Chevy Sears Pt. --Nemecheck/Pattie/Hendrick/Howes
CHEVROLET/TEAM MONTE CARLO NOTES AND QUOTES Save Mart 350 Sears Point Raceway 112 laps, 350 kilometers 2-mile road course Race16 of 36 NASCAR WINSTON CUP SERIES Sunday, June 23, 2002 SONOMA, Calif. (June 19, 2002) -- Rick Hendrick's Hendrick Motorsports leads the Chevrolet teams with wins on Sears Point Raceway's road course. Jeff Gordon won three straight here on this scenic Northern California circuit, in 1998-2000, giving Chevrolet Monte Carlo a total of five victories here since 1989. Dale Earnhardt (1995) and Ernie Irvan (1992) won the other two. Only Ford has been able to match Chevy's success here, with five wins as well. Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 DuPont Monte Carlo for Hendrick Motorsports, holds the race record on the 1.949-mile course of 78.789 mph; 2 hours, 26 minutes, 46 seconds, set June 25, 2000. The race record on the 2.52-mile circuit is held by Ernie Irvan in a Chevrolet, established June 7, 1992, of 81.413 mph; 2 hours, 17 minutes, 26 seconds. In 2001 the track was reconfigured from 1.949 miles to 2 miles. Nearly midway through the 2002 season, the successful Hendrick Motorsports operation is going through unplanned changes, with the replacement of Jerry Nadeau with Joe Nemechek in the No. 25 UAW-Delphi Monte Carlo, and, most recently, with the addition to that team of new crew chief Brian Pattie, formerly Nemechek's car chief at NEMCO Motorsports, owned by Nemechek. Ken Howes, who took over crew chief duties when Tony Furr stepped down in April, returns to his position as director of competition at HMS after seven races. Following are conversations with Joe Nemecheck, Brian Pattie, Ken Howes and Rick Hendrick: JOE NEMECHEK: ON BEING WITH HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AND HAVING BRIAN PATTIE AS CREW CHIEF: "Being with Hendrick Motorsports is a very unique opportunity. It¹s kind of strange how all the things happen when they happen. In the past I¹ve run well at the road courses. Brian has been with me with my Busch team for some time. We have a few poles at Watkins Glen with the Busch Series car, when I was driving and also when Ron Fellows was driving. Just getting Brian on board with myself and Hendrick means a lot to me because it¹s someone I¹m used to dealing with, who knows what I need in a race car and he can see what the cars have and kind of what¹s going on and what we need to do to get them to where I can be competitive. And I think that¹s one of the keys." ON COMMUNICATION BETWEEN DRIVER AND CREW CHIEF: "Communication is the key in any business. This one¹s no different. Brian and I have a good relationship and I think we¹re best friends and that¹s a big part of how these teams run. You look at the teams that are successful right now and they¹re established; they¹ve been there. All of a sudden I got an opportunity with a great team and we don¹t have the pleasure of building relationships. We need performance now. This is the quickest way that I feel we can get that." ON DRIVING SEARS POINT (Nemechek did not race at Sears Point in 2001. In 2000 he started 19th, finished 11th his best finish at this track. In 1999 he qualified his best, sixth, and finished 19th): "Sears Point has been a pretty good race track for me over the past few years. It seems like we qualify decent there and we race really well, and somehow some way, toward the end of the races I¹ve managed to be in the top 10. A lot of the times we have been in the top five. Pit strategy kind of plays a part in it. I¹ve had decent finishes the last two times I was there. And, actually we had been in the top five in both those races and then at some point in time you get a late caution, guys will stop and put tires on, you elect to stay out, and some of them will get by you. There¹s a lot of pit strategy involved in it. I¹m looking forward to going back out there. I missed the race last year. I¹ve got some learning to do, just because I missed the race there last year. They changed the track, but then they changed it again. I didn¹t have the luxury of testing out there because I didn¹t know I was going to be racing it. We tested with Ron Fellows out there in our 87 car and he ran extremely well, so I¹m looking for good things this weekend." ON RACING AGAINST FELLOWS: "I¹ve done it before. Ron is one of the best road racers I¹ve ever met. I think he¹s the master of Watkins Glen. He can drive anywhere he needs to go. Sears Point is a little tougher race track just because it¹s kind of a slower track. The difference, just like Le Mans, is you¹ve got a lot of really fast corners (at Watkins Glen). Ron knows how to use his momentum to his advantage. That¹s one of the keys for him at Watkins Glen." ON THE REST OF THE SEASON: "Our short-term goals are to start running top 15s. We just need to show that the team can be competitive. The last few weeks have been pretty stressful. I¹ve wrecked some race cars. We didn¹t run as well as I thought at Michigan. We just kind of struggled the whole time there. This week we cut some bodies off and moved some stuff around just trying to improve and get some of the aero balance that I¹ve been used to. We¹re going to go from there. Right now, short-term goal is top 15s, that¹s all we want. I think there are some tracks that are coming up that we¹re going to have an opportunity to win that. When you have two teammates running good, there¹s no reason you shouldn¹t either." BRIAN PATTIE: WHAT WILL YOU HAVE TO DO TO PREPARE THE CAR FOR SEARS POINT? "The road course cars here (at Hendrick Motorsports) are well established. (Jerry) Nadeau is a good road racer. Actually, I think the car we¹re taking to Sears is the one that he qualified so well and ran well at Watkins Glen. The cars are professionally maintained and built here. I haven¹t road-raced with Joe since 1997. And we sat on the pole and finished third in the Busch race there and that¹s the last time I road-raced with him. Ever since (then) I¹ve been with Ron (Fellows). Hopefully he can adapt to some of the setups that Ron runs because Ron runs exceptionally well. We¹ve actually tested some of the road races with Ron and then had Joe jump in. He¹s done quite well. He wasn¹t at the pace that Ron is, but I don¹t expect him to be. But hopefully we can get the setup closer. It¹s a pretty big difference between the normal NASCAR deal and Ron¹s setup." ON RON FELLOWS DRIVING A NEMCO CAR AT SEARS POINT: "He's driving No. 87. We tested there at the end of April on a two-day test and ran really well. We just concentrated on race stuff a day and a half, so that car¹s pretty well set up and they¹ve got their qualifying setup and race setup established. They¹ll run pretty well. Joe was out there but didn¹t make any laps. At that time he didn¹t have a full time deal." WILL YOU BENEFIT FROM WHAT YOU LEARNED THERE TO PUT ON THE 25 CAR? "Of course. It¹s so hard to be competitive anymore. (We shared) the information between the 24 and 87 (and in) our first race in ¹99 we finished second behind Jeff (Gordon). It¹s kind of nice to have both setups to learn from. I look for Joe to run in the top 10; that¹s our goal this weekend." ARE YOU INVOLVED IN RON¹S CAR AS WELL? "Of course. I don¹t think he would let me just walk away that easily. He and I have become pretty good friends here the last three or four years. He¹s kind of bummed that I left. I told him that I didn¹t leave full time, I¹m still overseeing this 87 Busch program. I really won¹t make all the changes. I can¹t do so and give the 25 team my full effort. I¹m sure at nighttime I¹ll be debriefing with the now crew chief there and helping him out. I don¹t know if you really need a lot of help with Ron driving the race car." WHO IS CREW CHIEF? "Eric Phillips. He¹s been a car chief on that team with me since ¹97. We¹ve been trying to groom him as a crew chief so that in the future years when we start owning more teams I could be more of a manager type. He¹s assumed the role, whether he likes it or not." KEN HOWES WAS STILL CREW CHIEF AT THE RECENT V.I.R. ROAD COURSE TEST. DOES IT HURT THE EFFORT WITH YOUR NOT BEING AT V.I.R.? "Not really. The information is all written down. Just trying to get the feel of what the driver wants would have helped, but we¹ll just do the best we can with what we¹ve got. They¹ve got a good brake package and they¹ve got good setups and good cars. We¹ll just all have to learn pretty fast at Sears with the two-hour practice we have and qualifying. I think Joe will do just fine." DOES AERODYNAMICS PLAY ANY PART AT SEARS? "At Sears it probably doesn¹t as much, because the average speed is down; mostly the corners are slower. I¹m sure at Watkins Glen reaching speeds upwards of 200 down the backstretch they definitely come into effect. They¹ve got pretty long straights between 5 and 10 there and down the frontstretch. In Sears you really don¹t have any straightaways -- between 3 and 4, I guess, and between 4 and 8, (but) they¹re minute. Handling and patience and forward traction are the keys to winning Sears Point." WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS? "Right now top 15s would do this team really well. Joe¹s run in the top 10 in the past there and just never finished. He¹s run in the top 10s at Watkins Glen and just hasn¹t finished. Hopefully we¹ll just keep his head on straight, come up with a strategy and pit before the caution that last time. Usually, who runs up front is who catches a caution (to his advantage) there at Sears. A top 15 would be good; but a top 10 would make me happy." ON COMING INTO A TEAM THAT¹S BEEN STRUGGLING: "It¹s a challenge. It¹s probably going to be more gratifying if I can get it turned around and get everybody where we¹re running well and the morale back up and stuff like it. It will probably be more gratifying than stepping into a team that¹s won 10 or 12 races and then win another a race. It¹s really not the same. We¹ve got a lot of work, but I feel confident that we can get it done." YOU HAVE HISTORY WITH JOE. DOES THAT HELP? "I think that¹s the only reason why the whole deal came about with myself coming down here. He needs help; he was getting down on himself and obviously Hendrick¹s stuff is top notch. We¹re just trying to find the glue between the driver and the car and we didn¹t find it this weekend in Michigan. We learned a lot. There's just bits and pieces that are different here and there. Once we figure them out I think we¹ll be just fine." COMMUNICATION IS SO IMPORTANT: "It¹s definitely going to help. (They) just needed somebody in here day to day. Ken Howes is a super talented guy, very professional, but I don¹t know how he stayed sane with so many people pulling him in different directions and then still trying to take on the 25 team. I don¹t know how he even attempted it, let alone did it for four weeks. We¹re just looking over notes we¹re looking at tunnel data now, trying to get better on our intermediate stuff, get Sears Point stuff loaded. We¹re just in here day to day trying to get information right, get our cars turned around and, at the track, it¹s between Joe and I. We made good changes this weekend; we just got to continue this. We¹ve got to do some more tests and get the cars to where he likes them, and then we¹ll be fine. The communication level between Joe and I has been high for years and it hasn¹t been any better in the last two or three years than it is right now." WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE RON FELLOWS FULL TIME IN CUP? "I don¹t think he would give up his road-racing career to do so. He¹s got as much raw talent as anyone out there. Anyone that can do that much for the race car (is talented) and especially driving so many different types. Camaro. I know he drove the Camaros in Trans-Am, then he would drive the Ferrari WSC car back and forth. He drove the Cadillac when they were prototyping it. (Then) going back and forth to the Corvette, driving Super Trucks. I¹m like saying, man, I don¹t know how this guy does it. Obviously the talent level is very high in that guy." ON THE REST OF THE SEASON: "The plan is to try to get top 20 in points (with Nemecheck and the 25 car). And run top 15s the rest of the year. Those are the only two goals that we have. We¹re trying to finish out the year on a good note and try to get a long-term relationship set up." IS CHEVROLET AT A DISADVANTAGE ON OVALS BECAUSE OF THE AERODYNAMICS ISSUE? "I haven¹t been here long enough to know the balance issues. I know in the Busch Series Chevrolet has been struggling for a balance issue and NASCAR seemed to take a real (long) while to take them to the wind tunnel. It seems like Chevrolet has got the short end of the stick this year in the Busch series. For Winston Cup they haven¹t won the races that they normally have, but I don¹t know how level the playing field is. YOU¹VE WORKED WITH HENDRICK BEFORE, NOW YOU¹RE A CREW CHIEF FOR THE FIRST TIME: "It¹s pretty incredible. This is the same team that I worked for back in 1996. To come back and actually run the program is I guess a tribute to the success we had or I¹ve had, I guess, since leaving the team in ¹96. We¹ve won quite a few Busch races and (we) just try to be professional and build really nice race cars, efficient race cars. And we try to build an efficient race team up at NEMCO Motorsports. Just got a very talented group of guys there. It¹s just amazing that your first Cup crew chief position would start at one of the big corporations in Winston Cup. I¹m really excited. It¹s a heck of an opportunity, but it¹s a lot of work, too -- especially when you¹re struggling like the 25 has in the past 6, 8 or 10 weeks. It¹s a lot of work. It will be that much more gratifying to get it turned around when it does happen." ON NEMCO MOTORSPORTS: "Last year we took on Evans Motorsports, which is Randy LaJoie. Both 7 and 87 cars are out of that shop. What I did was manage both and I was in charge, making sure all the cars were all the same, basically team manager for both, but crew chief on the 87 when we left for the races. This year is the same; that¹s what I was doing until last Wednesday when I got the phone call from Ken Howes to come down and meet with John Hendrick and Randy Dorton and the big guy here at Hendrick Motorsports, to start the crew chief job here on the 25 car." WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO WIN ON A ROAD COURSE? "Moderate downforce, exceptional power band, a lot of forward traction, good brake package. If you take the driver out of the equation that¹s what the keys that you¹re looking for in a race car. But you¹ve got to get the setup right for the driver. All drivers want different things and you gotta have luck on your side and you play cautions a little bit differently in road races than you do on ovals. If you can get it all in line it¹s usually the key to running well. Hopefully we¹ll do that this weekend." ON THE CAR: "This is the Monte Carlo that ran at Watkins Glen with Nadeau last year. It qualified and ran in the top 10. It¹s a good car. I don¹t think they have any bad cars here at Hendrick Motorsports." KEN HOWES: ANY TALK OF RE-ARRANGING CREWS SUCH AS RCR DID? "No. I don¹t see any need for that right now. With crew chief Jim Long and Terry Labonte (No. 5 Kellogg¹s Chevy Monte Carlo), things are coming on well there. Jim¹s made a lot of progress. We feel like they¹ve had some good races this year. We feel fairly pleased. Although it was a 15th place finish in Dover it was still a good run for the team. They were competitive. Terry drove hard all day and as competitive as it is these days, just to stay on the lead lap some of the days is an accomplishment. We feel good about the way that team is going right now. The 48 team? We wouldn¹t change that. The 24 team and Robbie Loomis? They¹ll be OK. They¹ve not had the best season so far, but they¹re third in points. We¹re pretty encouraged; we know this stuff kind of cycles and in the second half of the year they¹ll probably start to wake up out of the funk, come out of the fog and possibly enjoy another championship year. It will be interesting." DID YOU EXPECT THAT JIMMIE JOHNSON WOULD BE SO AWESOME? "No. It¹s a total surprise to everybody; obviously a pleasant one. Our goals, our sights, were set a lot lower. You always hope to win a race or you like to think that you can. The reality was we knew it was a new team, (and) a lot of new people had come together. It was a team put together in a new way for us, because it¹s two teams housed under one roof, which we had not done before. We were expecting to take some time to figure out the problems and let Jimmie gain more experience. So, yeah, we¹re totally surprised." THE 24 (JEFF GORDON¹S DUPONT CHEVY MONTE CARLO) AND 48 (JIMMIE JOHNSON¹S LOWE¹S CHEVY MONTE CARLO) ARE IN ONE BUILDING? "They operate out of one building, which is not the way we have done it here before. You have a lot of people under one roof, so you have to have more management in place, more things you have to control. We felt like it was the way things needed to go, so we took the plunge and did it. It will be interesting to see if we can keep this going. Jimmie is way ahead of the curve, I suppose -- as the saying goes -- way, way ahead." NO WAY TO GO BUT DOWN? "We understand that and we¹re prepared for it. Perhaps they won¹t; maybe they¹ll ride the wave for a long time. Who knows? They¹ve accomplished a lot, obviously, in a short time, so if they were to run into some problems, we can live with that. We will help them work through it and come out the other side. All teams go through that -- good teams, bad teams. Luck turns around sometimes and goes against you. You have a couple of bad races. We can live with that right now." ARE WE AT A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD AT THIS STAGE? "No. Chevrolets are still at a disadvantage. We¹ve got good drivers and good teams. We tend not to dwell on that too much here. The rules are the way they are and we are just working as hard as we can to do the best we can. If GM or somebody can politic to get us an advantage we¹re certainly happy to take it and go on. The emphasis right now is on doing the best we can racing week in and week out." RICK HENDRICK: AS A SUCCESSFUL FOUR-CAR TEAM OWNER, IT MUST BE FRUSTRATING WHEN NOT ALL THE TEAMS ARE DOING WELL: "It¹s very frustrating. It¹s always frustrating when you have to make the kind of changes that we had to make on the 25 team mid-year. But, when you see that it¹s not going the way it should you¹ve got to go ahead and make those changes. It¹s just tough when you have two cars that are running pretty good and two cars that aren¹t. Terry¹s (Labonte, No. 5 Kellogg¹s Monte Carlo) running a lot better. But the 25 car has probably been the biggest struggle I¹ve ever had in racing. We¹re determined to get it fixed and I¹m very involved. I¹ve been in the middle of all of the decisions and so I take all the blame or all of the heat, or all of whatever comes with it. We¹ve just got to get it fixed." DOES ANY ONE MANUFACTURER HAVE AN ADVANTAGE AT SEARS POINT? "I don¹t think so. I think it¹s going to be driver, and setup, and the crew calling the right shots. It¹s a driver¹s track. The road-race guys do well there. Jimmie (Johnson, No. 48 Lowe¹s Monte Carlo) tested awful well there." ###