Samsung/RadioShack 500 Sunday Pit Notes

Howie Long, Grand Marshall for the Samsung/RadioShack 500: “My first impression on seeing this place was the size. They took my 12-year-old and me for a lap at speed. When you hit these banks it’s kind of like flying into Missoula, Mont., and you bank over the mountains. My son loved it. My introduction to racing was “Days of Thunder” and my son’s video games. They’re pretty cool.” (About possibly owning a team): “I’m looking. I’m very competitive, so if I get involved in anything, I want to be able to do well – especially if I’m competing against Terry Bradshaw. That means you have to have the resources for a car, crew, crew chief and driver.”

Latin pop star Joy Enriquez will sing the National Anthem before the Samsung/RadioShack 500. She is attending her first NASCAR event. She said: “I don’t know what to expect. I know there will be a lot of cars out there and lots of racing, and I love that. My brother races his cars, and I love speed. I know I’ll see a lot of fast cars today, and, of course, I’ll get to see Jeff Gordon.” (About being nervous singing to the large audience): “The more the merrier. I did a Super Bowl in Mexico with over 500,000 people. I love an audience, especially one that will respond. Two hundred fifty-thousand people, I’m so excited to sing for them and the people watching on television. I’m just excited to be here.”

FOX co-host Jeff Hammond will serve as an advisor to Melling Racing next week when fellow broadcaster Darrell Waltrip makes his return to racing at a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event. “I’m really just going to be a translator. You have a guy who uses phrases like turkey-walk and boogity-boogity. How’s a crew chief supposed to understand that? I know he (Waltrip) wanted to get back in the car, but you really have to understand his motives. He’s trying to stay current with what’s going on behind the wheel. I think it makes him a more effective analyst. He doesn’t have any aspirations with coming back full time. If he does, I’m going to break both of his legs so he’ll have to talk from a wheelchair. I really believe running Martinsville in a truck is the best thing and the safest thing he could do. I think he could do well, and he’ll have a better understanding of what the turns are about and track surface is about and he’ll be a lot more motivated on Sunday.” (Could he win?): “Is there a cow in Texas? Yes, he can win the race. I wouldn’t be going there with him if we couldn’t. We feel like we can be competitive. We expect to be up there trading paint with Ted Musgrave and the rest of the guys.”

Jeff Hammond, FOX co-host: (About filling air time in rain delays): “Overall, it’s a whole lot better for the folks back home than watching a rerun from last year. We try to keep everybody current with what’s going on and it gives you an opportunity to bring out some personalities that you can’t do during a regular broadcast. You couldn’t have seen Kenny Wallace and Kevin Harvick playing like they were yesterday in a regular race configuration. No matter what we are trying to do, those guys get focused in on what they are doing. For us to have that fill time and pull information that’s not necessarily pertinent to the race that day is great. The fact that FOX and FX are willing to give airtime to us is outstanding and speaks a lot about our sport and what people want to hear. (Did you expect another attack on the “Hollywood Hotel” studio, after the water gun attack by the pit reporters last year at The Winston?) We locked the door yesterday. We were expecting another attack, but I think they (pit reporters) were too busy getting interviews to be goofing off. All I can say is July 4 there will be more fireworks at Daytona than usual. That’s a fact. This thing is a long way from over and we’re going to have the last say.”

Rusty Wallace (No. 2 Miller Lite Ford): “It’s so much wait and see right now. I’m really glad we came here and tested, a lot of cars tested. I think everybody that tested is feeling a little more comfortable right now. Although when we start this race, I’m sure the cars will be all over the racetrack for a little bit until we get to that first 35 lap caution, so we know what’s going on. Right now it’s just wait and see. The fans in Texas have been really great. I’ve got a ton of guests here. I’ve got a lot of people from all our sponsors to watch this race today. If we can race at night with the lights on we’ll do it. I’ve got a bunch of buddies in Texas, we’re gonna go over to their house and have a big Bar-B-que if we get rained out.”

NASCAR Announcement: In the event that the Samsung/RadioShack 500 has to be postponed until Monday, April 8 due to rain, the NASCAR press conference to announce the new format for The Winston, scheduled for Tuesday morning at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte, NC, will be rescheduled for Wednesday morning at 11 a.m. The NASCAR teleconference will also be rescheduled.

Jeremy Mayfield (No.19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge): About talk of point systems changes: “Look at past history and it always comes down to a close finish. I don’t know how you would change it. Everyone has the opinion how it should be different, but I like it the way it is. It’s never been that way for a long time. It makes it a lot harder to win a championship, you’ve got to be consistent, every thing has to play in your favor. It’s not about winning four or five races and running bad in ten. It’s about running good and consistent in all the races. I think it would be neat to add a five-point bonus for winning a pole, to add an incentive to win a pole. But just to change the point system, I’m no for that. I think NASCAR has done a good job.” About what he does during a rain delay: “Talking to people, hanging out with fans for autographs, relaxing before a race; I’m getting ready to go relax in the motor home. We qualified well. If we get to go racing the track is going to be a lot different. We’ll have to wait and see and then go out and do the bet we can. We made our car plenty adjustable, so we’ll go from there just like any other race.”

Jeff Burton (No. 99 CITGO Ford): About what he normally does during a rain delay: “It depends on what time of year it is. If it’s football season we watch a little football. If it’s basketball, we see if there’s a game on, really that’s about it. We’ve done everything we can do to prepare the car. The car is in check. All that’s over, it’s about killing time. Occasionally, a card game will break out.”

Jimmy Fenning (Crew Chief 97 Rubbermaid Ford): “We came up with a game plan yesterday, we knew it was going to rain, so we are going to wait till the rain quits. We are going to keep going with one game plan weather it is a Sunday or Monday. It really doesn’t change nothing on our strategy. NASCAR is going to have a caution 35 laps in and we will adjust from there. We put a lot of adjustability in the car. It isn’t the first time it has rained on us. Kurt is excited about the race and like I said we gave up with a game plan and are ready to go.”

Kurt Busch (No. 97 Rubbermaid Ford): “I hope it stops raining. There’s nothing we can do about the weather. Sit there, look at the car, and try to adjust on it. The car is set up ready to go. We plan a little bit further ahead cause it’s Martinsville next weekend. We’re all here we’ll sit down and plan ahead a little bit further.”

Ricky Craven (No. 32 Tide Ford): “We are ready to go, but we have to wait this out. In our spare time now we try to relax because you never know when you going to race and you want to be prepared.”

Kurt Busch (No. 97 Rubbermaid/Sharpie Ford): “NASCAR will make the best decision for the fans and the competitors. We do have to race next weekend in Martinsville. We need to get out there. It would be great to get out there today or tomorrow, whatever it takes. This is a great track for me. I’m looking forward to getting out there, leading a lot of laps and hopefully taking the victory. It’s a great repave. It’s done real well in telling us how the race will portray itself whether we get the race in today or tomorrow. It just needs some time, like any other racetrack, to develop a second groove. The car’s already set up and ready to go. None of us have any track time. Some of the guys who tested here may have an advantage, but we got a pretty idea of what we need out there.” (About the bandage he’s has on his face): “That was just a little horseplay with my girlfriend (Melissa). I guess she got the better half of me there.”

Kyle Petty (No.45 Sprint Dodge): About being married for 23 years: “Patti and I have been married my entire career. She has been my best friend, my wife, the love of my life all rolled into one. She’s been everything, and we have been through good times and bad times. We have been through a lot together, and we have been through a lot of personal tragedy along the way, but I think it makes the bond stronger between us.

People ask all the time if you are superstitious but we say a prayer. You say a prayer before the race. I think that is really special. I think that is one thing about Winston Cup racing that if you will watch up and down pit road, you will see two or three drivers standing together and saying a prayer together for each other. It may be myself and Kenny Schrader and Steve Park. You say a prayer for safety for everybody and you go and race. People ask me all the time what I would do if I didn’t drive a race car, well I wouldn’t have a clue. Without her I wouldn’t have a clue. It would be, I don’t know, that is unfathomable.”

Ned Jarrett (former Winston Cup Champion): “I’m not here doing any broadcasts. I did some hospitality work for Ford Motor Co. and for the International Truck Challenge. Glen and I are the announcers for the International Truck Challenge, and that was fun to do. It was the first time we had ever done it, and Coca-Cola we’ve done some things for them. I don’t foresee me getting back in the broadcast booth. I think that part of my career is behind me now, partly by choice and by the way things just worked out, and that’s OK. I don’t have any problem with it. I’ve done my thing there. I need to spend more time with my grandchildren and with Martha (wife) and play a little golf, just enjoy things a little bit more than I’ve been able to over the years. I enjoyed the work that I did. I enjoyed going to the races and spending time there, but there are other things in life too.”

Elliott Sadler (No. 21 Motorcraft Ford): “We did a lot of testing this year and we found a lot of things that I really like inside the race car. It looks like were getting better and better. I’m driving a lot better at a lot of the tracks. Pat Tryson (Crew Chief) and I are working better together. It’s just a lot of momentum on our side right now. We really wanted to come here and run well and to qualify like we did is pretty impressive. It (Texas) has always been one of my favorite tracks. I know it’s fast. It’s going to be one groove now for the asphalt, but it is so smooth we may have to give up something for this race to be better here in years to come.”

Sterling Marlin (No. 40 Coors Light Dodge): About what he does during rain delays: “Go to meetings! No, we just piddle; we go over some stuff for next week and just stuff you don’t really get a chance to do. We’re getting ready for Martinsville. We went to Greenville this week and tested and did some stuff to try to help the car a little bit, just go over notes and try to be prepared. It (TMS) is fast, but I mean to me, it’s more of a sensation of speed at Bristol than here. I don’t think they had any trouble with tires. We tire tested and ran several different compounds. We did see a tire that got into the cords but it was just the track. They did a good job and came back with a good tire and it hooked up pretty quick qualifying so that was our concern tire testing, it took five or six laps to get going, the stickers were pretty quick. You’re hardly ever up off the throttle, it’s pretty much wide open all the way around, it’s got so much grip. It’s fast but you go to a track like Darlington or Rockingham or Charlotte and the pace slows down a second and half, you hunt grooves up against the wall, in the middle or bottom and it’s not gonna happen here. Everybody’s fighting for the bottom groove so you’re gonna have to time your passes right to get them up off the corner because if you get them caught in the center the car’s gonna push, get the aero-push. Slower cars are gonna be the bottom so you’re go to the high side to pass them.” (About moving to the front): “I don’t know, we started last year, I mean pretty close, we had to use a spot to get in, so it can be done.” (About being able to get under another car): “Yeah, if they’re a little loose then you get your nose up under them and get them wiggling, drive up under them and go on. If they’re tight, then time it where they have to get off the corner, then get your timing right, then get by them there.”

Jeff Burton (No. 99 CITGO Ford): About safety: “Even when the car is wrecked, it’s hard to get out. For me to get out of my car, literally I hurt my shoulder getting out of the car. It’s just that hard. When you get in a bad situation it’s just that much harder. You’ve always got to look and learn from the situation. Whatever the reason Michael (Waltrip) couldn’t get out (of his overturned car in Saturday’s Busch Series event) we’ve got to find out what it was and make it better. He told me his window net was stuck. When your car in upside down gravity isn’t working to get the window net down, a lot of the stuff to make the window work, when you unlatch it, it doesn’t work. The window net is hooked to the roof hoop and door bars and when those get bent it makes for a problem there too. We have to look at everything and see what we can do.” (About Roush Racing’s success): “Nothing happened between November and February. A lot of stuff happened between March and July of last year. We don’t just turn the switch on and start running better. And you don’t just turn the switch off and start running poorly. I think it’s progressed that way. We went into last year feeling better than we’ve ever felt. We had the right people. We had the right cars. Every team was excited and ready to go racing and felt good about it and none of us were running. We started looking at what we were doing wrong and each team made a contribution to us running better. We all started applying those things, and we’ve performed better this year. Now, the No. 99 car hasn’t run as well as we did at end of last year, but we’re doing a better job of managing things. We haven’t turned poor finishes into disasters. We kept ourselves in position. The biggest thing I learned (from running in Saturday’s Busch race) is if you ever get tight you’re in big trouble. You don’t want to be loose, but in Turn 2 when you get behind cars, your car gets tight, if you start off tight then you are going to be that much worse. You have to keep the car turning and turning well off the corner. If you can do that, you can run well. Even if you are off on your entry speed, if you can run from the center of the corner off, then you’ll be just fine.” (About Kurt Busch’s success): “Kurt is a really good race car driver and the time I’ve spent with him and the times I’ve raced with him and watched him race, he’s intent on winning. Kurt is pretty smart. I think he understands. One of the things that we preach at Roush, is you have to race the way you want to race. If you race clean and you race smart and you drive people the way you want them to drive you, then nine times out of 10 it’s going to work in your favor. He doesn’t look very tough. He cut himself shaving for first time this morning. He has a bandage on the chin. But if you talk to the people in the truck series, half of those people, he made mad. He is an aggressive driver. And you have to watch out for those small, skinny guys anyway. They have that complex that they have to take care of.” (About how he was spending the rain delay): “I was watching a movie – a Cameron Diaz movie – and it wasn’t very good. I was doing that and basically telling lies. Everybody gets together and talks about how big the wreck was eight weeks ago and how many races they won 32 years ago, so pretty much exaggerate everything and wait and eat.”

Steve Park (No. 1 Pennzoil Chevrolet): “It’s only a matter of time. We will have our time to win a race. I don’t think Chevrolet is at a deficit. Dodge is new to this sport so maybe it’s just their time to win. We are with a good budget team. Pennzoil does a great job sponsoring our team. We’ve got Dale Jr. with Budweiser and Michael with NAPA. We’ve got a good funded team and a team that is capable of winning a championship. Unfortunately, I missed the first couple of races due to an injury, but there’s no reason why Dale Jr. or Michael can’t win the championship. I love coming here to Texas. The racetrack really promotes good racing, it’s fast, and the fans here in Texas are second to none. It’s so exciting when we come here to race that it wouldn’t hurt my feeling to add a second race here. I can’t talk for NASCAR, but the racetrack itself, the facilities, and the race fans alone, it would be good to come here twice. It’s up to NASCAR if we come back a second time. I think the facilities, the garages, the whole racetrack is in a position now with the repaving there is problem, reason why we shouldn’t come back, as long as they don’t make our schedule longer. Thirty-six races, with only 52 weeks in the year, its hard for us to travel that much. It wouldn’t hurt my feelings if they eliminate some other places and we could come back to Texas a second time.”

NASCAR has officially announced that the Samsung/RadioShack 500 will be postponed until Monday April 8. The schedule for tomorrow is as follows: 7:00 a.m.: Garage Opens 7:30 a.m.: Gates Open 10:30 a.m.: Driver Introductions 11:00 a.m.: Race Starts

The race will be broadcast LIVE on FX. The last Winston Cup race to be rained out was October 2001 at Martinsville, Va.

Jim Hunter (NASCAR vice president of communication): “(NASCAR president) Mike Helton had a conversation with (TMS executive vice president and general manager) Eddie Gossage and the two of them agreed that there’s more rain on the way later this afternoon. They felt it would be best for the fans and everyone involved to go ahead and pull the plug today and regroup tomorrow and have a great race on Monday.”

END APRIL 7 NOTES AND QUOTES.