Sonoma Qualifying Notes & Quotes
Written by John Davison · June 25, 2004
Jeff Gordon dropped a wheel off the pavement in qualifying but still held on for pole position. Here are collected notes and quotes from Friday’s qualifying at Infineon Raceway.
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO (DO YOU THINK YOUR QUALIFYING TIME WILL HOLD?) “No, I don’t. We went out early and I think that’s going to hurt us. I got off the track a little bit over there in Turn 2. I can’t seem to get away from that spot on the race track. That’s the same thing we did last year. I tried to compensate for it but I don’t think that’s going to hold up. I hope that’ll be a top five. It was a good lap but that little bit I got off there certainly give the guys an opportunity to put us back a few spots.”
(FOLKS ARE BEGINNING TO ASK WHEN THAT ‘OTHER GORDON’ IS GOING TO WIN A ROAD COURSE RACE AGAIN) “Yeah, you know Robby (Gordon) was really good here and at Watkins Glen last year. I still feel like we had the car to beat but you’ve got to be out front and really can’t afford to make mistakes on those road courses in order to get those wins. That was one little one there and hopefully we’ll get through that and be able to put this DuPont Chevrolet up front the whole day on Sunday.” More to follow.
BRIAN VICKERS, NO. 25 GMAC CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO: “We worked on the car a lot today in practice. We worked on race trim more than qualifying trim. I was happy with it.”
DALE EARNHARDT JR., NO. 8 BUDWEISER CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO: “I think our car last year might have been a little bit better. It’s a little bit better than it was in the middle of practice. My car was a little bit loose. But hopefully it’s a little better and a little quicker and it has a little more grip and we can get a little more out of it.”
(ARE YOU DOING ANYTHING DIFFERENT THAN YOU HAVE HERE BEFORE?) “No, I’m trying not to. I’m trying to be smooth. It’s different because the track is a lot faster. You’ve just got to try to take it easy and not get over your head. It’s real easy to get over your head.”
AUSTIN CAMERON, MCMILLIN HOMES / NAPA CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO: “I’m really happy. Things couldn’t be happier. This is a pretty amazing deal. This is like my present for putting stuff (cancer) back in remission.”
KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 GM GOODWRENCH CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO - (YOU’RE RUNNING SOUTHWEST AND CUP, CAN YOU FIND ANYTHING ELSE TO DO THIS WEEKEND?) “Yeah, we’re going to run to Las Vegas on Saturday night and run Late Models. We always try to do that once a year. This GM Goodwrench Chevy has been really good since we’ve been here. I just didn’t get into Turn 2 with enough speed like I needed to and gave up a lot of time right there. But all in all, it was a pretty good lap. As long as we’re in the top 10 we can have a chance in the race.”
ROBBY GORDON, NO. 31 CINCULAR WIRELESS CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO: “We tire hopped down there and when it’s doing that you can’t turn. You just have to keep going straight. We got lost a little bit in practice. The car was so tight we made some changes. I never thought we’d have to turn the brakes back. We should have just given it more front grip. But we gave it enough that it picked the rear tires up and it started chattering.” (DO YOU THINK YOU’RE GOING TO BE OKAY ANYWAY?) “Yeah, it doesn’t matter. It’s one lap. I think we’ll start somewhere around 14th.” (WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES FOR GOING FROM 14TH TO THE FRONT?) “You just keep the fenders on the car. It’ll make it exciting, for sure.” (YOU SAID THE CAR WAS TIGHT BUT IT LOOKED LIKE YOU GOT A LITTLE LOOSE AT TIMES DURING THE LAP. DID YOU GO TO FAR?) “We went too far. It wouldn’t turn. (Jeff) Gordon and those guys were having problems with it turning. I was having the same problem. We made a big adjustment and it didn’t work.”
JOE NEMECHEK, NO. 01 U.S. ARMY CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO: “We’ve been struggling a little bit with our U.S. Army Chevy. We never really got a good fast lap in practice. It looks like the track has lost some grip. You just can’t overdrive it. Goodyear has got a little different tire now. You go back three or four years you could hustle pretty good but your tires would wear out at the end of the tire run or gas run. Now, it’s different. They repaved it. And when the guys were out here testing - I didn’t come, Scott Riggs came out and Boris Said came out to help him and they said the track had a ton of grip. Well, when we came back today, there has been so much rubber put down that it’s totally different. It sat there and baked and the track got hotter and it’s definitely slower right now. You have to take what it’ll give you. If you try to take to much, you’re asking for trouble.”
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO - POLE WINNER - POST QUALIFYING PRESS CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS:
Note: Collected his fourth career pole at Infineon Raceway - his third pole of the year. He has won from the pole at this track twice.
(ON POSTING A NEW TRACK RECORD) “The track record is because of the track being repaved. It’s got a lot of grip. I think they’ve got just a little bit different tire out here also. But I was really disappointed when I made the run because I felt like I left the door wide open for other guys to knock us down the list. I knew I made a great effort on the rest of the race track and got everything I could get out of it until I got to Turn 10. As it turned out I think the conditions were much trickier than we anticipated. I thought going out early that was the case. But the wind really kicked up and everybody had trouble with Turn 10. I was just more disappointed because I did the same thing last year. Last year I went off a lot further than I did this year. But we’ve had an awesome car all day long. We’re on a mission. We’re not happy with the way things have been turning out for us lately. All we can do is just attack, attack, attack. This is a great opportunity and place for us to do that.
“I was shocked. I’ll be honest. I was talking with Robbie Loomis (crew chief) and watching were the guys were ending up - Robby Gordon and Boris Said and Rusty Wallace. I said I couldn’t believe we were going to get this pole. We kind of dodged a bullet there. We’ve got to make sure to keep that thing on track the rest of the weekend. We’ve got a great car.”
(IS THIS A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN PICK UP SOME POINTS?) “It’s hard to start thinking about that right now. All we can focus on is getting here tomorrow morning and getting this car dialed in for this race. Pit strategy can bring guys from the back to the front in a hurry. Jimmie (Johnson) certainly entertained us all. I don’t know how he runs that thing and gets it so sideways and doesn’t spin or wreck or hit things. It’s pretty amazing to just bring that car back.
“With the new pavement, starting up front is more important than it ever has been before. It’s already tough to pass. There are only two passing zones at this track: going into Turn 7 and going into Turn 11. With the new surface and being able to driving in so deep because of the good grip under braking, I think it’s going to be even harder to pass.”
(HOW CLOSE WERE YOU LOSING IT GOING INTO TURN 10?) “It really wasn’t about losing the car, it was about losing speed. I knew I had a great lap going. I got into Turn 10 really good. I felt the car starting to push there and we’d been struggling with that all day long and had freed the car to compensate for that. That’s why I think that wind really was playing a role. I got in there and I felt it get tight. I hesitated to get back in the throttle because I knew it was going to do that. I felt like I really turned it and got it where I needed to be. I started to accelerate up off there and the car just kept going and kept going and I just couldn’t bring it back. I got the left sides off there. I really didn’t have to get out of the gas that much, but there was wheel spin there and slowed me from accelerating as much as I wanted to. My next thing was what to do about Turn 11. I knew I had lost some speed and had a little bit of dust on the tires. That was what I was really happy about was getting into Turn 11 really deep and got the car slowed down and hit my marks and still recovered for a good lap. Some guys looked like when they did bobble they weren’t able to do that. The next corner got them behind or something happened where they lost speed. That corner could have cost us but luckily we recovered well.”
(ON GERMAN KLAUS GRAF BEING HERE AND BEING THE FIRST EUROPEAN-BORN DRIVER TO OPEN THE DOOR FOR FOREIGN DRIVERS) “I’m excited. This is a great opportunity. If it were Michael Schumacher, we’d be in a little bit of trouble if that were the case. It’s so hard for anybody outside the U.S. to come in and be up to speed right away because there are no other cars like these in the world. I like to think that we excel at what we do. I wish him all the best. I just wish that if we were going to get more Europeans - just like Formula 1 wants more Americans - you’ve got to start at a young age. You’ve got to start racing on ovals. You’ve got to do a lot of different types of racing than what they do anywhere else in the world. It makes us very unique and makes our drivers unique.”
(ROBBY GORDON WANTS TO KNOW IF JEFF GORDON LIKES HIM) “Number one, I’m not here to like anybody. I have no problem with Robby. I think he’s got a lot of talent. The facts are the facts. I don’t think he always uses his head. But I think he’s got a lot of talent and he’s going to be one of the guys to beat here on Sunday. He’s not anybody I’d go hang out with. But I’ve seen him away from the track and I think he’s a super nice guy.”
(CAN YOU APPLY ANY OF YOUR FORMULA 1 RIDE AT INDY TO DRIVING THIS RACE TRACK?) “I wish there was one comparison. There are zero comparisons. It’s not even close. You can’t attack the tracks. They don’t accelerate. I wish I had traction control, I know that. But I think it’s like comparing apples to oranges. There’s no comparison. I love driving these cars around this race track. This is a finesse track. We certainly saw that today in qualifying. If you were willing to take risks, you’d better be prepared for what can come with that. I got a little bit risky in Turn 10 and it almost cost us the pole.”
(ROBBY GORDON STARTS24TH ON SUNDAY. HOW DIFFICULT IS IT GOING TO BE TO GET TO THE FRONT?) “It’s going to be tough, no doubt about it. If it were me in that same position, it would be very difficult for us. If we were at Watkins Glen, it’s not as difficult. There are a lot more passing zones there. There are only two places to pass here. So he’ll have to be aggressive, which already puts you at risk. And then you’re going to have to be risky in your pit strategy. Those factors work against you but it doesn’t make it impossible.”
(WILL YOU MAKE ANY MORE ADJUSTMENTS IN YOUR PIT STRATEGY OR ARE YOU SET FOR SUNDAY?) “We’re going to know more tomorrow. We’ll see what our fuel mileage is and our tire wear and what the car is doing and how it’s giving up under longer runs. Until then, it’s really hard to say what our pit strategy is going to be. Typically on the road courses we focus more on our own strategy instead of what the other teams are doing. You just try to run until you need fuel. If you have track position, you can get away with that. The neat thing about road courses is that you want to get caught on pit road under a caution. You want the caution to come out as soon as you’re in the pit box. So you don’t want to pit too late, obviously. You’ve got to stick to your own plan.”
(ON MANY DRIVERS HAVING TROUBLE STAYING ON THE COURSE -ESPECIALLY ON THE BACK HALF) “I think staying on the race course is going to be the key to Sunday’s race. This has always been a track that’s not an easy track. It’s very finicky. You can’t really max-brake anywhere. You can’t attack the race track. You have to have a lot of patience. Today, the higher grip level gave you that feeling that you could attack a little bit more. Every time you did, it reached out and grabbed you. To me, this is like going from Martinsville to Bristol in comparison to Infineon to Watkins Glen. They’re just two totally different types of race tracks. The track we tested at - VIR in Virginia - reminds me a lot of this race track. It’s not the shape or the size or the turns. But it’s a track where you have to have finesse and be smooth and not go off the track.”
(WITH THE CHANGED CURBING IN MANY PORTIONS OF THE TRACK, WILL YOU BE MORE CONSERVATIVE?) “I would like to be involved with them when they’re doing the curbing because I’m not a big fan of some of the curbing we have out there. I haven’t been able to use the curbs as much today as I have in the past, but I think most of it is because of the new pavement. There is so much grip. You used to really have to bounce around on these curbs here because the track was worn out and there wasn’t a lot of grip. You’d use the curb to plant the outside of the car. Now we’ve got grip and you’ve got to get on them easy. They’re pretty abrupt. They’re not small curbs. I think there are some that are a little too steep. I did have to be more careful of the curbs throughout the whole lap early. I would have liked to have gotten on that curb a little bit better in Turn 10. I needed the help of that one.”
(BY WINNING THE POLE POSITION, YOU HAVE YOUR CHOICE OF STARTING ON THE LEFT OR RIGHT. WHAT IS YOUR CHOICE AND WHY?) “I’ve learned my lesson on that one. I’ve picked two different ones before and still wasn’t leading in Turn 1 on either one of them. We’re going to take the left side, which I guess is the inside. They call that Turn 1. But the real turn is at the top of the hill to the right. It’s very tricky to get into those first couple of corners side-by-side here. I don’t think it really matters. But I chose that outside one time and it didn’t work out for me. So I’m going to choose the inside.”
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JEFF BURTON - No. 99 Roush Racing Taurus (Qualified 13th) - “It was a clean lap. There was nothing overly aggressive. I felt like I left a lot out there, but it was a clean lap. It was smooth. The car was a little better than I was. I’m not feeling very good and don’t have a lot of energy, so I just feel like I left a lot out there. I’m proud of my guys. They worked real hard and did a lot of stuff to get ready for this race and I’m proud of the effort.”
YOU GOT OFF TO A SLOW START TODAY WITH THE CARBURETOR ISSUE. “Yeah, the carburetor actually worked then and it just took me by surprise. All day long it’s been missing so bad that it’s been messing my exits up off the corners. The car was a lot better than I was, I just didn’t know what to expect and I didn’t drive it hard enough. With the carburetor messed up, if you gave it too much throttle the thing would not run and then all of a sudden it would run - it would mess you up. In qualifying, I could have given it plenty of throttle, but I didn’t know I could give it throttle until after the fact. So I left a lot on the table, but that’s OK.”
RICKY RUDD - No. 21 Keep It Genuine/Motorcraft Taurus (Qualified 12th) - “The track is a different race track than what we ran on earlier today. I was really surprised at how much of a change the track was and we just didn’t have any grip. I don’t know if we missed it on the air pressure or if the track got greasier. I’m not really sure. I probably should not have gone as hard and just gotten more of a conservative lap, but I was going for the pole and I just wasn’t getting a hold of the corner like I needed to and I gave up a lot of speed.”
GREG BIFFLE - No. 16 National Guard/Subway Taurus (Qualified 7th) - “I’m really surprised. I missed a couple of corner big-time. I was off in the gravel coming for the last turn 11. I had to wait until I got back on the track before I could put the gas down and it was a really good lap. That’s the double-edge of the sword. We never practiced in qualifying trim, so I didn’t know what to expect. I left some on the table because it turned better than I thought it was gonna, so I slowed down too much for the corner. I slowed down too much and said, ‘Oh man, I could have went a lot faster through there,’ so I left a little on the table. And then toward the end of the run I was getting more confidence and I was a little too fast through one of the corners and it didn’t turn - it went off the edge of the track. I was telling these guys that we could be second right now easy. Six-tenths, that’s hard to say, but I left at least three tenths on the table there so I feel pretty good about that lap.”
DALE JARRETT - No. 88 UPS Taurus (Qualified 23rd) - “The track has lost a lot of grip. It’s probably just hotter, so we slid around. I noticed it right off and I probably got a little conservative after that just trying to make sure that I stayed on the track. Then I missed the last corner down there. I thought that I could get there, but the car just never turned down in the last corner to get me a good shot up off. It was probably a smooth lap, but it wasn’t very fast.”
MARK MARTIN - No. 6 Viagra Taurus (Qualified 4th) - “That’s a pretty good lap. The Viagra team has a really fast race car here for us, but the last two times out I tried to get a little bit too much. In practice I slipped off the race track and I watched everybody having trouble out there and just decided to kind of drive like a grandma. These guys have got me a good race car. I’m looking forward to tomorrow and getting it set up for the race and then the race on Sunday.”
WHAT AFFECT HAS THE REPAVING HAD? “It’s much more difficult in certain ways. It’s gonna make passing more difficult. It makes it a lot faster, but it also makes the grip breakaway. When you start to slide, you can’t save it as easy as you could before so it’s gonna be a challenge.”
KURT BUSCH - No. 97 Sharpie/IRWIN Taurus (Qualified 3rd) - “It had its moments to say the least. We had a tight car most of practice and we did our scuffed set of tires so we didn’t have that variable and this session it was just loose on a lot of the corner exits. We’ve got a little bit of work to do and we’ll see what we can do for a Sunday package that will work all four tires the same.”
DO YOU LIKE THE NEW PAVEMENT? “It’s still just as much fun. Everytime we come back they change things a little bit. This time it was all new asphalt. The year before it was just a segment of asphalt. The year before that they re-configured the track. So once we develop some consistency with the track each time we come back, then we’ll see closer qualifying times and more excitement.”
ELLIOTT SADLER - No. 38 M&M’s Taurus (Qualified 16th) - “We’ve been struggling the whole time we’ve been out here. It’s just frustrating right now. We’re not really getting a hold of the car like we want to. Todd and the guys are doing a great job. We’re changing a lot of different things to try to help it, but we just haven’t found it yet. That’s not gonna be where we want to start at, but we came here to race on Sunday so if we just stay on the race track Sunday and get all the points we can, we should be OK.”
PRACTICE TOMORROW WILL HELP. “We hope so. We tested VIR a couple of weeks ago and felt we really had something to work with, so I’m just pretty disappointed right now. This team is used to qualifying up front. The guys are busting their butts, we’re just struggling right now. I don’t really test and run out here enough to probably give them the best feedback in the world, so we’re just gonna keep working at it.”
MATT KENSETH - No. 17 DEWALT Tools Taurus (Qualified 5th) - “Our qualifying has been OK here, but the problem is everything pays on Sunday and our finishes haven’t been that great. For some reason, we’ve been able to qualify OK here. My DEWALT team did a great job today. We started the day in race trim and really didn’t even get a mock-up run with all the problems we had, so we kind of guessed at it. We had a pretty good lap. I saw a lot of car get real loose in turn 10 and I tried to really take it easy through there and then overdrove 11 and lost a little time off of that, but, overall, it’s a great lap for us.”
WAS THE TRACK SLICKER? “There are a couple of spots on the track where the cars get real loose for some reason. My car was loose through two, I just tried to slow down a little extra through there and try not to make too much time there. It seems like it’s real easy to overdrive this track. My lap felt like it was slow, but it was just good. We didn’t overdrive any parts of the track too bad, except for turn 11. So, overall, that’s pretty good for us.”
KURT BUSCH PRESS CONFERENCE - “We find each time we come back to Infineon that there are changes made and improvements that help provide for a great race. The fans have access to better spots in the corners, so each time we come back there’s a little variable. What are we gonna change and how are we gonna adapt. The tire today just gave us a little bit of a fit, so we decided we were gonna scrub our tires and scuff them in and then go out there on scuffed tires instead of stickers. I saw Gordon make his mistake and it opened the door up, but I knew that we just weren’t quite good enough for the pole yet because we didn’t go out on stickers. It’s a question where we were in a catch-22. Do we go conservative or do we go for the pole? I knew that Rusty was the car to beat and it seemed like a few of the guys you expected to do well had problems and that enabled us to qualify third. We’ve been on the front row here before, so it’s still a good track and we’re still learning what we’ve got to do with this new tire this year for our 2004 program.”
STARTING UP FRONT HERE MEANS MORE DOESN’T IT? “It always helps out to have a positive result in qualifying. We’re pleased with our effort. To be third and to be able to start up front and to continuously run up front, it’s difficult to make passes here and you’ll end up heating up your brakes quick if you have to start in the back and work your way forward. It’s much easier to get involved in something if you are in the back, so starting third is a great spot for us to be in.”
THE FORDS QUALIFIED WELL TODAY. “I believe all the Ford teams can be pleased with their effort today. It didn’t look that way on the charts early on, but it takes a veteran-type team to know how to adjust for the new asphalt and the new tire and we were able to prevail. I think the slowest car in the Roush camp is 12th quick, so that’s a very good effort for our team today.”
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STERLING MARLIN (No. 40 Coors Light Dodge) “We made a few changes before qualifying and it got way, way too tight. We made a minor change on the track bar. We were 18th in our banzai run and had to miss a car. We probably lost about three tenths on that, and that would have put us about 12th overall. We’ll see what happens. I think we’ll be all right when it’s all said and done.”
BRENDAN GAUGHAN (No. 77 Kodak/Jasper Dodge) “We struggled a little bit. We made some changes, but we can’t get the grip we’re looking for. We’ll figure it out. If Rusty and Ryan can find it, we can find it. Qualifying is qualifying. It’ll just mean we’ll have a lot longer day coming through the esses. We’ve just got to be smart and not drop the wheels off the track. It’s amazing how many guys in Nextel Cup drop the wheels off and end up spinning themselves out. We’ll let those guys fall by the wayside and hope for the best.”
JEFF GREEN (No. 43 Cheerios/Spoonfuls of Stories Dodge) “We almost spun out a couple of times. We got a wheel off the track. I didn’t do these road courses at all last year. I guess I’m a little rusty, but we’ve got to get the car a little bit better, too. We’ll get things worked out before Sunday.”
RUSTY WALLACE (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge) “I’m pretty satisfied with that lap. I got to sliding too much in turn 10. That’s where Gordon and the 32 went off. I got in pretty hot and it was a long time before it hooked up. I knew it cost me too much time right there. All-in-all it was a good lap. I really wanted the pole. I don’t have a real big smile because I left too much laying on the table.”
KASEY KAHNE (No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge) “It was really loose. The front cut good and the back was sliding around. It got looser and looser as the run went along. I’m disappointed. I thought we could run something in the .16s for sure. It’s just a matter of laps and doing it more and more. We’ll figure out what we need in the car. I enjoy this kind of racing. I just wish we could have done better.”
CASEY MEARS (No. 41 Target Dodge) “We slowed up. We were way, way worse than we were in practice, and we weren’t that good in practice. I’m not satisfied with it at all. It was pretty bad actually. I love road courses, but I don’t know what’s wrong with us here. I grew up on road courses, and I feel like I’m a pretty good road course driver, but for some reason at this place I really struggle.”
SCOTT PRUETT (No. 39 Target Dodge) “It was OK, but we were a little disappointed. The car was tight for some reason, and we couldn’t carry the speed we wanted. We’re happy with the Target Dodge. This is the first time in a long time I’m starting up front instead of mid pack. All in all I think we’ve got a good car, and we’re going to be good in the race.”
RYAN NEWMAN (No. 12 ALLTEL Dodge) “That wasn’t what we were looking for, but that’s the way it goes sometimes. We’ll go to work and get ready for the race now and see if we can have a better day on Sunday with the ALLTEL Dodge. We’ve had some good runs on these road courses, but we’re looking for a great run. Hopefully that’ll come Sunday.”
JAMIE McMURRAY (No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge) “I thought we would be a little bit better than that. We were loose all morning and all of a sudden we got tight. I thought we were going to be in pretty good shape. I really enjoy road racing. It’s a lot of fun. I really thought we’d end up in the top five, so I’m a little disappointed right now.”
JEREMY MAYFIELD (No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge) “We had to change motors and we qualified with a brand new motor. We just wanted to go out and get in a good safe lap so we could get a decent pit spot. We’ll just have to work our way to the front on Sunday now.”
RUSTY WALLACE (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge) - Runner-up interview “I thought I could run a 15.10 or a 15.20. I ran a 15.50 pretty easy. I looked down and ran a 16.07 and thought I had the emergency brakes on, but I didn’t. The track lost grip and that was it.
“I think this is a track where you get your choice left or right. We’ll see who picks the right one. Gordon’s got the option, so we’ll see which one he picks. I know one thing. You don’t want to get off course and ruin your day in the first corner. You’ve got to get up through there smooth and not screw up.
“I didn’t have a problem. It was a clean track. I was real happy with the condition of the track. I had no problem whatsoever. I don’t think I got into turn 10 any harder than I had all day long. When I got there I just noticed reduced grip and that was about it.
“(New tire) seems OK. I haven’t had a problem whatsoever with it. We only did a one-day test here. If we hadn’t tested here we would have been fine because we haven’t changed much from last year’s setup. There’s not much difference. We verified some things. It’s a brand new car with a new style of brakes. So far everything is going good on it. It’s hard to evaluate the tire unless you’re back in the back with one old one and the new style. It’s the same for everybody. I’m happy with our performance and our starting position.
“It’s hard for those guys (road racers) to run good in these cars. We run these things every week and understand what they do and how they feel. For a road racer to go out and get it done, it’s hard for him. It’d be like me winning the Brickyard 400 and then going back and run the Indy 500. You’re not going to be able to get out of a stock car into an Indy car and make it happen. It’s a little easier for those road racers to run out here, but if they had more time, I’m sure they could run with us. I’m having a hard time figuring out where I’m going with this story…
“The track is smooth but the only grip I feel is in seven and in turn 11 but other than that you’re still sliding around like you were last year. I’m confident. I’ve just got to not screw up. Last year we got the brakes hot and had a top five car and ended up seventh or eighth. We’ve just got to keep it on course, that’s the main thing. You’ve got to log laps and keep it on the course. Track position is everything. You’ve got to get in the pits and get out before everybody else and keep that track position. Last year I spun and went from fifth to 30th. The caution flag came out and the whole field pitted. I stayed out and really watched my fuel mileage. I finished eighth by just staying out. I went to the gas pumps and it held 21.9, so I didn’t have much left.
“It’s a crucial race to get in the top 10 (series standings). I got myself out of it because of a crash at Talladega and a crash at California back to back. I went from eighth back to 15th. I’m trying to get back to the front right now. There are a lot of cars that are having problems. I think Jimmie Johnson qualified 31st. This is a track where you’ve got to run smooth and keep it on the track. A lot of guys are really good at other places that struggle a lot here.”
KASEY KAHNE (No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge) “I’m really happy. We could have four runner-up finishes and a win, too. That wouldn’t be bad. We could have three second-place finishes and a win, you just never know. I’m real excited we had four second-place finishes. We haven’t got a win yet, but we’ve been close. We’ve got to work on a few things, but we’re getting better. Another lap and we probably could have got by him (Ryan Newman at Michigan for win). We were a lot faster than he was. He was on used tires, and we were on new tires. We had the car to beat at the end of the race. We didn’t have the car all day, but we had the car at the end of the race.”
HOW DO YOU TURN THE SECONDS INTO FIRSTS? “At Michigan we started off so bad with setup and things. We had to work on it all day to get it to the front. We restarted 19th with 23 laps to go and drove up to the front. If we could have started 10th with 23 laps maybe we would have had a better shot to win. It seems like we need to have more of a full race. When we’ve done that at Texas and Dover we’ve run up front all day long. We had great opportunities to win and didn’t win. I think we’re doing things right. We’re just not getting that win. We expect to get a win. We expect to keep running up front as much as we can. It’s made us look into getting into that top 10 and going for the points. We have to look at all that.”
HAS BILL ELLIOTT HELPED YOU ADAPT TO INFINEON RACEWAY? “Bill was here for the two days we tested and he gets in tonight and will be here tomorrow. Bill’s a great guy to have helping you out here. He really enjoys this track. It’s one of his favorite racetracks. You’ve got to keep it on the black for sure, but he helped me a lot with braking and shifting. I was comfortable at the test. That was a month and a half ago, so it’ll take me awhile to get comfortable again.”
ARE YOU CONCERNED WITH PASSING AT THIS TRACK? “Yeah, that’s why you’ve got to be patient and wait. You can’t get excited and make any mistakes and take yourself out of the race because you’re over aggressive trying to pass somebody.”
IS PATIENCE ONE OF YOUR VIRTUES? “Some days it is and some days it isn’t. Hopefully Sunday it will be because this is a track you need to be patient on. At the same time, you’ve got to watch around you because a lot of guys aren’t going to be patient. You can’t be too patient and get wrecked because of that.”
IS QUALIFYING IMPORTANT HERE? “I think so. It is to a certain point. It’d be great to start up front and stay up front, that’s for sure. That would be the best spot, but I think a lot plays into pit strategy and what goes on during the entire race.”
DO YOU THINK YOU’LL STILL FEEL LIKE A ROOKIE IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE SEASON? “I think it’s going to be a lot better. That was one of our goals, to make it halfway through the year and then start getting more aggressive and working on doing more things. I think going back to these tracks for a second time is going to be huge. It’s going to be a whole lot better. I’m excited to go back to Daytona. I’m excited to go to Chicago for the first time in a Cup car. All the tracks we go to the second half of the season will be great. I should be better at Martinsville, Richmond. We’re doing a lot to help my short track racing. I struggle more there than anywhere else. We look forward to going back to those tracks.”
DO YOU FEEL CONFIDENT YOU CAN WIN AT MOST TRACKS? “Usually. I’m comfortable almost everywhere we go. This weekend we don’t have a lot of experience here, but definitely anywhere else. If we can finish top 15 here, stay on the racetrack all day and get a top 15 out of it we’ll be satisfied. We’re working hard to be in the final 10 chase for the championship. The Raybestos Rookie of the Year title is a huge goal of ours. To keep running well, win a race and run up front should allow us to be in the final 10. It’s something we’re really looking forward to. If we can make that final 10 it’s going to be real exciting.”
BRENDAN GAUGHAN (No. 77 Kodak/Jasper Dodge) “We didn’t come out here to test, but we went to Virginia International a couple of times. I’ve raced out here for a long time. I’ve done a lot of open wheel stuff here in 1994, ‘95 and ‘96. I’ve never raced on this particular track configuration. I’ve never raced the NEXTEL Cup course. I feel very comfortable on road courses. I’m a big road course fan.”
DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING FOR THE GORDONS? “With any luck I’ll be able to keep up with Robby. Robby is a friend from the past in road racing. I grew up watching Robby in the Mickey Thompson. He’s the guy who actually got me in open wheel and sports cars. Robby gave me advice when I was 17 years old. I had a chance to race against a lot of road racers in my life, and like I said, with any luck I can keep up with Mr. Gordon and Mr. Gordon. If I can keep all four wheels on the track and off the dirt, we’ll make a run for it in the end. I haven’t talked to Robby since last weekend. I will go over and ask for some advice. I’ve never been afraid to ask. He’ll give me advice. Will it be the truth? I don’t know. I can’t worry about it.”
WHAT ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT? “I’m worried about not having another head-on collision in San Francisco. Me and Terry Jarrell, my PR girl, we were driving to an interview last night and got into a head-on collision. The guy did a hit and run on us. Fortunately, the great San Francisco police department and some good Samaritans came up and got his plate number. He hit three more cars along the way. He got blocked in, the police got him, no one got hurt and the good guys prevailed. I was driving. It wasn’t a see thing. He pulled in front of us in about a five-foot span. We’re OK. The car is gone. Avis had to give us another one. We figure we’ve got the crash out of the way. If we can let that be the crash of the weekend and let Avis take care of that, we’ll stay here and be good with the Kodak Dodge and keep it on the track.”
HOW WAS THE GIANTS-DODGERS GAME WEDNESDAY NIGHT? “I was afraid I would totally embarrass myself (singing Take Me Out to the Ballgame during seventh-inning stretch), and I’m sure that’s what I did. I appreciate the Giants, and they got a win that night, but I appreciate them letting me come out to do it. I figured the crowd would drown me out, but they put the speaker right in front of me and I could hear myself. Now I know what it must feel like for the people who sing the National Anthem.
We had some great seats and got to see a heck of a game. Unfortunately for me I’m a pseudo Dodgers fan, but the Giants won so it was good to see the home team win. I grew up watching Harry Carey doing it in Chicago. It was cool to do it. That was my first singing appearance. No one has called to book me for another one yet. I might have to go back to throw out the first pitch again. I used to be able to throw my number when I drove the Orleans Racing Dodge Ram. I was No. 62, and I could throw that fast. I couldn’t feel my arm for two days after throwing 62 mph, so I’m a little concerned about trying for the 77. I might need a pitching coach. I was a little high and outside with the 62 mph, but I didn’t bounce it and it wasn’t a sissy lob. It wasn’t a strike, but at least the catcher caught it.”
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