NASCAR WCUP: Jeff Gordon Interview: Winning comments from the Brickyard

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

August 6, 2001

JEFF GORDON (Winner, #24 DuPont Automotive Chevrolet): "I think I got a few new gray hairs after today. Wow, what an incredible day. I never dreamed it. At the beginning, we were way off. I think it was more being in traffic rather than being way off. We had one caution fall our way early, and whether we took two or gas-and-go at the end, and we took two, and it was perfect."

(Who made that call on the last pit stop?): "Robbie makes all the calls. He talks with me. He talks with the guys. We make it together. We were between no tires and two tires. I thought we needed two. We needed it. I just want to thank God. This has been such an amazing week for me. This is a great way to celebrate my birthday. It's just been a phenomenal day. This has been amazing. It feels unbelievable. To have all of these people still here cheering us on, I got choked up. I love Indianapolis, I love the state of Indiana. They have been so good to me. I want to say hi to all of those folks in Pittsboro (Ind., Gordon's former home in Indiana)."

(About significance of winning three Brickyard 400s): "You're right, I don't race for statistics. I race to win. If we win, the statistics will come after that. Three Brickyard 400's. Whoa! It's just amazing being a one-time winner of this event. I dreamed as a kid to be like A.J Foyt, Rick Mears, Bobby Unser and Al Unser. To be able to come here and compete is a thrill. I never dreamed it would be in a stock car, and I certainly never thought I would win the main event three times." (About race): "It was our day. At the beginning, we didn't have a very good car. I know I was worrying the heck out of my crew chief because I was complaining an awful lot. On the final pit stop, we took just two tires. The car was just on rails after that. These are the greatest fans in the world. I love racing here at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I hope you guys enjoyed this show. It was great from where I was sitting."

(About final restart): "My car was really good on restarts. I made a few moves earlier in the day. I knocked the grill in because I was right on him (Marlin, on final restart). He blocked me on the inside, and I wasn't sure if I was going to make it, but I said hey, these are the moves you have to make to win the Brickyard 400. That was pretty key. I wanted to get by him quick. As good as he was all the way to the finish, I don't know if I could have passed him if I had stayed behind him. I got an amazing restart, and we had great power with the Hendrick engine, got up underneath him, and from there on we were set. I got a little loose the last few laps, and Sterling just hung right there. If I'd have made a mistake, he would have had me."

Text provided by Paul Kelly

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