Chevy Happy Hour Notes - Watkins Glen

Chevy Notes and Quotes
NASCAR NEXTEL Cup
Sirius at the Glen - Happy Hour Notes
Watkins Glen International
Aug. 14, 2004

Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet
(WILL THE PATTERN OF THE RACE CHANGE DUE TO THE CHASE FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP?) "I think you're disregarding that all of us go out there trying to win every weekend. Unless you are bound for the championship, everybody is putting there best effort forward. Maybe in the past at this point in the season it wasn't time to start taking too many risks. Now some guys are willing to take a little more risks, turn a little more rpm with their engines, do something that's not quite as proven but they think they can try it to make them faster, or riskier on their pit strategy, whether they have fuel mileage or don't have fuel mileage, things like that. Every weekend everybody is trying to win."
 
(ARE THE CONDITIONS ANY BETTER THAN THIS MORNING?) "The conditions were tricky because there wasn't any rubber on the track. Once we got rubber down the track, the conditions were just consistent. We got a little bit different tire here so the track is in pretty good shape. I would like to have a little bit more grip but I'm pretty happy."
 
(ON WINNING SIX ROAD COURSE RACES IN THREE YEARS AND THEN GOING INTO A SLUMP) "I think competition changed. We were really afraid to make too many changes with our car and setup because we were so successful and it allowed other teams to catch up to us and really go to work. It put us in a position to start going back to work. That's why I think we've been as strong as we have been lately. We built a brand new road course car. We really started playing around with transmissions and brakes and a lot of new things that have brought us back to being strong on a road course."
 
(WHERE ARE YOU NOW IN COMPARISON TO THE YEARS WHEN YOU WERE DOMINATING?) "I feel like our performance in Sonoma proved itself. I feel like today we showed again that our program is really strong and that we're very happy with where we are at. If we do our jobs right we can be the car to beat."
 
(HAVE YOU AND JIMMIE JOHNSON TALKED ABOUT WHAT YOU MIGHT DO ON THE FIRST LAP?) "
"We probably will talk about it. I don't know if we'll talk about it tonight or tomorrow. I love the way Jimmie races. I think he carries that same respect for me. There's no battle or anything like that. You want to get in that first turn good and hard but you also want to have a nice clean first couple corners and get into a rhythm and start racing and go from there. Unless one of us don't get a good start, I don't expect anything out of the norm. Being on the outside coming off of one could sometimes be any advantage. It depends on where he picks and where he wants to start from. I'm sure he'll start on the inside going into one. If he gets in there good, I'll try to follow him. Then we'll go from there."
 
(ARE YOU SURPRISED THESE ROAD COURSES HAVEN'T COME DOWN TO YOU AND ROBBY GORDON MORE OFTEN?) "Other than Sonoma last year it seems like when we are at our best one of us is having an issue and one of us is winning the race. At Sonoma this year, I was out front and he had his troubles. At this race here, he was out front and I had my troubles. I would love to battle with him. I think he is a good road course driver. I think he's fast. I also think right now we've got the best program."
 
(WHERE DO YOU BEAT GUYS THAT HAVE THE ADVANTAGE AT ROAD COURSES?) "I like to think that it's not at any one place. We work so much on trying to be good at as many places as possible. You do have to compromise on road course. You can't get through every corner great. Any place leading up to the straight away is really important, especially in the S's coming off of whatever turn you call it, five, seven, whatever it is, the big long right hander. I think that one we're really good at as well. We went to work on our brakes and I think our brakes are really good."

(WHAT'S ITS LIKE PSYCHOLOGICALLY AT A PLACE WHERE YOU KNOW GUYS ARE GUNNING FOR YOU?) "We try not to focus too much on the rest of the competition and what their goals are and who they are gunning for. We just try to get our car working the best we possibly can and do our jobs the best we possibly can. Where ever we finish, we finish. We know we put our best effort out there and try not to pay too much attention to what those other guys are thinking or doing."
 
(ON THE GUYS STARTING FROM THE BACK) "I think Ron (Fellows) is going to be a factor before this race is over. I know it's going to be tough for him coming from that far back. He's a great driver. He's fast and consistent. I think he definitely has a shot at this thing if the cautions fall the right way and if he can get up there. I know he's wishing he had qualified. I know he would have been starting up front. We certainly have the advantage on a lot guys in that situation because we are up in the points and we have a fast race car. Usually by the end of the day depending on the cautions the other fast guys will work their way to the front as well."
 
Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet
"I've been running the hell out of this track trying to learn everything I can. I get a lot better at it every time I come back. I have a lot fun here. We do have a Busch win here. Confidence is not in question as much as the car's ability to be fast. We've been able to get that over the last few trips here."
 
Ron Fellows, No. 1 Nutter Butter/Nilla Wafer Chevrolet
(WHAT IS YOUR RACE STRATEGY FOR GETTING FROM THE BACK TO THE FRONT?) "At the start we'll get involved in somebody else's mess. We'll keep all the body panels straight in the first four or five laps and work our way forward. We have a fast car. I'm counting on these guys to do the best they can and getting us track position as well. We're going to have cautions that will close things up a little bit. Without abusing the car too much, hopefully we can get to where we can race the guys at the front."
 
(ARE THERE ANY MAJOR CONCERNS FOR THE CAR?) "No. We're pretty good. We're pretty close on having a pretty darn good car to race. These guys are tracking what the other guys are doing. They know who has new ties and who doesn't. We feel pretty confident that we've done enough laps in the low 12s consecutively that we can be a force. A couple of tenths is all we are looking for. If we can keep all the body panels straight for the first half a dozen laps, that's important."
 
(WILL YOU NEED TO BE AGGRESSIVE EARLY IN THE RACE?) "There's going to be yellows. We are going to count on them for some help. The first few laps are where you're going to have the biggest trouble where everybody is stacked up. We've got to be prepared to come to a stop. We got to be careful for the first few laps. Once it strings out a little bit, it's a lot easier. Pit strategies come into play lots of times."
 
Jimmie Johnson, No. 48
(ARE YOU A PROPONENT OF KEEPING THE ROAD COURSES ON THE NASCAR SCHEDULE?) "We need to have some more. It's a little frustrating for the teams to spend the money we do as far as wind tunnels. I really think four or five is the right amount to justify the time and expense all the race teams put into our road course cars. You talk to a lot of people in the garage and the response is either do away with them or add two more. That's the common response."
 
(HOW GOOD IS YOUR RACE CAR?) "It's good. We are definitely learning some new things. I'm not the fastest guy on new tires. That's really not what I am looking to do. I'm looking to perfect my race pace. Over the long run we're looking at some times and everything looks really good. That car is stable and extremely consistent. I'm on pace with everyone and in good shape."