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NASCAR WCUP: Driver Notes and Quotes, Post Race, Martinsville

2 October 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

WARD BURTON, NO. 22 CATERPILLAR PONTIAC GRAND PRIX:

"It looks like the damn crank broke. Terry Elledge and all the guys in the motor shop, they've done an excellent job for the last couple years. This is the first motor failure we've had in quite a while. My hat's off to them. But we made a mistake. We didn't run this motor in 'Happy Hour' and we learned from that."

JOHN ANDRETTI, NO. 43 CHEERIOS/STP PONTIAC GRAND PRIX:

(ON PIT ROAD) "You can't get there (the front) with pit road. Pit road needs to be about 20 feet wider like a regular Winston Cup pit road so when you beat a guy out of the pits, you beat him out of the pits. Instead you end up all the way in the back. We got crashed once on pit road and had to come back in and fix it, and go all the way back to the back. NASCAR has to widen pit road.

"If you just pull out, everybody has to stop. We had a NASCAR official, at one point he was standing out in the middle of pit road. Pit road is not wide enough for race cars, let alone a NASCAR official. I had a choice: hit him or give up, and I gave up three spots on that pit stop.

"Pit road was really, really frustrating. We had a really good car and I just wore it out coming all the way back from every pit stop. And my guys did great pit stops, but it didn't matter. It only mattered where you were pitted on pit road and if you could get out in front of somebody. Everybody else had to deal with it that was back there, too. But what a huge advantage qualifying up front. It was less of a deal when there were two pit roads - less of a disadvantage than this one.

"My car was really good. I beat it to death. I had to drive every lap like I was qualifying. Then I rode a few times there because you'd get behind somebody. Then you'd pass them and you'd drive away from them. I know we had a really good car. I know what a good car feels like here and this was a good car. Obviously, I'm pretty frustrated. I think everybody on that side (turn four side) of pit road got severely penalized, especially early when nobody was a lap down."

JOHNNY BENSON, NO. 10 AARON'S PONTIAC GRAND PRIX:

"We just had an off-day. I thought we were going to be a little better than we were, but we just weren't that good. It was just one of those days. We tried a little of everything, but we were just off a little bit. I need to qualify better. We got ourselves up there, but we just weren't quite right enough for Martinsville today."

(ON THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TWO AND FOUR TIRES) "Speed-wise they claimed it (two tires) was about the same, but drive-wise it was very, very hard to drive. Our car just wasn't geared for two tires. We weren't overly special on four and two was not even as good as that."

BOBBY LABONTE, NO. 18 INTERSTATE BATTERIES PONTIAC GRAND PRIX:

"It was a good day. We had a good car for the most part. I don't think many cars passed us. I think the '4' car is probably the only one that really passed us, as far as going straight by us. It was a good day. We ended up 10th, which hey - my average finish here is probably 15th or worse, so it could have been a lot worse.

"We did have some problems - got spun around there and had some damage on pit road. It's just a tight pit road.

"All these guys (on the team) did a good job. To come out of Martinsville 10th with everything that happened today - it could have been a lot worse."

(WHAT HAPPENED ON PIT ROAD?) "They all stopped and I didn't. It was one of those chain-reaction deals. I just didn't get stopped in time."

(HOW DO YOU DESCRIBE TODAY?) "Typical. It's Martinsville. The front end didn't get torn up on the racetrack. That happened in the deal on pit road where everybody stopped. The back bumper got knocked off a few times, but that's typical. We were just trying to take it easy all day and tried to take care of everything. We ran about fifth through 10th there most of the time and ended up 10th. We should have ended up a little bit better than that. Track position would have helped. I think with about 140 to go we were 26th, so to come back to 10th - I don't think many people passed that many cars.

(ON SEEING IT ALL TODAY) "It was typical Martinsville. And if you don't get to see everything I don't think you get to fulfill your life here, and today we did. I missed a hot dog this time. I guess I should have had one. "It was one of those deals. It was one of those days that definitely could have been a lot worse, but could have been better."

(ON PIT ROAD) "I'm not sure a curved pit wall is the right way to go, but there are pros and cons to everything. They all stacked up and I got in the back in the '25' car. I couldn't help it. I tried to miss him. I just couldn't do it."

(DO YOU FEEL PRETTY FORTUNATE TODAY?) "Sure. Like I said, I got to live the full treatment here at Martinsville. I got to do a little bit of everything this weekend it seemed like. It could have been a lot worse. We've seen worse days here before."

Text Provided By Al Larsen

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