems like it's coming back. We're real proud down here
to be a part of this event and see it doing well."

(With the race starting earlier, does it change anything?) "If I had one
wish it would be that we were doing Happy Hour about six o'clock tonight
instead of in the middle of the day. It seems like when we run night races,
they seem to try to find ways to do that. So many things are going to
change. The track not only changes from the beginning of the 600 to the end,
but it changes a lot from when we practice to when we actually race."

(Do these practice sessions help at all or are they useless?) "It's almost
more of just making your feel good - or bad - depending on how you run.
There's guys out there that are running real good and are feeling real
confident that they have the car to beat tomorrow.  And there are guys who
aren't running as well that know the track is going to change a lot and
there's really no reason to run fast."

(Are you feeling good or bad?) "We were horrible for most of practice. We
were real loose. At the end, we got it tightened up and I ran some real good
laps. We're just going to go off our notes from The Winston and what we
learned during that practice and try to make a good judgment of what we're
going to do."

Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet Monte Carlo: "We were fifth fastest
in the first practice and the balance of the car was really tight. We tried
to free it up and got the car too loose. We put the car on the scales and
kind of blended the two set-ups that we had and hoped it would be on the
money and it was."

(Does practicing at this time of day help for a night race?) "I don't know
what to expect. Everybody was saying that the first practice would be the
closest session to what it will be at five o'clock on Sunday. The track
seems to me like it gains or loses grip. If you have the balance right and
the track is hot, you'll just go slower. If it's cold, you'll go faster. We
really worked on getting the car neutral and I think we accomplished that."

TEAM MONTE CARLO Contact: Nancy Wager
Coca-Cola 600 Happy Hour Notes nmwager@aol.com
Saturday, May 25, 2002 GM Racing Communications
Lowe's Motor Speedway (727) 784-8465
Page 2

(Will adjustability be the key on Sunday?) "Yeah, we're trying to avoid
using spring rubbers and different things that take a long time to change
during pit stops. At the same time, we're trying not to use the wedge and
the track bar as the adjustment because that's the quickest change in the
stop. But I'll know a lot more after the race is over.

"I've got Terry (Labonte), Joe (Nemechek) and Jeff (Gordon) telling me what
they need.  But everyone has a little twist on it of what they think they
need. I've heard it all. So, I'm going to do what Chad says and hang on."

(How much information do the Hendrick Motorsports teams share with each
other?)  "We all share information and there are crew chief meetings and
other meetings where information is passed among all the teams. The No. 24
(Gordon) and the No. 48 are in the same building and the cars are all built
the same from the chassis shop to the motor combinations to the body
placements and components are all the same. The seats and paint jobs are the
only things that are different.  That way, when we test, you don't have to
factor in a different powerplant combination or a body location to get your
answers.
They first tried it with Jack (Sprague) and Ricky (Hendrick) in the
Craftsman Truck Series and it worked pretty good. It's worked very well with
the No. 24 and the No. 48."

(How are you handling your new "celebrity status"?) "The season has been
good. We're taking it in stride. Luckily, they keep me pretty busy so I
don't have much time to think about it. I've tried to keep a balance at home
and have a couple of days a week at home so I can do nothing - do laundry
and pay bills - stuff like that. When we go to the racetrack, my list of
things to do is just chalk full."

(Are you enjoying it?) "Definitely.  The part I love it putting the helmet
on and racing.  That's where I want to be - inside that racecar."

(Were you ready for the Winston Cup Series?) "You always thing you're ready.
Until you're thrown into the fire, you just don't know what it's about."

(On the young generation having success in Winston Cup)  "I thought I'd be
the rookie that never won a race. I thought I'd be the exception that it
didn't happen to. But you get the right chemistry and the right people
around you and anything can happen."

(What is the biggest thing you've learned so far?) "Patience."

TEAM MONTE CARLO Contact: Nancy Wager
Coca-Cola 600 Happy Hour Notes nmwager@aol.com
Saturday, May 25, 2002 GM Racing Communications
Lowe's Motor Speedway (727) 784-8465
Page 3

(Who has given you the best advice about racing and what was it?) "It was
something that I heard recently and it was from Rick Hendrick.  He told me
to be yourself and believe in yourself and that everything would happen the
way it should. I wish I would have understood that a long time ago because
you try to be what everyone wants you to be.  But if you just believe in
yourself, everything will be fine."

Joe Nemechek, No. 25 UAW-Delphi Chevrolet Monte Carlo -- Joined the Hendrick
Motorsports Team May 15 and is slated to finish out 2002 with the No. 25
team, replacing Jerry Nadeau, who left HMS last week after more than two
years with the company.

(On joining Hendrick Motorsports): "It feels really good.  This is a great
organization. They've won a lot of races and they have great equipment. The
engineering staff is unbelievable. I've just got to thank Rick Hendrick and
UAW-Delphi for giving me this opportunity."

(On his goals for the remainder of the season): "My goal is to win some
races.  The team understands that we're trying to regroup. They've had kind
of a tough start to this year with a lot of ups and downs.  Hopefully with
my experience, we can get this team back to the level that we should be at."

(What will you bring to the team?) "They have such a good engineering staff
and they have a lot of neat things going on that I've never had the
opportunity to work with. For me, it's neat because it's another area to
look at that you're trying to get free performance from. But it still goes
back to the bottom line and that's how you run in that race on Sunday.  And
our goal is to get this Chevy running good.  Papa Joe Hendrick is a cool
person.  I've known him for a long time and we've just got to get this car
running."

(On today's Happy Hour practice): "Well, you look at the practice times and
that's just really one lap. We really haven't been trying to run one fast
lap. We've been trying to run consistent because that's what's going to win
the race. It's a long race and you've got to have a lot of adjustability.
We're trying to get the car set-up where we can adjust on it all day long."

(Are you going to hire a new crew chief, and if so, when?) "We've been
talking to people and the list is getting shorter and shorter. Hopefully
something will be final here pretty soon. Ken Howes (current crew chief) and
I are coming along fine.  I give him a few gray hairs every day.  We're
having fun.  We're learning. He's got a lot of
TEAM MONTE CARLO Contact: Nancy Wager
Coca-Cola 600 Happy Hour Notes nmwager@aol.com
Saturday, May 25, 2002 GM Racing Communications
Lowe's Motor Speedway (727) 784-8465
Page 4

responsibilities there.  We're going to have to get someone to just focus on
this one car so he can do his other things (as Director of Racing
Operations). He's doing an excellent job and I really enjoy working with
him. He's been around a long time and has seen a lot of stuff come and go.
Right now, we're working really well together."

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