Chevy Practice & Qualiyfing Notes - MIS, June 14

TEAM MONTE CARLO Contact: Nancy Wager
Sirius Satellite Radio 400 Practice nmwager@aol.com
Friday, June 14, 2002 GM Racing Communications
Michigan International Speedway (727) 784-8465
Page 1

Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet Monte Carlo spoke with the media after
Friday's practice:

(On Michigan International Speedway): "This is definitely one of my
favorites, if not the favorite. There are so many ways to get around this
track and it is so wide. We go to a lot of tracks these days where we talk
about 'aero push', but if you get that aero push when you come here, you
move up a lane. Or if the guy is running high, you move down. There are so
many options.  Plus we're fast and unrestricted. It's everything that I like
in a racetrack. We're trying to concentrate on getting top fives and top
tens and I know this is a place we can win at so I'm really excited about
that."

(Going into the second half of the season, what would you improve on?)
"Maybe just leading a few more laps and qualifying a little better and
winning a race - I'd like to start winning some races. We're certainly
haven't had a horrible first half. We're third in the points and we've had
top fives and a couple poles. I definitely think we could improve in some
areas and if we do, there's no telling what we'll be like the second half of
the season."

(How do you prepare for that long 20-week stretch without a break beginning
with Daytona?) "I'm ready. Let's do it right now. I think a lot of it is
just in preparation of the team. By not having things torn up the first half
of the season certainly helps. With Jimmie (Johnson) running as good as he
has run during this first half of the season, there's a lot that we can take
out of that and apply it the second time around."

(The #48 team has several of your old cars. The car you're running here this
weekend, won two races last year, including MIS.  Could you have that car
back now) "I guess if I was really struggling and I wanted it back, I
probably could. But they've built new cars and we've built new cars. They do
have some of our older cars. But we feel like every time we build a new car,
it's a better car. I think we made a few mistakes on the car we built and
took out to California. They (the #48 team) have really done a great job
with some of the set-ups they put underneath their cars to make them fast.
We know what they are. Some of the things that we've learned from them we
can apply the second half.

"Usually what you win with one year isn't going to be enough the second
year. Usually you've got to have something better. You've got to have more.
And when we build new cars, we go into them saying they're going to be
better than we had before. Plus, we've gotten so good these days at
duplicating cars today."
TEAM MONTE CARLO Contact: Nancy Wager
Sirius Satellite Radio 400 Practice nmwager@aol.com
Friday, June 14, 2002 GM Racing Communications
Michigan International Speedway (727) 784-8465
Page 2

(Will it help to have Ken Howes back in his position of HMS director of
competition full time after seven races as interim crew chief on the No. 25
team?) "It's going to be a huge help.  Ken wasn't able to focus on all the
teams and I think that was a hindrance. But it was something that had to be
done. We needed to do something to keep the No. 25 team going. But we're
really happy to have Brian Pattie there and I think he's a great guy and a
great crew chief. And, obviously he and Joe (Nemechek) connect very well.
But to have Ken back is a big plus for all the teams."

(Regarding road course racing at Sears Point, have the competition caught up
with you?) "They have. That's why we decided to build a new car. We had one
car that won all those races and was so good and we were afraid to change
it - afraid to do anything different. As a matter of fact, I tested that car
against a new car a couple of years ago and liked it better than the new
car. So, we stayed with that older car. But, once we ran those races, we
realized we weren't the best car.  We won at Watkins Glen, but mainly
because Robby (Gordon) fell out. So, we built a brand new car and tested it
at VIR this week. It was fast and we're happy with it and we're hoping to
gain something with it."

(Do you have any impact on the building and/or submission of the new Monte
Carlo?) "No, I don't have anything to do with that. I think the templates
are going to be pretty close on all the makes. I think they know what I want
based on my comments every weekend and what I see in a Dodge, a Ford, a
Pontiac, and a Chevrolet. And I tell them what I think we need to be better
and they try to apply that in this new car. But we've got to win races this
year and we can't worry about that right now."

(What's your secret to MIS?) "I just like it. The guys have built great
racecars and put good set-ups underneath them. It's hard to really point at
one thing that makes it happen. There's not any one thing that makes you
like a track, and there's not any one thing that makes the car go fast."

(On giving young guys a chance to get into Winston Cup?) "I was one of the
first guys who was young (and) that got into a top team with great equipment
and top sponsors and all those things so we could go out there and be
competitive right away. We finished second a couple of times in '93, but we
didn't really start winning until '94. But now, you've got these young guys
coming in with top teams and sponsors and winning races their first year.
Each time that happens, it opens the door for the next guy. These young guys
can win if you put the right equipment under them. A lot of sponsors want
young and enthusiastic guys in there that they can do some good marketing
with and can win. So it's paying off for everybody."
TEAM MONTE CARLO Contact: Nancy Wager
Sirius Satellite Radio 400 Qualifying nmwager@aol.com
Friday, June 14, 2002 GM Racing Communications
Michigan International Speedway (727) 784-8465
Page 3

Michael Waltrip, No. 15 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Monte Carlo: "It was
really good for us. We were a little off just then though, so it's kind of
hard to expect to get a pole and leave something out there. These guys are
so good. We beat some pretty good qualifiers right there - Sadler, Busch,
and Newman - so it was a good lap. But I just left too much in (turns) three
and four. We've been struggling there and I didn't do what I wanted to do.
But we made up for it in (turns) one and two."

Mike Skinner, No. 4 Kodak Chevrolet Monte Carlo: "Our Kodak Max Chevy just
really ran good. We'd like to get our Monte Carlo running a little bit
better. We've been good all day. We had the wrong gear in this car for this
weather. It was a lot hotter when we were out there this morning. We didn't
think we could run in the .40's like the fast cars this morning. We thought
we could run a mid-to-high .50 and we had the right gear in it for that. We
didn't have the gear in it to run in the teens."

Kevin Harvick, No. 29 GM Goodwrench Service Chevrolet Monte Carlo: "We were
just a little bit free in. That's obviously a big gain for us from practice.
But we've had a really good car since we unloaded and we were just a little
bit free in. But we'll be all right."

Joe Nemechek, No. 25 UAW-Delphi Chevrolet Monte Carlo: "We definitely picked
up quite a bit from practice. I know these other guys are picking up quite a
bit too. So, it's not where we want to be right now. But I've got a new crew
chief on board (Brian Pattie) and he got thrown into the fire yesterday.
We've come a long way today. We made some good changes and improved the
racecar. It's still not where we need it. But for the practice time we had,
I think we did a pretty good job today."

Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet Monte Carlo: "We are really happy
with this Monte Carlo.  We were a little loose there this morning, but we
made small changes during practice to tighten it up and I like the car. This
is the same car we ran (and won with) in California and I think it'll be
good here at Michigan too."








TEAM MONTE CARLO Contact: Nancy Wager
Sirius Satellite Radio 400 Practice nmwager@aol.com
Friday, June 14, 2002 GM Racing Communications
Michigan International Speedway (727) 784-8465
Page 4


Jeff Green, No. 30 AOL Chevrolet Monte Carlo: "We're looking forward to it.
That's not what we want still, but we're gaining on it."

Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet Monte Carlo: "We need a little
luck to turn this team around. We worked real hard today. My thanks to the
guys. It looks good."

Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet Monte Carlo: "We'll have to take that
and go with it." (On winning at MIS last year) "Last year we started up
front and that makes a big difference. So we have our work cut out for us.
But we can do it."

DEI's Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Jr. qualified 2nd and 3rd
respectively.  Their comments with the media follow:

Michael Waltrip, No. 15 NAPA Chevrolet Monte Carlo: "What happened after
practice really kind of messed up our qualifying run. We were really good in
(turns) one and two all through practice and then through (turns) three and
four, my car would get really tight and push off the turn. So, mentally,
when I ran my lap, I made it through (turns) one and two perfect. I was
really fast through there. When I got to turns three and four, I tried to
protect it a little bit from pushing and I just messed up. I should have
been more aggressive because it didn't push like I was afraid it was going
to. I left a little bit out there. Anytime you feel like you left something
out there, somebody will usually clip you. I didn't feel like I did three
and four like I needed to and then Dale Jarrett beat us.
After watching qualifying the rest of the day, it wasn't so much that I
missed (turns) three and four, it was the fact that he (Jarrett) made it
through there way faster than anybody. I saw people that were tied with him
as he got to turn three and he would beat them by a half a second. So,
Jarrett didn't win the pole because I screwed up as much as he laid down a
great lap.That will make it easier to sleep tonight - knowing that I did
almost all I could do. He just went out there and did it a little bit
better."

(When you said you didn't do as well through turns three and four during
qualifying, will that area of the track have anything to do with the race?)
"No, it won't matter. Qualifying is qualifying. I just felt like I could
have done better in (turns) three and four and so that's where I could have
gotten the pole. And that's a little bit disappointing but he (Dale Jarrett)
just really got that corner. I got (turns) one and two. I got that one. I
don't think anybody has ever been through there any faster the way it felt
to me. It was just perfect."
TEAM MONTE CARLO Contact: Nancy Wager
Sirius Satellite Radio 400 Practice nmwager@aol.com
Friday, June 14, 2002 GM Racing Communications
Michigan International Speedway (727) 784-8465
Page 5


"I talked to Dale after qualifying and he said that if we could have
combined our laps that we would have probably broken his track record and a
lot of times when you put Jr. out there to go qualify, it takes two people
to do what he can do."

Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet Monte Carlo: "Starting up
front is pretty important but this is such a long race and such a wide
racetrack that it's real easy to pass and real easy to work your way up to
the front. I've started up in the front here and been in the back in a
matter of 20 laps. I guess it's not as important as you'd think it would be
at other places."

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