Dodge Cup quotes from Homestead-Miami

Homestead-Miami Speedway
Nov. 20, 2004.
Race Advance Material.

Brendan GAUGHAN (No. 77 Kodak/Jasper Dodge)

 

YOU'LL NO LONGER BE A ROOKIE AFTER SUNDAY'S RACE. ANY THOUGHTS ON THAT?
"You spend a lot of your career doing something and move up and you're a
rookie again. Unless I go Formula One racing, this will be the last time
I get to be called a rookie. It's not a big deal. At this point you know
you've raced long enough, unless you're 18 years old, and I'm not. I'm
29. I've been racing for 15 years now. You recognize faces and know
names and you don't feel like a rookie. I've raced against Jimmie
Johnson since I was really young and Kurt Busch in the trucks and Kevin
Harvick in Winston West and trucks. You come in and you have to have the
respect. You had to act like a rookie until you earned respect, but
mentally, no, I knew that rookie title just meant it was your first full
year here."

 

HAS CUP BEEN TOUGHER THAN YOU EXPECTED? ANY SURPRISES? "Oh yeah, a lot
of surprises. Has it been more difficult? It doesn't have to be as
difficult as it's made some days. That's when I go back to the Orleans
team and see how enjoyable and how much fun it is. It can be that way in
every series. It doesn't have to be unenjoyable. I think a lot of the
teams up here forget that. They think it's Nextel Cup so it doesn't have
to be fun. I think that's a misconception. Look at Jimmie and Jeff.
They're having fun and not just because they're up in points. It's
because of the way things work over there. It is fun. The truck garage
cannot be fun. Earlier this year the Orleans team wasn't having a lot of
fun. No matter where you go it's what you do with your surroundings, but
the truck series is a lot of fun."

 

WHAT'S THE PLAN FOR 2005? "I don't know what's going on yet. I have some
plans and nobody what I do I'm going to be back running some truck races
for my Orleans truck team. No matter what you race, it's always good for
you. I'm tired of seeing Kasey Kahne come and run and take my truck
wins. I know the Orleans team can definitely beat that team like we did
last year. Steve Park had a heck of a run to end the year, from 29th in
points to switching crew chiefs to ninth and still couldn't catch a
break all year. You give Steve Park one break and we're going to be
awesome. I'm going to come back home next year and run a bunch with him.
I don't know how many yet, just as many as I can afford. Steve is still
the driver. I'm just going to come and run for fun. We've got a lot of
trucks built and maybe we'll buy a couple of new ones. As much as I can
afford to run I'm going to go out there and play because those guys are
still my family. They're the most important thing to me. I'm going to go
out there and see if we can't win a few of them."

 

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO NEXT SEASON? "It all depends on the
circumstances. I could say yes to a lot of things and I could say no to
a lot of things. I think most other drivers are not in that position.
I'm not here for the money part of this sport. I want to be a racecar
driver. This is a desire, not a need. I believe desires always weigh
heavier than needs. I really want to do this. This is what I feel I can
do. I still love doing it. It hasn't been proven to me I can't do it
yet. Whatever comes up next year I'll take the best options and best of
both worlds. I will run a bunch of truck races because that's what I
really want to do. That's really got to be from desire because driving
for your father doesn't pay you anything. After that, we'll see. If I
can run Nextel Cup and run the full season, great. If I can run some
races with really good teams, great. One of my big concerns is trying to
stay with Dodge. I do want to remain with Dodge Motorsports. As far as
Dodge goes, I don't think anybody other than Richard Petty has been
around it longer than I have. It is where I want to stay, but at the
same time I've got to do what I've got to do. If I've got to go change
manufacturers for a few years, then great, but the Orleans team will
never, ever leave Dodge Motorsports. I've got options for a lot of
things. I've got choices here and choices there. Fortunately, some
people don't think it's me right now. Good people are talking to me that
want me to do some things. At the end of the year we'll weigh options
and see what it is best for me and what I want to do."

 

WHAT DO YOU MEAN SOME PEOPLE DON'T THINK IT'S YOU? "Everybody thinks
you've got to blame the problems on a team somewhere and a lot of people
blame the driver. A lot of people blame the team. A lot of people blame
whatever. I'm not laying blame anywhere. I think the Kodak team has been
working hard trying to get better, and we have been getting better.
Fortunately for me, people don't think it's the driver yet."

 

COMMENT ON THE RAYBESTOS ROOKIE OF THE YEAR RACE "That was one of our
main goals this season. Kasey Kahne owns that. He's done a heck of a job
this year, and I think running all those other races helped him. I think
it was a detriment for me not running the truck. Kasey has done a great
job. I don't like finishing second. I'm 28th in points, and I'm really
unhappy about that. We were fourth in the rookie standings for awhile,
and that Talladega race really turned things around for us there. We got
the top rookie four or five times in a row. I think at one point after
the first five races of the Chase we were actually 14th in points. I
think we're still like 18th or something. We've had some decent races in
the last nine. We've got a pretty good Dodge here, too. We're just going
to have to do something with it."

 

COMMENT ON HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY "It's been hard luck for me. This
track has not been good for the Orleans team or myself. It's a fantastic
racetrack. It's the only straight oval we've got. It's a nice place.
It's going to be a great racetrack for me because it's my style. I
remember our Orleans Dodge was the fastest thing on the racetrack here
last year. Nobody was going to touch us. Yesterday, Steve Park had the
fastest truck on the track for about half the race. I know it's going to
be a good track for us. We've just got to catch a break."

 

ANY BIG PLANS FOR THE OFFSEASON? "We're definitely doing the Speedway
Children's Charity. We're going overseas again. I believe we're going to
Afghanistan, I'm not sure yet. Other than that, skiing, going to Mexico
a couple of times and go race in the off-road in early February with my
brothers. Other than that, just start putting deals together and get my
truck team healthy. We're not going to let any grass grow. I'll never
let that happen."

 

 

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