Jeremy Mayfield Transcript

July 27, 2004.
Dodge Motorsports Teleconference
Miscellaneous, Pocono Advance Material
                

 

 

 

JEREMY MAYFIELD (No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge)

NOTE: Mayfield is a two-time winner at Pocono and finished second there
six weeks ago. He's ranked 11th in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Standings, 106
points behind 10th-place Ryan Newman. Mayfield is fresh off a 10th-place
finish Sunday at New Hampshire.

 

HOW ARE YOU APPROACHING WATKINS GLEN "I feel real good going into that
race because I feel like I've gotten better on the road courses. I'm
excited about it. I feel like we've got a great road course program now.
It's certainly helped me a lot. That's a place I don't dread going to.
When we used to go to Sears Point, I didn't want to go. I always liked
going to Watkins Glen. I feel like with what we know now and how much
better our program is we'll be in good shape. We've focused on that a
lot. We feel like it's going to be one of the places we're going to be
able to capitalize on. We've always had good runs there. Something would
either happen to me during the race, but we've always run good there and
we're excited about it. We know that it will be a key place to run well
at, just like all of 'em from here on out, but that could definitely be
a turning point for us."

 

COMMENT ON UPCOMING MARTINSVILLE RACE, THE ONLY SHORT TRACK IN THE FINAL
10. COULD IT BE MORE INTENSE THAN EVER? "Yeah, it probably could,
especially being Martinsville. You never know there. You can go there
with a great car and run good all day and then get in a wreck or burn up
your brakes. There's so many variables at that place. It's definitely
going to play a big role in determining the championship. It's a tough
place to get around in general. So many things can go wrong that's out
of your control. It could turn the championship chase around. I like
racing there when my car's good and when we're having a great day, but
when we're not, I don't (like racing there). It's just one of those
places where I've had some good runs and yet I've had a lot of bad runs,
too. I'm not as confident going in there as I am a place like Pocono or
Indy."

 

DO YOU THINK NASCAR SHOULD LOOK AT LETTING AN INJURED DRIVER TAKE A RACE
OFF? "I could understand if he was hurt in a NASCAR race, but to change
the rules because Dale Jr. got burned in a car at Sears Point that
wasn't even in our division, I don't understand that. This is what we
have to do and love to do and do for a living, driving in the NEXTEL Cup
Series. I feel that if you go out and drive in another series, say I go
out and race go-karts Saturday night and I get hurt right before
Sunday's race, does NASCAR change the rules because of that? That's what
I don't understand. I choose not to drive in other series because I
don't want to get hurt. I have a lot of responsibilities and priorities
with my Cup deal, so I choose not to jeopardize that and put that on the
line. I think the other drivers should think about that."

 

HOW ABOUT IF INJURY HAPPENED IN A CUP RACE? "Yeah, if a guy got hurt one
week and couldn't drive the next, I'd certainly choose to do that, but I
wouldn't if you were out playing around and doing something that was not
a good move. I'm saying that for myself, too. If I chose to go out and
race go-karts and got hurt, NASCAR would be crazy to change the rules
for me."

 

HOW DOES YOUR POINTS' POSITION AFFECT THE WAY YOU'LL APPROACH NEXT SEVEN
RACES? "We've got to continue doing what we're doing. We're racing as
hard as we can race, doing all we can do to get all the points we can.
We're flat out, and that's what we've got to continue doing. The guys
that are eighth, ninth and 10th, I think they're going to be a little
more patient and not try to make any mistakes whereas we fee like we've
got nothing to lose. We've got to run hard and gain all we can every
week. I'd rather be in the situation we're in right now because
sometimes you can be too conservative. Right now we're in the offensive
mode and we're going to do everything we can to get there."

 

WHAT'S YOUR SECRET AT POCONO? "I'm not sure. I get asked that question a
lot. It's a place I like and other than the last race there I had two or
three bad races before that. I thought maybe I didn't have the edge I
had in the past, but we've found that again. We finished second the last
time there, and I'm excited about getting back this time. It's a place I
love going to. I love the racetrack. I have a lot of confidence going in
there, and I think my team has a lot of confidence going in there also.
That's what it's all about these days, having confidence in each other
and feeling good about what you're doing."

 

WITH SEVEN RACES LEFT BEFORE THE FINAL 10, DOES THIS FEEL LIKE THE LAST
SEVEN RACES OF THE SEASON? "I don't really feel like it's the last seven
races going into it. I feel like for us it's a different feeling. We're
racing like there's no tomorrow. We know if we get in the top 10 we've
got a chance to win the championship. That's an exciting feeling for our
team. I can see where you're coming from, but I think it's going to open
up a new way of looking at things. After these last few races, it's
going to be more exciting with everybody starting over and going at it.
I think it's going to be good for the fans. If you're 11th, you're going
to be (upset) and wanting to win every race after that and not give
anybody in the top 10 any breaks, either. It'll be interesting."

 

DO YOU LIKE THE NEW PLAYOFF FORMAT? "So far I do. I don't have any
problems with it. I might be sitting here if we won the thing saying I
love it. Then, whoever doesn't and finishes 11th and 12th is going to
hate it. Right now, I like it. I'm taking it open minded and playing the
cards that are dealt to us and get all we can every week. I think we're
sitting in a pretty good spot right now to be honest with you. Other
than being in the top five, I'd rather be where we're at rather than
worried about somebody trying to move in on us. I feel real good about
the point system so far."

 

AFTER THE RACE, HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE YOU TO CHECK THE POINTS? "Pretty
quick, that's something you've got to do every week. Timing and scoring
gives everybody a copy of the rundown and you kinda know what's going
on. The other day the 88 and 6 and myself we were all racing hard
together because we all know we've got to beat each other. Jimmie
Johnson is right behind me and I'm racing him hard. You might still get
within that 400-point range. Everybody is starting to race each other
and you see that more and more each week now."

 

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF NEW DODGE CHARGER? "It's awesome. Dodge is doing an
outstanding job of being edgy on the new vehicles coming out. Right now,
they've got the best, and they've had the best. The Charger is just
going to be another part of that deal. It's going to create a lot of
enthusiasm for the company and for all the race fans out there. I'm
excited about it. I think it's going to be a cool car and definitely a
great race car."

 

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT TAILLIGHTS ON RACECARS? "I've heard about that,
and I've also heard (Mike) Helton say it's going to have to be some type
of wireless system in the car, and there's a lot of ways to trigger
that. Why would you want to do that? Right now we have maybe four to six
caution lights around the racetracks. Why wouldn't they just put more
caution lights up around the racetrack, maybe every 30-50 feet? When the
caution light comes on, the driver is going to see it. If we don't know
by now how to race without taillights.... You have a sense of when the
guy is slowing down and stuff and stopping. Maybe it's something they
need to look at. We've never had 'em, and I'm not sure why we need 'em
now. You're going to get in to where it's even more technical. That's
all we need is more confusion. I say leave 'em alone and put more
caution lights around the racetrack."

 

COMMENT ON GREEN-WHITE-CHECKERED AT POCONO? "NASCAR said they were going
to keep that in mind and try to work everything out. I'm sure it's going
to come down to where somebody won't have enough (fuel) to go to the
end, but that's part of it. That's part of what we do and our style of
racing. If you don't have enough fuel, well, guess what, you lost that
day. It'll make it more interesting. We'll just have to wait and see.
(SAFER walls) will certainly be good (at Pocono) if there's an accident
of something, but I don't think it'll affect the groove or the way we
race or anything. It's just another part of what the track has been
doing and they've all been stepping up and doing that. I think it's
great. If they did it at Darlington and took that much racetrack away
from us and it didn't hurt us, it's certainly not going to hurt us
anywhere else."

 

DO CHEVY AND FORD HAVE A TECHNICAL ADVANTAGE?  "If you look at some of
the numbers you might think that, but the Dodge race teams feel real
good about our Dodges. A lot of things have just kinda' bit us a little
bit and we beat ourselves a little bit in a couple of races. We know
we've got great racecars. We've just got to get our cars where they need
to be. One thing you're not hearing, you're not hearing any Dodge teams
complain about it or whining about it. We're all just working hard to
get all we can get. All we ask for is when we're in that position and we
don't hear any whining out of Ford or Chevy. We're not worried about
what they're doing. We're just worried about our teams. We know we've
got great race cars. Dodge has provided us with the resources we need.
It's not that Ford or Chevy has a technical advantage. That's not what
it's all about. It's all about getting the best out of our equipment.
That's what we've got to do. I don't know the numbers on the Chevrolets
or Fords. If you look at the win numbers (11 for Chevy, six for Ford)
you say, 'well, maybe.' We should have won four races so far. Maybe
those numbers wouldn't have been like that if we hadn't beat ourselves.
It's got nothing to do with the manufacturer. It's funny, when Dodge
comes back and starts winning a bunch of races, you'll hear complaining
from everybody else, but you don't hear any of the Dodge teams
complaining."

 

IF YOU DECIDED TO RACE IN OTHER SERIES, DO YOU THINK IT WOULD BE GOOD TO
GET A VETO ON THAT? "I drove a truck last year and a Busch race this
year for Tommy Baldwin, but before I would do anything like that, unless
I talked to Ray Evernham and get it approved by him. If I personally
thought something was going to be, like a Trans-Am race at Sears Point,
I wouldn't even ask. I would turn it down myself. I wouldn't do it. I
feel like for all the Dodge Dealers out there and everybody invested in
our race team, I feel like I've got a responsibility to them. I wouldn't
put this team in jeopardy like that. I wouldn't let it get to the point
where I had to ask."

 

TALK ABOUT YOUR TEAMMATE KASEY KAHNE "Kasey has done an outstanding job.
He and Tommy (team director Baldwin) have both done outstanding jobs.
I've got to go back and say Ray has done an awesome job of putting that
deal together. It's helped us a ton. I feel like we've helped each other
a lot. I've never been in a better teammate situation. Bill Elliott and
I were great teammates. We got along. We were great friends, but it
seems like Kasey and I are more in tune with our chassis, closer setups.
When we're struggling I can go to them and get their setups, they can
get ours. We help each other, and it's been a great situation. I can say
it's probably the best teammate situation out there right now as far as
two cars running similar setups, we get along great. When they're in
trouble we help them, and when we're in trouble they help us."

 

IS THE JULY RACE AT POCONO DIFFERENT THAN THE JUNE RACE? "Yeah it's a
little different. The track changes after we've raced on it one time. I
guess we come back and it sits a month and gets even worse. It requires
a different setup. A lot of guys run well and come back with the same
setup they had and the guys who didn't run well go to work and they'll
beat you when we come back, so you've got to really be up on your toes.
A lot of people learned a lot in the first one, and if you don't do
something different than you did in the first one you'll get beat. We've
got that in mind, and we're going to try some things. Hopefully we'll be
in good shape."

 

DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'RE FLYING UNDER THE RADAR SOMETIMES? "Well, a
little bit, but I can understand that. Kasey is the new guy on the
block, and to be honest with you that doesn't bother me. I've been
through a lot of stuff with a lot of things in the past, and little
things like that don't bother me. Like I told Ray before, we're flying
underneath the radar, but we're going to come up and bite 'em before
it's over with. This team has done an outstanding job about being low
key, racing as hard as we can every weekend. It doesn't bother us to let
Kasey and Tommy have some credit. They've done a great job and they
deserve it. We'll let them take the media and glory and go from there.
We'll be the underdogs and we'll be the ones that come back every time
and be there."