Ford Racing Drivers and Jack Roush Media Availability in Kentucky

Matt Kenseth, driver of the No. 17 Fifth Third Ford Fusion, spoke with members of the media Friday, his first time at a race track since announcing his decision to leave Roush Fenway Racing at the end of the 2012 season.

YOU WERE IN THE NEWS A LITTLE THIS WEEK, SO I GUESS I WILL LET YOU TAKE IT FROM THERE. “That was the one question right? I am looking forward to racing here at Kentucky this weekend. Last year I think I was one of the only drivers that had never raced here before in Nationwide or a truck or even tested here much before the testing rules changed. I feel like we learned a lot last year. We ran okay so hopefully we can improve on that. I am dying to get in the race car in a little while and get to work.”

IS THIS SOMETHING YOU AGONIZED OVER? IT SEEMS IT WAS A HARD DECISION BUT YOU QUICKLY MADE IT. “Yeah, it has been kind of a stressful season to be honest with you, really all off season from leading into last off season and the sponsorship search and all that. That was releaved a little bit by signing Best Buy and Fifth Third and some of these people and starting to fill a car up. Getting to this point in the season it was definitely somewhat stressful not knowing 100-percent sure what I was going to do. It all ended up I guess coming together pretty quickly. I really felt and feel like it is absolutely the right thing to do and the right place for me next year and for my future as well. It is kind of hard to explain but a lot of things pointed and pulled me in that direction. A lot of things happened or didn’t happen that led to that. I think everything is good and for the rest of the season it is only a distraction if we let it. I think it is totally up to me and the race team with how we handle this going forward. I think this is the toughest weekend and after that I think things will settle down a little bit and we will be just fine for the rest of the year.”

NEXT WEEK IS DAYTONA. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT GOING BACK HAVING WON THE DAYTONA 500 AND THE SAME RULES EXCEPT THE POP OFF VALVE IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT. WHAT TYPE OF RACING DO YOU EXPECT? “Well first of all thanks for that question Bob (Pockrass), I owe you 20-bucks for asking about Daytona. I appreciate that. I am looking forward to going back there. I looked forward to going to Talladega more so than any plate race I have ever looked forward to in my career with as good as we ran at Daytona and how fast our cars were. I feel the same way about Daytona and I am looking forward to getting down there. At Talladega I felt we had by far the fastest car in the race and dominated the race as much as you can but I felt like I messed that up at the end when Greg and I got together and somehow got separated. I have been king of agonizing over that since Talladega with that green-white-checkered and how I lost that race for my guys. I am looking forward to getting some redemption and also coming off that win at Daytona. The rules worked really good for us. Our cars have been fast and we have been able to pass. They get hot when you get back in the pack but if we can keep them toward the front and we have enough speed we seem to be okay. I am going back hoping it will be the same.”

WHAT IS THE TIME TABLE FOR YOUR ANNOUNCEMENT AND HOW MUCH DO YOU LOOK FORWARD TO THAT TO END THE QUESTIONS ABOUT IT? “Hopefully it will be sooner than later. That ball is not in my court unfortunately. We are trying to get that done as soon as possible just so it is out there and we can go on. Everybody kind of has their ideas and half the story is out there but hopefully we can get it out there and go on.”

HOW MUCH CONSIDERATION IN YOUR NEW DEAL WAS GIVEN TO YOUR SON ROSS AND HIS FUTURE AND DEVELOPMENT OF A FARM SYSTEM FOR HIM?  “None at all. That didn’t have anything to do with it and I didn’t spend any time thinking about that to be honest with you. I had enough going on trying to figure out my deal. Ross’ progression, I would say 95-percent or more of that is up to him. I got him in some late model cars and doing that stuff and he has been working really hard at it just like any other driver and I think he has to figure out how to be successful at what he is doing and how to get in somewhere to get that next step.”

HOW DID YOU THINK THE TRACK WAS HERE LAST YEAR AND DO THE BUMPS ON THE SURFACE PRESENT A DIFFERENT CHALLENGE? “Yeah I know a lot of people like to group all the 1.5 mile tracks together but they are not really similar. This place is unique from all the rest of them besides the shape. It is interesting and there are a lot of bumps and getting your car to work through them and pass on the bottom was difficult to do last year and something you had to work on. The middle groove is a little smoother and has pretty good grip. It is unique. Turn four is really different and it took me ¾ of the race to figure that out. There are a couple little things down there where there is some speed and it is a different and unique race track. It is really challenging with as rough as it is with our cars and bump stops and all the things that we do, which I think is a good thing. I think the more character it has the better.”

YOU ARE IN A UNIQUE POSITION HERE WITH ALL THE GREAT THINGS YOU HAVE DONE THIS YEAR. WHAT IS THE GREATEST CHALLENGE FOR YOU PERSONALLY AS A COMPETITOR TO MAINTAIN THAT KNOWING YOU ARE LEAVING? “I think the biggest challenge is all the outside distractions. My morale and the morale of the team and guys around me and even at the shop to get all this behind us and realize it is up to us. It doesn’t matter what is going on around us and what people are saying and all that. That is difficult, especially if you haven’t been in that spot. I think that is the main thing. Getting through this weekend and hopefully things will die down just a little bit and just making sure we all keep our eye on the ball. I really think I have a really strong group of guys and I think if anybody can handle that and put it in the back of their mind it will be those guys. For sure I think it is a distraction and everybody starts thinking about letting their mind wander and all kinds of different things but it is something for next year, not this year, and we have a ton of racing to do this year and we will all give it 100-percent and try to finish the season on a strong note.”

THIS IS THE FIRST 1.5 MILE TRACK WITH THE SWAY BAR RULE CHANGE. DO YOU GUYS HAVE TO CHANGE YOUR CARS BECAUSE OF THIS RULE AND DO YOU SHARE BRAD’S (KESELOWSKI) SENTIMENT THAT IT WILL MIX UP WHO IS FAST AND WHO IS NOT? “I probably don’t know enough about it to give you accurate comments on that. I know there were some minor changes. I don’t think on our car we had to change very much but that would probably be a better question for Jimmy (Fennig) and how they do some of the stuff with rear bars and different stuff. It isn’t a standard rear sway bar anymore. I am not in it deep enough to know if those little differences will make a lot of difference or not or what other teams were doing to precipitate that rule change.”

I KNOW YOU GUYS RACE IN HOT CONDITIONS AS IT IS, BUT CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE HEAT THIS WEEKEND?  “Yeah, it is definitely toasty and I am glad it is a night race and not a day race. Hopefully when the sun gets down and cools off a little it will be nicer not just for us but the fans and crews working down there. Getting rid of the sun will help a little bit but it is going to be the hottest race all year for sure.”

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT WHY YOU HAVE BEEN ABLE TO PERSEVERE AND HAVE SUCCESS THIS YEAR AND ALSO LOOK AHEAD TO INDIANAPOLIS, DOES THAT RACE STILL HAVE THE CACHE THAT IT USED TO HOLD AS THE SECOND BIGGEST RACE OF THE YEAR AFTER DAYTONA?  “To answer the first question it had really just been business as usual at the race track. It hasn’t really changed anything with what we do or go about it or think about it. Every time you go to the track you want to do the best you can and race as hard as you can and try to win races. There is no incentive for any of us to not do that. Everybody wants to do the best they can and as far as the Brickyard, yeah I think that among most of the drivers they think of that as the second biggest race of the year. I think the Daytona 500 is our biggest event and the one everyone probably thinks about the most and then probably the Brickyard. It is a special place to go to, especially for the guys with an open wheel background and grew up watching Indy Cars more than me. It is a special place and special event and one everyone wants to win for sure.”

BACK TO THE HEAT ISSUE, FOR PEOPLE WHO DON’T KNOW RACING THAT WELL, HOW DOES THE HEAT AFFECT YOU AND OR THE CARS?  “The car part of it is not that big a deal. You just run less tape with more grill open and keep the engine cooler than you normally would. The rest of the parts I don’t think is a big deal. The cars will run slower because of less grip. For us, it is just hot. You try to make sure you are extra hydrated drinking a lot of Gatorade and get extra rest and eat right the night before. All the stuff you usually do you just take extra car. You make sure you have little coolers so you don’t burn your feet and stuff like that. It is definitely more of a challenge. It is always hot in those cars lately anyway and certainly when you get in an environment like this with the heat radiating off the pavement and everything it will certainly be a challenge.”

 

 

Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 UPS Ford Fusion, met with media members after the first practice session Friday afternoon at Kentucky Speedway.

CARL EDWARDS, No. 99 UPS Ford Fusion – TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT TO TRY TO DO HERE THIS WEEKEND AT KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY. “Well what we want to do is win this race. We want to deliver UPS a win just like they deliver so much to so many people. It is an honor to be driving the UPS Ford Fusion. I flew into Louisville yesterday and got to see from the air how big UPS’s operation there is over at the hub. I got to spend some time at Best Buy and they work really closely with UPS. I got to learn a lot about both of their businesses, Best Buy and UPS. We want to get them a win here. This race track has been great for me. We have won the Truck Series and Nationwide Series races here and finished fifth here last year with a pretty ill-handling car. Bob (Osborne) and I are trying to use all our brain power here and go start this 10 race run to the Chase in a really positive manner so we can make that Chase and go fight for the championship. That is the mission for us right now, to win races, get points and march up there and be in a position to go win this championship.”

WHAT KIND OF A TEAMMATE DO YOU THINK RICKY STENHOUSE JR WILL MAKE FOR YOU IN THE CUP SERIES? “I think Ricky will be a huge addition to our team. I think that he can drive a race car as well and as aggressively as anyone I have ever raced against. I believe that whatever the final plans are next year for Ricky, whether it is running just the Cup car or a mix or both full time, I think he is going to be a great addition. I think he can bring a lot to the whole Cup program with a lot of new energy and really he is just a fun guy to be around. I think it will be a good time.”

WERE YOU SURPRISED BY MATT’S DECISION AND WHAT IS YOUR REACTION THAT HE WON’T BE YOUR TEAMMATE NEXT YEAR? “I was surprised. Matt has been a great teammate. It took us a long time to figure out one another and I fell that over the last few years he has been as close of a friend in the garage as anyone. I have a ton of respect for Matt. He is a heck of a man and a great race car driver. He has been a huge part of developing things on our team. He does a really good job of testing and relaying information to make our cars better so there is definitely a huge loss for us and a gain for whoever ends up with Matt as a driver. At the same time, if Jeff Burton hadn’t moved over to Childress I would have never got the opportunity I have at Roush and same with Chad Little leaving and Kurt (Busch) coming in. Jack, over the years has developed some guys that have had success at Roush and I think that losing Matt is bad but the potential gain with Ricky could make it a net positive in the long run for Roush. Definitely Matt is a guy that is going to be a championship contender and great competitor whether he is at Roush or somewhere else and we definitely hate to lose him. I do.”

HAVING GONE THROUGH A LITTLE OF THIS LAST YEAR YOURSELF, CAN YOU RELATE TO WHAT MATT WAS GOING THROUGH AND HOW DO YOU PUT THAT DISTRACTION ASIDE? CAN HE DO THAT AND CONTEND FOR A CHAMPIONSHIP? “I don’t think there is anyone more mentally tough than Matt Kenseth. If anything, I don’t want to speak for him or anything, but I would imagine the difficult stuff is behind him now and he can go out and race and do the best he can. Definitely that stuff weighs on you. He did a really good job of keeping it out of the spotlight. I should maybe talk to him about that. That part was no fun last year. I think it is really up to each individual person which is the same thing I said when you guys were bugging me ever week last year. A guy has to do what he thinks is best for him and his career and Matt didn’t get to where he is by making poor decisions. He is making a decision he thinks is best. I respect that and I think everyone should.”

HAVE YOU HAD A CHANCE TO EVALUATE THE CHANGES MADE HERE IN RESPONSE TO THE TRAFFIC SITUATION LAST YEAR AND HOW MUCH DID THAT OVERSHADOW THE EVENT AND THE RACE HERE LAST YEAR? “Being a competitor we had a motor home here so I didn’t have to drive in but obviously it was a huge point of frustration for the fans and everyone. Did they make a new exit on the highway? All I know is I showed up at the race track last night, coming from the south and pulled off at exit 55 and it wasn’t the normal exit I thought. I came in off exit 55 and drove through all the parking and everything and it seems like there is a lot of room for a lot of folks. I though Bruton put in a new exit. I guess I have never been south before. Hopefully it is a good race weekend for the fans. This place has more energy than any place we go to. The fans are wound up and they are pumped about NASCAR racing and I am hoping that they can make it to the race and don’t get stuck out there in traffic.”

WITH MATT LEAVING DO YOU FEEL MORE PRESSURE ON YOUR SHOULDERS AT ROUSH NOW? “That is a good question. Because of what Matt brings to the table and the ability he has to test and to add to the team, he is the only Cup champion there, he brings things that with him leaving we are going to have to step it up. Greg and I and Ricky and all of us are going to have to make sure that we do the best we can to fill those gaps and there is more pressure. We have already talked about it a little bit in the shops and said that we are going to have to have a bigger role in testing and Greg will have to have a bigger role in developing things and I think that is something that we will miss with Matt being gone.”

CAN YOU LOOK AHEAD TO LOUDON AND WHAT IT TAKES TO RUN WELL THERE? “Loudon has been really hot and cold for us. It is a great race track for us because the Red Sox and Fenway Sports Group is based up there. A win would be huge to have John Henry and everyone there. It is a flat, simple race track and that makes it really hard because most people know how to get around it but you have to have the car perfect and drive perfectly. We had a chance to do the tire test up there a couple months ago and I think that helped me a little bit. It is a deceivingly tough race track. This one has bumps and is big, fast and slippery and looks like it would be a tough race track but since it is tough for everyone it gives you an opportunity to take advantage of people. A place like Loudon, if you have a weakness it really shows up. Trust me; I have been passed by a lot of cars at Loudon.”

SHORTER SIDE SKIRTS ON THE CAR THIS WEEK AND A NEW REAR SWAY BAR RULE. DOES THE CAR FEEL ANY DIFFERENT FOR YOU? “I don’t think the cars are much different. This track makes it hard to tell because it is so bumpy. They are going the direction I like. They can knock the rear spoilers off them, cut the splitters off the front, raise the car three inches and I am happy. The less downforce we have the better. I think NASCAR is going the right direction trying to get the cars so we can pass, race closer and even though this car will be gone soon I think any of those changes that take aerodynamic forces away from this type of racing will be good for NASCAR and I appreciate them going that direction. I think it is cool.”

IS THE BRICKYARD STILL CONSIDERED THE NUMBER TWO RACE AFTER DAYTONA BY THE DRIVERS? “Indianapolis is Indianapolis. To me, I am a little biased because I want to win Kansas more than anything and Kansas in number one for me til we get that one out of the way, but I would say Daytona and Indy are both huge. I don’t think there is any bigger race than those two. For me I have yet to win there and know what it is like but that still would be a career accomplishment and I think each driver would feel that way. If you watch the past winners and seeing Paul (Menard) and Jamie (McMurray) and the emotion of that win and how important it was to their teams. I think the guys that haven’t won it dream of being standing there on those bricks. It would be very cool.”

WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM SEEING MATT’S DEAL AND HOW YOU WENT THROUGH YOURS LAST TIME, WOULD YOU CHANGE THE WAY YOU DID IT LAST YEAR? “No. I think all you can do is, like anyone should do, is look at what is out there and determine what is the best and make your decision. I think that if the press and you guys start getting ahold of it it makes it more stressful because you start getting outside influence and it is really hard to put that aside. It is just my opinion and not a company line but what Matt did was very smart for Matt by keeping it very quiet. He was able to make his decision on his own terms and I think that is why you guys will never know when my contract is up. I am never going to tell you guys again.”

IS DEALING WITH THE HEAT THIS WEEKEND ANY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT YOU NORMALLY ENCOUNTER AND CAN YOU GO INTO DETAIL SOME OF THE THINGS YOU DO TO STAY HYDRATED? “Is it supposed to get hot or something? (laughter). You try to do the best you can to stay in shape. My trainer Dean is standing there in the back and he works for Carmichael Training Systems and he is here at this race. I am sure everyone has their trainers here and making sure they are staying hydrated and doing the right things. All these guys are tough. Nobody is complaining but at the end of the day, ¾ of the way through that race you want to be in top form and the best you can be and I think that is not something you can adjust to right here this weekend. You have to eat your Frosted Flakes and sub sandwiches for lunch for a long time leading up to the race. You have to stay in shape. These are fun races for the guys that do stay fit and work toward this kind of stuff because you get to see some of that work hopefully. I enjoy these hot races.”

LAME DUCK SITUATIONS DON’T ALWAYS END WELL. 20 RACES IS A LONG TIME TO BE A LAME DUCK IN AN ORGANIZATION. HOW DO YOU BALANCE THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE A FRIEND WORKING FOR AN ORGANIZATION THIS YEAR THAT YOU WANT TO SEE PERHAPS WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP IF IT COMES TO THAT AND YET HE IS A GUY THAT YOU ARE GOING TO TRY TO DEVELOP STUFF WITH THE ORGANIZATION THAT HE MAY BE ABLE TO TAKE TO A NEW ORGANIZATION.  “Matt is a true professional and I believe that he and Jack, they know more about Roush Fenway Racing and how to win championships than me and anybody else except maybe Robbie Reiser. I think those two will determine the actual logistics and the planning of who is going to be at what meetings and what information will be shared. Matt is my teammate, he is a guy that I trust and I was down there at his car talking to him about the line he is driving at the race this weekend. I am going to treat Matt the same way I have as a teammate for the rest of the season. He is going to be a guy I am going to lean on and hope he is honest and helping me and I am sure he will be. I just am telling you guys. You know Matt as well as I do almost and he is a real professional. I think he will be a threat to win this championship and I don’t think Jack will back down or any of the crew guys will and we will give him everything we can and as far as what information about future developments we share will be between him and Jack.”

DO YOU LAUGH WHEN PEOPLE SAY MATT LEFT BECAUSE OF YOUR DEAL OR DOES THAT IRK YOU? “It doesn’t bother me. Nobody knows my deal and nobody really knows the details of Matt’s deal. At the end of the day, I can say that Matt and I get along as well as we ever have and it is an open book over there at Roush with Steve Newmark and Jack and everyone. If there is ever an issue like that we have worked it out. It is all speculation. I have heard 100 things about what is going on and I have heard hundreds of things about what I was doing last year. Heck, I was signed up at other places and people knew more about it than I did. I think at the end of the day you have to let the guy go do his business and the rest is just speculation.”

 

Jack Roush, owner of Roush Fenway Racing, addressed the media Friday afternoon at Kentucky to discuss the announcement this week that Matt Kenseth would leave the organization at the end of this season and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. would be promoted to a full time Cup car in 2013.

JACK ROUSH – WELCOME BACK TO YOUR HOME STATE. YOU HAD SOME NEWS COME OUT OF YOUR RACE ORGANIZATION THIS WEEK, TALK ABOUT THAT. “I want to say a couple things about Kentucky. I was born just up the road here in Covington, just south of Cincinnati and probably within a stone’s throw from where most of you landed. I spent my life in and around Cincinnati and the southern Ohio and northern Kentucky regions that are close by. It is coming home for me. When I was going through high school the only race tracks that we had were in central and southern Kentucky and around Cincinnati which was about 60 miles from my home. I never went to a race track until I was 18 years old and a senior in high school. I took my car up to Raven Rock up at Portsmouth and watched the other guys race their cars. I didn’t even race my car. I was through college in Barrea before I went to my first big track which was Michigan after I went to work for Ford. This is home for me and I have a lot of relatives here and a lot of folks that think they know me or that remember me whose names I will have trouble recalling, so that will be a challenge for me. On the matter of what has happened the last week here with my race team, the 17 team, like many of you I am wondering what Jack is going to say today. I will give you a couple of opening comments. First and foremost I have enjoyed the 15 years with Matt and the success that he has had and the growth that has occurred to the team through his time as a driver. He, like Mark Martin and Greg and Carl, he is a cornerstone of what we do and his DNA is all over the things that we are known for and our success. I will say that I was as surprised as most of you must have been when I learned that he would not be signing with us to go forward. It was a surprise and I had no idea that we were at that point. I won’t comment on the negotiations, on any negotiations that might have occurred, because we have an agreement to not talk about that.  His leaving the team creates a window, a hole if you like, that we have a very capable, able, ready, enthusiastic, motivated and ambitions drivers. We actually have two of them ready to fill voids. One of them is Ricky Stenhouse and of course the other is Trevor (Bayne). The plan is for Trevor to be in some kind of a full time ride next year and of course Ricky is the heir-apparent to the 17 program. There is not an understanding nor an impression that Robbie Reiser or I have that there will be a mass exodus. The key people are very committed to what we are doing and very committed to winning a championship for our sponsors and fans and for all the employees that stand behind our program with the 17 this year. If it works out that he has that opportunity. There will be no diminished effort to make the very most of what time we have left together. I want to make a comment that when I chose Mark Martin in 1998 he didn’t have a place in the NASCAR divers league. When we make a place for Matt Kenseth he was struggling to hang on to a Nationwide ride with Robbie Reiser as his team owner. Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards – we have had a lot of success with young drivers that were not established and have not made it our habit to go out and try to court somebody else’s driver to see if we could improve our prospects by gaining somebody else’s loss. This is a challenging time for sponsorships. It is tough for everybody. You find that there is hardly a car in the garage that runs one sponsor with the kind of singular support appearance that we had in the 80’s and 90’s. It is a reality that it takes multiple sponsors to make most of these programs work but it was the case that we did run Jeff Burton for a period of time when I had no sponsor for him. We ran Carl for a period of time with no sponsor for him. We did the same for Kurt Busch. There was no predisposition that we were limited to what we would do with Matt going forward based on the sponsorships that were there. We’ve been very much encouraged and had encouraging conversations with all the sponsors around the 17 team and the other programs we have sought sponsorships for. We think we have seen the bottom of the well as far as the shortage of sponsors. Certainly there was not a sponsorship reason why Matt’s future with Roush Fenway was in doubt, before or during negotiations.”

CERTAINLY YOU DON’T FEEL AT THIS POINT THAT YOU HAVE FAILED OR ARE THERE THINGS YOU FEEL YOU COULD HAVE DONE JUST THINKING THINGS WERE PEACHY KEEN IN THAT AREA WITH MATT? “You know what, in regard to my interview with you; I was taking a look at things from the back side and thought maybe I shouldn’t have done that. What Claire is talking about is when Matt made his agreement three years ago with us he came to me and said, ‘Jack, relax.’ I said, ‘Why should I relax, I have all these problems.’ He said, ‘I have signed my contract.’ I said I didn’t even know we were in negotiation for the contract and asked, ‘Was it due?’ and he said, ‘Yes, we are good for three more years.’ I told him that if these guys don’t do for you what you need to let me know and maybe you and I walk out the door together. I hope nobody calls my bluff on that.”

DO YOU FEEL LIKE THERE IS SOMETHING YOU COULD HAVE DONE TO STOP HIM FROM LEAVING? “If I had been as vigilant and diligent and interested in that side of the business as I am on finding why a fuel pump broke or why a connection rod bearing failed or how we could get the next pound of downforce – if I had been taking care of the business side of the business as hard as I tried to take care of the technical side I might have been able to stop that.”

HOW HARD IS IT TO DIVORCE THE PERSONAL FROM THE PROFESSIONAL SIDE BECAUSE YOU GUYS HAVE THESE PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIPS. “Matt and I and I think everybody on the team the friendship part will survive. I have not lost respect for Matt and I hope he hasn’t for me. I won’t have the same sense of wishing for his success on the race track next year that I will for the balance of this year and have in the past, he will from my point of view be moving to the dark side. We will get through that. Personally we will be fine.”

ARE YOU CONFIDENT AT THIS POINT THAT SPONSORSHIP WILL BE IN PLACE FOR RICKY NEXT YEAR AND WHAT IS THE SCENARIO FOR CREW CHIEF FOR HIM? “Let me say that the primary focus of our sponsorship efforts had been around Matt and the 17 car. The determination and decision to run Matt and the 17 and carry on as usual was not dependant on any level of sponsorship. If no sponsorship was there at all, which of course is not and would not be the case, we still would have run the 17 car for an indeterminate period of time. As far as crew chiefs are concerned - and by the way the initial conversations we have had with sponsors has been all positive in terms of their understanding and commitment to the program – as far as crew chiefs go, the 17 program is a championship level program and for Ricky to have all the guidance and expertise and support that Jimmy Fennig and the guys can provide is essential. We will have a full time Nationwide program next year and the plan is now for Trevor to be the driver for that program although that has not been announced and I am not announcing it here today, but that is our plan. In the same vein, we have a championship level Nationwide program in place with Mike Kelly and my hope is to keep that together so that we can compete effectively toward a championship with Ricky this year but also be able to do the same thing with Trevor next year.”

DO YOU WANT TO KEEP THE 17 OR WOULD YOU GO TO THE 6 FOR RICKY AND ALSO WHY IS IT SO DIFFICULT TO SELL A GUY THAT IS A NASCAR CHAMPION, HAS TWO DAYTONA 500s, NUMEROUS WINS, FAMILY BACKGROUND TYPE OF GUY. IS IT THAT HE IS 40-SOMETHING? ARE SPONSORS LOOKING FOR SOMETHING MORE YOUTHFUL? WHAT SEEMS TO BE THE PROBLEM THERE?  “The 17, Jimmy Fennig and that group are the 17 and that group will run under the 17’s banner. The 6 is a cornerstone that for the time being we have set aside but the fact is I haven’t been told so I am really out there on an edge. I see Steve Newmark over there and he isn’t close enough to kick me or whisper something in my ear but to the best of my knowledge the sponsor interest we have and the image for that team and that group is 17. I would expect that will continue although if a sponsor insisted on the 6, that would be an option but I don’t see that being a possibility.  You know, the sponsorship business ebbs and flows. The economy certainly caught us in a bad position with all our programs maturing and reaching termination right when the economy went in the tank or within a year after that. That put us in a bad situation. If we’d had, as we have had something in the last 24 years – this not the first economic downturn we have had although it is the worst one we’ve had – in the past we have been able to bridge those and our agreements haven’t come to conclusion when the future was not certain. It was bad timing, nobody’s fault and I don’t think the problem we’ve had with Matt would have been worse if Greg’s situation had matured at the same time. We were happy to have folks with 3M that saw the future relationship being important and they were willing and able to negotiate new contracts before the old ones were concluded. That was a happy situation there. Matt is a champion and certainly there has been interest and we’ve got Fifth Third and Best Buy on board this year and a number of other sponsors that I am not able to mention because the conversations are ongoing for that team that were very interested in Matt. I guess I tend to differ that Matt has been a great challenge to sell sponsorship based on his image. I think the challenges we had were predicated and caused by the economy and the timing.”

Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 American Red Cross Ford Fusion, spent time with media outside his hauler between the final practice and qualifying session at Kentucky Speedway Friday afternoon.

HOW WAS THAT PRACTICE FOR YOU? “We ended up third in that practice session, which is nothing to brag about really because there were only four or five guys in qualifying trim there at the end. We are struggling a little bit in qualifying trim but our car is pretty good in race trim. We will keep working at it.”

HOW IS THE TRACK? WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON IN PARTICULAR? “I am just having a hard time. Some laps the car and track feels good. Sometimes it feels really slick. We are trying to get the balance right. Right now it is really hot and slick. It is hard to get hold of.”

IS THIS HEAT TROUBLESOME? “Not right now but it would be tough racing in this. We know we have to in a couple weeks at Indy but it just makes the cars slip and slide around a lot when it is this hot. It will be a lot better racing tomorrow night.”

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON MATT KENSETH’S ANNOUNCEMENT? WERE YOU SURPRISED?  “Yeah, I was a little bit surprised. Matt and I are good friends but we don’t talk about business much when we are together, other than racing. We don’t talk contracts or anything like that. I am going to lose a good teammate in the garage area. I am not going to lose a friend I guess, but I will lose a friend sitting in all the meetings and all that. We will still be good friends but certainly I lose a good teammate and that will be tough but Ricky is moving up into that car I guess and Ricky has done a great job. We have all felt, including Matt, that Ricky could probably do the job of our fourth car coming up. It will just end up being the third.”

THOUGHTS ON HIM MAKING THAT ANNOUNCEMENT AS HE IS LEADING THE POINTS AND YOU ARE RIGHT BEHIND HIM? “I wish I was leading the points and he was right behind me. I don’t think it really dictates where you are at in the points. He made a decision based upon whatever it was and I think it didn’t really reflect where he was in the points on his decision making.”

LOOKING AHEAD TO DAYTONA, YOUR THOUGHTS ON RESTRICTOR PLATE RACES THIS YEAR. “Restrictor plate racing is the same as it always has been. It is a love hate relationship. It is a lot of fun at times but a lot of times it is pretty intense and other times you end up in a big wreck. It is one of the three. It is usually never boring but it is what it is.”

IS IT WHERE IT NEEDS TO BE RIGHT NOW OR WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE SOME CHANGES? “I think it was decent at Talladega and decent at the 500. I don’t know, we could always sit and tweak and polish a little bit but for the most part I think it is pretty good.”

DO YOU THINK TRACK CONDITIONS WILL BE DIFFERENT FEBRUARY TO NEXT WEEK? “Yeah, it will be hotter and lost grip. That will be a factor.”

HOW ABOUT NEW HAMPSHIRE, YOU HAVE HAD SUCCESS THERE. TALK ABOUT GOING THERE IN A COUPLE WEEKS.  “I love that place. It is a fun race track. I have been really close and won a couple races there and we run good there. That being a Chase track, we are looking forward to that race to see how we run.”

THERE HAVE BEEN 12 DIFFERENT WINNERS IN 16 RACES. ANY THOUGHTS ON WHY? “I think it has a lot to do with how competitive the teams are and that also plays into not seeing so many cautions. We saw a lot less caution flags and are seeing a lot of different winners. This thing is getting competitive and all those things are being a factor.”

IS IT GOOD TO BE A FREE AGENT OR IS IT NERVE RACKING? “You like it if there are five guys calling you wanting to hire you and you dread it if nobody is calling you or trying to renegotiate and salvage what you have. There are different kinds but I have always been on the good side of it. I have a great sponsor with 3M and American Red Cross and Ford and everybody. I am in a pretty good position and I know that everyone is looking for sponsorship and things and it is what it is. It is different every time it comes up.”

 

Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 43 Eckrich Ford Fusion, met with media members following the final practice at Kentucky Speedway to talk about the heat, his practice session and his season to date.

ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 43 Eckrich Ford Fusion – HOW IS THE HEAT AFFECTING THE HANDLING AND EVERYTHING ELSE OUT THERE? “It is affecting everything. It is hot, incredibly hot and I can’t remember the last time it was this hot. It is plenty warm and our car has been slipping and sliding around quite a bit. We have some work to do. In qualifying trim I thought we were pretty good and we finished up sixth in the first practice. I think we will be okay in qualifying trim but we have to come up with something better in race trim.”

WHAT HAS MIKE FORD BROUGHT TO THE TABLE FOR YOU? “It has been really good. Mike is very thorough and he is a really good leader. It has been great to work with him. He has a lot of experience and has kind of taken me under his wing and helped me a lot with the racing part of it and with racing at this level. He has been more than just a crew chief, he has been a mentor and it has been fun to work with him and all the guys really respect him on the race team. He has been a great addition to Richard Petty Motorsports.”

HAS IT BEEN A BIG CONFIDENCE BUILDER? YOU GUYS HAVE ROLLED OFF PRETTY WELL IN RECENT WEEKS. “It has been a huge confidence boost to have him up on top of that box and making calls and adjustments. Ever since he has come on we have shown signs of being better. There are still things we need to work on and improve on. He has a lot of ideas he is still trying to get working into the system but it is a process. That is one thing that he reiterates time and time again, that it is a process and we look to keep trying to make it better and better. We feel like we are doing that. The last couple weeks have not been what we wanted but everything leading up that has been good and we know we unloaded here and are sixth in the first practice and as long as week keep doing things right and seeing positive results and we keep getting better, that is what it is about.”

IT IS THE KING’S 75^TH BIRTHDAY MONDAY, ANY SPECIAL PLANS AROUND THE SHOP? “I don’t know. I think they might be secret and I don’t want to spill the beans.”

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT HOW YOU WERE IN PRACTICE? “I thought in the first practice in qualifying mode we were pretty good and had a really good package. We were sixth quick, so I am happy with that. We needed a little more speed but I thought we were really close. We switched over to race trim and we were not very good, so we have to go to the drawing board and figure something out a little different than what we’ve got. What we have isn’t good enough. Mike and our engineers are up there in the lounge working pretty hard at it and poking away at the computer trying to make it better. We will go out here and hopefully get a nice lap for qualifying. We got a good draw going out late and that is going to help. Track position is going to be really important so hopefully we lay a good lap down tonight in qualifying and get a good race package for tomorrow.”

 

 

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