NASCAR: Ryan Newman Dodge Teleconference Transcript
Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2004.
Dodge Motorsports Teleconference
Darlington Advance
RYAN NEWMAN (No. 12 ALLTEL Dodge)
NOTE: Fresh off a runner-up finish at Phoenix last Sunday, Newman enters
the Mountain Dew Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway ranked seventh in
the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Standings, 150 points behind leader Kurt Busch. In
the eight Chase races to date, Newman has finished first, second and
third, but he has an average finish of 22.6 in the other five. With an
average finish of 14.9 in the past eight races, Newman is only 48 points
out of fifth and 109 points out of second. Newman clinched his third
straight Bud Pole Award last week at Phoenix, but he'll be going for a
fifth straight pole on Friday at Darlington.
OPENING REMARKS "I'd really like to win at Darlington, not only because
it's the first race under the lights but because it's Darlington. It's
my favorite racetrack. I've always said it's not my favorite racetrack
to race, but it's my favorite racetrack to drive. Driving is what you've
got to do to win there. You're competing against the racetrack more than
the competitors. I look forward to going there for the last Southern
500. It's going to be an important mark I guess in the history of NASCAR
and it'd be really nice if we could come away with a win."
COMMENT ON LAST WEEK AT PHOENIX "It was a good weekend for us in
general. To win the pole, four in a row this year and three in a row at
Phoenix was a big deal for the team. We clinched the Bud Pole Award for
the season, which was a big deal for me as well as the team. To finish
second coming back from a lap down and legitimately earn our way back on
the lead lap, to come home second was a good effort for us. It was
unfortunate we were in the position we were being a lap down, but we
were happy to fight back and do it on fair terms without having to use
the Lucky Dog and get another top five."
WHY SO MANY CUT TIRES AT PHOENIX? "I'm not real sure. Casey Mears had a
left rear tire going down way before he ever blew it going into turn
three. I told my spotter to tell his spotter because they thought they
had a tire going down and it was definitely going down. He stayed out
and it eventually blew. I don't know any outside of that that were huge.
I think maybe Mayfield cut down a left rear, but you never know if it
was contact with other cars or what. Sometimes it's just circumstances."
COMMENT ON YOUR CHANCES TO CATCH KURT BUSCH "I've always said the last
two years as long as we're not mathematically out of it count us in.
We're going to be there to win the race at Darlington and Homestead and
lead the most laps and try to get as many points as possible just like
everybody else. It's just a matter of what team can do it."
COMMENT ON RUNNING UNDER THE LIGHTS AT DARLINGTON "It'll just make every
car stick better. That's the same advantage for everybody is my point.
The transition from light to dark with the lights on will be negligible.
The lights are usually so bright that it's just like racing during the
day as far as drivers go. Unless there's some kind of hiccup with the
pit crew not being able to see as good or something like that because
it's a newly lighted surface, I don't think there's going to be any big
transitions whatsoever."
WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE A PRACTICE UNDER THE LIGHTS? "It would be nice,
but I don't think it's going to be pivotal. Everybody is going to have
to deal with the same situation and same set of circumstances, so let's
just run it."
WHY DO SO MANY DRIVERS TALK ABOUT THE TRACK AT DARLINGTON LIKE IT'S A
LIVING THING? "No. 1, it's got a lot of history. It's not like it was
born yesterday, so there's no goo-goo, gah-gah about it. It's a mature
racetrack and I guess maybe that's one part of it. I guess the other
part is it's mentally tough and physically tough to get around. You have
to change and adapt your style. Maybe the lady part of it comes from
some sort of marriage you have to have with the racetrack as far as
being able to understand what it wants and what you have to have to get
around it without knocking the right side of the car off. I think the
black part of it came when it was resurfaced. I never raced on it when
it was freshly surfaced, but I remember it being super black."
HAS SHE (DARLINGTON RACEWAY) EVER DONE YOU WRONG? "It's never done me
wrong. I bounced off the walls a couple of times, but I had a really
good string there of two or four races in a row when I never touched the
wall once, so hopefully I can continue that."
WAS IT A WISE DECISION FOR CASEY MEARS TO STAY OUT AT PHOENIX? "It was
his call or his crew chief's call, which ever way you look at it.
Obviously they chose to stay out because I'm sure enough people told
them they had a tire going down. With that many laps left it was a risk
and he was not only risking himself or his car, but other cars and other
drivers. I'm not saying it was the smartest move, but I understand him
wanting to stay out and get a top five finish, which was important to
his team."
DOES THE CHASE CONSUME EVERY IDLE MOMENT? "It's not on my mind. I've
always been the type person to let the points take care of themselves
and the results will take care of the points. If we put the effort into
getting the results we don't have to worry about the points.
Unfortunately, we've been trying to come from behind all season and
that's still true for these last two races, but all we can do is to
continue to try to do our best."
WOULD YOU LIKE FOR THINGS TO GET CLEARED UP NOW WITH YOUR TEAMMATE RUSTY
WALLACE? "It's not that big a deal to me. I'm in a difficult position
where my teammate is also part owner of my car, so I think he
understands he put himself in a difficult position in reference to that
at the same time. I just keep it business as usual. I wish the situation
wasn't the way it was. I still don't feel I did anything wrong. Maybe
he'll advise me of something else, but I'm just focused on doing what I
have to do to get the ALLTEL Dodge in victory lane."
WOULD YOU TAKE A DIFFERENT STRATEGY WITH THE CHASE IF YOU'RE IN THE SAME
POSITION NEXT YEAR? "I think you've got to go out and try to win every
race and stay focused on that. The points will take care of themselves.
If we can do that, we'll be the champs whether it's this year or next
year. Our chances aren't as good this year as we wish they would be, but
we still have a chance. That's all we can ask for."
IF YOU WERE GOING TO BUILD YOUR OWN RACETRACK, WOULD DARLINGTON BE THE
MODEL? "It'd look pretty similar. I just enjoy it. It's a place where
you have to be mentally on top of your game and for that reason
physically you have to be on top of it. You have to adjust your driving
style to the racetrack as the tires fall off, and that's what makes it
so difficult. I think that it's great it's got oddly shaped corners,
meaning one is shaped different from the other. In general, I don't
think you could make a racetrack much better. I think Rockingham would
be the second closest racetrack to it, that's racy and has all the
similar characteristics. Nobody ever complained about Rockingham being a
bad racetrack They just complained about it not being in the right
location. Maybe a combination between Rockingham and Darlington would be
the perfect racetrack."
A LOT OF THE FUTURE TRACKS ARE PATTERED AFTER RICHMOND. WHY HAVEN'T WE
SEEN MORE ODDLY SHAPED TRACKS LIKE DARLINGTON? "Racecar drivers don't
design the racetracks. It's more about the guys that are spending the
nickel. The guys that are spending the nickel have their own ideas about
that they want. They're probably race fans, too. They might like the
races at Richmond. They might like the races at Bristol. You just never
know. The bottom line is everybody's got their own opinion."
ARE YOU SURPRISED HOW CLOSE IT IS AT THE TOP OF THE STANDINGS WITH TWO
RACES LEFT? "Not at all. I know that it's close. I wish that we were on
that level right now. We still have a chance. With 10 races to go,
you're leaving yourself open to having a closer battle at the end, which
is what I guess what NASCAR wants. In the grand scheme of things I don't
think it's fair for all the competitors."
WOULD IT MEAN MORE TO YOU TO FINISH FIFTH RATHER THAN SIXTH OR SEVENTH
IF YOU CAN'T FINISH FIRST? "The numbers still equate with one being
better than the other, but our main goal is to be No.1 and we'll have
that in sight until that's not in sight any more and then we'll go on.
We'll try to do the best we possibly can, whether that's seventh or
first or third, then let it be."
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