Chevy Happy Hour Notes-Pocono 500

CHEVROLET NOTES AND QUOTES
POCONO 500
2002 NASCAR WINSTON CUP SERIES
NO. 14 OF 36 RACES
POCONO (PA.) RACEWAY
SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 2002
FOLLOWING HAPPY HOUR PRACTICE:

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE¹S CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO (fourth in Happy Hour
practice):  "The track is a lot different than when we tested.  So we felt
very, very good with the setup coming into the race here.  With the sun
being out and all the cars running on the track putting down a lot of
rubber, the track¹s really loosened up, and we posted some quick times, but
the car isn¹t exactly right, and we¹re going to make some changes overnight,
look back on some notes from the 24.  It¹s just so deceiving when you¹re
here on a green race track compared to the race track with a lot of rubber
on it; how much it can change.  We¹ll make some changes overnight, start
from second and see what happens with the Lowe¹s Monte Carlo."  ON TURN 3:
"Turn 3 started off pretty slick, where they had the jet dryer sitting on
the track.  It pretty much charred the asphalt, and the asphalt is starting
to peel up and come up but now that we¹ve started to put some rubber down on
it it¹s come around for us.  The first few laps was pretty exciting."  DO
YOU SEE A PROBLEM WITH THIS IN THE RACE?  "If it tears up and starts pulling
the asphalt up it will really make it a single groove on the exit.  It
already is to a point, because there¹s just not a lot of banking down there,
but if the track starts to come apart down there that would definitely be an
issue.  We¹ll get a good feel for it after the ARCA race here and see if
what a group of cars will do to it over a long run."  DID IT FEEL DIFFERENT
GOING OVER IT?  "At first it didn¹t really upset the car too much, except
the right rear tire just slid it really bad coming off, made it exciting out
to the wall, definitely.  There¹s not any holes or divots or anything to
really upset the suspension of the car, just a lack of grip from where the
jet dryer charred the asphalt."  ANY MOISTURE?  "No; it looks like they did
a great job getting all the moisture up.  I think we will be in good shape
as long as the rain stays away." TOUGHEST CARS OUT THERE:  "It seems like
the 28 and the 88 are running really strong, the 12.  We feel that we¹re
pretty good; the 24 feels that they¹re pretty good.  The 40 is really good.
It¹s hard to tell, because in some cases drafting will help you out to run a
faster lap here, in other cases it will slow you down.  You find yourself in
a variety of different situations out there, but I think you¹ll see the
normal contenders up front at the end of the day.  Hopefully we will be one
of the new guys in there to mix it up."

CHAD KNAUS, NO. 48 CREW CHIEF:  "It¹s just a dream.  Everything has gone
exceptionally well for us.  We¹ve got some great, great race cars.  The
24-48 team combination deal is working wonderfully as you can see, with both
of them second and third in points right now.  Jimmie has done a tremendous
job.  His maturity level is far greater than what anyone had expected and
his talent level is obviously a little better than what most people expected
too. I tell you, everything is just going great.  To come here to Pocono and
run well in "race" practice I think we¹re going to be OK in the race.  It¹s
looking good."  THESE TWO CHEVYS ARE UP FRONT IN HAPPY HOUR; THE NEXT CHEVY
IS 17TH:  "The Chevrolets are at an aerodynamic disadvantage right now.  And
we know this.  So we¹re working really hard to try to get our cars better.
It¹s a lot of extra effort; it¹s a lot of time, but it¹s definitely working
better for us."  WHAT DO YOU HAVE THAT THE OTHER CHEVYS DON¹T HAVE? "Jimmie
Johnson and Jeff Gordon."

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO (third in Happy Hour
practice):  "I think we¹re running real good.  This morning there were cars
that were faster than us and the track temperatures were cooler, but now
we¹ve got some rubber (and) it¹s heated up a little bit.  I¹m pretty happy."
SAME SETUP AS 48?  "We¹re a little different.  Again, you got to go with not
only what they (the 48) learned from testing, but you¹ve got to go with what
the driver is feeling and what you know works well.  We¹re close to them,
but we¹re off a little bit."  ON STARTING POSITION:  "This is a tricky place
to get qualified in, you got to be really aggressive and it takes quite a
combination to qualify up front here.  I really haven¹t qualified way up
front here in a little while.  To be starting third, I¹m really happy with
that.  That¹s a great track position.  Track position means a lot; a good
place on pit road is important and with the car running well I¹m really
happy to be starting third."  WHAT ARE YOUR CONCERNS?  "We¹re turning a lot
of rpm, really abusing the motor and I¹ve definitely got some concerns on
what gear we¹ve got in there right now and we¹re going to look at everything
real close after this practice, just evaluate it and decide what gear we
want to go with for tomorrow."  HOW HARD IS IT TO WIN HERE?  "It¹s real
hard.  We dominated both races here last year and didn¹t win either one of
them.  So, it doesn¹t seem to be one factor.  You can have a fast race car
but a lot of times you have a fast race car and when you get out front it¹s
hard to lead if you get someone behind you.  You can have a fast race car
and all of a sudden the caution comes out and pit strategy changes.  It¹s a
very difficult place to win at; it¹s a fun place to race on.  I think we¹ve
got as good a car as we¹ve had here in the past so anything is possible as
to who¹s going to win.  I think the 28 is going to be good, I think the 48,
the 40, the 88; I think those guys seem to be real good.  Guys that have
good horsepower and know how to get their cars hooked up through the corners
are going to be real good here."  ON THE TRACK:  "It¹s fine.  Where the
water was really seeping out coming off of turn 3 I can tell that it¹s a
little bit rough through there.  I don¹t know if it broke up at all.  Other
than that everything is good."

DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 8 BUDWEISER CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO (17th, next
Chevrolet in Happy Hour after Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson in third and
fourth):  ON THE WATER SEEPAGE:  "Well, there are some spots over there that
looks like it¹s been wet, but it ain¹t bothering us any."  ON TEAMMATE
MICHAEL WALTRIP¹S BEING MORE OPTIMISTIC RECENTLY DESPITE RUMORS OF HIS
LEAVING THE TEAM:  "He¹s been running a lot better.  It¹s been a tough
situation over the past several of weeks for us.  We tried to deal with it
as best we can.  A lot of people, the media and fans, have got a lot more
things going on than there really is truth to it.  We definitely did tell
Michael that we were looking at other drivers.  His job was in his hands, so
to speak.  I think he had a lot of things on his mind and stuff and
hopefully instead of racing being a burden to him he¹s using it in a
positive way, and trying to get it off his mind.  I¹m real happy with how
he¹s doing now; I¹m real happy with the communication that I¹m getting from
him as a teammate.  We¹ve worked together real well in the past.  The
chemistry hadn¹t been there for a long time in several months."  WITH
"SLUGGER" (CREW CHIEF RICHARD LABBE) IS THE CHEMISTRY THERE NOW?  "They work
well together.  They¹re starting to believe in each other a little more and
more each week."  ON STEVE PARK:  "It¹s not going too good right now for
Steve.  They can¹t really get results, of course.  They can¹t get their cars
to do what they need them to do.  It¹s very easy to point a finger at Steve
and everybody including myself are trying our hardest to really be
optimistic about that.  But we¹re definitely going to have to look hard at
that situation too over the next several months because we¹ve had Steve for
two or three years and we haven¹t had really a full season of him in the
car, (in) every race.  We¹ve just had a lot of misfortune, a lot of
injuries, but the thing you worry about is him getting out of your car and
going and getting in another car and whipping your butt.  If we can¹t make
it work, we¹ve got to make a change and nobody is immune to change.  I don¹t
care if he¹s a driver or a crew chief or a tire changer.  We¹ve got to do
what we¹ve got to do to make the business work."  THIS IS BUSINESS, ISN¹T
IT? "It is.  You want to give him the benefit of the doubt.  I¹ll be honest
with you, it takes a couple of weeks to get over concussions and stuff like
that; I¹ve had three or four now.  I know just dealing with something like
that ain¹t easy, and I can¹t imagine coming back from the injuries he¹s had.
He probably has a lot of self doubt in himself, whether he¹s got the ability
or whether he¹s 100 percent.  He¹s admitted to not being 100 percent, but he
still is capable of getting the car around the race track right now.  It¹s
hard to say, whether the fact of him being out of the car so long (that)
they¹ve lost communication between him and Paul (Andrews, crew chief).  The
so-called chemistry isn¹t there, obviously.  Hopefully they¹ll get it back
and get to working well together again.  Sometimes that stuff doesn¹t
happen, sometimes it does."

MIKE SKINNER, NO. 4 KODAK FILMS CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO (40th):  "It must be
an improvement from yesterday.  They had a lot of rain. The race track seems
like it¹s always been.  We¹ve had a little bit of problem with our race car,
so I really haven¹t been able to critique it too much."  ANY WATER LEAKAGE?
"It seemed fine."