dodge teleconference with Ryan Newman and Matt Borland

Tuesday, May 25, 2004.
Dodge Motorsports Teleconference
Nextel Challenge Recap, Coca-Cola 600 Advance
                                           

 

 

RYAN NEWMAN (No. 12 ALLTEL Dodge)

 

NASCAR NEXTEL CHALLENGE RECAP, COCA-COLA 600 OUTLOOK

"We're looking for one spot better in the 600. Obviously, we had a great
race car (in NASCAR NEXTEL Challenge). The entire weekend was great. The
pit crew did an excellent job in the qualification situation with the 12
and a half second stop. It got us good track position for the start of
the race and we held it for most of the race. We didn't give it up for
any reason. The car was extremely good, especially on old tires. We just
had a lot of fun. Unfortunately we led a lot of laps in a race that
didn't pay to lead a lot of laps, but we led a couple that paid some
money and came home with a second-place finish. It was hard earned. We
went there and did the best job we absolutely could. We're there to win.
The money is just a bonus. That's the way I've always looked at it. It
would have been nice to win and get the million, but we can't go back in
time and redo it."

 

COMMENT ON MOVE MATT KENSETH MADE ON YOU LATE IN THE RACE "Matt did a
very good job of racing me clean, and I felt I did a very good job of
racing him clean when I was trying to hold him off. I could have done
some things to him that he wouldn't have appreciated. I think No. 1
we've got a lot of respect for each other, and No. 2, we were both
taking a risk of losing a victory and a million dollar bonus. It always
depends on who you're racing as to how you race them. I wouldn't say it
was a perfect pass for him, it was a perfect for him but nevertheless we
had a great race for basically all 17 laps before he got past me." 

 

IS RESPECT THE KEY? "I think the degree of respect... Everybody has
respect for each other, but the degree of it can determine what damage
gets done I guess you could say. It's different for everybody and the
bottom line is Matt and I have a good relationship on and off the
racetrack."

 

DOES YOUR SCHEDULE GET HARDER OR EASIER AS THE SEASON PROGRESSES? "Both.
Usually as the weather gets nicer you want it to get easier, but it
usually gets harder. We do some things away from the racetrack to have
fun and enjoy what's going on, but it's not like we get weekends off."

 

WERE YOU SURE THAT MATT'S PASS WAS GOING TO BE CLEAN? "I was ready for
both really. I didn't think I had to be. I anticipated it being a good
clean race at the end. The first time he was driving by I was going to
do it (shake his hand), but I figured he had to go for his victory lap
which he hadn't done yet. I wanted to congratulate him. He did a good
job, and I wanted to make sure that in my mind I wasn't mad at him."

 

COMMENT ON SAFER BARRIERS "I think they work extremely well. Just
watching Ricky Rudd's car bounce off of it at the start of the Open and
then watch him joking around in the infield care center afterwards, it
didn't use to happen that way, and it's happening that way now for a
reason and the reason is the safer barriers. It's made a definite impact
on being able to walk away, No. 1, and being able to walk away less sore
or less injured than drivers used to. There were some cars that
potentially that took some big licks. I don't know how hard Kurt Busch
hit the wall because I didn't see it first hand, but there were quite a
few big accidents that happened in the safer barriers and you didn't see
anybody complaining of a sore neck."

 

COMMENT ON DOVER'S SPECTATOR BRIDGE "I knowing going over the turn two
bridge is pretty cool to watch what's going on. I'm not a big fan of
obstruction of views for drivers, but I assume that won't be the case.
No. 1 it needs to be a safe situation for the fans and drivers, and No.
2, I just hope they're doing everything for the right reasons. It's
really cool. It's an awesome view and an awesome feel, but it's not for
everybody." 

 

WAS IT DIFFICULT FOR YOU TO GET NOTICED IN MIDWEST? "I was doing my own
cold calls and trying to feel some things out. I had some friends around
me helping and obviously had some contacts in racing, but I was doing
most of it myself to show my intent and my initiative and my drive for
what I wanted to do. I think a lot of that made a big difference with
what you end up with for a ride and the people you're around. It was
pretty much Penske. I think there's a lot of respect that goes along
down here between teams as far as not backdooring each other. I think
that was a big part of why once it started it kinda stopped."

 

COMMENT ON DRIVING ON THE OLDER TIRES SATURDAY NIGHT "The tires,
typically the more heat cycles that get on 'em, the harder they get and
the less they stick. For me, it was just hanging on. We had track
position, which was good as far as aerodynamics, but when the tires
aren't as sticky or as good both from the air pressure standpoint and
from grip standpoint, it makes it a little harder, and that's why I
struggled a little bit those last 20 laps. I was just holding off a
hard-charging Matt Kenseth with 30-lap fresher tires. My car was
balanced pretty good, but you can only go so fast on old tires. At
Charlotte you basically lose a tenth of a second a lap, and I don't
think we were losing quite that much. You've got a guy behind you that's
basically getting faster for a few laps because he's got fresher tires.
Your tires are guaranteed to slow down a tenth or more a lap because
you're on old tires. That's why I say it was getting harder and harder
to drive. Basically it gets on top of the race track and starts sliding
around and it does that because you're trying to go too fast."

 

COULD YOU SEE CHANGES FOR THE PHOENIX TRACK TO MAKE IT MORE RACY? "I
think Phoenix is a pretty decent racetrack. It's not one of the best
racetracks we go to. Bottom line, I think if they're going to do things
like that they just need to build a whole new facility in a different
location whether it's L.A. or Seattle, Wash., or Denver, Colo., or some
place like that. We need to get some three-quarter to mile-and-a-quarter
to mile-and-a-half racetracks that are somewhat like Homestead. Just
because Homestead did a decent job with what they did, doesn't mean we
like to make every other racetrack like Homestead."

 

DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL PLACE TO WATCH THE INDY 500? "Yes and no. I'm more
of a racer, and it means more to me from a racer's standpoint than it
does the Indy 500. I think my personal opinion the greatest spectacle in
racing isn't the great spectacle anymore, but it's still an important
race in auto racing history."

 

WHAT DID YOU LEARN SATURDAY NIGHT THAT'LL HELP IN THE 600? "The biggest
thing is it's the same racecar. We realized what a great racecar it was,
and we're going to take it back and give us an opportunity to get some
feedback about how good the car is and what to expect. Strategy is not a
huge deal. We learned some things about the tires and what not, but
that's pretty much it. Gas mileage is very important. It's important
every place we go to. You want to have great fuel mileage. That way you
can be the last one out, and that way you're not typically stuck in the
pits when the yellow flag comes out and you get caught two laps down.
That's the biggest thing."

 

IS BUMP DRAFTING POSSIBLE AT LOWE'S MOTOR SPEEDWAY? "If you want to
start a good crash. There's a right place to do it, and there's a wrong
place to do it. We've seen that. Down the backstretch when your car is
straight is the best place to do it at any racetrack. Even at Daytona
and Talladega it's really hairy to bump draft in the tri-oval, and those
cars drive a lot straighter than the ones we use at Charlotte. Bottom
line is you just don't want to try to do it in any corner whether it's a
tri-oval or the mid corner of one and two."

 

IS IT DISAPPOINTING TO SEE WHAT HAPPENED AT INDY THIS MONTH? "I'm not
that in tune to it as Roger Penske is obviously. I don't know everything
that went on. I know the car count wasn't very huge and the driver count
on top of that wasn't very huge. The sport changes for a reason. They'll
figure out what's going on and how to make things better. I know they
went through a lot of rule changes with the engines and cars to make
things safer. I think that was a big part of it. I'm sure there were
plenty of racecars around from the last couple of years that would have
been easily able to make it in the show. I think they're struggling for
some teams in the series. I think there's quite a few unsponsored cars
or at least some cars that were unsponsored until they made the show.
That's one part of it. The other part of it is there's a lot of money
that gets spent internally at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I'm talking
about Tony George spending it on himself."

 

MATT BORLAND (Crew chief No. 12 ALLTEL Dodge)

NASCAR NEXTEL CHALLENGE RECAP, COCA-COLA 600 OUTLOOK

"It was a real fun race for us the whole weekend really. All the guys
had a lot of fun with it. The car was running pretty good. I had a
little excitement there during the race as far as pitting or not
pitting, but all-in-all it was good practice for the 600. We had a real
good car and hopefully we'll bring the same car back for the 600 and see
if we can't do a little better this weekend."

 

HOW IMPORTANT IS CHEMISTRY AMONG CREW MEMBERS? "It's just as important
if not a little bit more. All the people on the road are away from their
families more than they're with their families. It takes a lot of hard
work and dedication for those guys to put in the effort they do every
weekend. If all the guys feel like they're a part of the team and going
in one direction, it's a lot easier for them to focus on the job at hand
and feeling their contributing to a winning effort. I think that's one
of the most important things in the Nextel Cup Series. Between all the
shops you're probably talking about 200 people."

 

DOES A 600-MILE RACE CREATE SPECIAL CHALLENGES? "One of the biggest
issues of the 600 is making sure you've got a car that's handling well.
You'll have one or two long green-flag runs and you've got to have a car
that handles well for the entire run or you can go a lap down pretty
quick. The other big piece of it is just the durability of pieces -
engine, transmission - has to be able to handle a 600-mile race plus all
the practice you put on it that week."

 

IS COMMUNICATION BETWEEN DRIVER AND CREW CHIEF EVEN MORE IMPORTANT IN A
600-MILER? "The driver has to have a real good feel with what's going on
with that car as the track's changing and being able to distinguish
between the track changing and other things changing on the track so you
make sure you stay ahead of the track and go in the right direction. If
you don't keep up with the track it's bad enough. If you go in the wrong
direction it takes quite a well to get back in shape."

 

DO YOU TRY TO STAY AHEAD OF CHANGING TRACK CONDITIONS? "We check the
weather all through the day and night and try to predict what the track
is going to do in the next run and the next two runs and get ahead of
what the track's doing. If you're chasing the track it can get you
behind, especially in the 600 where you have so many green flag runs."

 

IS THIS RACE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE FOR YOU AS A CREW CHIEF? "No. The
speedway races are probably the biggest challenges because our hands are
so tied with what we can do legally. There's not a lot you can do there,
so it's a big challenge trying to go fast as those places."

 

WHAT STANDS OUT TO YOU ABOUT CHAD KNAUS? "I'd say the biggest thing with
Chad is he's dedicated to do whatever it takes to go fast. He puts in
the effort around the clock, and he expects the same things out of his
guys. He's willing to put that effort in non-stop to make sure he's got
the fastest car out there, and that carries through to the whole team.
If our two cars were the fastest on that given day and running 1-2, it's
trying to figure out if they're going to pit or not pit, take two tires
or four tires or just fuel at the end or fuel and two tires to get out
in front of the other guy. Both drivers are as good as they come and the
teams are always strong, so if you can get an advantage by getting out
in front of the other guy you're in pretty good shape for the rest of
the race. It goes both ways. Some days you look like you made the
perfect call and some days you look like you made a stupid call. It just
goes with having to make decisions and you've got to stick with what you
made and live with it."

 

COMMENT ON DOVER BRIDGE WITH SEATS IN TURN THREE "I think it would be a
real good view. It would be pretty exciting. Safety-wise, it sounds a
little risky, but it's probably better doing it with Cup cars than open
wheel cars. Chances of getting airborne at Dover is a lot less, but the
chances are still there."

 

COMMENT ON SAFER BARRIERS "I think they reduce the drivers' chances of
getting seriously injured or killed. There's no reason they shouldn't be
up at every track we go to. As a team we get a lot of pressure on us to
make things safer and safer with the cars at any cost. I think the more
tracks that can do the same things we're trying to do, make the tracks
safer, is just going to benefit everybody."

 

IS THERE ANY EXTRA PRESSURE RACING ON MEMORIAL DAY FOR ROGER PENSKE? "It
depends on how he does at the Indy 500. No, we put a lot of pressure on
ourselves every weekend. Obviously the Indy 500 is a huge weekend. We
like to watch it, but it doesn't affect our series and what we do."

 

COMMENT ON JAMIE McMURRAY'S SAVE AND RYAN HOLDING OFF  MATT KENSETH AS
LONG AS HE DID SATURDAY NIGHT "We watched the 42's race on TV before our
race started. Jamie did one heck of a job saving that car. I think he
had it wrecked four times and managed to save it. That was pretty
impressive. The situation in the all-star race with what Ryan did,
anyone who had doubts about his driving talent that was a pretty good
showcase of what he can do. It was pretty fun and impressive to watch."

 

DO YOU WATCH INDY 500? "We usually watch a little of it. Usually by
Saturday night or Sunday morning you've decided what changes you're
going to make to the car. Our guys are making those changes, and at that
point you can kind of forget about that and watch the Indy 500 a little
and watch how Roger is doing."

 

BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FIRST AND SECOND PAYOFF SATURDAY NIGHT. DO YOU
THINK ABOUT THAT? "No, the money aspect is really not that big of a
deal. The biggest thing is just trying to win races, and that's what we
did. Winning is what that night's all about, and it's kind of fun
because you don't have to worry about points or leading a lap or all the
crazy things you do on a normal points weekend. You just go out there
and run the car as hard as you can and try to win."

 

COMPARE THIS SEASON TO LAST YEAR SO FAR "At this point last year we were
27th in the points and 660 points out. We only had one win at this
point. The wins come in streaks, but to be finishing as many races as we
are now and running a lot more consistently than we did last year, it
feels a lot better."

 

COMMENT ON AGGRESSIVE DRIVING "I think it's kind of a normal amount as
far as how often it's happening. It's definitely happening more
frequently with some drivers this year, and it was happening to
different drivers last year. It's happening to different cars. It's kind
of the same but different, but it's about the same frequency."

 

 

DO YOU FIND TIME FOR INTERESTS OTHER THAN RACING? "There's definitely
not a lot of time. We spend a good portion of our time away from home,
and when we are at home we spend quite a bit of time at the shop. We
just try to make as much time as we can to be with our families, but
there's definitely not a lot of time."

 

DO YOU FEEL MORE PRESSURE WITH THE POINTS SYSTEM THIS YEAR? "There's
definitely more pressure. In previous seasons you had 36 races to get
the best position you could. Now you know that in 26 races if you don't
get in the top 10 there's almost no point in running. You can't improve
your position if you're 11th and 401 points out of the lead. Your season
is over. All you can do is go down hill. There's a lot of pressure to
make sure you get in that 10 position window or that 400-point window
and doing it in a shorter period of time. It's hard to say. Right now I
wouldn't say it's better or worse because nothing really has changed
until you get into that final 10. We'll just have to see how it all
unfolds if the championship comes down to the end and somebody wins the
championship without winning a race or you've got a guy that wins 10
races and finishes 10th in the points. I think there's going to be a lot
of angry people, but the guy who wins 10 races might win the
championship, too."

 

DO SPONSORS AND TEAM OWNERS APPRECIATE POINTS AS MUCH AS WINS? "From our
end of it, I don't think any of us appreciate points more than wins
until you get to the final race of the year. If you finish second or
third on a weekend, you don't go away from that feeling great, feeling
like you just dominated a weekend. At the same point, you improved your
position usually in the points and winning races is what we're here to
do. That being said, when it comes down to that last race of the year,
you want to be the one holding that cup up. That's the biggest race of
all, so I think the wins still outweigh everything else until that final
race."