Category: NASCAR Cup Series

NASCAR Cup Series

  • Ford Dover Post-Race Quotes

    GREG BIFFLE – No. 16 3M Ford Fusion (Finished 19th) – “It looked like my teammate just skidded his tires trying to get on pit road.  Everybody does it, but that blew the left-front out and caught us two laps down because we had just pitted. We were running on the lead lap and I thought we were a top-10 car. It’s unfortunate. That probably right there was kind of our chase hopes. We’re not out of it, but those two finishes are not a way to start the chase off.”

    MATT KENSETH – No. 17 Crown Royal Ford Fusion (Finished 18th) – “I just missed pit road. I got balled up off of two. I was racing Denny and they told me to pit that lap. He gave me the outside and at the same time I was going to the bottom. I don’t know if I got all that stuff on the tires or what, but I stopped at the same point I did the other time and just couldn’t quite get stopped. I should have just bailed for pit road and hoped I made it, but it’s 100 percent my fault. I just got in there too hard and it locked the left-front up.

    I tried to go around and the tire blew out.” YOUR THOUGHTS ON HAVING A PROBLEM THE SECOND RACE IN THE CHASE? “To be honest with you, there was a lot of pressure here. This is the only track we’ve run worth a darn at in about four or five months probably, so there was a lot of pressure to try to get a good finish out of here and we couldn’t get it. The conditions out there were absolutely terrible with this tire.

    It’s hard for anybody to make a lap around there, really. I thought we were gonna have a top five to seventh-place car if I didn’t mess it up, and I messed it up.”

    CARL EDWARDS – No. 99 Aflac Ford Fusion (Finished 5th) – “It’s so grueling. That’s a long one and when they say halfway, you’re like, ‘Man, it can’t be.’ I can’t imagine what it was like to race 500 laps here, but my Aflac crew did a good job. I just wasn’t good enough on that last restart when Jimmie spun the tires a little bit. He was able to stay in front of us, and I think that was the restart that made the difference. I just really appreciate all the fans coming out here and all the folks from the Armed Services that were here with us today. We appreciate it. It was a solid day for us. It’s nice to be disappointed with fifth. I thought we had a better car than that, I’m pretty sure we did. Two runs from the end we got real tight and I went back to sixth and then we just couldn’t make it back up. I felt like we had a car that could win if we were out front, so that’s all I can ask for is cars like that. We’ve got eight races left and closed some points on the leader. That’s all we can do every week.” KANSAS IS NEXT WEEK. “Yeah, it’s gonna be fun. Kansas is great. We ran so well at Chicago that it would be a heck of a place to go get a win.”

    HOW DO YOU FEEL TWO RACES INTO THE CHASE? “I feel like we’ve performed really solidly. We obviously haven’t gone out and won anything yet, but we’re something like 73 points back and closed it by

    20-25 points on the leader today. If we do that every week, we’ll be alright. If we can just get that one little bit better, but I feel comfortable with where we’re at.”

    PAUL M ENARD – No. 98 Menards Ford Fusion (Finished 7th) – “Our Menards Ford Fusion was pretty good all weekend. We struggled a bit with a tight condition today, but it wasn’t so much that I couldn’t work through it. Getting a good finish at Dover is a big deal because it’s a tough track and I’m really proud of this team. Slugger really only made minor adjustments all day and we were pretty good at times.  All in all, it was a decent weekend for us.”

    RICHARD “SLUGGER” LABBE, Crew Chief – No. 98 Menards Ford Fusion – “That was good. It’s probably the best we’ve been all year from the time we unloaded to the time they threw the checkered. We had good practices, good qualifying runs and a good race run, so that’s promising. No one is giving up. We’re trying hard and it’s good when the whole team gels. The last couple of weeks have been pretty brutal and to come back and run competitive means a lot.”

    AJ ALLMENDINGER – No. 43 Insignia/Best Buy Ford Fusion (Finished 10th) – YOU HAVE FINISHED BETTER BUT YOU HAVE NEVER RUN AS WELL AS TODAY.

    WHAT WAS THE DIFFERENCE TODAY? “A fast race car and starting up front. It was fun to lead. No wonder Jimmie is smiling so much.

    It’s actually a lot of fun to lead. Everybody at Richard Petty Motorsports is building great race cars and Doug Yates and all those guys are bringing a lot of horsepower. The car was dialed in and just a stupid five-cent washer got inside the tire. I’m not sure when. It must have been right when we pitted and left the pits. As the run went on the car started freeing up and then I asked how long it was before I was supposed to pit and he said, ‘Twenty laps,’ and I’m like, ‘I’m not gonna make it.’ I knew something was wrong. I knew the right-rear was going down and after that you’re just fighting back the rest of the day. We’re getting really good at fighting back and making good finishes out of a problem that happens. I would like to have a consistent race one of these days, but we’ve got fast race cars and we’re getting there. They saw us lead. They saw that we had the speed there. They saw the Insignia/Best Buy Ford just out there flying. It was a good day, but it could have been a great day.” WERE YOU TWO LAPS DOWN? “I don’t know. I just know that once the tire was flat I had to drive my butt off. That’s all I know.” ARE YOU GOING TO BE ONE OF THOSE GUYS THAT ISN’T NECESSARILY GOING TO BE HAPPY TO SEE THE SEASON END BECAUSE IT LOOKS LIKE YOU’RE SAVING YOUR BEST FOR LAST. “I love racing, so I always hate when the season ends. I’m not looking at that. We’ve got eight more races to go, so we’ve got a lot of work to do. I still feel like we can get to the top 16 or 17 in points and if we keep running like this, maybe we can sneak a win in there. We still have two months before I’ve got to worry about the season ending.” DID YOU WANT THAT RACE TO GO LONGER SO YOU COULD MAKE UP SOME MORE SPOTS? “It’s tough. I felt like my car was really fast for 25 laps, but once the tires kind of leveled off it was really hard to pass. My car was really good on restarts, so we got a yellow out there and got another set of tires and tried it again. I thought we had a chance, but the thing was that under yellow we’d pull all the rubber up off the track and then we’d go green and my car would be really fast. But once we laid the rubber back down, it felt like we were getting way too tight – almost like the splitter was hitting the rubber and making the car too tight. I felt if we could have cleaned the race track off and then went at it hard for 25 laps we had something.” DO YOU THINK YOU’RE INCHING CLOSER TO FINDING THAT CONSISTENCY? “I think we’re getting there. To say, can we go out and win one? We’ve got to keep getting better. We’ve got to be consistent inside the top 10. Today was a big day for that. To be able to lead so many laps. I think that was quadruple the laps I’ve ever led, combined in Cup. We’ve just got to keep getting there. Of course, winning is the ultimate goal and that’s what we want to do, but we have to go baby steps here. We have to be one of those cars that are inside the top 10 every weekend and then we’ll get there.”

    NOTE: Allmendinger led 143 laps today. Prior to the race, he led only 43 laps in his Cup career.

    DAVID RAGAN – No. 6 UPS Ford Fusion (Finished 24th) – “I felt like this was the best car we’ve had in a race here in a couple years, but we made two mistakes this weekend. First, we didn’t qualify our UPS Ford as well as we should have and second, we had that one mistake on pit road (loose wheel). When you get behind like that, you then have to race a different kind of race. You’re just trying everything you can to get back up on the lead lap. We took some chances and did get the wave around, but the cautions didn’t fall how we needed them to fall. For the first weekend with Drew [Blickensderfer], I think it was a good weekend for speed, we just have to do something to change our luck a bit. I’m definitely looking forward to Kansas.”

  • Dover Post-Race Quotes From Dodge — Sprint Cup

    Sunday, Sept. 26, 2010

    Dover International Speedway

    Dodge Motorsports PR

    AAA 400

    Post-Race Quotes

    www.media.chrysler.com

    KURT BUSCH (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger) Finished Fourth

    “The Miller Lite Dodge was a very good race car today. Steve (Addington, crew chief) has helped me a lot here at Dover. We had a pit road speeding penalty and it was my fault. The driver was just too aggressive. I was trying to be right on the edge getting in the pits. That hurt us. That was right at half way and it took us 200 laps to get back up to fourth. I think we were running third when we had the penalty. Who knows if we could have mixed it up there at the end? If we had one more restart, maybe, but it was a good solid top-five finish. This was a tough one and Kansas will be a tough one. I’m real happy with this effort today. We were the third finishing Chase guy, that’s what is most important.”

    YOU TOLD STEVE AND YOUR CREW WITH 35 LAPS TO GO THAT YOU WERE GOING TO TURN THE WICK UP. “I was trying for every tenth-of-a-second I could possibly get. We ran our fastest laps then. Maybe I hurt the tires a little bit as we weren’t quite as fast the last 15 laps. We were right in the mix. We made small adjustments all day to stay competitive. The Miller Lite Dodge was a winning car. The driver just messed up today getting into the pits. But we came back and finished fourth.”

    STEVE ADDINGTON (Crew Chief, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger) TALK ABOUT YOUR RUN TODAY? “We just started off way too loose. A great job by everybody on this race team. We worked really hard and just wanted to come out of here with a solid run. We got behind when we got caught speeding on pit road, but that’s just the effort of Kurt picking up all the tenths-of-a-second that he can. The crew guys made great stops the rest of the day and we were able to bring home a fourth-place finish in the Miller Lite Dodge.”

    KURT PICKED UP 11 SPOTS DURING THAT 100 LAP RUN AFTER THE PIT ROAD SPEEDING INCIDENT. WAS ANYTHING DIFFERENT ON THE CAR? “We’d been loose all day and we just kept chipping at it and finally got a little bit more aggressive with the car. We ended up being the fastest car on the race track at that point. One set of tires didn’t have the grip that the others sets did and that’s where we got a little bit off.”

    WEATHER CONDITIONS WERE MUCH COOLER TODAY. HOW MUCH DID THAT AFFECT YOUR TUNE-UP? “Not much. I think that it just made it easier on us sitting on the box and easier on the drivers.”

    BRAD KESELOWSKI (No. 12 Penske Dodge Charger) Finished 22nd “I’m proud of the way we executed today. Our pit stops were great. We had a solid race strategy that allowed us to pick up nine spots from where we started. The No.12 Penske Dodge just lacked speed. That’s something we’ll work on and continue to get better at the last eight races of the season.”

    SAM HORNISH JR (No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger) Finished 36th “A bad day gone worse. I thought that we started out pretty good, but we never could gain track position that we needed. I thought we had a tire issue in the middle of the race and had to come in under green. That cost us some laps. Late in the race, we had an electrical problem under the dash which caused the battery cable to ground out and started a small fire. Just a really strange electrical deal that jumped up and bit us. A tough day that just got worse for the Mobil 1 Dodge.”

  • Johnson wins at Dover; Narrows point’s gap to 35

    Johnson wins at Dover; Narrows point’s gap to 35

    Dover, DE – With his sixth Dover win in the books, Jimmie Johnson surges in the NASCAR Chase Championship point’s battle to second just 35 points behind leader Denny Hamlin. The No. 48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet team demonstrated their desire to win a fifth straight title and that six wins in 2010 are just the beginning.

    Johnson earned his 53rd career victory in the 40th running of the AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway. This was his 319 career start. “Obviously, the weekend we would dream of,” said Johnson. “winning the pole, leading the most laps, and winning the race.”  

    “There are eight races left in the Chase and the points can shake up a lot,” Johnson said. “We want to win five in a row; we want to win this championship.” And well he is pleased to have won the race; Johnson is keeping his sights set on the bigger prize.  

    In the interim, he got to celebrate with his daughter for the first time in victory lane.   The first caution of the race came around lap 38, when a safety light blew on the back straightaway.   David Reutimann, driver of the No. 00 Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing drew the second caution after a spin in turn four. Back to racing and it was A.J. Allmendinger leading the way. At one point, Allmendinger opened up a six second lead on local favorite Martin Truex Jr.  

    Following a tire issue, Allmendinger would be relegated to mid pack. Allmendinger lead 143 laps in Sunday’s race, the most in one event. “Everybody at Richard Petty Motorsports is building great race cars and Doug Yates and all those guys are bringing a lot of horsepower,” he said. “We’re getting really good at fighting back and making good finishes out of a problem that happens.”  

    During green flag pit stops, Chase contender Tony Stewart was penalized with a drive thru penalty for being too fast entering pit road. He finished two laps down in 21st.   The weekend woes for Clint Bowyer continued as he hit the wall. And then following the race, Bowyer’s Chevrolet was tagged for a return trip to the R& D Center. The RCR appeal is set to be heard this week on his New Hampshire penalty.  

    Cautions also flew for debris following two incidents with Matt Kenseth and Kasey Kahne, respectively, during Sunday’s race.  

    Rounding out the top five was Jeff Burton, Joey Logano, Kurt Busch and Carl Edwards. Burton’s stellar performance was attributed to his team’s ability to change with the track. “We thought we had a really good racecar coming into the race today,” he said. In true ‘Tony the Tiger’ fashion, Burton gave props to the No. 48 team. “They’re not good, they’re great! They’ve been in the hunt. I think there as seasoned as you can possibly be together.”  

    The top 10 included Kyle Busch, Paul Menard, Ryan Newman, Denny Hamlin and A.J. Allmendinger. Kevin Conway was the highest finishing rookie in 37th place.  

    The top five contenders in the Chase for the Championship are separated by a mere 65 points. Kyle Busch is third followed by his brother Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick. Denny Hamlin leads the pack with a total of 5368 points, and is satisfied to be leaving Dover in his mist with a thirty-five point cushion.  

    “I think there is going to be a handful of guys running for the championship in Homestead,” Hamlin said. The 14 can light things up at anytime. This is the most wide open chase that we’ve had so far.”  

    Next week the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Kansas Speedway.  

    Unofficial Results

    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Pts. Bon. Laps Status
    1 2 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 195 10 300 Running
    2 22 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 170 0 300 Running
    3 4 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 170 5 300 Running
    4 32 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 160 0 300 Running
    5 27 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 155 0 300 Running
    6 17 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 155 5 300 Running
    7 7 0 David Reutimann Toyota 146 0 300 Running
    8 24 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 142 0 300 Running
    9 9 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 138 0 300 Running
    10 15 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 134 0 300 Running
    11 10 99 Carl Edwards Ford 135 5 300 Running
    12 6 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford 127 0 300 Running
    13 12 2 Kurt Busch Dodge 124 0 300 Running
    14 21 9 Kasey Kahne Ford 121 0 300 Running
    15 13 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 118 0 300 Running
    16 5 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 115 0 300 Running
    17 14 16 Greg Biffle Ford 112 0 300 Running
    18 1 12 Brad Keselowski Dodge 114 5 300 Running
    19 20 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 106 0 300 Running
    20 16 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 103 0 300 Running
    21 19 19 Elliott Sadler Ford 100 0 300 Running
    22 11 6 David Ragan Ford 97 0 300 Running
    23 33 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 94 0 300 Running
    24 3 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 96 5 300 Running
    25 25 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 88 0 299 Running
    26 29 7 Robby Gordon Toyota 90 5 299 Running
    27 37 83 Reed Sorenson Toyota 82 0 299 Running
    28 8 98 Paul Menard Ford 79 0 299 Running
    29 26 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet 76 0 298 Running
    30 23 47 Marcos Ambrose Toyota 73 0 298 Running
    31 30 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 70 0 297 Running
    32 40 38 Travis Kvapil Ford 67 0 295 Running
    33 39 37 David Gilliland Ford 64 0 295 Running
    34 41 34 Tony Raines Ford 61 0 295 Running
    35 31 20 Joey Logano Toyota 58 0 256 Accident
    36 28 82 Scott Speed Toyota 55 0 213 Running
    37 42 71 Andy Lally Chevrolet 52 0 138 Brakes
    38 18 13 Casey Mears Toyota 49 0 93 Vibration
    39 43 9 Bobby Labonte Chevrolet 46 0 89 Electrical
    40 35 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 48 5 60 Clutch
    41 36 55 Mike Bliss Toyota 40 0 55 Brakes
    42 34 164 Landon Cassill Toyota 37 0 40 Brakes
    43 38 46 Michael McDowell Dodge 34 0 29 Engine
  • Greg Biffle, Office Depot and Mike Pagano Attempt To Solve New Jersey’s Fiscal Crisis

    Greg Biffle, Office Depot and Mike Pagano Attempt To Solve New Jersey’s Fiscal Crisis

    What do NASCAR Chase competitor Greg Biffle, Office Depot and Mike Pagano, proprietor of PaganoPhoto, have to do with potentially solving New Jersey’s fiscal crisis? Well, if Greg Biffle wins the AAA 400 race at the Monster Mile in Dover, Delaware this weekend, Office Depot will make Mike Pagano, a new Jersey small businessman, a millionaire, bringing some much needed income tax revenue to the coffers of New Jersey Governor Christie.

    Pagano, who works full-time for the State of New Jersey in the Department of Environmental Protection by day, has been using his evenings, weekends and furlough days to turn his photography hobby into a business. On a lark after listening to an interview with Cup driver Greg Biffle, Pagano entered the Office Depot’s ‘Official Small Business of NASCAR’ Sweepstakes, hoping to bring home the million dollar grand prize.

    “Greg Biffle was on the radio talking about this contest going on and said that someone could win a million dollars,” Pagano said. “I was driving down the road but that perked my ears up. I thought ‘I like contests and I’d sure like a million dollars’ so let me look into this.”

    “When I got home that day I went on the Office Depot website and signed up for it,” Pagano said. “I sent notes to all my friends on Facebook to nominate me and here I am.”

    Pagano is one of two finalists for the Office Depot Small Business of NASCAR award. His competitor for the million dollar grand prize is Rose Berger, owner of Professional Cleaning Service in Greer, South Carolina.

    Both finalists have been having the NASCAR time of their lives prior to the second Chase race at Dover International Speedway. The pre-race festivities have been especially enjoyable for Pagano, who has been a NASCAR fan for quite some time.

    “The original interest in NASCAR came from our son, who is a high school junior now, back when he was in kindergarten,” Pagano said. “He had a Jeff Gordon little plastic lunch pail and started watching the races. We started watching the races with him and within a couple of years, we were hooked and going to races at Pocono and Dover.”

    Pagano, however, has had to switch his allegiance from Jeff Gordon to Greg Biffle as his primary driver. Not only did Biffle’s interview convince him to enter the contest, but Pagano is also paired with Biffle for the contest, who will make Pagano a millionaire if he wins the Dover race.

    “It was a random pairing,” Pagano said of his match with Biffle. The other finalist is paired with Tony Stewart and whichever driver finishes ahead of the other will make their small business the final winner.

    Biffle, who had dinner with both finalists, as well as Tony Stewart, was pretty stoked about the contest as well.

    “This weekend is going to be pretty exciting because Office Depot and 3M have created an incredible opportunity with this year’s ‘Official Small Business of NASCAR’ sweepstakes,” Biffle said. “As a small business owner myself, I want to do a great job for PaganoPhoto, the small business featured on my car, and hopefully give them a shot at the $1 million prize.”

    Pagano has been busy prior to the race weekend, appearing on SPEED TV’s NASCAR Race Hub show, as well as visiting the new NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina.

    “We were at the NASCAR Hall of Fame and we saw a few videos,” Pagano said. “Every one of the videos was of Greg winning a race so that’s a good sign. Also the last time we were at Dover, Greg won. So I told him at dinner that I was his good luck charm at Dover.”

    Pagano and his fellow Small Business finalist will also have some surprises in store at the Monster Mile.

    “It’s been a whirlwind,” Pagano said. “All they told me is that we’re watching Nationwide and the Cup race. The rest of the details are hush, hush for now.”

    The bottom line, however, is that if Greg Biffle crosses the finish line and takes the checkered flag, Mike Pagano will be $1 million richer. His wife and children will also be joining Pagano for the race experience, although they will be trading their Jeff Gordon gear in for Biffle T-shirts and caps.

    “This is as close to a million dollars that I’ve ever been,” Pagano said. If he wins that prize, Pagano plans to sink all of the money back into his photography business, enhancing his digital computer capabilities, as well as increasing the income tax coffers of the State of New Jersey.

    While only one small business owner will walk away with the big bucks, both Pagano and Berger are set to receive a $10,000 small business makeover from Office Depot. Each competitor also gets the name of their small business on the back of Biffle’s and Stewart’s race car respectively.

    “That was really a cool thing to see,” Pagano said after getting a preview glimpse of his business’ name on Biffle’s car. “I saw a tear in my wife’s eye.”

    While Pagano is enthusiastically pulling for Biffle to be in victory lane, Tony Stewart, racing for Rose Berger and her cleaning business is stoked for the competition.

    “Building a successful small business takes a lot of hard work,” Stewart, a NASCAR small businessman himself, said. “It’s great to be able to reward small business owners for their dedication.”

    “Greg (Biffle) and I are definitely ready to battle it out this weekend on their behalf,” Stewart said. “We both want to deliver the $1 million prize with a win and the bragging rights that come with it.”

  • Ford Saturday Advance (Ragan and Blickensderfer)

    Roush Fenway Racing announced earlier this week that Drew Blickensderfer was joining the team as crew chief for David Ragan and the No. 6 UPS Ford Fusion. Ragan, qualified 30th for tomorrow’s AAA 400, and Blickensderfer spoke about the change prior to Saturday’s practice.

    DAVID RAGAN – No. 6 UPS Ford Fusion – HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THIS CHANGE? “Anything new is exciting. The relationship that Donnie and I have had has been great. I’m glad that he’s here this weekend helping our team out, but we were to a point where week-in and week-out we were working hard, but we just didn’t see much change.

    The way that I look at this thing, and maybe Jack and Drew and Donnie look at it a little different, but I see we have nine races left to basically see how our off-season was going to be. To mix things up like this and bring Drew in, he’s got a different background, he’s worked with some different drivers in our company, so just to see what his opinion is on things, his opinion on me as a driver and what I can do to our race cars, to our team, to our pit crew. It’s just a different perspective. Everybody has a different opinion, so, hopefully, he can shine some light on a few things and it’s important for us to end the season with some good runs and that will certainly carry some momentum through the off-season.”

    IS COMMUNICATION GOING TO BE THE FIRST THING TO WORK THROUGH? “Yeah, certainly it’s going to be tough for the first couple of practices, even that first race.

    Donnie and I had a pretty good system and it took us a little while to get to know our lingo and understand each other and it’s gonna be like that with Drew, but we didn’t do this for one race, we did this for several, so hopefully over five or six races something will flash to the surface. Obviously, the first race for a new crew chief or a new crew is a learning experience, so we wanted to take Dover, which has been a good track for all the Roush Fenway teams, and come up here and see how we can do, and I’m sure we’ll get better as the weekend goes.”

    IS YOUR ROUTINE GOING TO CHANGE AS FAR AS FEEDBACK OR RECOMMENDATIONS YOU MAKE ABOUT ADJUSTMENTS INSIDE THE CAR? “It’s not gonna change a great deal. I don’t sit in on all the meeting and understand the different programs we have to work on our race cars from a setup standpoint. I can offer a few suggestions, now whether they listen or not is one thing (laughing), but it’s just the small things that I can do to be more focused on my car. Maybe during practice I can pay more attention after the fifth or sixth lap of a run versus the first or second, so there are several things I can critique myself on to give better feedback to the crew. Ultimately, how we pay attention to our teammates and what we do with our setup is up to our engineer, our crew chief and me as a group, so we’re the triangle that makes it work. I understand what’s in our car, but as far as suggesting many changes, these practices go by so fast that I don’t even get out of the car, so it’s tough for me to have a notebook in front of my face to make suggestions.”

    SO FEEDBACK IS YOUR MAIN CONCERN. “Yeah, and that’s what I can work on – just try to give better feedback and try to drive the car harder and harder until it does something that I don’t like and we’ll go to fix it. I’ve got a lot of confidence in our team to make those good decisions and after practice we can sit down and go through everything. I still need to learn more about our cars and why we do certain things to the setups, but by having Drew in he’ll have a different outlook on things.”

    IS THIS A TEMPORARY ARRANGEMENT OR PERMANENT? “Time will tell. It’s for the next nine races and that’s what we’re focused on. We’ve got to take care of what’s in front of us right now before we worry about Daytona of next year. Ultimately, Daytona of next year will be here before we know it, but we’re taking it one race at a time and trying to get all we can out of this year. Hopefully, when we leave Homestead we can say that we ended the season on a good note, we were proud of the direction our team was going in, and we’ll have some momentum for the off-season.”

    DREW BLICKENSDERFER, Crew Chief – No. 6 UPS Ford Fusion – HOW DO YOU VIEW THIS OPPORTUNITY? “I view it as an opportunity personally for me to grow and professionally to help Jack and UPS and David hopefully light a spark. It’s not that David can’t do it or the team can’t do it or anything like that. I’ve been inserted to light a spark and maybe look at things that weren’t seen before or look at things through a different set of eyes and turn the corner.”

    HOW DO YOU PROVIDE THAT SPARK? THROUGH MOTIVATION, THROUGH ENERGY AND ENTHUSIASM? THROUGH TECHINCAL SETUPS? HOW? “I think every situation is different and being three days on the job right now I’m doing more observing right now than anything else and seeing what it’s going to take to help this team. Is it me getting on David? Is it me getting on the car chief? Is it me helping the engineer? Is it me providing energy to the team and painting a blue sky picture for them and getting them through a funk? It’s all of those things and in different circumstances it’s different things.”

    CARL SAID YESTERDAY THAT HE WASN’T LOSING YOU AND YOU WERE GOING TO EITHER BE ON THE 60 NATIONWIDE BOX OR THE 6 CUP BOX. HOW DO YOU VIEW THIS SITUATION?

    “The same way. I was told to come over here and see if I can help turn this deal around and when Thanksgiving comes, Jack and myself and David and Carl will all sit down and we’ll all talk about it and either say, ‘No, Drew needs to go back to where he was,’ or, ‘Drew, we want you to stay.’ They’ve been very open and willing to work with me on seeing what I thought was the best fit for me, where can I fit in the best to help Jack, UPS, Copart, Fastenal and the 60 car, and what’s best for Drew and Roush Fenway.”

    JACK WAS VERY SUPPORTIVE OF YOU WHEN THE CHANGE WAS MADE ON THE 17 EARLIER THIS YEAR. HOW DOES IT MAKE YOU FEEL TO KNOW YOU’RE HELD IN SUCH REGARD BY HIM? “You sleep better at night when you know your boss is supporting you and Jack is one of those guys that a lot of times he puts his finger on you and presses you. When he does things like this, it’s instills in the back of your mind that he has confidence in you and that helps you go out and do your job. Everything Jack has ever told me since I started working for him nine years ago, he’s always made good, so he’s definitely someone that when he says something I believe him and I trust that he doesn’t say it to sugarcoat you or to pacify you. He says it because it’s the truth, so knowing that you’re working for a guy that is always gonna be honest with you makes it a lot easier to come to work everyday.”

    YOU OBVIOUSLY WANT TO SEE IMPROVEMENT THESE LAST NINE RACES, BUT WHAT’S THE ULTIMATE GOAL? “I think the ultimate goal is to get this group to where it’s not satisfied with wherever they finish. If they finish 25th, that’s not good enough. We need to finish 20th. If we finish 20th, we need to finish 15th. Hopefully, by the end of the nine weeks we’re running inside the top 10 and that’s not good enough, so you go into the off-season preparing to gain on top-10s and when you gain on top-10s good things happen to you. Hopefully, we’ll prepare ourselves for the next six or seven weeks to where the last few races we’re showing that we’re coming to the race track and we can compete and we can run up front and we can battle and qualify and we can battle in the race and we can be one of those group of guys that are running towards the front edge of the field.”

    RESPECT THE CHASERS, BUT NOT TOO MUCH BECAUSE YOU GUYS HAVE TO RACE AS WELL, RIGHT? “That’s exactly right. The chasers are racing for a championship. We’re racing to prove that we belong in that group in the future, so it’s just as important for these guys to go out there and run up front as it is for the chase guys. It’s for different reasons, but it’s just as important.”

  • NASCAR Defies Adage That Any Publicity Is Good Publicity

    NASCAR Defies Adage That Any Publicity Is Good Publicity

    The powers that be at NASCAR must surely be shaking their heads at the current state of affairs in the sport, at least from the public relations perspective.

    In spite of all the changes that have been made, from double file restarts, ‘boys have at it’ to green-white-checkered finishes, as well as one of the most competitive, wide-open Chase battles ever this year, the negative publicity continues to pile up, taking away attention of all the good things happening in the sport.

    It all started in the last few weeks with NASCAR went into the Chase with their top twelve championship competitors set. The sport was ready to wow the media in one of the biggest public relations venues, New York City.

    Yet, while the elite drivers blitzed various media outlets, from print to television to the internet, the tough New York media needle barely moved. In fact, very few stories were even picked up by the major New York papers, save for one focused story on Jeff Gordon in the New York Times.

    Putting the best face possible on the limited coverage and questions asked by media who were clueless about the sport and passing on an opportunity to have their championship contenders throw eggs at one another on the Regis and Kelly show, NASCAR fled from the City to the Granite state in hopes of churning up some good publicity for the first race of the Chase.

    That goal was actually achieved, with a Cinderella-like ending for barely-in-the-Chase driver Clint Bowyer, who ended up in victory lane. The competition was intense throughout most of the race and the finish was dramatic, with Tony Stewart running out of gas, allowing Bowyer to take the win and rocket to the second position in the Chase standings.

    For that brief and shining moment, NASCAR was on top of the publicity world and even some of the media outlets back in New York City and the tri-state area took notice. Yet, the bad publicity would soon yet again take over all of the good that had been the previous week’s focus.

    First up in the negative public relations realm was the continuing story of sponsorship struggles. Penske Racing made headlines with the announcement that their Cup driver, Sam Hornish Jr., and their Nationwide up and comer. Justin Allgaier. were free to look elsewhere for rides as their sponsors, Mobil 1 and Verizon respectively, were leaving the sport.

    The ‘Captain’ Roger Penske summed it up best. “You can’t race without funding,” Penske said. “We’re certainly not going to stand in their way as far as furthering their careers.”

    NASCAR was dealt another public relations blow when the deal that Hendrick Motorsports had been working on with Wal-mart to sponsor four-time champion Jeff Gordon’s car fell through. NASCAR had reportedly been wooing Wal-mart for many years without success and felt that this option might just one to bring the mega-company to the table.

    “The Wal-Mart thing was a little disappointing because I feel like everybody was wanting to see that company in this sport for a long time and we would have loved to have represented them,” Jeff Gordon said. Gordon’s primary sponsor for years, Dupont, will be leaving the Hendrick team and his car next year.

    All of these sponsor woes, as well as sponsors like Old Spice leaving Tony Stewart’s team, led to headlines in a local paper that NASCAR no doubt never wanted to see. One story headlined “NASCAR Corporate Sponsors Sought,” read like a help wanted or real estate for sale advertisement.

    The article, attributed to the Associated Press, stated, “For sale, prime real estate on cars driven by former Sprint Cup champions Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon. Gordon and Stewart who have six championships between them are NASCAR’s two biggest stars looking for additional sponsorship next season. They’re chasing corporate dollars just as much as they’re driving for a title over the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup.”

    With NASCAR no doubt cringing after reading this headline and story smack dab in the middle of Chase promotion, its first race story-book ending also fell apart this week. After warning the Richard Childress Race team that Clint Bowyer’s Richmond car was dangerously close to illegality, NASCAR determined that Bowyer’s winning car from New Hampshire was definitely over the edge and he and the team were severely penalized.

    While NASCAR did not take away Bowyer’s win, they did levy a 150 points penalty, dropping the team from second back to last in the twelve Chase racer standings. They also suspended Bowyer’s crew and car chief for six weeks, with probation for the rest of the season.

    “We don’t consider taking away the win,” Robin Pemberton, NASCAR’s Vice President of Competition, said of the penalties. “We try to be consistent throughout the year and the Chase.”

    With NASCAR no doubt hoping that penalty would be it and the sport could move on to this weekend’s second Chase race at the Monster Mile in Dover, Delaware, word came shortly after the sanctioning body’s announcement that Richard Childress would be appealing this decision.

    “We feel certain that the cause of the car being out of tolerance happened as a result of the wrecker hitting the rear bumper when it pushed the car into winner’s circle,” Childress said. “The rear bumper was also hit on the cool-down lap by other drivers congratulating Clint on his victory. That’s the only logical way that the left rear of the car was found to be high at the tech center.”

    With the knowledge that this controversy would not go away soon, NASCAR was then dealt one more public relations blow this past week. They received the television ratings from the New Hampshire race and they were definitely not good news.

    As reported by SceneDaily.com staff, “the telecast of the first race in the Chase for The Sprint Cup, the Sylvania 300 from New Hampshire Motor Speedway, earned a 2.3 national rating on ESPN, down 28 percent from a 3.2 on ABC a year ago.”

    This drop of 28 percent was the second biggest drop of the year, rivaling only the 32 percent drop for the Las Vegas race earlier in the season. The Cup races have been averaging a national rating of somewhere around the 4.0 percent mark, but even that has been dropping recently, leaving NASCAR, the NASCAR media corps, and fans simply scratching their heads.

    While the old adage of ‘any publicity is good publicity’ may be true in other venues, this is most certainly not true in the world of NASCAR. The sport desperately needs some good public relations to head its way, especially in what many deem as its ‘play off’ season.

    Yet if the bad publicity continues to overshadow the good, the sport may be in true trouble. And the spiral of shrinking corporate dollars, fewer fans in the seats, and drivers pursuing other ways to make a living may just continue to grow, leaving NASCAR leadership and all involved in decision-making in the sport wondering just what has to be done to turn the once great buzz about the fastest growing sport in America back around.

  • NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: Who’s going to tame Miles the monster?

    NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: Who’s going to tame Miles the monster?

    Round two of NASCAR’s 2010 Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship moves on to the Dover International Raceway this Sunday. This one mile concrete oval is governed by a large concrete mascot, with bright red eyes, known as Miles the Monster. Like its racing mascot, this track is known for aggressive behavior. The one mile oval has all of the short track characteristics of a half mile counterpart. Drivers have to pass carefully and if they take too long with the process race traffic behind them will quickly pull up on their bumpers. It’s also a track that is physically and mentally demanding on the drivers as well as a good source for road rage. Add the element of the Chase into the mix and the AAA 400 has all the makings of a highly entertaining Sunday afternoon.

    THE STORY BREAKDOWN

    We all know what “THE STORY” of the week is. It’s of course Wednesday’s announcement by NASCAR that said Clint Bowyer’s #33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet failed to pass an additional inspection at their R&D Center following last weekend’s New Hampshire race. The left rear of the car was reported to be too high, a mere sixty one thousandths of an inch to be exact.

    The punishment for the crime was harsh. Crew chief Shane Wilson was fined $150,000 and suspended for the next six Sprint Cup races. Additionally Wilson was prohibited from participating in any NASCAR sanctioned events until November 3d and was also placed on probation until December 31st. Chad Haney, the team’s car chief, didn’t receive a monetary fine but was suspended under the same terms as Wilson. Bowyer and Childress were docked 150 driver and owner points respectively.

    But what is most interesting here is the statement released by team owner Richard Childress Wednesday afternoon. The statement began with the obligatory apology to the team’s sponsors, fans and RCR employees. Childress also stated that his racing teams, and the people behind them, has a long standing reputation of integrity as well as obeying the rules.

    Childress went on the say that the team was actually warned that the rear of the #33 Chevrolet was very close to being in violation approximately two weeks ago. “NASCAR informed us after the Richmond race that we were very close to maximum tolerances. They also told us they were going to take our New Hampshire car to the NASCAR Technical Center after that race. It doesn’t make any sense at all that we would send a car to New Hampshire that wasn’t within NASCAR tolerances. I am confident that we fixed the area of concern and the New Hampshire car left the shop well within the tolerances required by NASCAR,” Childress said.

    Childress also shared a very interesting theory regarding how the rear of his car failed to pass inspection and said “we feel certain that the cause of the car being out of tolerance by sixty one thousandths of an inch, less than one sixteenth of an inch, happened as a result of the wrecker hitting the bumper when it was pushed to the winner’s circle, (after the car ran out of fuel). The rear bumper was also hit during the cool down lap by other drivers congratulating Clint on his victory. That’s the only logical way that the left rear of the car was found to be too high at the Technical Center.” Childress also announced that he intended to pursue the full appeal process available to him.

    On Wednesday Robin Pemberton, NASCAR Vice President of Competition, discounted the theory that it was the wrecker that raised the rear of the Bowyer car. The following day NASCAR officials said they would not be making any further comments on the matter pending the completion of the appeal process.

    The theory regarding the wrecker pushing the Bowyer car, as well as the congratulatory bumps, is most interesting and we can all expect to hear a lot of lively debate on this issue from the television coverage during the Dover weekend.

    ************

    After winning at New Hampshire Bowyer vaulted from 12th to second in the Chase standings. Wednesday’s loss of championship points returns him to 12th. There has already been speculation that says any driver 100 or more points out of first is already eliminated as a championship contender. Mathematically that’s really not true. But, realistically speaking, you have to consider the theory as being a valid point.

    In addition to Clint Bowyer, drivers Greg Biffle, Jeff Burton, Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth are 100 or more points from the top of the standings. Stewart and Biffle understand how to find victory lane at Dover. They been there two times each. Burton and Kenseth are also previous winners there. Look for this group to charge hard next Sunday in an effort to dig themselves out of the points hole they’re currently in.

    *************

    THE VEGAS BREAKDOWN

    The Las Vegas based WSE-World Sports Exchange, has two drivers at the top of their rankings for Sunday’s race at Dover at 4 to 1 odds. The first is Kyle Busch. The driver of the #18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota is a two time winner at Dover including the spring race earlier this year. That means he’s be looking for a sweep. Joining him at 4 to 1 is the heavily favored Jimmie Johnson and his #48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Johnson is a five time Dover winner and is also the defending race champion which he won last year from the pole position.

    At 10 to 1 this week you’ll will find two representatives from Roush Fenway Racing. Carl Edwards is a former race winner and has an outstanding record on concrete based race tracks. In fact, one of his many nicknames is “Concrete Carl.” Greg Biffle is a two time winner at Dover and is expected to be a major player during Sunday’s race.

    The WSE has a large group of drivers ranked at 15 to 1 this week. This group is led by four time race winner Jeff Gordon and two time winner Tony Stewart as well as former race winners Matt Kenseth and Jeff Burton. Also in this group are Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin.

    All by himself, at 18 to 1, is Clint Bowyer a driver that everyone is going to be watching this Sunday. Also in the middle tier this week, at 20 to 1, are Earnhardt Ganassi Racing team mates Juan Pablo Montoya and Jamie McMurray.

    At the lower end of the WSE list this week are drivers Kasey Kahne and David Reutimann at 25 to 1. At 30 to 1 is Martin Truex Jr a former race winner who considers Dover his home track. Ryan Newman and Joey Logano complete the list at 35 to 1. Newman might make an interesting long shot wager because he’s a three time Dover winner.

    Another long shot bet is Mark Martin. It’s no secret that his #5 Hendrick Motorsports team has been wading through the frustration of a very disappointing season. But if there was a race track where this team can find their mojo again it’s Dover. Martin is a four time winner there. He also owns the track record for top five finishes, at 22, as well as top tens at 30. Martin is not ranked on the WSE’s official list this week. That means he’s included in the category known as “all others” which comes with 15 to 1 odds.

    When it comes to the 2010 Sprint Cup Championship, the WSE has had Jimmie Johnson on top of their favorites list since January. Interestingly enough, that all changed this week. Denny Hamlin is now topping the WSE list at 3 to 1 odds followed by Kevin Harvick- 7 to 2, Jimmie Johnson- 4 to 1, Kyle Busch- 7 to 1 along with Tony Stewart and Clint Bowyer at 8 to 1. The rankings for the remainder of the 12 Chase contenders are Jeff Gordon- 12 to 1, Kurt Busch- 18 to 1, Carl Edwards and Jeff Burton- 20 to 1, Greg Biffle- 30 to 1 and Matt Kenseth- 50 to 1.

    ************

    THE RACE BREAKDOWN

    The AAA 400 is 400 laps around the Dover International Raceway’s one mile concrete oval.

    The race has 46 entries vying for the 43 starting berths.

    11 of those entries are on the go or go home list meaning these teams do not have a guaranteed starting berth in the race because they are currently outside of NASCAR’s top 35 in owner’s points. These teams will have to rely on qualifying speeds to make the race.

    The track record for most wins is shared by NASCAR legends Richard Petty and Bobby Allison at seven each.

    Chevrolet leads the manufacturer’s Dover win list at 30. Hendrick Motorsports tops the team wins category at 12.

    The track opened in 1969. The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was held there in July of 1969 and was won by Richard Petty. Since that time there has been 81 Cup races there that has sent 32 different winners to victory lane.

    Jeremy Mayfield holds the track qualifying record, 161.522 MPH, set in June of 2004. David Pearson holds the track record for the most poles at six. Among active drivers Ryan Newman, Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon has won the pole four times each. 12 Dover races has been won from the pole.

    NASCAR veteran Dick May holds the record for driving the most cars during a single race at Dover. In May of 1975 May parked his permanent ride, owned by Richard Childress, for a 35th finish early in the race. During the course of the day he performed relief driver duties for four other teams.

    The Dover International Raceway’s one mile oval was changed to its present concrete surface in 1995.

    The turns have 24 degrees banking while the straights are banked nine degrees. The front and back stretch each measure 1,076 feet.

    The pit road speed is 35 MPH.

    The track presently has seating for 135,000.

    The weather could turn out to be an interesting dilemma for crew chiefs. The Saturday forecast for Dover calls for sunny skies and 87 degrees. However Sunday’s forecast calls for extreme clouds and 75 degrees. That’s going to mean cooler track temperatures that could impact tire grip and handling.

    The AAA 400 will be broadcast live by the ESPN2 Network beginning at 12 pm eastern time. The re airs are scheduled for Monday, 330 am et on ESPN2, and on Wednesday, 12 pm et on SPEED.

  • Isn’t It Time That NASCAR Took Away Victories?

    Isn’t It Time That NASCAR Took Away Victories?

    It’s almost time for the engines to roar at Dover in the second race of the Sprint cup race and we’re still talking about New Hampshire. Of course, that’s because NASCAR has accused Richard Childress Racing of cheating at the New Hampshire race. The chassis tolerances were not up to NASCAR’s standards and driver Clint Bowyer and car owner Childress were docked 150 championship points and the crew chief on the team was fined $150, 000. And yet, the win stands for Bowyer. It makes no sense to me.

    It’s a long standing tradition or rule that goes back to the beginnings of NASCAR. Big Bill France, the founder of the sanctioning body that has become an American staple, thought that fans at the track should know when they left who was the winner. Those being the case, victories are never taken away even if a rules infraction is discovered. On Sunday, that meant that Clint Bowyer got the win regardless of whether his car was illegal or not. Bowyer’s No. 33 Chevy has been hot the last two races. In fact, the car was so hot that NASCAR began to look a little closer at the team. Warnings went out after Richmond that the car was so close to being illegal that a meeting was held with Childress and the team. I found this interesting. RCR was given notice that they should clean up their act. Then the teams headed to the New Hampshire race. Post race inspection showed the car to not be within the tolerances of the rule book, and a penalty was assessed three days after the race. Bowyer kept the win, but lost most of the points he had earned, leaving him back in last place after ascending to second on race day.

    I find this unusual, even though I’ve know this most of my adult life. Why should any team retain a victory if they had cheated? I understand the logic that Big Bill prescribed to. The fans at the track left knowing Bowyer had won the race, but does it make it right that his team did it by not following the rules? It has happened so often in the history of this sport that it probably is not on the mind of most fans, but does that make it right?

    Since NASCAR wants to follow the stick and ball sports in their playoff system, why don’t they follow those sports in policing cheaters? Recently, the NCAA stripped a Heisman Trophy from Southern Cal start Reggie Busch because he had broken the rules. High school and college programs have always forfeited victories when cheating is discovered, taking away championships and wins. And yet, we live with this antiquated rule that says if you finish first in a race, even if you didn’t follow the rules, you still get the victory. Sure, they essentially took away the points from the victory, but forevermore the record will show Clint Bowyer as the winner on Sunday.

    It’s time for NASCAR to get tougher. I know that Childress has appealed the decision saying that the tow truck probably knocked the car out of specs when pushing it back to victory lane after the car ran out of fuel. But is that going to fly with the appeals board? It usually doesn’t. In my memory I cannot remember a NASCAR decision being overturned (notice I said in my memory, which isn’t so good these days). My guess is NASCAR’s decision will be upheld. So where does that leave us? It’s time for NASCAR to simply not grant any points for the car that they have determined was not playing by the rules, eliminate all points, and grant the victory to the second place car. Nothing else makes any sense. If I were in charge, I’d get on that immediately, but I doubt that will happen. It’s tradition you know.

  • CHEVY NSCS AT DOVER TWO: Johnson Wins Pole, Press Conference Transcript

    NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES

    AAA 400

    DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

    TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT

    SEPTEMBER 24, 2010

    Jimmie Johnson Wins the Pole at Dover; 15 Team Chevy Drivers to Start AAA 400

    Dover, Del. (September 24, 2010) – For the 25th time in his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) career, four-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson will start from the pole. Johnson qualified his No. 48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet in the No. 1  starting position for Sunday’s AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway.

    It is his second pole of the 2010 season and his third at Dover. It is the 12th pole for Team Chevy in 28 races this season.

    Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 42 Target Chevrolet, will start fifth with Jamie McMurray, No. 1 McDonald’s Chevrolet, seventh in the 43-car starting lineup. A total of 15 Team Chevy drivers will start race two of the 2010 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

    AJ Allmendinger (Ford), Martin Truex, Jr. (Toyota) and Denny Hamlin (Toyota) complete the top-five qualifiers for the 400-lap/400-mile race on Sunday.

    ESPN TV, MRN Radio and Sirius NASCAR Satellite Radio Channel 128 will provide live coverage of the race scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m. EDT.

    JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S/KOBALT TOOLS CHEVROLET – POLE WINNER:

    YOU MADE A COUPLE OF ADJUSTMENTS ON THE CAR AND HERE YOU ARE ON THE POLE

    “I have a lot of faith in this race team. We worked on some things. I knew the car was going to be more comfortable for me and help some of the loose. I didn’t know how much. As I heard on the telecast earlier, some of the other drivers we speaking about the commitment it takes. As a Sprint Cup driver you’ve got to climb in the car and hope for the best. Every time you go into Turn 1 you’ve got to anticipate that grip is there and fortunately for me today it was. If it wasn’t, I would have been backwards and in the fence, and I had a big issue off of (Turn) 4 but (Turns) 1 and 2 gave me a good feel for what (Turns) 3 and 4 had and I got a good end down there. I’m just proud of these guys and this whole Lowe’s /KOBALT Tools team. We’ve got a good starting spot, obviously, and hopefully we can make some good of it on Sunday.”

    ON HIS START TO THE CHASE

    “It certainly isn’t the way we wanted to start the Chase. We ran better than where we finished (at Loudon). We were in the eye of the storm a few times and had some issues and lost track position and then we had an issue with the right front tire. When I watched the comments through the week and heard what Tony Stewart had to say, and I really parallel his thoughts. It’s not what you want but there are still nine races left and no time to panic. We don’t need to change what we’re doing. We know we’re a great race team. We’ve just got to go race for this thing and I think this year’s Chase, every guy in the Chase is ready to race. We know that we are.”

    HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO HAVE FIRST PIT STALL? “Dover is such a tough track to pass on. Especially early in the race and the short run side of it. The most important thing is pit road and it is a very dangerous pit road. Even for the crew guys in a certain respect, but just from the car standpoint, you can get hit in the left front; you can get smashed in the wall. All kinds of damage can take place. You can get pinned in your pit box so to have that first pit box is everything. From where we were in practice, we were just hoping for a top-10 and I got a really good lap because of some great adjustments. We are very pleased to have that first pit stall.”

    JIMMIE JOHNSON’S POLE WINNER POST QUALIFYING TRANSCRIPT:

    ON RACING AT DOVER:

    “I do like the race track. It’s always been a very fun race track for me. Practice was in the not-so-fun category and we made some changes to get a good lap. I wasn’t sure if it was enough for the pole, but I knew I’d be far better than I was in practice. It was a fun challenge for me today; especially the way things turned out. And there are a lot of times where you change the race car around and you’re not sure what to expect with the balance and you go out and you run a lap and things happen. Today, to really go into qualifying blind and go off of past notes for qualifying and the rhythm and mindset that I thought I needed to drive here and just blindly go into it in the first turn and just lay the car in there as I would hope, it could handle the speed and the car stuck and made the transition through (Turns) 1 and 2 and was strong. It’s cool to have that come full circle. And I guess a lot of that boils down to the confidence I have in my race team and the faith I have in them and the trust I have in them to give me a car that I need to feel. So today was a neat challenge the way it all turned out.”

    IS THIS THE BEST MEDICINE AFTER LAST WEEK? HOW IMPORTANT IS TRACK POSITION AT THIS TRACK?

    “This is certainly a step in the right direction for momentum. Last weekend we ran much better than where we finished. It stinks that we finished where we did but there is nothing we can really do about it and to come out this weekend and qualify on the pole just starts the weekend off on the right foot. And it really creates a good situation for us in the race having that first pit stall. Track position is very, very important here. It seems to be more important as each weekend and each year goes by. We just learn more about the cars and make them more equal and the aero deficit that you’re in being one position back; just one position back is enough to keep you from running the lap times you need to. So, it’s all small little steps now and track position is one of the few big steps left in our sport. And the best way to get that track position is by qualifying on the front row or up front, and we did that. Hopefully we can maintain that track position throughout the race and have a good finish.”

    ON THE ADJUSTMENT FROM PRACTICE TO QUALIFYING THAT ALLOWED HIM TO WIN THE POLE. WHAT WILL YOU WORK ON IN TOMORROW’S PRACTICE?

    “We just worked on qualifying trim today. So we can learn some trends from what we saw today and carry that into race practice tomorrow. But the track, to be honest with you, it was a little different than what we expected today. The grip level was a little off. The balance of the car wasn’t as we anticipated. So hopefully what we learned today we can lay that into our race set-up and transition into a smoother day tomorrow.”

    CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE LAP, WAS IT THE PERFECT LAP FOR THIS TRACK? DID YOU FEEL LIKE YOU HAD A SHOT AT THE POLE?

    “No, I wasn’t sure it was a pole lap. Our practice session was really, really loose. And it was the first time I wasn’t crashing loose so I felt like I was going to be better than 18th or wherever I was in practice and I was prepared to run a second lap and was carrying my speed into Turn 1 and committed to running my lap when (crew chief) Chad (Knaus) with great surprise said on the radio, ‘Whoa, whoa, stop, stop…pole! You’re good, you’re good!’ And I’m like what’? I didn’t know the lap would turn out to be that fast.  It was cool to see it all come together for us.”

    DID YOU FEEL THE LAP WOULD HOLD UP?

    “I was the last of the guaranteed starters, I’m not even sure what the heck we’re called, but I was the last of those guys. And I didn’t feel like a go or go-homer had a shot to win the pole from what I saw in practice. I didn’t count them out, but I felt pretty good about things.

     

    About Chevrolet: Chevrolet is a global automotive brand, with annual sales of about 3.5 million vehicles in more than 130 countries. Chevrolet provides consumers with fuel-efficient, safe and reliable vehicles that deliver high quality, expressive design, spirited performance and value. In the U.S., the Chevrolet portfolio includes: iconic performance cars, such as Corvette and Camaro; dependable, long lasting pickups and SUVs, such as Silverado and Suburban; and award-winning passenger cars and crossovers, such as Malibu, Equinox and Traverse. Chevrolet also offers “gas-friendly to gas-free” solutions including the Cruze Eco and Volt, both arriving in late 2010. Cruze Eco will offer up to 40 mpg highway while the Chevrolet Volt will offer up to 40 miles of electric, gas-free driving and an additional 300 miles of extended range (based on GM testing; official EPA estimates not yet available). Most new Chevrolet models offer OnStar safety, security, and convenience technologies including OnStar Hands-Free Calling, Automatic Crash Response, and Stolen Vehicle Slowdown. More information regarding Chevrolet models, fuel solutions, and OnStar availability can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

  • FORD RACING NOTES AND QUOTES – AAA 400 Qualifying

    DAVID RAGAN – No. 6 UPS Ford Fusion (Qualified 30th) –  “I think we pretty much ran what we did in practice.  I wish we could have picked up a little bit, but the car just seemed to slide around a little bit more than it did in practice.  I think our car is gonna be pretty good for the race.  I was happy with hit when we unloaded, so we just needed a little bit more speed there in qualifying.” 

    HOW HAS YOUR FIRST DAY WITH DREW GONE?  “So far, so good.  Drew and I have worked together a little bit in the past.  He knows the Roush system very well.  We’ve still got some time to learn and some things to do, but, overall it’s been good.  We’ll see what tomorrow brings and hopefully he’ll have a few different opinions of what we’ve got here.”

    GREG BIFFLE – No. 16 3M Ford Fusion (Qualified 7th) – “Can I do it one more time?  It was really good, but the track was hotter and slicker than I expected it to be.  I probably drove it in three and four a little bit too far and it went up the track.  I had to wait forever and that cost me at least a tenth and that’s the top of the board.”

    CARL EDWARDS – No. 99 Aflac Ford Fusion (Qualified 11th) –  “I just missed my mark a little bit in three and four, but it’s just a blink of an eye – you don’t want to mess that up.  I needed one more lap and I could probably run another tenth faster, but we’ve got a fast race car.  It’s nice to be disappointed not being on the pole.  We’ve got a car that can win the pole and it’s been like that the last few weeks.

    That’s been cool.”

    AJ ALLMENDINGER – No. 43 Insignia/Best Buy Ford Fusion (Qualified 2nd) – “It’s tough here because the lap times at this place are so close.

    You just watch everybody go and some guys would speed up, but a lot of guys were slowing down.  You just never know, but I’m just proud of everybody at Richard Petty Motorsports and the Roush Yates engine shop.  We’ve got great horsepower and everybody has just been doing a great job over the last month.  It’s been a pleasure to feel like we’re building again and getting better.  It’s a great effort from everybody and I’m just proud.”

    KASEY KAHNE – No. 9 Budweiser Ford Fusion (Qualified 17th) – “I think we went a little too far.  We just got a little bit loose, but the car actually drove really good and did everything I wanted it to.  I just wasn’t able to give it enough gas all the time.  We have a lot of time to work on the car tomorrow and keep getting it better, but I think it’ll be strong on Sunday.”

    PAUL M ENARD – No. 98 Menards Ford Fusion (Qualified 10th) – “That was a nice pickup from practice.  I butchered turn one a little bit and I thought I hurt the lap quite a bit.  There was more there, for sure, but it was a nice pickup.  We made a few changes and kind of guessed at a few things that worked out pretty good.  We were decent in race trim earlier.  We just did a couple of runs and we’ve got all day tomorrow to improve, as does everybody else, but I think we have a good car.”

    AJ ALLMENDINGER PRESS CONFERENCE – “For us it was just another solid day.  Over the last month I’ve felt like everybody at Richard Petty Motorsports, but especially the 43, my team has been really strong.

    We unload strong.  We have good Fridays and good Saturdays and the races have been going really well, so today was just another portion of that.  We went out there and were really fast in race trim, I felt.

     We did a couple of runs there and went right into qualifying trim and went really fast.  I would have liked to have had the pole.  When you’ve got the 48 behind you it’s tough to hold on, but, more importantly, the confidence that my race team and I are building together is the most important thing.  I’m excited about tomorrow with getting some practice in.  The track is gonna change a lot and that’s what we’ve got to focus on, but I’m really excited about my car on Sunday.”  YOU GUYS ARE COMING AROUND NOW.  DO YOU FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE IN THE CAR?  “For me, it’s my first full year working with all the 43 guys and this is Richard Petty Motorsports’ first year working with Ford.  We have the alliance with Roush Fenway and the beginning of the year was tough.  We were trying to learn a lot of new things.  Everybody was trying to find their place inside the company and where that belonged.  I felt like we kind of got on a good path in the middle of the season.  We were having a lot of solid top-10,

    top-15 runs and then the last six weeks or so we kind of got off track and were struggling.  We had a good run at Watkins Glen, but that was about it.  And then over the last month, just inside the team we made a couple of changes engineering-wise helping all of us out and I feel like that’s really got us back on path.  Over the last three weeks, and counting today now, we’ve just been getting better.  We’ve had good races.  We need to minimize our mistakes during the races, but, overall, I feel like our cars are really strong.  We’re really fast and they’re really consistent, which is the biggest deal.  For the chasers, to me, you never want to be the guy that goes out there and gets into the side of one of them and possibly cost them a championship or anything like that, but, to be honest with you, I could really care less about if they’re out there racing for a championship.  They’ve got a lot more to lose than I do.  I’m not gonna go and intentionally get in anybody’s way, but I’m out there to win.  I’m out there to get Insignia/Best Buy a victory and the way I look at it, they’ve got a lot more to lose than I do, so they’ve got to be more cautious than me.”  COMING FROM OPEN WHEEL, WHAT DO YOU LIKE AT DOVER NOW THAT YOU’VE HAD A CHANCE TO GET USED TO COMING HERE?

     “I think ultimately, Mark said it the best, it’s a cool place.  It’s fast, there’s a lot of banking in it.  To me, the corners narrow up so much on the exit and you’re going so fast that you’re almost on edge every lap.  You don’t ever feel like you can relax because when you do relax it’ll jump out and bite you, so, as a race car driver and me especially, I think it puts you on your A-game every lap that you run.

     It’s a really fun place.  I can’t really say much more than Mark said.  It’s just an awesome place.  I’ve really enjoyed it.  Even the first year I came here.  I remember I showed up and I was running the truck race and the Cup race.  We had a truck practice on Thursday and my crew chief wouldn’t let me out for the first 20 minutes.  He wanted me to just watch.  He said, ‘Kind of watch the straightaways, but watch off of turn four.’  I’m like, ‘What do you mean, and watch off of turn four?  I have to.  That’s what I’m supposed to do.  I’m supposed to learn.’  And I think Hornaday came off of four the first lap and the wheels didn’t look like they were touching the ground and I was like, ‘I retire.  Screw that (laughter).  I’m not doing that.

    That’s unfair.  I’m not doing that.’  It’s an amazing place when you get on it.  You feel like the bottom drops out from under you when you get in the corners and then come back and they try to bite you on the exit.  It’s just an awesome place to race and just drive in general.”