Dodge NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Teleconference Transcript. John Fernandez and Ray Evernham.

Sept. 14, 2004.
Dodge Motorsports Teleconference
                 
JOHN FERNANDEZ (Director, Dodge Motorsports Operations)

 

OPENING COMMENTS "I was more than happy to see us get two Dodges in
Saturday night because if you went back three weeks ago we had one guy
and it seemed like every other week it was a different guy. I think one
time on Saturday night we had anywhere from nobody in to four people in,
so I was happy to see us get two in. We're still building our program at
the Cup level. We've got two guys going for the championship, and we're
real excited about that."

 

WHAT'S THE MOST DIFFICULT PART OF DEALING WITH COMPETITIVE PEOPLE? "If
you look at the broad spectrum of things, there's competition starting
right with engineers that work on the motorsports programs because you
really want to have the best engineering talent you can possibly have,
right on through actually the competition you're going to see more of
with the teams and organizations as more and more manufacturers move in
to the NASCAR arena. Obviously we saw Toyota enter this year, and I
think everybody was worried about how that was going to come about. I
think NASCAR did a really good job in terms of their ability to come in
and do their organizations. I think they did a good job of it, but it's
going to be tougher and tougher at all level, not just the bidding for
the organizations and drivers but all the support people - the crew
chiefs, mechanics, guys over the wall. All that's going to get tougher
and tougher."

 

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE NEW POINTS' SYSTEM? "I think it was very
exciting. Ten races from the end last year, I don't think you had
anywhere near the excitement you had Saturday night. Everybody was
looking, myself in particular. Where are my guys? Where do we stand
relative to being in the chase or being out of the chase? You had to
look lap after lap because it kept changing dramatically. I think it was
very exciting for the fans. I think it was very exciting for the teams.
Obviously some of them went home disappointed. Some went home very
excited, but I think the Chase, up to this point, has done what NASCAR
hoped it would do and that's bring a little more excitement toward the
end of the season."

 

WHAT DO YOU EXPECT FROM DRIVERS NOT IN THE TOP 10 IN THE LAST 10 RACES?
"I think Ray (Evernham) was absolutely correct about Kasey Kahne. People
had great expectations early in the year because he came out of the box
so well. Realistically looking at it, there never has been a rookie
winning the championship, and I think the expectations on Kasey were
higher than they needed to be. Certainly if he had made The Chase, it
would have been exciting to watch him. Now that he's not in the Chase he
has the opportunity to reflect on his season and concentrate on getting
that first win and getting ready for next year. Regardless of what
happens the rest of the year,. He's had an outstanding season as a
rookie.

 

"Jamie McMurray, I think it was a big learning experience for Jamie. He
was so close, and he lost 25 points earlier in the year or he could have
been there. If you look at what hurt Jamie more than anything, and I
think he'll see it when he sits down and looks at it, it was the six
races he didn't finish that became the thing that really took him out of
the championship. He had as many top fives and top 10s as some of the
guys in the chase; He had too many DNF's. They weren't backed up by
wins. I think he'll see that team needs to work on consistency, and I
think that will be one of their goals

 

"Rusty had an up and down season. It was his first win at Martinsville
early in the year and that was big for Rusty, but again, too many DNF's.
The inconsistency of the program, the same with Sterling Marlin. I think
those three groups will go back and say how can I become more consistent
over those first 26 (races) to make sure I get into the chase.

 

"For Brendan Gaughan it was just a big learning experience, right across
the board. His first year in NASCAR (NEXTEL Cup competition), he's been
working hard at trying to improve his game. Casey Mears I think was
either rhe first or second most improved driver in NASCAR this year. He
moved up 16 spaces from last year. If he makes the same move next year,
he'll be up challenging for the top 10 next year. Everybody takes away a
little something different if they didn't make the chase. The guys who
did make the chase will obviously sit and concentrate on these next 10
races. From one perspective we have two veteran drivers in there. I
think both of those guys are going to do well in the chase."

 

WHEN WILL THE 2005 DODGE CUP CAR'S NAME BE UNVEILED AND WHEN WILL IT
DEBUT AS A RACE VEHICLE? "I'm not at liberty to tell you when the name
is going to be announced, although I will tell you there is going to be
a name. In terms of the timetable to bring the car out, we're shooting
for the Daytona 500 and debut it as a race vehicle. We just recently
finished up all of the approvals with NASCAR. We had one little glimp
there at the end where there was one small template we needed to do some
work on. We got that cleared up the other day. In fact last week I was
down with Mike Helton at NASCAR headquarters in Daytona Beach and we
went over all the graphics for the car and got those approved. We're
pretty much down the line right now. All the teams are in the process of
building their cars for next year and getting ready for the 500."

 

WHEN WILL THE PUBLIC FIRST GET TO SEE THE BODY OF THE NEW CAR? "Probably
the first time the public will get to see it if they peep through the
fence at Speedweeks."

 

HOW MUCH POWER WILL YOU PUT BEHIND THE TWO DRIVERS RUNNING FOR THE
CHAMPIONSHIP? "Obviously the two guys in it for the championship right
now are the 19 and 12, Ryan and Jeremy. Those are the only two guys
going for it, but all our other teams are going to be out there trying
to win. Knowing the guys individually, each guy is going to try to make
more points than the other 10 guys and say 'see, I told you so.' I
believe we're basically out there with all our cars to try to win the
races. With the 12 and 19, we'll be trying to win the championship. We
don't have team orders in NASCAR, and if we had 'em, I'm not so sure I
could make 'em stick."

 

WHAT WOULD IT HAVE MEANT TO DODGE WITH NO CARS IN THE CHASE? "It would
have been a big disappointment for us not to have any cars in the chase,
and we were in a situation where it seemed like all year long we had a
guy in and the last five or six weeks it seemed like it was a different
guy every week. We could never have a couple of guys have a good week
all at the same time. Then, two weeks before the end that happened and
we got Kasey and Ryan in there. Jeremy did not have that good of a day
at California and came back and had a great night in Richmond and got
into the chase. Looking at the positive side of it, we could have got
four guys in there, especially if Jeff Gordon had had some problems we
would have got two other guys in under the 400 rule. Am I happy with two
guys in 10? I would have been happier with four guys in 10, but at least
we've got two guys in there and two veteran drivers who I think are both
capable of winning the championship for us. A little sigh of relief that
we did get two guys in there and a little bit of frustration that we
didn't get more." 

 

WHAT WILL IT TAKE FOR A DODGE TEAM TO WIN THE NASCAR NEXTEL CUP? "I was
a believer in this last year. I don't think the special bonuses
necessarily make my drivers go any quicker. These guys are in it to win
the championship. Yeah, there's a lot of money involved, but the racers
it comes down to wanting to win the championship. If all they got was
the trophy, those guys would be out there doing the same thing. I think
what it's going to take is just what it takes all season long -
consistency. I firmly believe if you have a DNF you're history in the
chase, so that's something you've got to avoid. I think you'll see the
crews working more diligently making sure that doesn't happen or getting
people back out there, but consistency is what it's going to take.
Anybody that goes out there and gets really hot and wins two or three
races could walk away with the thing."

 

YOU THINK 10 RACES IS A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME? "I think it is relative to
a DNF. I think it would be very, very difficult to recover from a DNF. I
think the only way if fact you're going to recover from a DNF is to
match it up with a couple of wins. That's going to be tough with the 10
guys you've got, and don't forget, all the guys that didn't make the
chase are a little upset and they want to prove that they maybe should
have been in it, so they're going to be working extra hard to win the
races."

 

 

RAY EVERNHAM (President and CEO Evernham Motorsports)

 

OPENING COMMENTS "To cap off a season that has been progressing nicely
for us, it was an honor to have two cars have a shot at being in there.
We got one in there, and I was happy for the 19 team and Jeremy getting
their first win for me and for Dodge. Just looking forward to a
productive 10 races, trying to get Kasey into victory lane and the 9
team being in contention for the Nextel Cup."

 

HOW DID YOU TURN AROUND THE 19 PIT CREW? "That's a challenge because you
don't know what goes on with the psyche of an athlete. The guys can
practice well here, and for some reason they've been struggling with
different things. Sometimes it takes a big pressure situation to get
everybody to focus on small details and teach 'em how to do it again and
they realize they can do it. They stepped it up and took the lead on pit
road this week. It's the same pit crew that's been struggling knocked
almost a full second off their pit stops in a week. Really, that is
largely an attitude thing. When someone's got the physical ability and
they don't seem to be able to do it consistently you've got to work on
their mental focus. That's what we worked on this week, that mental
focus, visualizing how to get the job done and seeing yourself being
successful and things like that."

 

HOW PROUD ARE YOU OF JEREMY? "That was probably one of the happiest
moments I've had in my racing career because he is a good guy and I know
how bad he wanted to win and how much he deserved to win. To see him
finally win in our car, to win like that, lead the most laps, put the
car in the top 10. That was a career day for Jeremy, and it made me feel
real good to see that for him as a friend."

 

DO YOU THINK JEFF AND JIMMIE ARE THE FAVORITES? "Yes and no. Certainly,
you cannot have a championship hunt and not consider Jeff Gordon one of
the favorites. Certainly Jimmie, the way he's run and his performance,
he should be. Having said that, they've also had some trouble, and I
believe this championship is going to come down to a guy that runs good.
You might get away with having trouble in one race, but you're not going
to get away with having trouble in two races. You're just not going to
be able to make those points up." 

 

CAN YOU BELIEVE HENDRICK WOULD HAVE THOSE PROBLEMS? "With the rpm we're
turning and the horsepower we're trying to get out of these engines and
as hard as you've got to run to win and be up front, I think it can
happen to anybody. When you're relying on metal and the laws of physics,
sometimes things can go wrong."

 

HOW HUGE WAS IT FOR JEREMY TO PULL OFF THE WIN? "With any athlete, I
think that put Jeremy in a whole different class. People have got to
look at Jeremy in a whole different light right now. He's got to look at
himself in a different light. He stepped up at the big game, the big
game, the final shot right on the buzzer and he and his team performed
flawlessly. I think that they're a different race team today because of
that. There's a different look on their faces. There's a different
attitude in that shop, and when they roll into Loudon, they're a real
mature, bonded race team. They've accomplished something to them that
was great. It was a great step for them, their first great step
together, and they're a different race team today."

 

WHAT WAS IT LIKE FOR YOU SATURDAY NIGHT WITH TWO TEAMS TRYING TO MAKE
THE TOP 10? "You always worry about things. I went into that weekend
knowing that no matter what happens, one in, one out, both in, both out,
somebody could be happy, somebody could be disappointed. No matter what
happened we've had a great season, and we took a step up. This
organization took a step up. Everybody did all they could do, and
chances are I was only going to get one in there. Chances are I was
going to get none in there. It is a lot like having two children that
play for different schools or different football teams playing one
another in a big game. Somebody's going to be happy and somebody's not.
The fact of the matter is, both of them had gotten into a battle that
was a battle to at least get into the championship, and I was really
proud of both of them. I talked to both teams about no matter what
happened they've done all they can do. They've got to hold their head up
walking out the back gate because some things happen that are out of
their control. From Kasey's point, he's done a heck of a job all year as
has Tommy. They're going to win. They're going to have more shots at
championships. Some of the reasons Kasey is not in the hunt weren't
entirely in his control. You've got to let that go on and get past it."

 

WHAT DID YOU TELL JEREMY BEFORE THE RACE? WHAT DID YOU TALK ABOUT AT
TEAM MEETING? "It was right before he got in the car, and I looked him
in the eye and I meant it. I said, 'look, I want you to understand
something. Win, lose or draw tonight you've done a hell of a job getting
us here. We're here because of you. If we make it we make it. If we
don't, we don't, but we've done our best and we're going to go on.' For
some reason, it kinda stuck in his mind. I believed it. He's worked hard
to get us here, and he's just a great guy.

 

"Yesterday we got everybody together, even the guys from the motor shop
and had our team meeting. We brought in lunch for everybody. I just
said, 'look guys, that was a big day for Evernham Motorsports.' Too
often in this business we go on to next week and not stop and realize
we've done something. We got everybody together and just stopped and
realized how far we've come and what we've done. We've got a big fight
on our hands in the next 10 races. We've certainly got a long way to go
with the 9 car to get to victory lane and get in that No. 11 spot, win
rookie of the year for Kasey. We got everybody together for a minute to
reflect on what they've done. So many times when we were winning so much
with the 24 car we just went on to the next week. A lot of those wins I
don't even remember. We did a lot of things that I have no recollection
of, and I don't want that for these guys here. When they do something
good I want them to stop and reflect on it."

 

DOES WHAT YOU'VE DONE IN THE PAST PREPARE YOU FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP RUN?
"I think it's a different ballgame. This championship run, only one guy
is going to win it, so it's going to be a lot like the normal
championships where you race two or three cars when you head to the last
one or two races. The big problem with the shootout, getting in that top
10, that was more pressure than I have ever been under because you're
racing seven or eight teams for the last three or four weeks being that
close. That was really a high-pressure shootout if you think about it.
It was very abnormal pressure. When you go down to Atlanta and you're
racing one or two cars for the championship, but you're racing seven
cars for a spot to get in, it was pretty nerve-wracking. I think you saw
that on the faces of a lot of guys that didn't get in like Kasey and
Jamie McMurray and Dale Jarrett. Some of the guys that are normally
pretty cool showed some pressure there at the end."

 

WHAT'S THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE GOING FOR A CHAMPIONSHIP AS A CREW CHIEF
VERSUS A TEAM OWNER? "I'll let you know after about 10 races. When I was
a crew chief, I had to worry about cars, motors and picking my races to
test and things technically. Right now I've got to make sure I've got
the resources in order and I'm making things easy for my guys so I'm
taking away all the distractions. Making sure the travel is right,
making sure they have the parts and pieces that they need and they can
focus. As an owner, I'm standing back making sure the guys are rested
and taken care of and making sure my sponsors and partners are involved
and are able to take advantage of the media and things that are
important to sponsors, also."

 

DO YOU THINK KASEY CAN FOCUS MORE ON HIS FIRST WIN NOW? "It could be.
That team is new and young. It would have been great for them to be in
it, but it's not such a bad thing. The old adage you've got to lose one
before you can win one, it's not really a bad thing if they learn from
it. It they go back and look at all the things they could have
controlled a little bit better, the things that went wrong for them on
Saturday night, the things that have gone wrong for them in the past. I
think they're going to be a real threat now in the next 10 races because
of it. As I said, the 19 team is a different race team today because of
what happened Saturday night. I think you'll see the No. 9 race team is
a more mature race team because they didn't make it Saturday night.

 

"We didn't have the car to do it. It didn't help when the 8 car dumped
him. We didn't have the car to win the race, but I think he could have
finished somewhere between 12th and 16th. If you look at it, if he
hadn't lost that lap because of that spin, he still would have made it."