Petty Enterprises stop on LMS Media Tour. The King and Jeff Green.

Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2005
Lowe's Motor Speedway Media Tour
PETTY ENTERPRISES BREAKFAST STOP

RICHARD PETTY (Owner Petty Enterprises)

 

COMMENT ON OUTLOOK FOR 2005 "We've been struggling for a pretty good
while before I got out of the car. Petty Enterprises has been up and
down over a period of years, and it's been down lately. Hopefully it's
going in the right direction. We've got a new engine program this year.
We've got the new Dodge Charger. We're going to have some different
tires. We've got a lot of new things coming, but so has everybody else
with the spoilers and the tires. We've got to learn as we go and
everybody else has got to learn, too. We did pretty decent at the test
at Daytona. Monday and Tuesday we're testing in Vegas and Wednesday and
Thursday we're testing in California. We'll know more about what our
engine program is and what our chassis program is and everything else
after we run those races. Daytona is just one race and you've got 34
others. We don't want to sacrifice one for the others. Daytona is just
the start of it. We've got a lot of races. We look back at what we've
been doing. I don't think there's any one big thing. It's a combination
of things. The car needs to get a little better. The engines need to be
a little better. The drivers need to be a little better. The pit crew
needs to be a little better. We've changed all that stuff, thinking
we've upgraded it. From that standpoint and everybody will tell you
they're looking forward to this year and they're going to win all the
races and all of that. We don't set any goals. We just want to do better
today than we did yesterday. If we can do that, we're headed in the
right direction."

 

HOW DOES THE NEW CHARGER COMPARE TO THE OLD CHARGER? "I liked the old
Charger. If they can do just half as good with the new Charger as we did
with the old Charger then it's going to be a good racecar. Under the
rules and regulations that NASCAR puts you in now, the car is basically
the same. It might have a different grille and tail light, but it's
basically the same car as we had last year. The big change this year is
going to be taking the spoiler away from it. Ford and Chevrolet has the
same car, but it's going to be a new car to them because of the spoiler
situation. We've got a  new car, but it's really aerodynamically the
same."

 

COMMENT ON FRANCHISING YOUR TEAM "I think two or three of us are
thinking about franchising and NASCAR is probably not. Basically, I look
at the franchise deal in two or three different ways. The Woods and us
and Childress, people that have been here forever, when we leave nobody
is wanting to buy our equipment or whatever. We've got nothing built up
over the years. With the top 35 making every race, that's sort of in
that direction. We can go to General Mills and say 'OK, we're going to
be in all the races' and they can go run a year-long promotion. The most
embarrassing thing in the world is when a sponsor does a big advertising
deal and then not be able to fulfill it because their car didn't make
the race. It can happen to anybody. A lot of people haven't had it to
happen, but it can happen to anybody any time. This kind of guarantees
that. A lot of people want to race in, but you've got to look at the
investment that sponsors and crews have. This is a guarantee you'll
going to make the race. With the way they're going to do qualifying and
the race, then it's a way of guaranteeing the good cars are going to be
in the race. When NASCAR started, they were afraid that some guys would
come in with qualifying motors and knock some guys out of the race. That
was one of the reason of the guaranteed 35. That's not franchising, but
it gives you the security that franchising would give. With all the time
and work people put in, then a franchise would give you that stability
with each other."

 

COMMENT ON DRIVERS IN THEIR LAST CUP SEASON "You go back and look at
NASCAR and about every 10 or 12 years we have turnover. We've got a
whole different crowd. In the 50s you had Curtis Turner and the Flock
Brothers and in the 60s they went away. Then you had the Pearsons and
Yarboroughs and Allisons. When that crowd went away the Earnhardts and
Gordons came along. When these guys go away, another crowd will come
along. It just recycles."

 

COMMENT ON THE CHASE "With the 26-race deal and then the 10-race deal
that's the way the system is now and everybody has to play the system.
Let's face it. With the 10-race deal, it's not basically who was the
best that year. It was who was the best in those last 10 races. If you
have a little bad luck or good luck.... Look at what Busch did last year
in winning the championship. He spun out three times in three different
races and ain't hit nothing. Then he breaks a wheel in the last race and
just misses the guard rail. The wheel comes off. He gets a caution flag
because the wheel's on the racetrack. He doesn't lose a lap and goes out
leading the cotton pickin' race. Circumstances were just beyond
anybody's imagination for winning the championship - not that he wasn't
capable of winning, but after having problems and still overcoming the
thing. If you can make the cut, then the rest of it becomes luck. All
those top 10 are very capable of becoming champions."

 

DO YOU EVER WATCH A RACE AND WISH YOU WERE STILL RACING? "I sit there
and watch these races and watch these guys run. I say I believe I think
I could beat these guys. I ran against Pearson and Allison and
Yarborough. Those were some tough guys. I look at these guys and they're
a different breed. I look at 'em and I say, 'I'd really like to be out
there.' About that time I look up and coming down pit road a couple of
them are on the back of the wrecker. I say, 'I'm glad I'm not out
there."

 

JEFF GREEN (No. 43 Betty Crocker/ Cheerios Dodge Charger)

 

WHAT'S THE OUTLOOK FOR 2005 "We all go into the season with high
expectations. We did the same thing last year, but I think our program
is 100 percent better than it was last year. It's not just the motor
department. It's everything Greg Steadman (crew chief) and everybody at
Petty Enterprises have built over the winter. We feel like we have as
good a chance as anybody. Our aero department has come a long way since
last season and with the new Evernham motors I feel like we have a
chance to go out every week and have a top 10 car. For us to pull that
off it's up to us. Richard and Kyle has given me the opportunity to go
out and do that. If we don't have a top 10 car every week I think I'll
be disappointed. That should put us somewhere knocking on the door to
get in the top 10 by the end of the year, if not, then in the top 15."

 

COMMENT ON THE NEW CHARGER "It's still basically the same car. It's got
a different tail piece and a different nose piece. It looks a lot like
the Dodge truck from the front. What we saw at Daytona, that nose piece
cools the car really well. We can run a lot of tape and things like
that. If that plays over to our downforce tracks, that should really
help us. Who knows? With the new package, new spoilers and tires that
we've got, we won't really know probably until this time next week. It's
a step in the right direction. I think Dodge has really done a great job
on what they've given us. Hopefully we've got an edge on everybody else.
Everybody else has the same old car. They've just had to take away the
spoiler and stuff. Hopefully we'll be a step ahead and get going in the
right direction."

 

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF NEW QUALIFYING SYSTEM? "We did that a lot in the
Busch Series, and it worked fine. I thought they were going to help us
out and keep our guys at home a day longer. That would be good. I think
it's going to make a different perspective for the race. Up to date we
haven't gone to the track in race mode and practiced those first two
hours. We always went in qualifying mode. That's going to give us a lot
more practice for the race and make some other people better in the
race. You really don't have to worry about going real fast in
qualifying, but I think it's going to make some of the guys starting in
the back better in a race."

 

COMPARE 2005 TO LAST SEASON "I think we're better everywhere. I think
we've got better racecars. We've got better bodies. We've come a long
way. I was up there yesterday and we've got six Chargers sitting there
ready to go. Last year I can't remember being that prepared. Our motor
department is night and day difference. Just the preparation of the
motor tuner and the guys that work on it. When they come to the shop the
motors are ready to go. That's going to give us a big bonus and a big
plus to unload off the truck like we did at Daytona testing and have an
opportunity to run good each and every week. We've got to work out the
four and a half inch spoiler and the new tires. Those are probably my
only concerns. Everybody is going to have to adapt and the guys who do
it the best will be the guys that win races. It'll be the same guys, but
hopefully that 43 car will be there where it's supposed to be."

 

HOW WAS THE DRAFT AT DAYTONA? "Actually we were better in the draft than
we were in our qualifying mode. It was the first car I've ever had to be
able to go up and push those guys with it. We were able to pull up
really good. I'm looking forward to it. We all want to get going quick
and have some success at Daytona the first race of the year, but it's a
crapshoot. You could go down there and get in the middle of something
really quick. The main thing is to go down there and get our car driving
really good. We did that in testing, and hopefully we can do that when
we go back down there in February."

 

WHAT'S IT LIKE WORKING FOR RICHARD PETTY? "I hear so many stories about
Daytona and driving the car to Riverside and racing it and driving it
back. Forget about the racing part of it, but to have that experience
and hear all those things it's pretty exciting. I'll never forget those
stories. I worked for Dale Earnhardt, and he was the same way. All those
times I'll never forget. It sends chills down my back every time I think
about it, so I'm very luck to have that opportunity and to be driving
the 43. To climb over that number each and every week that's won the
most races in our sport, it's pretty exciting, too. I've looked up to
all those guys forever. Now that I'm driving for The King and Kyle,
there's so much history at Petty Enterprises that I'm just amazed every
time I go there. I'm excited about being in that car each and every
week."

 

IS THERE EXTRA PRESSURE SITTING IN THAT SEAT? "There's not extra
pressure. I put extra pressure on myself, so there might be extra
pressure because I do that, but as far as The King and Kyle and anybody
at General Mills putting pressure on me.... We all want to do good and
we know that. We all want to be successful. That pressure hasn't built
up enough to let me know it. The main thing is just to go out and do our
job. I think that'll take care of itself."

 

COMMENT ON THE CHASE "I wasn't excited about the last 10 races because
we weren't in it, but as a fan looking at it, it was probably the most
exciting season since The King won his last one. To be a part of that,
any of those guys could win. Kurt Busch probably didn't have the best
season overall. Jimmie Johnson probably had the best season but he
didn't the championship. They give us the rules in January and we have
to play by 'em. Whoever plays the best wins. It's exciting. It cuts a
lot of people out of having the chance, but they wouldn't have had a
chance anyway. It mixes everybody up with 10 to go and the best man and
the guy who has the best luck will win the championship. I think it's a
great opportunity."