NASCAR WCUP: Daytona Testing Notes and Quotes, Kyle Petty
18 January 2000
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
KYLE PETTY, DRIVER, NO. 44 HOT WHEELS PONTIAC GRAND PRIX
...whether he still gets excited to come to Daytona:
"I sure do. I think everybody does. Maybe that's why they leave it as the first race of the year. They might be afraid that if you come for 30 years and they have it in the middle of the season, that you wouldn't be psyched up about coming. But, everybody does, and I think it's all about the history of the place. To just say, 'OK, we're going to Daytona - yeah, big deal.' But we're going to Daytona where so many great drivers have come and where so many great drivers have had great runs. The history of our sport is here and this is where the France's are from. This is where Daytona USA is, and this is everything our sport evolves around. I think that's why everybody gets so pumped up."
...what he expects after restructuring the team during the off-season:
"I don't know. We've been really fortunate and very blessed that so many guys have stepped up to a another level with the team. So you say, 'What do you expect,' and I say, 'I don't have a clue.' These guys have stepped up so far and so fast, that it's hard to explain. In a lot of ways, we're in a lot better shape now than we were last year at this time. That's not a slight against anybody. It's like watching an NFL game when the first string quarterback gets hurt and they send the second string guy in. Everybody rallies around him. I think that's what is happening at the shop right now. Everyone has kind of rallied along pretty good. Hopefully, we can maintain that level of intensity."
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