Dodge Charger Bristol Advance Race Notes, Quotes

Friday, April 1, 2005
Bristol Motor Speedway
Food City 500 Advance Stuff.
 

KASEY KAHNE (No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger)

NOTE: Fresh off a fifth-place finish at Atlanta, Kahne heads into the
fifth race of the season ranked 28th in the series standings. The
24-year-old driver from Enumclaw, Wash., will celebrate his 25th
birthday on April 10. In two starts at Bristol last season, Kahne
qualified second and fifth.

 

COMMENT ON RACING AT BRISTOL "Last year I think we had a run here of 170
laps or something. It was just outrageous. I've never run close to that.
It was a long time going through leading laps, going to the rear, but a
lot of stuff can happen during that time and a lot of stuff can happen.
It's hard on you. It's hard on your car. It's hard on everything. It was
pretty cool until the handling went out."

 

COMMENT ON QUALIFYING AT BRISTOL "Qualifying is big here to start up
front and try to stay out of that lapped traffic early in the race, but
once you get into the race you get right back in traffic in 15 laps or
so and from there on the cars are pretty much all over the racetrack. It
doesn't really matter where you're at. You just want to have good track
position."

 

COMMENT ON PATIENCE VS. AGGRESSION AT BRISTOL "I think it's something
you really need to learn, and guys up front here do it every single time
we come here. You have to be aggressive to be up toward the front, but
at the same time the guys that run up toward the front don't have their
cars torn up, either. There are times when you do and times when you
don't have to be aggressive. I've just got to figure that out. You want
to put pressure on, but at the same time if there's a car behind you
you've got to be careful. That guy can put pressure on you trying to get
under you at the wrong spot and crash one or two cars trying to do that.
You have to give and take a lot at this racetrack, but at the same time
you have to be aggressive. It's pretty much different than everywhere
else we go it seems to me. I've raced here a lot in a Busch car and a
couple of times in a Cup car. Every time it seems like something new
presents itself. It just takes time to figure out how to finish 500 laps
here."

 

COMMENT ON GOING BACK TO TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY "Last year we had a great
race there. We tested there (last week) and learned a lot of things. We
didn't necessarily go faster than we needed to, but we learned things
that did help. Hopefully the guys can put some more things together
before we go back to race and we'll have a shot to win this year. Texas
is a race we should have won, and Elliott Sadler ended up winning. We
didn't get it done. That's probably the race I look back at as the
biggest race we should have won last year. We think about it and
hopefully we can get another opportunity to be in a position to win
again. That's why we tested out there, to try to get in position to run
up front for the whole race and be in a position to win in the end.
Other 

than that you can't look back on it too much. I wish we could have won
that race, but we didn't. Now we've just got to try to win it when we go
back."

 

COMMENT ON MARTINSVILLE AND BACK-TO-BACK SHORT TRACK RACES  "We're
definitely looking forward to Martinsville. I learned a lot in the
second race there last year. We changed the car around some, and I think
we ran in the top 10 most of the day. That's something to look forward
to. The aero package and the body won't be as critical there. It would
feel great to win at Martinsville. It seems like that would be one of
the most difficult tracks to win at, between there and Bristol.

 

"These are the tracks it seems like people get other people back. Right
now I don't know who's mad at who. I haven't thought about it. I don't
think anybody is (mad at me) in Cup. These are both tracks you see that
at. It doesn't tear up the cars quite as bad, but I don't know if you
want to crash anybody anywhere. You maybe just talk about it after the
race and solve the problem."

 

WHY ARE SOME TOP TEAMS STRUGGLING THIS SEASON? "I think it goes back to
the tires and spoiler. For the Dodges, the new Charger body. Everybody
had different ideas coming into the year, what they tested, what they
did in the wind tunnel and how they wanted their noses compared to the
rear end with the spoiler. Then you get around a bunch of traffic and it
completely changes your car. I think a lot of teams are working on
things and the two teams that were the best at the end of last year are
still the best this year. There are a lot of teams out here trying to
catch up to the 48 and 97."

 

WHY DIDN'T YOU TEST HERE? "I don't know why none of us tested here.
We've been at other tracks trying to figure out the tires and the
spoiler, the tracks we've been struggling at. I think the biggest thing
right now is we need to get better on the mile and a half and two-mile
tracks. We qualified really good in both races here last year. We didn't
race that good in either one of them, but we definitely qualified good.
It's something to work on. We've got two hours today to try to make the
car as comfortable as possible and run all 500 laps.

 

"I need practice here for sure. It's a great racetrack, but you always
need practice when you come to Bristol. I've tried to really watch and
think about the things Kurt Busch and Jeff Gordon do here. They finish
these races with their cars in one piece. I've been thinking about that
and reviewing tape on them throughout the race and do something similar
to that. Those guys always seem to get it done here."

 

HOW DO YOU KEEP FROM LOSING YOUR TEMPER ON THE SHORT TRACKS? "A lot of
people are angry at the end of these races, but during the race you've
got to think about what you're here for, the big picture, the entire
season. You don't want to try to make anybody mad early in the race and
have a shot at getting taken out later in the race. I think of it more
of a normal race, but it's just a little more beating and banging."

 

DOES IT HURT NOT HAVING PRACTICE ON SATURDAY? "It hurts a little bit,
but also we won't practice any qualifying stuff today. We'll just
practice race stuff. Maybe we lose half an hour of race practice at
impound races. I've found we've been making a lot of adjustments at all
the races. That's probably the same with a lot of people. It's just
tough right now. The aero balance is different with the new rules. I
think a lot of changes are going along whether it's an impound race or a
normal three-day qualifying race. I think we'll get more used to the
cars and spoilers and new noses. That's what will make for fewer
changes."

 

HAVE YOU PUT LAST YEAR'S INCIDENT AT BRISTOL BEHIND YOU? "You've got to
try to put some of that stuff behind you. McMurray apologized, and I
could have probably avoided the wreck also. You've just got to go on.
This is a new Bristol this year and hopefully we'll be in position to be
up front again. You always try to watch and learn from the guys that
race well every time they come here. You try to be ready for anything
that can happen and know the things some of these other guys do to
finish on the lead lap. These cars change. The tracks change. We're
hoping this is a car that's good enough to run in the top 10 all day on
Sunday."

 

 

 

JAMIE McMURRAY (No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Autism Society of America Dodge
Charger)

 

COMMENT ON BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY "This is one of my favorite
racetracks. Rockingham was until they took that away from us, but this
is an incredible place. My dad drives my motorhome and I told him he
wouldn't believe it when he got to Bristol. He made the comment, 'I've
been to a lot of racetracks Jamie. Nothing is going to really overwhelm
me.' He called me as soon as he got here and told me he couldn't believe
this place. It's a breathtaking racetrack. The fans obviously make this
place. When something happens on the track, it's incredible to hear the
response whether it's good or bad."

 

COMMENT ON YOUR WORK WITH AUTISM "It's something we need to learn more
about and the fact that I have a niece with autism makes it very
personal to me. I'm very fortunate that Havoline and Chevron Texaco are
willing to help promote it. It's a cool looking car, and hopefully we
can run well this weekend and get a lot of TV time to help raise some
awareness."

 

ARE AERODYNAMICS AND TIRES LESS FACTORS HERE? "Yes, I think so. This
place, honestly when the Busch race was over at Nashville, I woke up on
Sunday morning ready to get to Bristol and Martinsville. You never hear
people talk about bodies being good enough for those places or we didn't
have the right aero balance. This place is about what we all grew up
doing, and that's racing on short tracks and really hard racing and
rubbing on each other. This is what it's all about."

 

ARE YOU CONCERNED ABOUT THE WEATHER? "We've run pretty much the same
setup here the last four or five races and finished in the top 10 every
time. The new setups people use aren't something you can do here. This
place is a very conventional setup and it's very basic. I don't think
(the weather and possible lack of practice time) will be an issue."

 

IS IT DIFFICULT TO ALWAYS KNOW WHERE YOU ARE ON THE TRACK? "I've tested
here before, like on a one-day test, and at 10:30 or 11 o'clock at night
it's confusing to know which end of the racetrack you're at. It's so
fast and it's mentally training. It's not as bad as a superspeedway, but
so much happens here so fast. It's crazy out there."

 

NOTHING HAS CHANGED HERE FROM LAST YEAR? "Nope, this racetrack, I was
just talking with Jeff Hammond, and we're still running a similar setup
to what they 

ran in the 90s. It's a little different. Every time you come here you do
something a little different, but for the most part it's pretty
conventional."

 

YOU HAD PROBLEMS HERE LAST YEAR WITH INSPECTION. DID YOUR TEAM MAKE SURE
THAT WOULDN'T HAPPEN AGAIN? "That will never happen again with our race
team or anyone in our organization. It's just a mistake we made last
year. I thought about it when I woke up this morning. It's April Fool's
Day and I thought someone might play that joke on me, but it's not
something I consider any more."

 

WOULD YOU LIKE BRISTOL TO BE PART OF THE FINAL 10? "It wouldn't really
matter to me. It would be exciting, but when you get down to the last 10
races it's nice they include one of every type of racetrack, but places
like superspeedways you're out of control if there's a wreck in front of
you and you're involved in it. It almost seems unfair. You only get 10
races to race for a championship. You've got to have a little bit of
luck, but it doesn't matter to me. When they have a wreck here it's two
or three people and it's light damage. If you get torn up here, I've
seen guys run well with no front fenders. If you get torn up on a
superspeedway, your car goes to junk. It's a little different."

 

WHY DO YOU THINK YOU RACE SO WELL HERE? "My first two Busch starts here
I think I ran a total of six or eight laps. I got caught in a wreck and
the car was torn up so bad I couldn't continue. We've just had a lot of
success here in the Cup car. I love coming here. Here and Martinsville
are two of my favorite tracks, and I think when you enjoy going
somewhere you're typically successfully at it. You hear a lot of guys
say they're going to bring an old car to Bristol because they know it's
going to get torn up, but I think that's the opposite of what you should
think. If you come here and have a slow car you get run into and you get
spun out and torn up. If you have a fast car, you're doing the running
into. I think you bring your best car here. You've got to have a little
luck, but you've got to have a good handling car."

 

DO YOU HAVE TO BE AGGRESSIVE HERE? "I don't think so. I remember running
here third or fourth with Kurt Busch leading and I caught him because a
lapped car was holding him up. I'm like, 'man, just move this guy out of
the way so we can go on.' He was very patient with him and he ended up
winning the race because he was patient. That's key here. There are
times when you have to be aggressive, but I think for the most part
patience here is huge. If you're a good car and they know you're a good
car... I guess there's a time to be aggressive, but not all the time."

 

COMMENT ON SAFER BARRIERS AT BMS "The safer barriers are wonderful and
if they take three grooves away they're worth it."

 

COMMENT ON PENALTY YOU RECEIVED HERE LAST YEAR "Obviously that 25 points
was huge at the end of the year. We look back on it now and we know how
important that would have been, but it wasn't anything intentional. Aero
at this track is a small factor. I'm sure they're more careful when they
bring cars to the track, but last year was just an error, an accident."

 

COMMENT ON THE HENDRICK AND ROUSH TEAMS. ARE YOU BEHIND THEM? "I don't
know that we're behind. Those guys are really on the ball right now.
It's amazing that every one of their teams are running well, not just
one or two. I'm really not surprised (with Carl Edwards' success). I
look back at when I won at Charlotte, and I wasn't really ready to win a
Cup race. Right now, I feel like I'm ready. When you get in a car that's
capable of winning and you've got really good teammates, it makes it
easier. Carl is an awesome racecar driver, and he's really good at being
out of control. When you've got the spoiler package and tires we've got
right now, that's what it's all about. I don't know mind being out of
control, as long as you're out of control a second faster. I'm not a big
fan of the spoiler. I'd love to see them leave the tires the same and
put the spoiler back. The cars aren't fun to drive anymore. It's more
fun to drive the Busch cars. I think it's harder to pass in the Cup
cars. Hopefully we'll make some changes for next year or hopefully even
this year."

 

SO WHAT'S THE AERO ANSWER? "I wish they would try to limit the front
travel on the cars so you could lean the spoiler back and you were
limited on the front spring you could run or limit the front travel some
way. Slow 'em down that way and take downforce away versus taking it off
the back."

 

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT BACK-TO-BACK SHORT TRACK RACES? "I think it's
great to go from Bristol to Martinsville. Those are two of my favorite
tracks. It gets old racing on mile and a half and the two-mile tracks.
It's nice to come here and to me this is what racing is all about. I
feel like I've got to win at both of them, so I don't care. Both of them
are really good tracks for me. If we had to race at Bristol every week
it wouldn't be fun, but it's fun to go from here to Martinsville. Change
is good. If your car handles bad here, this place will kill you. If your
car handles good here, I've gotten out and run to the motorhome before."