Chevy - Post Race Transcript - Daytona 500, Feb. 20

February 20, 2005 An interview with: KURT BUSCH, DALE EARNHARDT, JR., JEFF GORDON, ROBBIE LOOMIS, RICK HENDRICK

THE MODERATOR: We are joined with our third place finisher Dale Earnhardt, Jr. You had a pretty good run there at the end for the win. DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: Yeah, the car -- we struggled all day with the car, trying to get the handle, it wouldn't turn. Pushed real bad there at one point, I mean, we were terrible. I don't know how you lose the draft and get lapped. We got to go in there that last time we come in put the tires on, and I got the car handling good. We just drove right on up through there the best we could. I was able to pass and get in position. I got a lot of help from Greg Biffle to get up in the Top 10. Then me and Gordon worked together to get on the outside to get into position, into the lead. I wanted to help Tony, but we couldn't really get in the same line. Plus, I mean, he was in the lead. Had a run. I wanted to try to win the race, too. We got to racing. I got the lead, then Jeff got a run around the outside and got by me. I couldn't stop him, he was going too fast.

Q. You communicated via radio with your team about passing Tony and not being able to get on the outside, yet that's how you ended up passing him. DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: We had a restart and the 24 got a run, went to the inside of Tony, then a caution come out, put them back in second. I said to Tony, under the caution, to not let the 24 on the inside because if he goes to the inside, I'm going to the inside, push on through, get into second. If he goes to the outside, if you can get to the line, he'll go to the outside, I'll push behind him. If you watched the race, Jeff went to the outside and I jumped down in there and pushed right into second behind Tony, got Tony out back into the lead, then we got our run and I tried to race Tony on the outside. I was able to get around him. But I didn't want to have to -- on a restart, if the 24 goes inside and I can stick with Tony on the outside, we're just going to get trained by the rest of the field behind me. The best position for him to be on the restart is underneath Gordon. So if he wants to jump, let him jump to the outside.

Q. Considering how tough the race was for you, how pleased are you to come up to finish third? DALE EARNHARDT, JR: I was real, real happy. I was jumping all over the radio when we got into that position with about 15 to go. I was really surprised because, I'm telling you, man, the car was way, way off at one point. We were running pretty good there, just kind of beating and banging around in there in the middle about 10th. It was hard. There were guys going three-wide a lot. My car was really good, if I could get up against the wall, and I could really make runs off the corner. But every time I did that, the guy behind me would try to go to the middle and screw it all up. We just kept doing that all day long, I wasn't getting anywhere. I couldn't never get to the front. I wasn't even close to the front. I don't know, that last stop, we put on a set of tires in the middle of the race and then the car just drove like it had a big hole in the nose. It wouldn't turn. Pushed real bad. I was having to lift way, way early getting down in the corner and it just pushed to the wall, I'd have to run about half throttle. We barely hung onto the draft there at the end during that whole deal. We had two more cautions, two more pit stops. I told him, Man, you got to do a lot of stuff to get this thing freed up. They did. They did exactly what I needed them to. That was one of the best cars out there at the end of that race, thought. I just wasn't up there all day. A lot of the guys I was racing with at the end hadn't seen me all day, didn't know what kind of car I had, didn't know whether pushing me was the right thing to do or trying to pass me and get me out of the way. Most of the time, when you got a guy up there that ain't been up there all day or he's not that fast, you don't want to draft with him, you're going to try to get around him.

Q. Would you say you made the most of a bad situation, got the most out of a bad day? DALE EARNHARDT, JR: That's an understatement. Absolutely.

Q. About 23 to go, there seemed to be a lot of good racing, got pretty wild out there. DALE EARNHARDT, JR: Yeah. It was wild. But it was good, safe. I mean, when you got, like Jeff, he was bump drafting a little bit in three and four, but he knows how to do it without getting you out of control. So, I mean, the things that were going on looked wild, but they were actually totally cool with everybody, I think, pretty much. I mean, at the end of the race, you want everybody that can to push you and hit you and push you and try to get you faster and make your car go faster and send you out front. If they can, I mean, if they know how to do it, I don't mind people pushing me through the corner even doing that. Jeff, he got on the bumper there one time and just barely laid on the bumper around three and four. He probably was about seven-eighths throttle. If he would have been full throttle, he probably would have got me loose and spun me out. He knows how to do it just right. There are a couple other guys that can do that. It was wild looking, but it really wasn't that wild inside the cars.

Q. (No mic.) DALE EARNHARDT, JR: He committed to me last year, a two-car race. That was an easy commitment.

Q. Did you feel you should help push Tony to victory instead of go out and win yourself since he seemed to help you a little at the end of last year's race? DALE EARNHARDT, JR: Yeah, I was going to push him. I told him at the caution I was going to push him the best I could. But once I got my run, you know, it was time for me to think about winning the race. I had a chance to be back-to-back Daytona 500 champ. That would have been awesome. But I don't think -- I mean, Tony didn't seem like -- you know, when me and him talk about things like that, it's really kind of, Look, I'll work with you if we get the opportunity. We had the opportunity, but I wasn't going to sit on his bumper till the checkered fell. You know, that wouldn't have been a whole lot of fun. But, I mean, last year, there really wasn't -- I mean, you know, it's not like he pushed me to the win in front of a 15-car pack. I mean, it was just me and him there. To be honest, I was pretty much by myself in that deal, if you recall, looking back at the footage. So I felt pretty good about what I did. I felt like Tony can appreciate somebody trying to win the race.

Q. Was it tough to see your teammate finish? DALE EARNHARDT, JR: Yeah, it was a surprise. I didn't expect to have the troubles they had. I think Martin and Michael both had motor troubles. So I was a little worried about my car and my motor lasting till the end. I thought Michael was going to win the race. I think he had the car that could win the race.

Q. Will you go over again how Gordon passed you the last time? DALE EARNHARDT, JR: Him and Tony were side by side. I knew that the top line was coming. That was -- I told my guys, the last couple restarts, the top was going to win the race. I saw Gordon kind of getting a run, so I pulled up in front of him as best I could. We went down into turn one, I went to the bottom. He kind of stayed to the outside. He was still getting a push from Jimmie. I couldn't tell whether I had him perfectly cleared or not. I didn't move up in front of him. I didn't want to get up in front of him and have him jack me up or anything like that. I still thought by the exit of the corner I might be able to have him still cleared and be able to put myself in position, position my car in front of him then. But that's how we got off the corner, he was on the outside of me. He had such a run, I was by myself. I mean, it was basically the same pass Michael put on me there at the 150 qualifier. He was going by so fast, I couldn't even draft off the side of his car, slow him down. He was gone. I was just fortunate. I was feeling real lucky just to be in second at that point because I could have lost a couple more spots there.

Q. Will you talk about how you feel about having Pete now that you guys have been through testing, you've had a race, you're comfortable with him, the relationship you guys have? DALE EARNHARDT, JR: Yeah, I think they did great today. One of the things that I really liked, their pit stops are all fast. You know, they didn't have one bad stop today. And that was a big plus for us because we needed a lot of track position throughout the race. There was a lot of times that we came in in the rear of the field and we would gain a lot of spots. We came in 14th there one time, went out 8th. When you do that, man, you can't complain. So as far as Pete, I thought he did a great job. He made the adjustments there at the end. I didn't really follow the adjustments all day long. I pretty much left it up to him. One of the things I don't want to get in the habit of doing is him asking me what I think or if this is okay. I really want him to feel right in his mind that he's making a choice, the right choice, the choice that needs to be made. So I didn't really -- I think for a while, I really won't follow exactly what's going on unless we just get so far out that I need to and maybe be another voice of opinion at that point. But today, it was really good. He made a lot of changes on the car. I just discussed with him how it was handling, how it changed over the last stop and stuff like that. So it was pretty good. I mean, it's really just a super relaxed, you know, deal we got going. Not a lot of pressure. I can get up there and race. I don't feel like I'm being pressured to do everything, you know, be No. 1 all the time. I just get up there and race as hard as I can. They're pretty happy with the result.

Q. Should we be surprised how well Martin ran, even though you guys do have good cars? DALE EARNHARDT, JR: Yeah. I was a little surprised. I mean, about midways through the race, you know, you get under caution, you kind of get to check out and see where everybody's at. I was real surprised. He was able to run up there pretty good. There was a couple times where all of us left him out to dry, you know. He ain't running enough races for me to dive down behind him and help him too much yet. If he's running a full season, we might work together. But it was a good experience for him. You know, he needs to see each side of the spectrum. And I think today he got to run up front with some of them guys, he got to run in the back, in the middle. He was really everywhere. He's a great race car driver. I expected, I guess, him to be good. But I was really impressed by I guess when he gets up there, he shows some confidence. You can see people's body language in their driving style, how the cars are driving, how they're driving it. He has a lot of confidence when he's out there. He really don't look intimidated by everybody around him, which a lot of guys when they're rookies, they get out there and they look intimidated when they're out there. You can really tell they're kind of chickening out a little bit here and there, and he never really did.

Q. You know how hard it is to come back and race after a tragedy. Do you feel for the Hendrick organization? DALE EARNHARDT, JR: Yeah, I don't know if -- I don't know if you'd be human and not feel something. You know, I just -- you know, it was a tough deal. I don't know if I could comprehend, you know, the loss of so many people at one time that had so many connections to Rick. But, you know, we all -- everybody has their own way of dealing with things. When I see or know somebody in the same situation that I might have been through, I treat them the way I would have wanted to have been treated at that time. So I've kind of just been on the outside, on the sideline. If Rick wants to talk to me, he comes up and talks to me. He has a couple times. You know, that's been pretty much it.

Q. The pass that Jeff took, is that just knowing the draft? DALE EARNHARDT, JR: Yeah. I mean, that was -- he had a run going. And we're going into turn one, and he's got a run coming. I was in front of him for that short chute trying to get the push that he had, he was going to give me, trying to get a push from him. We went down into turn one, he stayed to the outside. He knows if he gets behind me, he just pushes me like a beach ball between the cars. So he stayed to the outside, didn't push me. Kept building up momentum with Jimmie behind him. I knew them two got bumper-to-bumper behind me, I've been on the other side of that fence, and I know how it is. So he pushed him on around outside of me. It was the same pass Michael made on me in the 150. It's real easy to make if you have a strong car, and they both had strong cars.

Q. With the race coming down to the last few laps, did it have the feel of one of the Chase races? Did this race sort of have, with it coming down to the last few laps, did it have like a playoff type of field like last year with the Chase? DALE EARNHARDT, JR: Not really. You know, it was just kind of another race, with the green, white, checkered at the end. It was a good Daytona 500. I think this was a real exciting race today. And last year was maybe pretty boring for a lot of people unless you were a Dale Earnhardt, Jr., or Tony Stewart fan. Today, it was an exciting race. I mean, I saw a lot of it out the front of my windshield. It looked like a lot of fun. And I had fun there at the end. We got to driving up through there.

Q. This is the first time in four years you haven't won something at Speedweeks. Can you summarize your feelings? Are you disappointed? How do you feel coming out of it? DALE EARNHARDT, JR: I hadn't really even thought about that. I guess, if you want to bring it up, it's a little disappointing. Thanks (laughter)! You guys are good at that. I'm not too disappointed. I got a third place. Did I finish third yesterday? What did I finish, third, in the Busch race? So I got two thirds, man, that's pretty good, and a second. I know I can't win 'em all, which I'd like to. But I like to keep my average pretty high. And I think I should get some credit for that.

Q. Did you see anything or any contact between the 48 and 20 at the end? DALE EARNHARDT, JR: I saw it in my mirror. I expected them to be crashing because when you beat and bang that hard... What I saw was coming to the checkered. I didn't see what happened in one and two till just now on the monitor when I walked in here. I'm glad -- if Tony was mad at all about me racing him there with four to go, I'm sure that's not on his mind any more, which I guess I can thank Jimmie for that (laughter). Tony is a hard racer. He's not somebody that I would want to be beating on his race car at the end of the race. You know, I know guys -- I've known guys like him, and they don't like that too well. I'm sure Jimmie was doing what he felt was right to stand up for himself. You know, I didn't see anything really going on there at the end of the race. I just saw it coming to the checkered. They were beating around a little bit. I thought they was going to wreck pretty big there.

Q. At the end there it looked like it was going to come down between you and Gordon, then Kurt Busch came in and broke that up. DALE EARNHARDT, JR: Yeah, Kurt got a run. I can't remember exactly when it happened. I think it was close to the restart. But he got a push coming. You know, he don't want to finish third or second. He made a try for the win. It was a good job. I thought for a second he might -- was going to get the outside of Gordon there going into three. It was kind of close. But he didn't. So, you know, he had room to get down there in front of me. I was staying on the bottom. It was a good race. I mean, the last couple laps, I mean, Kurt, them guys had been up there all day, I hadn't been there at all. So I felt pretty fortunate to be in the position that I was in. You know, like I said, I had the lead there with a couple laps to go. So, you know, a few moves maybe that I could have made different, I might have won the race. But I was pretty excited, you know, just to have a chance, just to be competitive. THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 97 Sharpie Ford, second place finish in the Daytona 500. Another top five run for you. Take us through the restart, the final laps, how you were slicing and dicing, trying to win this race. KURT BUSCH: We were in great position to be able to win the race. We were able to run up front most of the day. Our Sharpie Ford was off a little bit. We had to keep adjusting on it with big cross weight changes and air pressure changes. That enabled us to move to the front each time. We had very timely pit stops with the other groups. We were able to stay in the lead draft, except for when Jimmie Johnson and I decided to go speeding down pit road. So we worked together to get back up. With a green white checker restart at Daytona, you always look for where anybody isn't out on the racetrack. They left the yellow line open. I got a rearview mirror full of the 10 car, and Scott Riggs pushed me. He was going to go by me if I didn't block him. I blocked him. He pushed me by the 48 and the 8. He caught me again coming off of turn two. Gave me another bump. But that momentum, when I broke away from the 10, wasn't going to pass the 24. I wouldn't have cleared him coming off of turn four. It would have probably been three-wide, four-wide. There probably would have been a six-car pileup at the start/finish line and I wouldn't have ended up in the position that we were in. I just didn't have the 10 car behind me to help me clear the 24, and then the 8 car got in there under the low side. I knew I had to get on the binders and hold the bottom groove so that we could finish second. A great day for our team. We built a great car during the off-season. I'm very pleased with what our effort was this year at the Daytona 500.

Q. We always talk about this is what it's all about, battling with Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., is that the case? KURT BUSCH: Going through those final 10 races last year, I felt it every single lap, every race. Being able to perform at our best capability, without making a mistake. I had a run on the 24. I had that butterfly in the stomach feeling of "I've got a shot at winning the Daytona 500." I wouldn't have cleared 'em if I would have went to his high side. I know I wouldn't have. I'm going to stick with that in my mind, I'm going to be happy with that decision. I'm not going to kick myself. I finished second today. Our Ford was in a group amongst a bunch of other Chevys. We didn't have quite the commitment from the guy behind to clear the 24. That was the moment, though. That's what you live for. That's what keeps me coming back every race, is to be able to have an opportunity to go for the win on the last lap and steal it away. But we ran competitive all day. To finish second was a good effort.

Q. Did the late cautions hurt you? KURT BUSCH: I had to use the restroom beyond belief. Yes, it did (laughter). We were out there for five hours in the car. I think we sat out there for 45 minutes after driver intro with nothing to do except watch everybody walk by and enjoy the atmosphere. But the cautions actually helped us a little bit. Our handle on the Sharpie Ford would go away about lap 25, lap 28, of a 33-lap run. We were kind of stretching it the last six laps of a run, just trying to keep the car on the bottom of the racetrack. We went for all-out speed.

Q. Talk about being able to get back in the car after the off-season of the championship. KURT BUSCH: It was a great feeling, to be able to jump back in the comfort zone of my Sharpie Ford, behind the wheel of the biggest race of the year, coming off one of the greatest moments in my life, just to start off with something fresh and new, but yet it's still the same, the Daytona 500. We had to focus on what we had to do to win the race today. It was great to get back in the car and use my brain for something else other than talking with sponsors or talking with the car owner during the off-season about changes with the crew, and then of course all the media things that we've done as a champion. NASCAR spoiled me to death. It was a good feeling to have during the off-season. We were busy, but it was good to get back in the car.

Q. Last year you were running up front, but you were a lap down. This year obviously that wasn't the case. Can you comment on the difference there, if you learned anything? KURT BUSCH: Last year we had an unscheduled pit stop. I ran into the 8 car coming through the tri-oval, and that put our fender on top of the tire. We had to come in, unscheduled pit stop and fix that. There wasn't any other cautions for the rest of the race. I think there was over 300 miles last year of caution-free action. That wasn't the case today. The year before that, I think we finished fourth. 2002, was it, when we had the rain-shortened race, I finished second behind Michael Waltrip. This feels great to get our car back in the top five. This was the first sniff of victory we've had with our Sharpie Ford legitimately. We finished second, third, fourth before. But this was our first opportunity to go for the win, and we came up a bit short.

Q. Can you talk about the performance of the Fords? Obviously a Ford won the pole. At the end there, you're sort of a guy on an island. KURT BUSCH: Yeah, I didn't see too many of them up there throughout the race. But if Mark Martin was there today, I would have jumped behind him and pushed him as far and as fast and as hard as I could have, being that this was his last race. From what he's built at Roush Racing, the Ford legacy, Dale Jarrett was on the pole, but we just didn't see many Fords up front. I was hoping Mark Martin would have a better opportunity at the end. He was caught out once, he caught back up, I think he gained a top six position today. But it seemed like there was all kinds of Chevys surrounding me. I was just kind of finding the hole when they left it open.

Q. Can you tell us about your conversation with Jeff Gordon this morning. KURT BUSCH: Jeff and I, we've developed a little bit of a relationship with me coming to him as far as advice on what to do with a championship frame of mind and how to balance things out. I was very anxious in our 150 to go to the front. I gave him a little bump. He didn't like it. We both ended up finishing sixth and seventh in our 150. At the starting grid today, I told him, I'll work with you today as long as you don't run into my front bumper like that anymore (laughter). I told him today that I had an opportunity to pass him at the end. I told him that we would have ended up probably two-wide, three-wide, four-wide coming off of turn four, that I decided to stick in behind him because I knew my chances of winning weren't all that great of clearing the 24, so I protected him at the end. I just wanted him to feel relieved that I helped him out, and that he owes us one a little bit, I guess.

Q. Do you feel wronged by getting busted for speeding on pit road? KURT BUSCH: No, I didn't. I saw the 48 inching ahead of us on pit road. So I just kept the speed with him. You're always trying to make sure that you stay within the lead draft. I was going to be the last car off of pit road in that group, which I was. I was going to have a hard time keeping up with that group. I just thought that I was still within reason on pit road. They have a new device, as well as their backup device, on checking pit road speed. It was a great save for us to come in with the 48 because the two of us helped each other out. We both knew we were speeding. We got back up towards the front later in the day.

Q. Were you impressed about how Mark Martin rallied with that car to get the finish he did today? KURT BUSCH: Yeah. I felt sorry for him after his 150. With all the people around him, the interview that he gave, he just flat-out said, My chances are done. I can't win it without this car. And the team believed in him. The team put together an effort where I think there was a right front fender missing. They completely sawed it off. They went above and beyond the call of duty to repair that car and pulled all the guys that normally do the fabrication from North Carolina, brought them down to Florida. That's a team effort. That's something to give to Mark Martin on his last Daytona 500, if this is his last one. They gave 110% effort. I would have done the same if we would have had the opportunity to draft with Mark Martin. He's a great guy, a great legend already in my mind. He finished sixth day. It's fitting, 6, that's his number.

Q. Not having enough Fords around you at the end of the race, what is missing from the Ford program here? KURT BUSCH: I think if we look at just the straight-up lineup of NEXTEL Cup racing, the quantity of Fords is lacking compared to the Chevrolets. I believe that we've got the smallest group of cars. It's Roush Racing, it's Yates Racing, and you've got the Wood Brothers. I would guess that that's eight, nine competitive cars, whereas the Chevrolets, it seems like there's 18, 19 competitive Chevrolets with Hendrick, with Gibbs, with RCR. I'm going to miss somebody. Then you've got about a dozen Dodges. I just think that we're outnumbered. It would be nice if we could get a competitive two-car team to swap over to Ford and just add a number to us. Because we've got great motors. Jack Roush gives me great cars. It just seems like we're outnumbered all the time. THE MODERATOR: Thank you for joining us. Congratulations on a nice run. We're joined by Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet, 2005 Daytona 500 Champion, Jeff's third. He now joins Dale Jarrett and Bobby Allison as 500 champions. Jeff, opening comments. The restart was pretty key there at the end. Also the pass with Junior there toward the end of the race. Just take us through everything. JEFF GORDON: Man, I don't know where to start. There's so many key moments. You know, I knew all week that these guys, Robbie and these guys had done an amazing job on the car. Actually, I knew when we tested here, we just had a fast car, good driving car, good power, everything. We got down here and, you know, had a decent run in the Bud Shootout. I knew how much better our car was for the 500. We were a little disappointed on pole day because I felt like we had a car capable of sitting on that front row. You know, we just stayed calm. I'm just so excited about this race team right now and how well put together they are and how experienced they are, but yet still have excitement of some new people in there, as well. I felt like, you know, we stayed calm all week through the 150s, through practice, everything just seemed to work well. You know, we were kind of under the radar. Not many people looked at us. That was kind of nice. But in our hearts, I think we all knew we had a car capable of doing what we did today. Once the race started, it was just about trying to get from 15th up there to those top four or five positions. And through great pit stops, some great strategy by Robbie, knowing when to take four, when to take two, we worked our way up there and stayed up there all day long. You know, there were times when I knew I could make some moves on those guys, but it was too early, and I just tried to stay patient, tried to stay on the bottom, tried to make any passes I could on the bottom. And there at the end, I knew I was not going to pass the 20 car on the bottom. He was strong. He was using his mirror well, blocking it well. I knew that we were going to have to go to the outside. I made one move out there a little early, and it looked like it was going to be a bad move for a second. Then we ended up creeping our way back up there. 8 car gave me a big shove, got me up there. Then the cautions kept falling. I tell you, when that 8 car got that lead, I thought it was over, done. He looked so strong. I knew we had a good car, but I had no idea we'd ever get up there even beside him, let alone pass him. Jimmie Johnson gave me a big shove down the front straightaway. I had a lot of momentum. I was shocked that I not only got up beside him, but I passed him. You know, just a fantastic day, fantastic car. Rick's fifth, our third, it was amazing.

Q. What were you feeling like in the pit box in those closing laps, Rick? RICK HENDRICK: I was afraid to get excited. I thought we had a good shot when Jimmie was there behind Jeff, and then when I saw Junior up there, and then we got hung on the outside, I was kind of just waiting for the end. Jeff did a super job. I have to watch the tape because I think it was so exciting there at the end, I still don't know how he got around him.

Q. Robbie, take us through your thoughts, your first 500 victory? He's won it before, but you haven't. What has it been like for you? What kind of pit strategy moves did you have to make? ROBBIE LOOMIS: Whoa, Daytona 500. It's so exciting. I've never been as hurt as I was over a qualifying. I mean, qualifying, usually I don't get up for it any more. When we didn't sit on the pole, I was really, really hurt. In fact, I called Bergy that night. We have a guy on our team over on the Speedway program, Steve Berg, and he works incredibly hard with a big group of 500 employees at Hendrick Motorsports to make it happen. To come up a little short on qualifying day... But by Monday, we stayed focused, we talked, and we knew we come to win the race. Mr. Hendrick, he gave me a little inspiration. He called and he said he had a Bud trophy. He said that, you know, it didn't compare to the 500 trophy. So he said, Keep focused on it, get the guys happy. That's what we did. Just feel very fortunate. I grew up here in Florida. To get the victory here, just very thankful, that's for sure.

Q. Is this race an indication for what the season is going to be like? JEFF GORDON: Well, I'd like to hope so or think so. You know, there's some different rules that we have this year that really don't have anything to do with Daytona. But, you know, the tires and the spoiler, I think you're going to see more lead changes. I don't know if you're going to see as much side-by-side racing. But what you see here at Daytona is not what exists anywhere else other than Talladega and here. I'm really happy with the restrictor plate and the rules that we have in store. You know, you watch those truck guys, you watch those Busch cars, and it's pretty hairy. I think we've got a package right now that allows for great racing, allows for passing, but keeps us, you know, able to control the cars as well. But I don't think you're going to see quite this much excitement every weekend, but I'm hoping you do see, you know, some more excitement based on what rules they have for this year.

Q. Compared to your previous two 500 victories, is this more of a veteran win? How would you characterize it? JEFF GORDON: Honestly, in how the race went, I would characterize it similar to our other two, where we had good cars and just raw desire and belief that we could do it, and you want it so bad. You know, this team, when they're on, they're amazing. And I felt like they were on all day long. We were just solid in the pits. Our communication between Robbie and myself was good. My spotter did an amazing job. Everything was just on. We never made, you know, a mistake. Didn't mean we were perfect, it just meant we never made a big mistake. All I said to the guys earlier today is, If we're in that top, you know, five towards the end of this race, we're going to have a shot at winning this race. And that's what they did. They just kept us there all day long. There at the end, it's just instinct of wanting it so bad and just trying to put every bit of energy into it and every bit of knowledge that you've had over the past on how you're going to pass these cars, and you know that's not going to guarantee anything. But I was real happy with the way things went for us. I wanted that one restart where I got by Tony. That was about the best restart I think I've ever made in my life here at Daytona. Unfortunately, the caution came out. I got a little frustrated because I passed him twice, and the caution came out and we weren't ahead of him. So I was hoping the third time would be a charm. You know, it kind of worked out that way, even though the 8 car passed him before I could.

Q. Given what happened last year with Earnhardt and Stewart, are you surprised he didn't commit with Tony? JEFF GORDON: Why, what happened last year?

Q. Earnhardt and Stewart worked so well together at the end of the race. JEFF GORDON: (Laughing) Let me tell you, if they worked so well together, how come the 8 car pulled out and drove by him? I mean, he did it last year, too. So, I mean, you know, last year at the end of the race they were the only three or four cars that were even there capable of winning the race, and nobody was going to get by that 8 car. This year, you know, I knew that when I pulled out, he was not going to go with me. I knew he was going to go to the 20, and he did. And then it was up to those two. And he got a run. He went to the outside. It didn't surprise me at all. What surprised me more than anything else was that I got a run and was able to even get near the 8 car, because he was really strong.

Q. Rick and Jeff, talk about how badly you both wanted to win this race in light of the tragedy. RICK HENDRICK: Well, you know, there was a lot of talk about the motors down here, and Randy Dorton, you know, all week long we were saying, "This one's for Randy." The picture that I probably treasure with Ricky more than any picture other than the one in Victory Lane at Kansas was he was on my shoulders down here when Geoff Bodine won the race for us back in I think '86. You know, there was a lot of fire in our hearts. Every race we come to now, I personally think about all those people. And this is the Super Bowl of racing. So to come down here, you want to do well. You want to start the year off well. We feel like it's a way to honor those that we lost and we love and we miss. You know, it was a great win.

Q. Jeff, can you address that as well? JEFF GORDON: I think Rick really addressed it well. I couldn't have put it any better. This is just an awesome win. I think everybody at Hendrick Motorsports has been motivated by, you know, trying to honor those that were lost. That's the way we like to keep them in our memories and know that, you know, they're looking down smiling. It doesn't get any better than that.

Q. Jeff, could you comment, were you surprised that Jimmie did not go with you when you first made that initial pass to the outside, the one you mentioned maybe was a bit early? JEFF GORDON: Well, I thought it was a little early, but I thought maybe that's why he didn't go with me. You know, he's trying to win the race, too. You know, you see your teammate jump out there, and you go, "Hmm." Looked like a good idea, but maybe it wasn't (laughter). You know, I was fortunate to get I think maybe the 10 car, somebody, then the 8 car, you know, to keep me up there. But, you know, I understand how it works with me and Jimmie because we've had -- we've been together enough and we've talked about it enough, if he can go with me and the momentum would allow him to go with me, he's going to. If I can go with him and the momentum will allow me to go with him, then I'll do the same. Sometimes that hurts you and sometimes that helps you. You know, we do everything we can to try to work together, but we also do what we can to win the race. It all worked out. I mean, he still helped me to win this race. It was just a little bit later than that. It wasn't able to work out that time.

Q. Jeff, are you aware of the record you're piling up, where this is putting him in the history of auto racing? JEFF GORDON: You know, I mean, I know obviously it's number three, I know it's number 70 for me race-wise. I wanted to get to 70. That seemed like a good number, I don't know. You know, I try not to put too much emphasis on it right now because I don't want to focus on that, I want to focus on wins and this team and give them my best effort that I can week in and week out and do what we can to win the championship. I know how fortunate I am to be a part of such an awesome team. But, you know, every once in a while I know Rick and I or Robbie and I, we'll kind of reminisce and talk about some things that we've done, you know, maybe our fourth Brickyard 400 or different things like that. You get a little choked up. You know, it's unbelievable to know that since I met this guy like May of 1992, it's been one incredible ride. And who would have ever thought that we would have racked up the things that we have? I'm just fortunate to, you know, be at this organization and to have had the success that we've had. I don't want to stop any time soon.

Q. Has it bothered you at all that it's been a few years, obviously since '99, that you won this race? JEFF GORDON: You know, this is a big event. It's a tough one to win. I think I look more at how proud I am that I've won two more so than how long it's been since I won the last one. You know, I know how hard we work. I know how hard, you know, the guys on this team, how much effort they put in every single year to try to win this thing. And sometimes you get the results and sometimes you don't. But when you've got a car like I had this week, you certainly want to take advantage of it. And I feel like that's what we did in '99. We had a car. I think we sat on the pole that year and won the race. We had an awesome car and we took advantage of it. I felt the same way for this car and this team this week is that, you know, let's take advantage of having a piece like that. You just don't know if you're going to be that good every year when you come back here.

Q. Can you talk about the 8 car a little bit. He wasn't a factor for most of the race. Did you kind of expect him to be there at the end? JEFF GORDON: Well, I mean, I was shocked. You know, I can tell you that when the cautions came out, I'd look in my mirror, see how far back he was, look up on the board, see where he was at. The 15 was really strong. You know, I thought maybe Junior was having some problems, engine problems or handling problems. And then he flipped the switch or whatever and that thing took off there at the end, I was like, "Okay, here he is." Then it was no surprise to me at all. I was just more surprised that he was hanging back or doing whatever he was doing most of the day. But it's certainly no surprise to see him there at the end.

Q. Did you question some of the cautions that came out for debris, especially the last one, after you took the lead? JEFF GORDON: I was only questioning whether I was leading or not. That's the only question I had. I knew I was side-by-side with the 20 car twice. You know you never know when the actual light comes on because you're not looking for it. And I knew it was close both times. That's the only thing I questioned. I never questioned why they came out. There was one time I knew I saw a wreck behind me. There was another time, you know, I mean, there was definitely debris and different things each time I saw it. Now, at the very end, they were putting speedy dry down on the inside of three and four. I think that's why they held it a couple more laps.

THE MODERATOR: Thanks, Jeff. FastScripts by ASAP Sports