Chevy Notes - Hamilton Jr., Wells, Gordon, Johnson - Sept.
3
CHEVROLET NOTES & QUOTES
NASCAR NEXTEL CUP SERIES
POP SECRET 500 - FRIDAY NOTES
CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY
September 3, 2004
PPI Motorsports announced today that Bobby Hamilton, Jr. will assume driving duties for its No. 32 entry in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series starting with this weekend's event at California Speedway. Ricky Craven will return to the No. 32 entry for one more race, the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series event at New Hampshire International Speedway held on September 19, 2004.
Bobby Hamilton Jr. and PPI team owner Cal Wells III spoke with media about the change:
Q&A'S WITH BOBBY HAMILTON JR.
(WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO ACCOMPLISH IN THE NEXT 12 RACES BEFORE THE 2005 SEASON BEGINS?) "We're looking to see improvement in everything. If there is a car we don't like or anything we don't like, we're looking to make it better. This is an opportunity to just go in early and fix any kind of little problems we have for '05. So this was a great opportunity to come here and get a jump start. It's just crazy the way it worked out, but it was an opportunity that nobody could pass up. Harold (Holly, crew chief '05) just jumped on it."
(HOW DIFFERENT IS IT TO WALK INTO THE NEXTEL CUP GARAGE COMPARED TO THE BUSCH GARAGE?) "It really didn't sink in until I went to the shop and they handed me uniforms and shirts and helmets and gloves and putting my name on the trailer and stuff and you think, 'Wow, I'm driving the Tide Chevrolet.' You still kind of walk with your head hung down you know, like this morning. You're nobody compared to some of those guys. But the difference is when they get in the race car they're all the same size as me and we're all equal in that race car. You've just got to get after it. Once you get in there and get all this stuff out of the way, you'll get down to business."
(WILL YOU RACE ANY DIFFERENTLY AS A ROOKIE IN THE CUP SERIES COMPARED TO A KICKING BUCK IN BUSCH SERIES?) "I look at it this way: I'm a rookie and I don't know what I'm doing, so if I've done it I'm sorry. We just want to run fast and we want to run good."
(HAVE YOU TALKED TO RICKY CRAVEN AT ALL?) "No, I haven't talked to him yet."
(HOW MUCH DIFFERENCE WILL THIS OPPORTUNITY MAKE FOR YOU?) "It's a building process for '05, that's all it is. We're trying things. We're shooting from the hip. We're just hanging it out. We can use these really for 500 mile tests every week. We had a ton of tests lined up for the winter even if this didn't go through. We're going to use our tests on the race tracks. There could be no better proving ground that here at the track."
(DID THIS COME ABOUT MUCH FASTER THAN YOU THOUGHT?) "We expected to do a lot of testing through the winter and just go to Daytona. That's how we were going to get to know the cars. To have this opportunity to run 500 miles every week is an advantage you don't get every year."
(HOW MUCH TIME HAVE YOU HAD IN THE CAR SO FAR?) "None. This is it."
(ARE YOU NERVOUS ABOUT IT AT ALL?) "No, not really. But you just want to run well. I've got Harold Holly (hired to be the '05 crew chief) on my side. He's been to the shop the last four or five nights getting things set up."
(HOW IS IT GOING TO BE TO HAVE HAROLD HOLLY ON THE PIT BOX AND MIKE BEAM CALLING THE SHOTS?) Note: Mike Beam will continue to be crew chief for the remainder of the '04 season. "A lot of people from the outside of the team have asked how that is going to work. It just will. All of a sudden it's just like a puzzle. It just fell into place and it's been working. They're calling each other and saying we need to do this and this and this. It'll all find it's way and it'll all work out."
(IS MARTINSVILLE THE ONLY TRACK IN THE REMAINING RACES THIS YEAR THAT YOU HAVEN'T RACED BEFORE?) "Martinsville is the only one. On the whole schedule it was Infineon, Martinsville, and Indy."
(HOW MUCH DOES THIS HELP IN MAKING THE TRANSITION?) "It's a whole different ballgame over here. You notice that the minute you walk into the garage. So to get this out of the way is just huge. Going into '05, the pressure will be off. You've been there for a while now."
(WHAT DO YOU WANT TO LEARN OUT OF THESE RACES?) "The main thing is just learning the guys and how they are and what they're saying to me. And it's the same thing with me. They need to learn what my loose is and what my tight it and what I mean by this and that. Once they learn that, the foundation is built. That's why it was so important to get this. We can build this whole deal these last 10 races or so and improve our deal for '05. We're already building new cars. All sorts of things have changed. It's a big benefit."
Q&A'S WITH CAL WELLS III:
(HOW HARD WAS IT TO PULL RICKY CRAVEN OUT O F THE CAR AND PUT BOBBY HAMILTON JR. IN?) "Rick is a good friend. It was a hard decision for both of us. It was a decision we made together. When we decided it was in our collective best interest to do something different for '05, there was a lot of conversation and effort about that. We wanted to do the proper job for Tide, who makes it all possible for us. We really felt we have an opportunity to prove the quality of our team and the quality of our driver during this last part of the season. It just hasn't happened. Unfortunately our performance has remained consistent. And that just isn't good enough. It wasn't good enough for Tide. It wasn't good enough for Ricky Craven. He and I actually got together for breakfast last week and talked about the possibilities of accelerating things a little bit now that Bobby (Hamilton Jr.) had become available. We hadn't planned on that. We had no idea. I didn't want to distract Bobby from his commitment to the Rensi's. When that decision was made and he became available, I think Ricky looked at it as an opportunity for PPI Motorsports and for Tide to get their chemistry going for next year.
"From Ricky's perspective, he obviously wants to remain a race car driver at the Cup level. He's a tremendous race car driver. Eliminating some of the distractions for him and letting us get on with our package for next year is something that Ricky thought would be in everybody's best interest. So we started chatting about it on Thursday before Bristol. We said let's see how Bristol turns out and then we got together Monday after Bristol and came to the collective decision that it would be best for everybody to get our relationship going with Bobby."
(WHY ARE YOU KEEPING RICKY CRAVEN IN THE CAR FOR NEW HAMPSHIRE?) "Because it's New Hampshire and it's home and because Ricky and I are friends. That's something that's important to him. And it's important to me. So we're not in any kind of situation with the points that doesn't allow us to make changes on a week in week out basis. I don't like to do that, and I certainly wasn't planning on this one. But with all that said, Stephanie (Hamilton Jr's wife) is ready to have the baby (in about 4 weeks). It's all going to work out for Bobby and it's a great chance for us to take Ricky up there in the Tide ride and prove how good he is. And I'd like to take one more shot at winning New Hampshire with the man who deserves it.
"The truth is, this is hand on heart, Rick and I want the best for each other. We're committed to each other. We're committed to each other's families. We're committed to each other's success. We've had success together. We won our very first Cup race with Ricky Craven and he with us. We won our second Cup race with Ricky Craven and he with us. Ricky will win races with someone else. Right now, or for the next 50 years or so, hopefully we own the closest finish in NASCAR history. We're proud of that. We don't want to trash any of that. So this decision is something that Ricky and I arrived at together."
(ON RICKY CRAVEN'S OPTIONS) "It's my job as an owner to put the package around the driver. I haven't been able to get the right package around Rick consistently. We can perform. We've proved that. Tide deserves to be somewhere in the top 20 in points. The top 10 is doable. But it's a tough series. As we look at opportunities for Rick and what he can do, and opportunities for us, all of us have to deliver. I think Rick can for a new team owner who will be able to put the right package around him."
(WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO GAIN IN THE NEXT 12 RACES WITH BOBBY HAMILTON JR. AS THE DRIVER?) "I'd like to be able to get through the season finding the holes in the organization and finding where the other problems are that we need to work on. What are we doing wrong? We've eliminated the engine shop as a variable so we can measure ourselves by the Childress cars. They've got one in the top 10. We can eliminate that and we can eliminate other things on the list. Now is the time to find out. By Homestead I'd like to be able to have a pretty big punch list for the winter and know what I need to be working on, that would be the goal so that next year could really be something special."
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Today, at California Speedway, NEXTEL Cup points leader Jeff Gordon and second place driver Jimmie Johnson announced that they will lead Team USA's effort to reclaim the Nations Cup at the 2004 Race of Champions (ROC) in Paris, France on December 4th, 2004. Eight countries will compete. Among the other competitors will be Formula One Champ Michael Schumacher (driving for Germany) and current World Rally Championship leader Sebastien Loeb (driving for France). In 2002, Gordon and Johnson brought the title home for the United States. Highlights of the press conference:
(WHAT IS IT GOING TO BE LIKE FOR YOU TO RACE MICHAEL SCHUMACHER IN EQUAL CARS?)
JEFF GORDON: "I'm excited because this is the format we had in the Canary Islands. The way the track is definitely makes things equal. The way the cars were prepared the last time, I feel like things are equal. You also swap cars. So I definitely think it's as equal opportunity as you can get. The style of driving for these cars in all-wheel driving on the dirt is certainly a little bit different than what we're used to doing all the time. But I thought it went very well in the Canary Islands. The more laps Jimmie and I made, the better we got the faster we got. By having a little bit of experience in these cars going back, we can pick up the pace to another level this time even though it's at a different track.
"So, I'm excited. I think Michael certainly brings a lot of interest there. I'm excited that Jimmie and I were able to work out everything and fulfill everything we need to fulfill here in the U.S. We're planning to leave after the banquet (Dec. 3rd), hopefully after one of us has celebrated a championship, and get over there and have some fun."
(AND ON TOP OF ALL THAT, JIMMIE IS GETTING MARRIED. HOW DO YOU KEEP UP WITH ALL THIS?)
JIMMIE JOHNSON: "There are a lot of things going on. I have to give a lot of credit to my fiancé. She said you have to do it. You have to defend your title. This is something you can't pass up. We love this great opportunity. The organizers of this race have made it easy for us to get over there and do it and for myself to get back to go get married. It's a great event and I'm glad to see all the exposure the event is getting - especially here in the United States. It's huge over in Europe. We took some booing when we were taking our victory lap with the American flag made me realize we need more interest here in the states. I think with Michael being involved and Jeff and I going back and all the attention it's going to draw, it's really going to raise it to the next level."
(WHAT WOULD IT MEAN TO YOU TO BEAT MICHAEL SCHUMACHER HEAD-TO- HEAD?)
JEFF GORDON: "I had a chance to meet him when Jimmie and I were in Barcelona for the F-1 race earlier in the year. The first question that he had for me was when was I coming to race there and I said as soon as he retired (laughs) and he said that wasn't going to be any time soon. So this is definitely an opportunity to go there and have some fun in a car that's so different and in an atmosphere that's so much different. I enjoyed it so much the last time I was there. This is a great opportunity for me to go back and have some more fun. But the fact that he's there and I'm going to get to go head-to-head with him is going to be awesome - win or lose, it's still probably the only opportunity I'll ever had to race against Michael Schumacher. I wish we could get some of these guys over here into the IROC Series. But this is cool because they're not cars I'm used to driving and they're not cars he's used to driving - that I know of anyway. I would love to beat him, obviously, but I'm just excited to race him and see what happens."
(DESCRIBE THE COURSE AND HOW YOUR STADIUM RACING BACKGROUND WILL HELP)
JIMMIE JOHNSON: "Yeah, this fits my background. That's why my first time going over to the Canaries, I was really interested in going. It was a different format and a different style of cars. I'd never driven a 4WD car until I went to that event. And they drive completely different. So I had to learn that. In the stadium, it's going to be tight corners. I'm used to rotating the car on the dirt and around 180 degree turns. So hopefully I can carry some experience from my off-road days and have fun. But from the sound of it, it sounds like it's going to be a crossover style race track where you complete a lap and then you cross over so both of you run on each other's course and you try to be the first one back at the end. So you don't have an inside lane with better track conditions versus the outside lane or any distance issues. You both complete a lap on each lane and the first one back to the finish wins. It's really an equal and fun format. When we were over there last time with all the world class drivers and riders and everybody involved, we got to meet a lot of great people and we had a great time. And then we switched our heads and raced each other an had a blast."
(LAST WEEK, YOU SAID YOU HAD NO INPUT IN SETTING UP AN IROC CAR. WILL YOU HAVE ANY INPUT IN SETTING UP THESE ROC CARS?)
JEFF GORDON: "No, but because you're getting out of one car you're usually getting in another car and the way you're on the dirt, the driver comes into play so much more. How you drive the car is a huge part of this. You're sliding the car sideways around the dirt and it's definitely a car equalizer. You really don't have any input other than getting in the seat and adjust the seat and put the seat belts on and go."
(ON THE SAFETY ISSUES OF GETTING INTO SOMEBODY ELSE'S VEHICLE)
JEFF GORDON: "I should be able to speak from experience having crashed one of these cars as to how safe they are. I rode in one that flipped over about four or five times and I was in good shape. The car held up very well. These cars are unbelievable. That car I wrecked was about a $4 - 500,000 race car. The safety they put into them and the technology is very good. We wouldn't get in any thing we didn't feel comfortable and safe. I don't know if we get over 60 mph on this track either. It's tight, twisty turns. Again, it brings the driver into play in a big way. But from what I saw of the professionalism before is the only reason I'd be going back."
JIMMIE JOHNSON: "To add to that, you're driving a world rally car. It's like taking one of our Cup teams or a Formula I team and letting somebody else drive it. So it's great equipment. On top of that, everybody has a very high interest in making sure this is safe and that the cars are safe. We wouldn't be putting ourselves in a bad situation."
(ARE YOU LEAVING THE NASCAR BANQUET EARLY IN ORDER TO GET THERE?)
JEFF GORDON: "We're going to leave after the banquet. We've factored in time to be at the banquet for another one or two hours after the banquet is over. It'll be afterwards when everybody else is going to sleep. We'll climb into a plane and go to sleep and wake up in Paris and go race. The race is the next day. So that's why we've got to get a lot of sleep on that plane on our way there. When we land, we will be pretty close to needing to get to the race track."
