Chevy Qualifying Notes - MIS, June 18

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CHEVROLET NOTES & QUOTES

NASCAR NEXTEL CUP SERIES

DHL 400 - QUALIFYING NOTES

MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

June 18, 2004

 

SCOTT RIGGS, NO. 10 VALVOLINE CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO: "We were a little bit different than we were in practice this morning. All the guys did a good job. They gave me a good car. We've got a great car for the race, that's for sure. We probably could have run a little quicker than that. It seemed like the sun and the temperature and maybe the Hoosier rubber out there made a little difference. The Goodyears are just a little too slick out there and the cars are a little loose getting in the corners. I had to slow down and that hurt our time a little bit."

 

JOE NEMECHEK, NO. 01 U.S. ARMY CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO: "I'm fairly pleased with the lap. The track has heated up quite a bit from this morning. It seemed like the track just had a ton of grip in it this morning and we ran some really fast time. Then the ARCA cars qualified and they have a different tire. Going out early - I don't know if it's going to be a pro or con today but that'll give us a good starting spot for the U.S. Army Chevy. This is one of my favorite cars. This car runs good every time we run it."

 

TONY STEWART, NO. 20 HOME DEPOT CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO: "We didn't pick up a lot. We spent the majority of the practice session working on race stuff so we did a lot of race runs. Hopefully that'll pay off for us tomorrow and Sunday in getting a little bit of a head start on our race package."

 

(HOW MUCH FUN IS THIS RACE TRACK - YOU HAVE A SMILE ON YOUR FACE)

"It is fun. This is one of the few tracks where the driver can make a difference. With it being as wide as it is, if your car is loose you can move up the race track and run around the wall. If it's tight you can move down to the bottom and run around the white line at the bottom of the track. We at least have some flexibility as drivers not being set on running one line. At some point during the day on Sunday I'll be down on the white line and at some point I'll be running up by the wall.  I'm sure I'll be in between there a lot during the middle of the race too. It's just a fun track as drivers. We make a pretty big impact on how our day is here."

 

 

WARD BURTON, NO. 0 NETZERO CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO: "We've been battling a little bit for what we need the car to do, but we're working on it."

 

KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 GM GOODWRENCH CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO: "It seems like everybody is slowing down a little bit. This GM Goodwrench Chevrolet felt pretty good. It was a pretty good lap. We slipped a little bit off of Turn 2. We got a little bit loose over there. Other than that, it wasn't too bad."

 

ROBBY GORDON, NO. 31 CINGULAR WIRELESS CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO: "We knew we had some left in practice. The key was getting up to speed on sticker tires. I talked to my crew chief and all the guys. We got through Turns 3 and 4 real good on my warm-up lap coming to the green. That's probably where we left some in practice. The car drove exactly like it did in practice. The guys did an awesome job. Everybody has been working really hard at RCR."

 

(WHAT DICTATES WHERE YOU RUN ON THIS WIDE RACE TRACK? THE COMPETITION, THE DRIVER, OR THE RACE CAR?) "There are a lot of things that dictate that. It seems like every time we can run with the top 10 cars, we run better and turn faster lap times. Maybe the air is cleaner and gives us more downforce. If that's the case, we'll probably be able to run toward the bottom. I've watched Tony Stewart dominate this race before and he's been able to keep his car right down there on the white line. We're going to work on that and see how the Goodyear tires like it down there. The tires are really what dictate if you move up the race track or stay on the bottom."

 

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE'S CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO: "He just got us (Jeff Gordon). There are still a couple of good cars to go. But for us, a top five starting spot here is something we haven't had. If anybody else was to get the pole, I'd want it to be one of my teammates - especially Jeff Gordon. This is looking like a good day for Hendrick Motorsports all around."

 

(HOW IS YOUR CAR SET-UP FOR THIS WEEKEND?)"The things we learned at Pocono and the stuff we had at Charlotte crosses over to the big tracks and we're at another one. What's been working for us will hopefully work here. Hopefully we'll see those Hendrick cars up there again."

 

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO - (ANY HARD FEELINGS ABOUT BUMPING YOUR TEAMMATE, JIMMIE JOHNSON?) "We'll, he's been wearing us out here in the last several weeks. I'm sure he doesn't mind if we sneak one in there. What an awesome job this race team has done - really all of Hendrick Motorsports is very impressive with what they've accomplished here lately.  Engines, chassis, the bodies - everything has been phenomenal. The chemistry among all the teams has been great. We're just trying to make up for Charlotte and Dover. Those were kind of ugly for us. Last weekend was a good run for us. The car has just been phenomenal ever since we unloaded this morning."

 

BOBBY LABONTE, NO. 18 INTERSTATE BATTERIES CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO: "That wasn't too bad. We picked up a little bit from practice. We slid the nose a little too much in practice. We thought we had adjusted on it enough to make it a little bit better. It stayed about the same. We did pick up some speed though. It's still a good deal because we were able to go a little bit faster. Maybe it'll get us a top 10 by the time the day is over. The guys worked hard on the Interstate Chevy."

 

(IS THIS A FORGIVING TRACK? IF YOU MISS THE SET-UP A LITTLE BIT, CAN YOU MAKE IT UP?) "If you can find it back later it will be better for you. It doesn't necessarily mean if you miss the set-up that you're going to find the right groove, but it will help you with a multi-groove race track to be able to find something that's more helpful for you until maybe the next stop until you get something worked out that's better. That would be different than say, some track that are less forgiving. It does have its good characteristics that way, which is why we love coming here. But hopefully you don't miss the set-up too much because you can't get around it no matter how wide the track is."

 

DALE EARNHARDT JR., NO. 8 BUDWEISER CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO: "The car is a lot better. We worked on it in practice and we'll see how we can get in into race trim tomorrow."

 

(DO YOU HAVE FUN RACING ON THIS TRACK?)

"It's a very good race track as far as having a progressive banking. You can run down on the bottom. You can run on the top. It's a real nice - just as long as you get a good car. No place is any fun unless your car is handling real good and driving real good. Hopefully I'll get that lucky this weekend."

 

TONY EURY, SR., CREW CHIEF, NO. 8 BUDWEISER CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO: "This type of race track has been bothering us all year long. We've worked real hard to fix the type of problem we've been having on this type of race track. Last week we stumbled on some things during the race and figured out what direction we need to go anyway.  So today we qualified a lot better here. Hopefully tomorrow we can get this thing dialed in and get up there to run with those Hendrick cars.

 

"The team is pumped up. Everybody wants that NEXTEL ring, you know.  It keeps morale up in the shop. It just makes all those guys work harder. We've been testing so much that we haven't been helping those guys back at the shop. They've been working real hard trying to give us good cars every week."

 

DAVE BLANEY, NO. 30 AOL CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO - Note: Crashed in Turn 2 during qualifying attempt. "I just got loose trying to get too much out of the car. We've been on the loose side all day and I was just too greedy with it trying to run too fast. I kind of had it saved, but it got back away from me."

 

(IT WAS ANNOUNCED THIS WEEK YOU WOULD BE IN THE CAR - FOR HOW LONG?) "We'll see. If we keep wrecking, not for very long. No, I don't know. Whatever Richard (Childress) and AOL are happy with. We'll just keep going hard. You don't get anywhere running easy, so we'll just keep running hard."

 

BRIAN VICKERS, NO. 25 GMAC CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO: "It was pretty good. Hopefully it'll end with a one-two-three for Hendrick Motorsports. I wanted that pole pretty bad, but it is a great starting spot for this GMAC Chevy here at Michigan. We're happy to have that one-two-three for General Motors and Chevrolet so far."

 

(DID YOU SEEK ADVISE ON HOW TO GET AROUND THIS PLACE FROM JEFF GORDON?) "I'm always seeking advice when I go to Jeff Gordon. He told me one thing not to do and that was to ask too much out of the car and go to the gas too soon. He said it would get tight. I did that anyway in Turns 3 and 4. And that's probably what cost us the pole. But the car was good and obviously he applied that wisdom a little better than I did, but better luck next time."

 

PRESS CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS:

Note: HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS DRIVERS QUALIFY ONE-TWO-THREE:  Jeff Gordon takes the pole, Brian Vickers qualified 2nd, and Jimmie Johnson was third

 

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE'S CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO (qualified 3rd)

(HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO QUALIFY WELL HERE AT MICHIGAN?) "It's definitely important. What you do to set your mark for qualifying - how our team does it anyway - is to look at how many pit openings there will be on the race track, or how many breaks in the wall where you can have an opening. At some tracks there are eight spots with an opening. At others there are 10. That's what we strive for to be able to pick a spot where we'll have a clean entry or exit in our pit stall. That's really important. 

 

"Your first goal is the pole. If you don't get the pole, your second goal is to have an opening. That's our mentality. Today, we felt like we had a shot for the pole. We came close. But after that, we re-evaluated and made sure we have an opening."

      

(IS YOUR LEVEL OF CONFIDENCE HIGHER SINCE YOU'VE BEEN DOING SO WELL THE PAST COUPLE OF WEEKS?)

"We have been confident. But as a whole, our race team is very good at having an even temperament through the good and the bad. That's one of the main reasons we've been able to come out of the box as a rookie team and been able to compete for wins and championships. If you get too far out there and wrapped up in your success, there are 42 other guys working hard to beat you down. It doesn't take long and they do. We've been working hard to stay focused through it all. When you have a bad race, you try to learn what you did wrong and move on and let it roll down your back so you don't go to the next race deflated. It's a good characteristic that my team has."

 

(ON THE SAFER BARRIERS AFFECT ON SUNDAY'S RACING)

"So far, I don't see it changing anything. As the race wears on and we use up that final few feet by the wall, there might be a small difference. But there is so much real estate out there, I don't think it'll play a big role. Darlington, so far, is the track where it's made the biggest difference and took away some racing lane. Here I think we'll be in good shape. I'm glad to see them here."

 

(ON HENDRICK TEAMS TAKING THE TOP THREE QUALFIYING SPOTS)

"I think it shows the vision that Rick Hendrick had. It started with Ricky Hendrick and Jack Sprague bringing two cars under one roof and have the veteran help the rookie and building cars that are identical with the same engines. Rick had a vision and he stuck to it with the No. 24 and the No. 48. There is some restructuring taking place. Everything is going to take another step forward. With Brian (Vickers) coming on board, they've helped both the No. 24 and No. 48 out. We're happy to give back. It's really working out well."

 

(ON THE TALK OF MANDATORY GREEN FLAG FINISHES)

"The decisions on our sport are really based on the entertainment value. the fans aren't happy when the NASCAR officials get hit on the head with ice chests.

      

"It's definitely sending a message. Whatever they choose to do, I hope it's put into place during the off-season and it's set for all year long. We work on our race strategy to run on a certain number of miles for our engines and our fuel mileage and everything involved. I just hope it sticks for the year and is a consistent decision."

 

BRIAN VICKERS, NO. 25 GMAC CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO (Qualified 2nd):

(ON THE TALK OF MANDATORY GREEN FLAG FINISHES)

"One thing that NASCAR has done over the years that has made this sport so popular along with NFL and other major sports is keeping in mind (both) the entertainment side and the competition and having them be in balance.  The entertainment has got to be there, or the fans won't be there. The competition has got to be there and keeps everybody in the garage happy along with everybody outside of the garage. As long as that balance stays the same, the sport will continue to grow."

 

(ON THE NO. 25 TEAM COMING ON STRONG LATELY)

"I think the whole team is just starting to come together. All year long I've said that Hendrick Motorsports builds a team slowly but solidly. We might not always come out of the box like a blazing bullet, but in the long run we're going to build a solid team that's more competitive week in and week out. It's taken time. Last year it took time. But when it's there, it stays there. Hopefully, we're starting to see the beginnings of that.

 

"Regarding qualifying, this No. 25 team as a whole has always qualified well. We had two seconds last year. It was weird. We qualified good at the beginning of the year and lost that a little bit when we started focusing on our race stuff, which needed a lot of improvement. Once we stepped that up, we've kind of come back to qualifying. You've got to find that balance. Sometimes when you're looking for one, you lose the other. And then you've got to step it back up."

 

(WHAT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT KEY TO SUCCESS FOR SUNDAY?)

"There are so many things. Track position is going to be one of them. This is a big, fast race track. Aero is a large part of it. The dreaded aero push was there 50 years ago, they just didn't know what to call it. Air has always been there and it's always affected the way cars handle. Now, we know how to utilize it and we understand what happens when we lose it. You can't make it go away. You can't make air disappear. Track position is key to that.

 

"For us, ideally we're starting up front and we won't have to worry too much about the aero push. If we do lose track position, we're going to have to concentrate on making big changes on those pit stops to get the car freed up to get back to the front and then back to where it needs to be once we get there.  And, we saw a lot of engines blow last week. We don't need to do that. More than anything, we just need to be there at the end."

 

(AS THE TEAM HAS GROWN, WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED THE MOST?)

"I've learned the same thing I learned the most last year and 10 years ago and that's patience.  Last year, I thought I learned a lot.  And this year, I think I didn't learn nearly enough last year. Patience in myself and patience in my team and things take time sometimes. You have to accept that. I guess that comes along with being 20 and running wide-open. But the whole team has really come together, but we all have to have the patience to work together and work through the problems and get better. That's the biggest thing. There are things off the race track and behind the scenes."

 

(WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HAVE YOUR FINISHES MATCH YOUR QUALIFYING EFFORTS?)

"We've got our qualifying where it needs to be. In the beginning process of building up our races, we qualified good and then fell back to 30th.  Then we started falling back to 20th. Then 15th. Last week we fell back to second and third. We led for a little while. 

      

"We were in the top three most of the day until all the pit stop mess happened. As far as the race car throughout the race, it really stayed with us. But we didn't adjust enough. We're learning what those adjustments are. Peter (Sospenzo, crew chief) is learning what I need out of the car and so am I. These races are very different from the Busch Series as far as how the cars handle at the beginning of the race, the end of the race, after Happy Hour and all that.  I'm learning all that. The team is learning. We've stepped it up every week. We've just got to be patient and keep learning more and more every week."

 

(ARE YOU CLOSE TO GETTING THAT CONSISTENCY ON RACE DAY?)

"Yeah, I feel like we're getting there. We're definitely making progress. That's what I've told all the guys on the team. As long as I see forward progress, I'm happy. I'm never going to be ecstatic until we win.  But as long as we're making improvements and not going backwards, I'm happy. You give it enough time and you'll win a race. We can't slack off. We've just got to continue. We're seeing it now. We're getting the cars better and everything better."

 

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO - (Qualified 1st)

(ON HIS 48TH CAREER POLE) "I'm not feeling 48 (laughs). I don't seem to have as many poles these days as I used and some of that can be age. You know when to push it and when to hold it back. Today was a day to push it. The car was just great right off the truck. We were fastest right there at the end. When the car feels that good, it makes you comfortable to push. I love this race track so I think I carry a little bit of confidence coming in here because I like the track and get good results. 

 

"But when the car is getting through the corners and down the straightaways like that it certainly makes my job a little easier. We just had to fine-tune it all day long. I wasn't sure what the sun was going to do to the track. But we didn't really factor that in. The car was really good."

 

      

(ON HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS STARTING ONE-TWO-THREE IN SUNDAY'S RACE)

"I'm really proud of the way these teams have worked together and the open-book policy and the chemistry among them. When we put the No. 48 team in the No. 24 shop it took the communication level to new heights. The No. 25 and No. 5 have really seen how well that works. We're all really working well together. It's the best group of people I've ever seen working together at Hendrick. We've got a lot of great people that contribute from engineering to aerodynamics to crew chiefs. Randy Dorton and those guys are really doing a great job in the engine shop. On qualifying day at big tracks like this, that's where the horsepower really shows through."

 

(WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO WIN HERE ON SUNDAY?)

"There are so many grooves on the track to run. You just have to get the best balance on the car. One of the reasons I like this track so much is that if you don't have the car perfect, you can adjust and move around on this race track. There are a lot of areas to search around this race track to make your car work better until you can get to the next pit stop to make adjustments. The amount of power we have right now always helps."

 

(GIVEN WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN THIS SPORT OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS, WHAT IS YOUR LEVEL OF CONFIDENCE THAT THIS RACE CAN RUN WITHOUT SOME SORT OF PROBLEM?)

"What is the confidence that any race can be run problem-free? There are so many factors and things that can go wrong. NASCAR has done a phenomenal job on things for many years. They're under a big microscope and they've made some big mistakes. In many ways we're all in this together. We want to put on great races and make the right decisions and put a show on for the fans and keep the competition close and equal. There are days. At Charlotte we stunk. We made mistakes and we had to live with that. NASCAR is not different. It's how they rebound from that and how they move forward that's important to make sure you don't make the same mistakes twice. 

      

"With what happened last weekend, it was easy to see how it happened. They made the change on Sunday of the process of green and red flags coming on to pit road.  It was an easy mistake to make. Now it's much clearer. I don't think you're going to worry about that same thing happening. My biggest concern was how we handle a mistake like that once it's made. That was the conversation I had with them. I feel very confident that we're going to have a good solid race this weekend. If there are mistakes made, they're going to be handled in a timely fashion and in the best way possible. When something like that is done, there is no easy fix or solution. You just try to make the most fair solution for everybody."

 

(HOW HAS YOUR TEAM DEALT WITH THE OUTSIDE INFLUENCES ABOUT ALL THE RULES THAT ARE REALLY OUT OF YOUR CONTROL?)

"Our team handles it better than anybody. We've been through a lot of adversity and good times and bad times. When things go wrong, how well you react is what makes you a strong race team. When you win races, it's easy to carry great momentum. It's when you have those down days that it's tough. No matter what happens at the race, we move on to that race very fast and go to the next one - no matter how good it was or how bad it was. When you have 38 races, I don't think there's any other way to do it."

 

(DOES NASCAR COME TO YOU AND OTHER TOP DRIVERS IN THESE SITUATIONS OR DO YOU GO TO THEM?)

"I've never really had them come to me unless it was a situation that dealt with me specifically - whether it was a penalty or an infraction or whatever. It may be me or it may be me and Rick (Hendrick) or me and Robbie (Loomis). In this particular situation, I saw Mike Helton at the charity event there at Victory Junction Gang Camp and I asked him if I could call him and what would be a good day. We played phone tag this week and we didn't really get to talk but I talked to him and John Darby when I got here. I think they were thinking along the same lines before I even mentioned anything. So I heard some of their opinions on it. We just threw around some 'what-ifs'. They want what's best just like we do. 

      

"It might not appear that way but I really do believe that. It's no different than us as a race team that they might not always agree with. I felt like I had a very nice meeting with them and felt great about what I was hearing back from them."

 

(WHAT'S YOUR OPINION ON FINISHING UNDER GREEN EXCEPT AT DAYTONA AND TALLADEGA?)

"I don't agree with it at Daytona and Talladega. I think those should always be the exception to that rule. I don't disagree with it at other places. We've gotten to the point where we've had too many races ending under caution. I don't think it's right for the fans to have to do through the traffic and money they pay to be at these events. The build up of a 400 - 500-mile race is what they're here for. To stay in their seats for hours, I think they need to see a green-flag finish.  I don't agree with that at Daytona or Talladega. If it were a five-lap finish or a 10-lap shootout, if you bunch us up at those restrictor-place races and something's going to happen. The fans are just going to have to deal with those exceptions. We just need to keep our fingers crossed that we end under green. At other places do a green-white-checkered - at least once. I don't think you can keep going green-white-checkered until you get a finish. I think you at least give them an opportunity one time. I think that's fair."

 

(ARE YOU IN FAVOR OF RACING BACK TO THE YELLOW?)

"No. I've never been. I grew up my whole life not racing back. When the caution comes out, you invert to the last lap. But that's because green flags didn't count in all the racing that I did. Right now we've got to go with what we have and we don't live in a perfect world. But there was one time last week when the caution came out and I was ahead of the guy but not at the last loop. There was another time when it went the other way. We're all going to deal with that. When it comes down to the finish, it's always good to be interesting than controversial. Until we have a constant loop all around that track and we know exactly where each car is around that track. But I'm not in favor of racing back to the yellow. "