NHRA NEWS: Oct. 18 Teleconference Transcript

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Excerpts from the NHRA teleconference Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2006 with the
POWERade Series championship contenders in Top Fuel and Pro Stock
Motorcycle, and they are:

 

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE: Antron Brown, Andrew Hines, Angelle Sampey

TOP FUEL: Doug Kalitta, Brandon Bernstein, Tony Schumacher 

 

NOTE: For electronic media, sound from the call can be accessed on the
web at https://sportssystems.spiderphone.com/2148993518.

 

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE

 

MODERATOR:  We'll begin with the Pro Stock Motorcycle class where Antron
Brown has the POWERade point lead.  Antron has 16 career wins, which is
sixth best in the Pro Stock Motorcycle category.  He has five career top
four finishes in the POWERade Series championships, but he's never won a
POWERade Series championship.  

 

We also have Andrew Hines, who won the past two POWERade Series
championships.  Andrew is certainly within reach of a third straight
POWERade Series championship.  He's won twice this season and has been
to four final rounds.  He is 27 points back of Antron.  

 

In third place is three-time world champion Angelle Sampey. She is 64
points behind.  She has the most wins in the category this season with
three.  She may need one more over the next two events to win a fourth
championship.  

 

Angelle, get us started off with some opening comments on the last two
events of the season, what you think your chances are 64 points back of
Antron.  

 

SAMPEY:  I'm thinking my chances are pretty good.  Of course, it's going
to be difficult having to race against my (U.S. Army) teammate for the
championship.  I know Andrew is going to be the doing the same thing as
I am, trying to knock Antron down.  That is going to be a tough thing
because he seems to be on his game lately.  

 

I know my team is very capable of doing this.  They're capable of
pulling off the championship, whether it's going to be with myself or
Antron.  I feel pretty confident we're going to get it.  It's just going
to be a matter of who is going to make the least amount of mistakes, who
is going to keep their head on straight.  Hopefully it's going to be a
matter of who has the best luck going.  I hate to say it, but that's
probably what it's going to boil down to.  No engine failures, no
mechanical failures, stuff like that, who is going to have a lot of luck
this season.  

 

I'm hoping that we get it.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  One thing
going for me that I'm proud to say is that I do have three
championships.  I know Andrew probably feels the same way with his
championships he has before.  Antron doesn't have any.  At least we do
have those championships under our belt.  If we don't get it, it's not
like we're losing anything.  I know Antron is trying really hard to get
his first.  I'm rooting for him just as much as I'm rooting for myself.
Hopefully I'll get that fourth ring.  

 

MODERATOR:  Next up we have Andrew Hines.  Why don't you start where
Angelle left off with being a POWERade Series champion.  How do you
think that's going to help you over the last two events?  

 

HINES:  Well, luckily over the last couple years I've been able to sneak
away with a championship right at the end of the year.  It was a
dogfight over the two entire seasons that I won the championship.  

 

It's been a great road along the way.  Luckily I'm in place right now to
have a chance of winning my third championship.  So for us to do that,
it's just a great achievement for our team.  Hopefully we can go out
there the last couple races, turn a few heads, have a little better
outcome than we had the last couple years (lost first round at the
ACDelco NHRA Nationals in 2005).  I'd like to get a round win and a
couple race wins going into the last part of the season.  It would be
great for our team.  

 

MODERATOR:  Thanks, Andrew.  

 

Antron, you are in first place.  We talked to Angelle and Andrew about
being champions, how that may help them.  You've been in the top five
quite a bit in your career but not won.  Why don't you talk about these
last two events and what is going through your mind trying to maintain
this lead going to the end here.  

 

BROWN:  Just the last two events, going in with an open head, just a
clear mind to stay relaxed.  I've been in a battle before numerous times
and lost it at the very last two races, actually not being in the lead
and losing it by 30 points.  

 

The only thing I want to go into the last few races is with my mind wide
open.  I want to go and try to win the races.  That's our main focus and
goal for the whole team, is for the U.S. Army Suzuki to go out there and
be as strong as possible.  

 

We found a problem in the motorcycle which was electrical.  I'm feeling
a lot better going to these last two races.  

 

MODERATOR:  Folks, we'll open it up to questions.  

 

Q.  Angelle, has this year turned out the way you expected or are you a
little disappointed up to this point?  

 

SAMPEY:  It's definitely been an emotional rollercoaster for me.  It's
turned out exactly how I expected as far as the points.  I knew that my
team would be in the lead.  I wasn't sure which bike it would be, mine
or Antron's.  

 

The things that happened that I didn't expect were the bumps in the road
that came along.  That was that disqualification in Brainerd for the
weight.  I will go to my grave saying there was no way we were light.
That was just something that happened to me.  I kind of feel like
someone has a jinx or a curse on me right now because I keep having all
this bad luck stuff happening to me.  These crazy red lights I've had
the last couple races.  They weren't legitimate red lights.  It wasn't
like I was pushing the tree, just cut a negative-.004.  It was just a
weird situation.  My bike was - me and my bike were going red really
bad.  

 

I think for myself I've definitely not done as well as I wanted to even
though we have won collectively four or five races this year with my
team, I'm real proud of that, but I was kind of expecting Antron and
myself to be No. 1 and No. 2.  We're not far off of that.  We're close
to that.  Andrew, him and his team are just so awesome.  They've been a
thorn in our side for a while now.  We're trying to be the best to beat
the best.  I'm real happy with him being No. 1.  I would be even happier
if I was No. 2 right behind him.  

 

Q.  Some of these incidents have been uncharacteristic.  How do you deal
with the red light thing?  Do you become hesitant?  Is this going to
affect your reaction time on the line?  

 

SAMPEY:  Antron and I have been working really hard on keeping it green.
We've tried everything we can from a different grip on the clutch, a
different clutch setup, different bike setup, everything we can do.  We
just realize that there's really nothing else we can do except go when
we see yellow.  If it goes red, that's just what was meant to be.
Hopefully some things will change for us in the future with the way the
bikes react on the starting line.  

 

But I guess what I had to come to realize is I'm not the only person
with the problem.  Every other motorcycle racer out there has to deal
with this.  You're going to lose some races because of red lights and
you're going to win some races because of red lights.  I think it's all
going to even up at the end of the year.  

 

Q.  NHRA, it's one of those things that everybody in motorsports seems
to be under the shadow of NASCAR.  You have this wonderful, exciting
sport.  Do you ever anticipate a time when NHRA is as popular as NASCAR
or threatening NASCAR or to you even see that as being a potential goal?


 

BROWN:  Right now I think our sport is growing by leaps and bounds each
year.  I think NASCAR right now is on a hold.  The sport has grown to
like a plateau where they've kind of leveled off.  Our sport has nowhere
to go but up.  Every ticket is a pit pass.  The fans get to come out,
see the drivers, see the crews working on the vehicles.  We're more
accessible.  With the young personalities we have, especially in our
class of Pro Stock Motorcycles, we have the whole Vance & Hines group,
U.S. Army group, the GEICO, Karen Stoffer, Steve Johnson.  We have so
many multifaceted personalities in our category, which is unbelievable.
We're getting attention right now with the V twins against inline 4's.  

 

Our class is definitely getting to the point where it's getting on that
level. 

 

HINES:  It would definitely be great to see NHRA grow to that big of a
venue.  NASCAR definitely has shown everybody the way to do it.  If NHRA
can follow in those footsteps, it would definitely make everybody
involved in the sport feel that much better.  Luckily we're in the
position right now where we can stick around for a long time and
hopefully see NHRA grow to that magnitude.  

 

SAMPEY:  I think NHRA definitely needs to continue showing the fans the
personal side of the racers.  I think when you have something that you
can relate to in a racer, you become a bigger fan.  I know that's how I
am.  I'm a huge fan of the Ultimate Fighting Championships.  I get
really close to a fighter and root for a fighter when I hear his story,
when I've heard what he's going through or what he's going through at
home.  I think it's great that NHRA is starting to show the personal
side of the racers more.  I hope they continue to do that because I
think that's how we're going to grab more fans out there.  

 

Q.  For all three of you, do you and your team handle the stress or
reality of holding on to a points lead differently than getting to a
points lead?  

 

BROWN:  Actually, what's so funny about it, what you have to try to do,
when you're in the points lead, you've got to try to pretend you're not
in the points lead because I think when you get in the lead, you try to
go in a protective mode where you look at every round.  I just got to
get through this round, do this round.  That's why I think I messed up
in the past.  

 

Right now, I mean, Angelle, she's been a three-time world champion who
is on my team who I see all the time.  She just handles every round,
every race the same.  She wants to go out there and dominate every race.
Ever since I teamed up with her, she's given me that mental attitude.  I
think that's what makes you a champion, makes you win.  Especially now I
think this year the championship race has been tighter than what it's
ever been between more drivers.  Usually it's within two riders.  This
year we had it within five riders, now we're down to three at the last
two races.  You definitely have to be on your Ps and Qs to go out there,
stay mentally focused, go after race wins, rounds.  

 

MODERATOR:  Andrew, you've seen both ends of that spectrum the last
couple years.  What are your thoughts on being behind or ahead the last
two events?  

 

HINES:  Well, what I think, our team has looked at it from both sides.
Right now we're second in points, looking to get back up to first.  Last
year we had both bikes luckily finish one and two.  We've been at both
ends.  

 

It's tough either way you look at it.  You need to go out there and win
the rounds no matter what.  To go out there and race, you have to look
at it just like you do any other race, first race of the year or the
last race of the year, if you're 10th in points or first in points.  I
think that's probably my biggest downfall, I pay attention to points way
too much.  My team tells me about it.  It's just something that is my
nature.  I've always wanted to be on top of anything I've ever done.
Right now I'm in a decent position to go ahead and go for my third
championship.  That's definitely putting a little bit of pressure
because there's only been a few Pro Stock Motorcycle riders and drivers
in the history of NHRA who have three-peated.  Angelle is one of them,
my brother (Matt Hines) is another one.  If I could get up there and tie
those two, that would be awesome for the Screaming Eagle Vance & Hines
Harley-Davidson team.  That's what we're looking to do to go into these
last couple races.  

 

SAMPEY:  They both pretty much covered exactly how I feel about it.
Andrew is right.  It's kind of hard not to count the points.  I try to
tell myself not to do it from the beginning of the year.  I try not to
focus on it too much.  But you always find yourself looking at the
points to see where you are, what you need to do to get back on top.  I
think it's difficult to get through the season without focusing on that.


 

Like Antron said, what I do and I've learned from losing it, I've lost
it to Andrew's brother, Matt Hines.  I was 14 points in the lead going
into the last race of the year and lost it by eight points.  The reason
I did that was because all I could think about was what I shouldn't do
to lose.  I kind of buried myself and lost it anyway.  

 

Now learning from that experience, I go to every race, my main goal is
just to have a good time, go one round at a time and hopefully get to
the finals of each race.  I tell my team all the time let's just focus
on winning this race and the championship will come.  

 

Q.  Angelle, you're going to Las Vegas this weekend, where luck is
paramount if you want to do well at a casino.  You mentioned some of the
things you had with your history this year.  Are you feeling any nerves,
superstition with the location?  

 

SAMPEY:  No.  Actually I absolutely love Las Vegas.  It's my favorite
place to race.  It's so much fun.  I'm not a big gambler, but I just
love the town.  

 

I'm feeling really good.  I've come to a decision that I am going to
accept whatever happens to me for the rest of this year.  If I catch up
in wins, great for me.  If I don't, hopefully Antron will, great for
him.  I just realize whatever happens happens.  

 

But now that you mention it, I have been feeling pretty lucky lately.  I
can't wait to get to Vegas.  I feel like I've had both good luck and bad
luck this year.  Last was bad luck.  So it means good luck is next.  I
hope that's what's going to happen to us for the last two races.  

 

 

TOP FUEL

 

MODERATOR:  We'll move on to Top Fuel.  

 

Doug Kalitta, our points leader.  Doug has 29 career event wins, which
ties him for the sixth winningest driver of all time in NHRA Top Fuel
history.  He finished in second place twice, 2003 and 2004, in the final
POWERade Series championship standings.  He's still searching for his
first POWERade Series championship.  He has five event wins this season.


 

Doug, with two events left in this season, you have an 83-point lead
over Brandon, 89 over Tony.  Share with everyone what's going through
your mind, what your thoughts are going into the final two events.  

 

KALITTA:  Pretty much play it as normal.  Really just try to go to these
last two.  The tracks are a couple of the best tracks we have on the
circuit.  It's going to be tough.  It's going to be tight.  My normal
deal is just to go there with the hope you're going to get the win, let
it all add up at the end of the day.  

 

Round by round you can think about all the different things.  But just
really at the end, you've got to go up there, do the best you can.
That's what it's about for me, just to go there and try to get the win,
see how it all shakes out.  

 

MODERATOR:  Next up, Brandon Bernstein.  Brandon is 83 points back right
now.  He drives the Budweiser Lucas Oil dragster.  Brandon is the 2003
Auto Club Road to the Future Award winner.  He also like Doug is seeking
his first POWERade Series World Championship.  Brandon has won four
races, been to seven final rounds.  

 

Brandon, feast or famine for you.  Some great events, some where you
have not been so good.  I'm sure you'd like to find the magic the last
two events.  You're certainly within reach of that first championship.  

 

BERNSTEIN:  I think we are.  Like you said, it has been kind of a
rollercoaster season.  You start second-guessing, looking back.  The
three races in the beginning of the season, the three in the middle of
the season, the West Coast, man, if we would have gone one round in each
one of those, it would have been a lot tighter.  

 

We're fortunate.  We still have a shot at it.  We definitely need some
help or some other cars to maybe take out Doug earlier or match up again
like we did last week and maybe have it go the other way for us to get
in the points.  

 

That's a tough team over there.  Tony is a tough team also.  They're
right behind us.  It's going to be a battle.  You know, it's definitely
possible.  

 

MODERATOR:  The third driver we have on the call this afternoon from Top
Fuel is Tony Schumacher.  Tony is three-time POWERade Series champion.
He's won the last two championships.  He's currently 89 points behind
Doug Kalitta.  He drives the U.S. Army dragster.  

 

Tony, why don't you talk about what your thoughts are going into the
final two events.  You've been here before, although obviously you've
been with a bigger lead coming into the last two events.  What is it
like this year having to track a driver down instead of having the lead?


 

SCHUMACHER:  Well, there's definitely less of an advantage, to say the
least (laughter).  We're not running against two cars that are ahead of
us that are not completely capable of winning a championship.  Those are
two great teams, two great drivers.  Unfortunately we're down to eight
rounds and we're behind them.  It's going to be intense.  We're going to
have to win the races, go for world records.  Totally awesome.  

 

Also it makes it fun.  I think the people have to understand we don't
drive race cars for a paycheck, we drive race cars because we enjoy the
race.  Between the three of us, actually four of us, it's awesome right
now.  There's a heck of a lot of cars that are really stepping up this
year, making us earn our keep.  Doug is humbling us out on the tree
there.  All of us are doing the best to get round wins.  It's tight.  

 

You're getting a good preview of what we're going to get next year (with
the Countdown to the Championship) when they even the points out with
two races to go.  I wish they started it this year.  I think me and
Brandon both would be in a much better position (laughter).  

 

MODERATOR:  We'll open it up to questions.  

 

Q.  Tony, your mindset as compared to the last few years, are you
feeling a little bit desperate?  

 

SCHUMACHER:  You know what, no, I'm not.  If Doug wins the championship
or if Brandon wins the championship this year, we don't, the guys did a
great job.  That's really what it comes down to.  This is professional
racing at its best, man.  

 

If we can't pull it out ... we were 330 points back and did a heck of a
job catching up.  I hate to get this close and not pull it off.  But in
reality the reason we're not in the lead is because, man, we went 11
races the beginning of the year without winning.  We struggled with the
tire problem.  Just to be able to do this, I'm more excited than I am
nervous.  If we don't pull it off, well, I mean, heck, it was tough.  We
had a tire problem at the beginning of the year.  We had to figure it
out.  

 

If we do pull it off, this would be the greatest comeback ever.  No, I'm
looking forward to getting up in Vegas.  I'm looking forward to the race
itself.  I'm looking forward to seeing what the outcome is.  I hope we
pull it off because we've got one of the greatest teams assembled in
drag racing.  Again, we're battling two outstanding race teams.  We're
making it fun.  If you're a race fan and you can't enjoy this right now,
you are watching the wrong channel.  

 

Q.  Brandon, you have snuck up on everybody.  Lo and behold, you pass
Tony.  Is there enough time to get Doug?  

 

BERNSTEIN:  Well, I think there is.  Like I said before, I think we need
to be consistent in our race car and we need some help.  Obviously
something needs to happen to Doug early for Tony and I both to gain some
points to get at least to Pomona when we're maybe only 20 or 40 or
something a little bit closer, to get it to Pomona so we can try and win
it.  

 

I feel that our Budweiser Lucas Oil team has a chance, we really do.  We
need to be consistent and we do need a little bit of help along the way.


 

Q.  Doug, being on top with two races left, do you consider the fact
that you're pretty much a workaday driver, you're calm?  From what you
said earlier, you're taking it round to round.  Is that going to be the
factor that puts you in the championship circle at the end of Pomona?  

 

KALITTA:  Yeah, hopefully so.  We've got two very good teams, strong
teams, two great drivers there, all trying to get this championship.
Yeah, just all I know is to do what we've been doing, just try to keep
those rounds going.  Like I say, I mean, these next two facilities (Las
Vegas and Pomona) are as good as they come.  Your car definitely is
going to have to be running strong.  Everybody is going to have to do
their job to stay ahead.  

 

Q.  Tony, NHRA is a wonderful sport, but like all motorsports, NASCAR is
the big elephant in the garage.  Everybody is trying to carve its way
around it.  Do you foresee someday NHRA catching up with NASCAR,
grabbing a share of the spotlight?  

 

SCHUMACHER:  That's a great question.  I tell you, if every fan were to
come to a drag race live, we'd pass them, period.  This is the best, the
best live sport there is.  I understand NASCAR is a great sport, man.  I
go myself all the time.  But when you come to a live sport, intense
four-second brut power, there's just nothing like it in a sport.  We
can't ask for anything more than what we give.  I can't tell you how
many fans come up to tell me, 'We're big NASCAR fans, this is our first
drag race.'  Virginia was perfect this year.  Being five years away from
an NHRA event, these people had switched, gone to the NASCAR races.
They came back.  Having them at the drag race, NASCAR fans, they'd come
back at the end and say, 'That is truly the best live sport we've ever
seen.'

 

How do you make two eight-thousand horsepower cars look great on TV?
I'm not sure how you pull that off.  ESPN does the best they can do.
I'm just not sure.  NASCAR has that advantage.  But for all practical
purposes, man, if you are at home right now and you're thinking to
yourself NASCAR is the biggest sport in the world ... I love it, it's a
great race, but get to a drag race to watch live.  You can walk up and
meet your favorite drivers or walk up to somebody you don't know and
make them your favorite driver.  It's such a cool sport.  

 

I'm telling you, are we going to pass them?  Don't care.  Not my job.
I'm so happy to be able to drive a race car.  Again, the question,
normally, when it comes to something like that, if you get big like
that, the payoffs are bigger, everything is bigger, that's all good.  I
think what keeps drag racing so real is the fact that we would do it for
free if we had to.  Every one of is so into what we do.  We drive the
baddest hotrods on the planet.  Actually right now I drive the third
baddest hotrod on the planet.  Right, Doug?  You're in the lead.  Take
it from there, man.  

 

MODERATOR:  If you've seen our sport on high-def, it rivals what it's
like in person.  I think what ESPN has done with their high-def
program...  

 

SCHUMACHER:  It's awesome.  I wish every one of you guys could get my
view.  It's so intense, so real.  I think live, high-def, when you get
to turn them speakers up, living like you're there, man, it's so
intense.  It's a two and a half on the Richter scale.  It's something
other sports can't give you.  It's just not possible.  When you get in
your street car, when you're going to buy your car at home, whatever it
is, those guys don't tell you to get up to 180 and turn left, they tell
you to feel the power.  Horsepower is a basic love for Americans.  Get
out there, see this thing live, you'll be hooked.  

 

MODERATOR:  Brandon?  

 

BERNSTEIN:  I totally agree with what he's saying.  It definitely is an
adrenaline rush sport for the fans and the drivers.  That's why we love
doing it.  

 

For the fans, it's awesome.  You really need to get people out to our
races to really experience it.  Once they come, they're hooked.  I think
if we keep getting people out there, keep getting the attendance up,
really see that explosion, I think there's a possibility we could get to
where NASCAR is.  I don't know that we'll ever surpass them.  We
definitely have the capabilities of getting there.  

 

KALITTA:  The only thing I could add to that, with POWERade and ESPN, I
think Tony and Brandon covered it real well, but what they've done the
last couple years to promote our sport has just been huge.  Really, hats
off to both those organizations for sure.  

 

Q.  Tony, not to bring up a bad memory, but all three of the top seeds
in the eliminations were knocked out in the first round in Vegas on that
Sunday in April (at the first of the two Las Vegas races).  Do you want
to qualify first this time?  Do you feel there will be an advantage or
are you thinking about that?  

 

SCHUMACHER:  I want Doug to qualify first (laughter).  It's a killer,
man.  Other than (my win in) Indy (from the No. 1 qualifying position),
in Top Fuel or Funny Car, I don't think a No. 1 qualifier has (won a
race).  

 

NOTE: Schumacher is the only No. 1 qualifier from Top Fuel to win a race
this season; in Funny Car, Robert Hight won as a No. 1 qualifier in
Dallas and Eric Medlen won from the No. 1 position at Richmond.

 

I hate to play along with jinxes and everything.  I'm religious, I
believe in God.  But let me tell you something, when it goes this long,
it makes me believe.  I start to get a little bit nervous.  I don't care
where we qualify, I want to win that race.  

 

You know, unfortunately, really for me to win a championship this year,
for Brandon to pull this off, you almost need to pair ourselves up with
Doug the first round.  Not that we can't do that.  Not that we can't go
out there, that would be the hardest round we ever have to accomplish.
In order to win a championship, we need to go out and win a race and we
need to make him exit early.  The only way to do that is to do the job
ourselves.  Don't really care where we qualify.  Just want to see a good
outcome.  

 

Most importantly, it's great that you talk big and everything, but it's
great for the fans right now.  It's going to give us three a heart
attack 'til the very end.  But these are three great teams.  It's going
to come down to who can really suck it up.  You got three good teams.
You got three people that at any given time can win a race.  You also
have three good teams that at any time can smoke the tires.  I proved
that last weekend.  Great race car, decent racetrack, we smoked the
tires, went out first round.  Going to be fun.  

 

Q.  Doug, Melanie Troxel had dominated pretty much the first half of the
year, qualifying for the (NHRA record in Top Fuel) five straight final
rounds out of the gate.  How did you adjust from the first half of the
year to now?  

 

KALITTA:  Yeah, just sticking with your game plan.  Obviously with Rahn
(Tobler) and my team, we just obviously go to each of these races hoping
that we're going to get the win.  What Melanie did at the beginning of
the year, it was awesome.  Obviously I think all of us had kind of hoped
she would quit going to the final there every race.  But it was quite an
accomplishment.  Tony has been there winning consecutive races.  It just
kind of moves around.  Every once in a while you hope you get your turn
at some kind of run like that.  Really hats off to anybody that can keep
a string like that going.  

 

MODERATOR:  Doug, Melanie talked a lot about the launch, what it's like
going to zero to a hundred in 8/10ths of a second.  You're a pilot.  Can
you compare the two?  

 

KALITTA:  There's really not much comparison.  Top Fuel car, initially
it's like coming out of a cannon.  Until you get out there a little
ways, the front end gets back down, you just got to make sure you have
the thing lined up straight.  

 

But the sensation I always like is cruising right at the top of the
clouds, where you're going real fast, that sensation.  There's some
similarity.  Again, then you got to get the thing stopped.  

 

Q.  With so much at stake, how do you put the magnitude of what's at
stake aside and just treat it like a regular race?  

 

KALITTA:  You just don't want to get yourself too worked up about it
because, I mean, you just want to try to avoid making some kind of goof
ball mistake.  

 

We kind of go up there and do our same thing each time, try to block out
even kind of who you're running.  Sometimes you qualify.  We just try
not to pay too much attention.  

 

But obviously you're looking for that win regardless of who you're
running.  It will be a challenge obviously these next two races.
They're real important.  I'm sure we'll all be hearing things, hoping
that we're all doing the best we can with our teams.  

 

BERNSTEIN:  Same thing.  I mean, you just really have to focus in on
round by round, not really look at the big picture.  If you keep looking
at the big picture, putting more pressure on yourself, you're going to
make a mistake.  You just really need to focus in on just trying to do
the best you can do every round and every time.  Whatever falls into
place falls into place.  Just really need to be concentrating on a round
at a time, what job you have to do at that moment.  

 

SCHUMACHER:  Totally agree.  It's very difficult to do, but we're all
professionals, we do our job.  You have to remember back to when you
were a young kid and you couldn't wait to race.  Nothing to do with
winning a championship.  I kind of try to tell myself there's nothing in
10 minutes before a run that I'm going to learn that's going to make me
any better.  We all do our stuff in the morning to get ready.  We
stretch, work out, do whatever we got to do.  When we're sitting in that
car, it's a difficult four seconds coming up.  You've got to just kind
of trust yourself, drive a car.  We all know when to leave the start
line.  Usually when we hear Doug leave, we know it's a good time, right,
Doug?  

 

KALITTA:  I don't know about that (laughter).  

 

BERNSTEIN:  I definitely know about it.  

 

SCHUMACHER:  Me, too (laughter).  

 

SCHUMACHER:  You get in the car to do your best every single time.  It's
a tough deal.  There's no 500 laps to make up a mistake.  You know that.
You got to do your job on the starting line.  But there's a lot more to
it.  Being able to pedal a car.  Knowing that you know how to drive a
car.  Last year Ron Capps asked me about this same thing.  I told him,
you're a great driver.  Understand that going in 'cause nothing you can
think about in the next 10 minutes is going to make you a better driver.
Face the car the same way, be a machine.  I think importantly in drag
racing, you better know that your guys did a great job, your crew chief
and your crew, did a great job so you get in that car and feel
comfortable you got a winning race car.  

 

MODERATOR:  You talked about not wanting to qualify No. 1.  But that has
to be something you have to look at, qualifying points.  Every point you
can get at this point is critical.  

 

SCHUMACHER:  It is.  There's no question about it.  It's not a jinx.
It's not all that stuff.  But when you go 21 races now and won one race
for the No. 1 spot, no one else has, it doesn't look real good.  

 

In all reality, Brandon has won four races, I've won three, Kalitta won
five.  How many times we've qualified No. 1 (an NHRA record 12 times)?
Those No. 1 qualifying points, they really do add up if you take a look
at how many we've had.  It's helped us to be in the position we're in.
We're not in the lead.  We're not even in second.  But we're still in
striking distance if everything lines up.  

 

Q.  Doug, what has been the difference this year as opposed to the
previous years (when you finished second in the final standings in 2003
and 2004)?  

 

KALITTA:  Obviously my team, (crew chief) Rahn (Tobler), he's been in
the championship hunt with (three-time champion) Shirley (Muldowney)
winning championships.  I think it's just his technique of trying not to
overdo what you're trying to do when you're going rounds, just race as
smart as you can.  I think he's getting real good at it.  Hopefully we
can just keep it up, stay ahead of these two guys here.  

 

Q.  Is there a difference in the mental approach if you're the points
leader or if you are chasing the points leader?  

 

MODERATOR:  Doug, you would have the perspective of being the points
leader, but you have been behind in the past.  

 

KALITTA:  You know, obviously you're just trying to get hopefully enough
points to where you can go to the last race breathing a little easier.
I really don't think so.  You just got to stick with what we had
explained about just going up, doing your normal deal up there, trying
not to get too worked up about the points, the championship, just trying
to be consistent with what you're doing.  

 

That's the story I'm going to stick with on that.  

 

BERNSTEIN:  I'd much rather be in Doug's position right now, don't get
me wrong.  But, no, I think as a points chaser, you really have nothing
to lose.  You know the job at hand and you have to go after it.  To win
the championship, you're going to have to do the best.  It's easier to
try and catch somebody, I think, than to hold people back because
they're always coming after you trying to knock you off.  I think it's
just a little bit easier if you're in the background trying to sneak up
on people and trying to get something.  

 

SCHUMACHER:  Yeah, you know, the light comes on, go.  I wish I could
think of it differently.  We can think about it right now, I could
probably come up with 30 scenarios which would be great next weekend.
None of that stuff matters.  It makes it crazy thinking about it.  We do
it all the time.  Doug does this first round, we can win.  Brandon does
this.  

 

You know, it never lines up that way.  You still got to get in the race
car.  When the light comes on, you do your absolute best.  None of it
matters.  

 

The question really isn't about when you are in the car, is it
different.  It's really about what do you go into the race thinking,
what happens when you're out of the car that can make you nuts.  Like
Brandon said, I'd much rather be in the lead right now, but that's not
the way it is.  I think it's important to get up in the morning and
remember why we're doing it, because we love racing cars.  Just let it
go.  It's going to be a hell of a race.  It's going to be fun, it's
going to be super fun for one team.  Someone at the end of the year is
going to have the time of their life, man.  The other two just aren't
going to get it done.  That's kind of unfortunate.  That's how racing
is.  

 

Really I'm not in the worst position I've ever been in.  Last year going
into this race, we had it locked up, we had it done just by staging the
car.  This isn't too bad.  I'm enjoying myself.  It's a big money loss
if we don't get it done for the Army, everything they put in.  But we
sure did give a great try to get even in the position we're in.  I got
to stick with that, too.  

 

Q.  Doug, as the points leader, do you get more conservative or into a
defensive mode?  

 

KALITTA:  You know, the race before the last race, I don't know, I
should just say the last race I said, what the hell, you got to go up
there, see the light and go.  I think prior to that, I was just trying
-- I was thinking about it a little bit.  The last race I said, hell
with it, I'm going to stick with what I have.  I think I got that behind
me.  You just go up there and just -- the way drag racing is, the
round-by-round deal, I think if you start doing stuff like that, you're
going to start getting beat on by people taking advantage of your
mistakes.  I think the best bet is to stick with your normal program.  

 

Q.  As you go into the last two races, is there a driver you see as a
wildcard who can really determine who the champion is going to be?  

 

KALITTA:  Yeah, you know, with Cory (McClenathan) winning the last race,
13 is real tough.  J.R. Todd comes to mind.  His car is running real
strong, he's driving the thing real good.  Really there's just such a
handful of people.  Just thinking of the last person that won (Todd) and
the guy that is up for maybe the Rookie-of-the-Year (Todd).  I'd
probably go with either one of these two.  

 

BERNSTEIN:  I agree with both of those definitely.  There's so many
great drivers and great teams out there right now.  Especially coming to
a track that's notoriously quick.  If we have cool weather and
everything, and also in Pomona the same thing.  All these cars we've
seen this year, you know, guys are running 4.50s and getting beat.  It's
unbelievable what the competition has gone up to.  I think there's just
probably six, seven, maybe even eight drivers out there that could make
a difference in this championship just because those guys are great
drivers and great teams that run good numbers.  Hot Rod Fuller is
another good one that has come on strong lately, has a consistent race
car.  There's a lot of guys out there that can run the numbers.  You got
to look out for all of them.  

 

MODERATOR:  Tony, who are you looking out for on Sunday?  

 

SCHUMACHER:  I'd say if I didn't have to run J.R. Todd, I'd be in the
lead.  Spanked me all the time.  It's just part of the deal.  You go
back and forth.  A couple years ago, I run Morgan, I think I beat him 17
out of 18 times.  Doesn't mean they can't race against us.  They just
happen to be the luck they were having on us.  

 

We beat J.R. Todd three out of the last six races, too.  Just they were
big ones when they beat us.  They hurt us bad.  

 

I'll pretty much try to avoid him.  Nothing you can do.  Light comes on,
go, like we've been saying.  The ladder is going to fall where it falls.
You're going to run as good as you can run on qualifying.  When the
ladder comes out, it's going to tell us who we race.  There's nothing we
can do about it.  

 

Q.  Who is going to win the Funny Car title?  

 

SCHUMACHER:  I'm a Ron Capps fan because he's my teammate.  I think
those people didn't even see (Robert) Hight sneaking up on him at all.
He's a pretty good surprise.  He's driving like a machine right now.  

 

MODERATOR:  Tony, you like Robert?  

 

SCHUMACHER:  If you had to ask me, I'm going to pray to God Capps pulls
it off because he's my buddy, my teammate.  He is an outstanding driver.
I just see the other cars coming on strong.  Write it down on paper,
give me Capps.  

 

BERNSTEIN:  I kind of agree with Tony on Robert kind of sneaking up and
everything.  I think that car's running great.  He's driving excellent
at the moment right now.  All three of those teams are great caliber
teams.  Capps, he's been consistent all year long.  I think it's going
to be fun, exciting to see.  Obviously with Force, you never know with
him.  He's kind of a wildcard, too, just because they've been up and
down this year and everything.  It's going to be interesting to see.  

 

I kind of lean towards Robert maybe sneaking up and getting this thing.


 

KALITTA:  When I first started driving, (Capps's crew chief Ed) Ace
(McCulloch) was my crew chief.  He's been battling with his health and
whatnot.  The fact that I've got such a history with him, friends with
all three of 'em.  John Force, he's got a great team.  Always manages to
somehow pull it off.  I'd actually like to see Capps pull it off if he
can do it.  Any one of the three.  I shouldn't be biased of any one of
the three.  Long time since Ace has won that thing.  

 

MODERATOR:  I don't think Ace has ever won as a racer or crew chief.
Ron has been second three times.  

 

Q.  Brandon, what has your dad taught you as far as dealing with
championship pressure, being that Kenny was so good over the years?  

 

BERNSTEIN:  That's a good question.  We actually discussed it before
going back to the Reading rainout.  He basically said, 'I really can't
give you a lot of insight.  You really just have to experience it, go
through it.'  He basically said, 'I can tell you it will get harder and
harder if it does end up getting closer and closer.  You really just
have to experience it yourself.'  He said that you just got to always
say to yourself, Man, if I look in the mirror after the day is over, I
did the best that I could do, that's all that's asked from you.  If you
can say that, then that's just a part of it.  

 

Hey, you got beat by somebody else.  Did you do the best you could?
Yeah, I did.  I did the best that I could do at that moment.  That's all
that's asked from you.  He just said that it's just going to be one of
those things you just have to experience yourself and go through it.  

 

Q.  He'll be there with you this weekend?  

 

BERNSTEIN:  Yeah, he'll be in Vegas and Pomona both.  

 

Q.  The added stress of the fact that you have one of the biggest races
of the year coming up, the Bud Shootout, the race within a race, while
still trying to compete for the points race.  Is that an added stress?  

 

BERNSTEIN:  It's a fun race.  I think we look at it as drivers that it's
a race within a race.  It's one of those races that's kind of fun.  You
get to kind of forget about the points, so to speak, just race for the
money.  It's really exciting.  I think that it's definitely a plus to
have that race at this point in the season because it does kind of take
your mind off of, 'Wow, this isn't 20 points there or 20 points there.
This is just for money.  We just got to go out there and try to win this
thing for the team.'  

 

SCHUMACHER:  I can't wait, man.  I love it.  Been doing it a long time.
It's a blast.  Like Brandon said, you get in the car and there's no 20
points.  It's just all racing.  It's all about the money and free beer.
You can't beat it.  Go back to the beginning of what we did, all of us
ran Super Comp, Super Street.  We got in the car, just raced.  It was a
blast.  There was no paycheck at the end of it.  Even if you won, there
was no paycheck at the end of it.  

 

This is it.  It brings it back to the heart of America.  Good
old-fashioned drag races.  Last year was awesome, obviously being able
to pull off the first win.  We're going to a track that we're good at.
Look forward to it.  

 

This is Vegas.  Here is my prediction going in because we are No. 1
qualifier.  I'll saying there's 99.4 or four and a half percent chance
J.R. Todd will pull the No. 8 spot with the way our luck has been going.


 

KALITTA:  Like the guys say, it's a fun event.  What Budweiser does for
us with the pre-race party in Vegas on Thursday night, the money they
put up, the beer they put up, it's a fun event.  You just go out there
and I think it's 50 cases of beer, a bunch of cash, they have a great
track.  Just a lot of fun.  Looking forward to it.  

 

MODERATOR:  Thanks, Doug, Brandon and Tony and the three Pro Stock
Motorcycle riders - Antron Brown, Andrew Hines and Angelle Sampey.
Thanks for being on the call.  Good luck next weekend in Las Vegas and
in Pomona.  We'll see you on the road to crowning the POWERade Series
champion Sunday, November 12th in Pomona.  

 

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