Ford Trio Prepare for Unkown at Talladega

Richard Petty Motorsports made news this week with the announcement of a crew chief change on the famed No. 43 car. Mike Ford, who was most recently with the 11 car and Denny Hamlin, replaces Greg Erwin beginning this weekend in Talladega. Ford joined driver Aric Almirola in the Talladega Superspeedway media center Friday to discuss the change.

ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 43 Verifone Sail Ford – TALK ABOUT YOUR NEW CREW CHIEF YOU’VE GOT HERE THIS WEEK.  “Yeah, I am excited to add Mike to our race team. It is going to be really good for me to have Mike’s experience come on board. He has a whole new fresh set of ideas and a lot of experience to help me. I know I’ve run quite a few Cup races but I am still relatively new at this. This is my first full time season so to have the experience and leadership of Mike on board will be really good. Not just for the 43 team but for Richard Petty Motorsports as a whole. I think what Mike brings to the table will be really great for our race team and I am looking forward to getting going with him this weekend."

MIKE FORD, crew chief No. 43 Verifone Sail Ford – CONGRATULATIONS ON BEING NAMED CREW CHIEF OF THE 43 TEAM. TALK ABOUT THAT. “It is kind of a strange deal. If you look back at my history, I spent a lot of time at Yates and Evernham and it is kind of a combination of both those places. The majority of the people there I know and get along real well with. I have been around Aric a little bit in the past and I know he is a really good race car driver. I have seen that personally. Not only that but he is a good guy. I am looking forward to it. I have long relationships with a lot of guys there at the shop, including working side by side with Todd (Parrott) and I am looking forward to trying to make a difference there.”

DO YOU THINK IT TAKES SOME TIME TO GET YOUR CARS ONLINE, SO TO SPEAK, OR CAN YOU HAVE AN IMMEDIATE IMPACT?  “What I am looking at here at Talladega I am kind of just fitting in this week with what was there. All of the stuff ran really good at Daytona so I am not really that focused on that. The first things that I need to work on, rather than the equipment, are the procedures. Making sure we execute without mistakes and build confidence in Aric and confidence in the team before we can look at moving forward. We don’t have a lot of time to start moving it forward but we need to make sure we are executing properly. We know we have the same equipment as the Roush guys and the same resources and we see those guys running good each week. We aren’t coming in to rebuild the organization on day one. I am looking to share some experience and slow grow it. Here in a couple weeks, come next week at Darlington that is a big deal. We’ve got some information to fall back on and hopefully we can get some top-20 or top-15s. They have been pretty erratic. I am looking to smooth things out and progress over the next five or six weeks.”

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING WHILE YOU HAVE BEEN GONE AND CAN YOU GIVE US AN IDEA OF HOW PRECARIOUS A JOB IT IS TO BE A CREW CHIEF IN TODAYS BIG LEAGUE RACING? I CAN’T IMAGINE HOW YOU DIDN’T HAVE A JOB IMMEDIATELY WHEN THE DEAL FELL APART WITH DENNY (HAMLIN)  “Yeah, that was pretty bothersome for me because there were a lot of shifts and the timing of that was not good. That is why you haven’t seen me for a little bit because there wasn’t anything at that point. Nonetheless, I took full advantage of that, to answer the first part of your question. Through the winter and into the beginning of the race season I have never been able to spend time at home with family and friends and do things. We took four or five trips with family and it was awesome. As late as Saturday I got a call and I was in L.A. and they asked if I could be in the shop Monday morning. We’ve just been having a good time traveling and spending time with the family. I have actually been working in the garage a lot and have grease under my fingernails. I can actually still work on cars. I’ve just been having fun. The difficult part of this is that it is so technical. 10 years ago making a change midseason wouldn’t be that big of a deal but there are so many reasons for evolving to where you are in this sport. I am the guy that is on the steep learning curve even though I’ve got the experience behind me and a good record behind me. It is very difficult to come in and be able to take advantage of your resources from day one.”

WERE YOU ITCHING TO GET BACK TO THE POINT YOU TOOK THE FIRST CALL? IS THERE SOMETHING ABOUT THIS JOB THAT MADE IT RIGHT FOR YOU?  “Yeah, I will say that I was fully enjoying spending time. Obviously you have to get back at it. No, I did not actually jump at the first opportunity. There were other opportunities that I decided against. Part of what made this exciting to me is that the most fun I’ve ever had crew chiefing was the first year and a half with Denny. That was a lot of fun because of the role that you play. You work together and you fed off each other. I see that here with Aric. Hopefully I can be some experience for him and a leader and he is the youth, he can teach me some things as well. That was exciting to me, along with the group of guys that is there. It is a combination of guys that I have a lot of respect for and they have a lot of respect for me. It is my kind of racing.” 

ARIC ALMIROLA CONTINUED -- ARIC, YOUR WHOLE DEAL CAME TOGETHER SO LATE. AFTER NINE RACES THERE IS THIS CHANGE. WHAT DIDN’T WORK AND WHY IN THAT SHORT PERIOD OF TIME WAS IT SO APPARENT THAT A CHANGE NEEDED TO BE MADE?  “First of all I am not here to bash Greg because he was a great guy and great crew chief and he has won races and will continue to win races. For me, just to have a fresh start. Greg had come from next door at Roush and he was pretty involved in what they had going on over there. To bring Mike in, who has had success with Dale Jarrett and Bill Elliott before Denny Hamlin, then to go work with Denny the last few years and have that success there. To come in and play that mentor role like he did with Denny, that is something I am looking forward to with Mike. To have someone that can talk to me on the radio and kind of teach me along the way and mentor me and tell me what he wants and what he wants to do and make decisions and stuff like that. From the leadership standpoint, I think Mike is going to be a huge asset and I think I am looking forward to that. I am looking forward to being the guy that gets to drive the race car and let Mike tell me what to do.”

MIKE FORD CONTINUED -- IF YOU ARE A CREW CHIEF IN NASCAR NOWADAYS IT SEEMS YOU NEED AN ENGINEERING DEGREE. DID YOU FIND THERE IS LESS A MARKET, DESPITE ALL YOUR EXPERIENCE AND TRACK RECORD THAT IT IS HARDER TO GET BACK IN THE MARKET IF YOU DON’T HAVE THAT?  “Yeah, I think that thought can go really deep. The reason it is hard for a crew chief to move these days is because it is so difficult. Each organization has a history behind it of why they are where they are at. That is so difficult to learn that it is easier to promote from within than it is to go outside. I don’t think it follows the engineering degree by any means because the crew chief role, quite frankly, is a decision maker and not a trendsetter. You make sure you’ve got the right guys around you and you hone your skills on making decisions. The role of crew chief doesn’t require an engineering degree. It requires somebody that can lead and make decisions but have a good understanding of why you are making changes. I think the bigger part to that is the history inside each race shop which makes it difficult to change organizations.”

MIKE FORD CONTINUED – YOU HAVE ALWAYS BEEN PLACES THAT WERE FULLY FUNDED. WHAT KIND OF INPUT ARE YOU GOING TO HAVE WITH THESE CARS AS TURN-KEY AS YOUR OPERATION IS?  “It is not turn-key at all. We are fully backed with the Roush organization right across the street. We’ve got as many resources as anyone out there. The cars are built there at the shop. It is not lacking for resources and that is what is exciting to me as well. You’ve got everything at your fingertips and it is a matter of what you do with it. I understand what you are saying but that is part of why I am here, because I have the backing and resources at my disposal.”

SO YOU WILL HAVE MORE OF AN INPUT GOING FORWARD THAN IN THE PAST?  “I would call it equal.”

ARIC ALMIROLA CONTINUED – “His first competition meeting Monday they were already asking questions. So yeah, he is going to have an impact not only in our organization at Richard Petty Motorsports but across the street as well.”

MIKE FORD CONTINUED – WHAT KIND OF VETTING PROCESS IS THERE WHEN YOU GET PAIRED WITH A DRIVER LIKE THIS?  “At Gibbs, Aric was driving some races and he would hop in the cars and run just as well as the other guys. I know that as far as the talent standpoint you see that. Some of the veteran guys don’t really do well with veteran crew chiefs because you are bull headed on some things. I look at this and sat with Aric and he is looking for a leader and someone to mentor him a little bit. I am looking for that role as well, but also you always learn something from someone coming in. I am looking forward to that.”

THIS IS A UNIQUE PLACE TO BE COMING RIGHT BACK IN. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE CHALLENGES IT POSES COMING BACK HERE AT TALLADEGA AND WITH THE HEAT THIS WEEKEND?  “I think you couldn’t ask for a better place to come back. Looking back to Daytona, all the Fords ran really strong there and that package is pretty buttoned up. Like Aric said, I came into the shop Monday morning and had been in meetings all week trying to get up to speed on planning and moving forward. I am pretty much, to this point, I will work practices and the race because obviously I am here to do that, but to this point on the preparation I haven’t had any true influence yet. I am looking more at Darlington and Darlington is going to be a challenge for us but we do have – I feel like the 99 was the best car at Darlington last year and we can fall back on some of that knowledge. They have have a couple weeks at Charlotte and Dover, which the 43 has been typically very strong at Dover, probably one of the top three cars. Then you have Pocono and Michigan and we get a day of testing those configurations. So the timing of this couldn’t be better.”

YOU MENTIONED HOW MUCH FOR IT WAS THE FIRST YEAR AND A HALF WITH DENNY. WAS IT FUN AT THE END? ARE YOU SURPRISED IT CAME APART AS FAST AS IT DID? ALSO COULD YOU TALK IN GENERAL ABOUT WHAT YOU LIKE ABOUT ARIC AS A DRIVER?  “You know, I am not going to say a whole lot about that other than to say a lot of outside influence made it not fun. The past couple of years truly weren’t that fun. It was best for both parties. I want to get something real clear. Me and Denny still get along and I text back and forth with him periodically. I love Denny to death. This is business. I never had any problems with Denny and I still don’t. In the organization you see things that you need to work on and if you are the only guy that sees them then you are the guy that is an issue. It just was time to go. It was time to move on. I don’t have any problems with Denny and I still have a lot of good friends over there. That is life. You move on and you continue on. As far as Aric, like I mentioned I have seen him run competitive and he came in at Homestead with Kenny Francis and he ran top-five and was one of the better cars at times. I have seen him be competitive in this series. To see that encourages me. On top of that he is a nice guy. You want to be able to have someone that you can work with and is kind of low key and I am fairly low key. I think it is going to be a good match.”

MIKE FORD CONTINUED -- WHEN YOU AND DENNY CAME IN, YOU ALL WERE SUCCESSFUL RIGHT OFF THE BAT AND YOU PUSHED THE RIGHT BUTTONS AND MADE HIM A CONTENDER RIGHT AWAY. WAS THAT A UNIQUE SITUATION AND HOW POSSIBLE IS IT TO DO THAT AGAIN WITH ARIC IN A SIMILAR SITUATION AS A YOUNG GUY?  “You know, that was special. That was very special. I don’t put any kind of expectations like that on this situation at all. You have to look back at times and appreciate things for what they were and I very much appreciate those times because those are not normal. I think I was there for a period of time when some other drivers were through that car and had the ability to get up to speed on the equipment and procedures before anybody expected anything. I had a head start on him at that organization so that when he came in I was on top of my game. This situation is a little bit different. He was here, I’ve got to be getting on my game really quick to be competitive. It is a little different situation. I appreciate those times when I look back at them but I don’t have those expectations moving forward here. I appreciate those times for what they were.”

ARIC ALMIROLA CONTINUED -- HOW COGNIZANT DID YOU HAVE TO BE ABOUT OVERHEATING AT DAYTONA? “At Daytona for us, we were one of the few cars that didn’t have any issues. Relatively speaking we ran cool most of the time. As far as that was considered I felt we had the preparation at the shop that the guys had done with the duct work and all that stuff I think they did a really nice job. Most of the Fords didn’t have any issues with that. A tip of the hat to Doug Yates and everyone at the engine shop. I don’t know what to expect. Today is going to be a learning curve in the first practice to see what we have for our water temp and to keep our eye on. That is the lifeblood of our race. If we go out and shoot a bunch of water out at the beginning of the race then we are in big trouble. We will keep an eye on that and see where that puts us.”

MIKE FORD CONTINUED -- WHAT KINDS OF THINGS CAN YOU DO WITH THE SMALLER GRILL OPENING AND DO YOU ANTICIPATE THEM GIVING YOU SOMETHING EXTRA SINCE IT WILL BE SO HOT THIS WEEKEND?  “We are very well prepared to make change if change comes along. When you are regulated that tightly there isn’t much you can do but when change comes along we are ready for that as well.”

WHEN YOU REACH THIS LEVEL, IS THERE ANY GOING BACK FOR A CREW CHIEF? COULD YOU BE A CAR CHIEF OR SOMETHING?  “I think that is an individual question. Some guys maybe, some guys maybe not. I think for me when I am done crew chiefing you won’t see me. The next step for me would be working in the race shop, that type of deal. My passion still is getting dirty. I like to get dirty and work on things and I don’t think that will ever change. I think each person would answer that question differently. To offset the struggles of leaving home and the travel it has got to be, for me the crew chief role fills that and makes it a balance. You are at the pinpoint of performance and that is where you want to be. That is how I would be.”

Greg Biffle, the current NASCAR Sprint Cup points leader, met with media members outside the No. 16 hauler prior to the first practice session of the day at Talladega Superspeedway Friday afternoon. Biffle discussed the upcoming race, his strategy as points leader and more.

GREG BIFFLE, No. 16 3M Ford Fusion – ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT THE HEAT AND HIGH TEMPERATURES?  “Yeah, I mean summer is hear I guess. We’ve had some cool races, hot races and then cool again. It is definitely going to be the hottest one of the season.”

WILL IT FORCE YOU TO CHANGE THINGS WITH THE CAR?  “I don’t think so. I think we will find out who is in shape and who is ready for the heat though.”

WHEN YOU ARE THE POINTS LEADER DO YOU APPROACH RACES DIFFERENTLY?  “No. We approach, whether we are the points leader or not, the same way as everybody else. It is kind of funny. A lot has been talked about how people might be racing careful because every point counts because of the way it came down at the end of the season with Carl and Tony. But if you really think about it, the points right now don’t count right now, provided if I make the Chase, it doesn’t matter if I finish seventh, fifth, 13^th or second. The only way I can get points right now for the Chase is to win. To me, six or seventh means no difference simply from the fact that the only way I can get points for the Chase is to win. Our importance right now is to win. Yeah, we want to keep leading the points and that is important but in order to win the championship we’ve gotta win races to get bonus points for the Chase.”

ARE THE FANS HERE GOING TO SEE DIFFERENT RACING WITH THE NEW RULES AND GETTING AWAY WITH THE TWO CAR TANDEMS HERE?  “I think so. Especially with it being hot. We are all anticipating this first practice session to see what the temperatures will be like in the pack and pushing a little bit. We need to see how much we can do. We don’t know what it is going to be like yet but fans are going to see a much different race here than they did before.”

DO YOU SENSE IT IS GETTING TOUGHER TO WIN AS THE YEARS GO BY THAN IT WAS FIVE YEARS AGO?  “It seems like it to me. It is very tough to win in this sport. Some people make it look easy because you get on a role or get in a niche but it is very, very hard to win.”

IS IT HARD TO GO BACK TO THE MINDSET OF PACK RACING SINCE YOU HAVEN’T DONE IT IN AWHILE?  “A little bit. We’ve all done it so much that I would say it is second nature but we have done it a lot and we kind of did it at Daytona. I think this will be like Daytona and maybe even more pack racing.”

WHY IS IT SO HARD TO WIN NOW? “Because everybody is getting so good. The spread between the competition is getting closer and closer together. It makes it more difficult, even if you have the fastest car. You are running fifth and it is so difficult to pass the fourth, third and second place car to get to the current leader and race him for position. Everybody is so good and the competition level is so good. That is what makes it so difficult now. You will see a guy get out front that doesn’t have the fastest car and he wins because of track position or because something happened. That is why it is so hard to win now.”

WHAT HAPPENED WITH YOU GUYS LAST WEEK AND DID IT CATCH YOU BY SURPRISE THE WAY YOU RAN AT RICHMOND?  “Yeah it really caught us by surprise. One is qualifying. We are much better than that qualifying. The race, I was a little frustrated by the race. We ran way better there in the fall. We ran second, third, fifth the whole night in the fall. We went back with something similar. Another thing that Kasey Kahne and I were talking about on the telephone is the fact that there was no second groove. Really Richmond was single groove. The only way around it was the bottom. If you started on the outside, you lost position until you could get to the bottom. Richmond wasn’t like that before. That could be one of the contributing factors why we weren’t as good as we had been. Not that we ran the top, but just the track changed.”

DID THE TRACK JUST AGE?  “Maybe, or the cars just got more grip and the bottom is faster. I really don’t know why. That is a good question. I don’t know why.”

WE’VE SEEN A LOT OF GREEN FLAG RUNS. WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE OF THAT FOR YOU?  “The challenge is just keeping your concentration inside the car. You have to keep up on the chassis and you still have to communicate to the team what you need and what the car is doing. At the same time you have to be getting all you can get every lap. There is no time out. You can’t take a break. That is probably some of the challenging things that a lot of fans don’t see and understand that goes on in the car. They think it is boring, but it isn’t for the guy holding the steering wheel and pushing the gas. It is hard stuff and it doesn’t ever stop. You can’t take a break. You have to be going.”

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY ABOUT LONG GREEN FLAG RUNS?  “Just the strategy of it. Let’s face it, you hate long green flag runs if you car is no good. If you car is decent you like them because it give you a chance to keep working on it and getting better. If you car is no good you hate to see it because you can fall a few laps down before you get a caution.”

Matt Kenseth, driver of the No. 17 Best Buy Ford Fusion comes into Talladega with a superspeedway win earlier this year in the Daytona 500. Kenseth met with media members prior to the opening practice to discuss the weekend ahead.

MATT KENSETH, No. 17 Best Buy Ford Fusion – TALK ABOUT COMING TO TALLADEGA.  “It is probably the most I have ever looked forward to coming to Talladega other than the first time I came here. Obviously we liked the rules package in Daytona and made it work pretty good company wide with Greg and Carl on the front row and our car seemed real fast in the race. Anything can happen here, so who knows. You can get wrecked on lap one and you never know. Knowing that our cars were fast at Daytona it makes you look forward to coming here a little bit more.”

DO YOU THINK YOU AND GREG COULD HOOK UP AND BE AS STRONG HERE AS YOU WERE AT DAYTONA AND WHAT ARE THE CHANCES OF BEING ABLE TO HOOK UP LIKE YOU DID THEN?  “Well, the tracks are a little different but since they paved Daytona they are a lot more similar than they have ever been. Handling isn’t an issue at either track. The biggest thing, besides the normal stuff, will be managing the draft and figuring out the moves you want to make and managing your temperature and keeping and eye on all that. I don’t really anticipate the racing being a lot different. I am not sure how this car will run because I don’t have my car from Daytona. You don’t know how much the other teams have caught up with their cars and engines and all that stuff from where we were at Daytona. We just had really fast cars and engines there and you hope it is the same or better when you come back.”

REGAN SMITH GOT HIS FIRST WIN AT DARLINGTON LAST SEASON. WHEN A GUY WINS HIS FIRST RACE, IS THE PERCEPTION OF HIM IN THE GARAGE CHANGED? DO YOU LOOK AT HIM DIFFERENTLY OR TREAT THE TEAM DIFFERENTLY?  “Not really. I think that Regan has always been really fast and everybody has a lot of respect for him and that team and what they have been able to do being a single car team out of Denver of all places and being that far removed from the hub where everything is happening. I think when you see a guy who runs really good and works hard and performs hard, when you see him break through and win, especially at a race like that you feel good for the guy. I don’t think the perception of him or the team changes but you feel good and happy for him.”

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU REMEMBER FROM YOUR FIRST TIME COMING TO TALLADEGA AND HOW THAT HAS EVOLVED OVER THE YEARS?  “Yeah, my first time here was in 1997 driving a Busch car. I think it was only my third Busch series start ever. I think Charlotte was my first race the year before and ran Nashville the week before and then came right to Talladega. It was interesting to say the least. We actually ran pretty good. I remember going out in practice and being in a draft and passing cars and thinking it was the coolest thing I had experienced at the time. I remember in the race having to do a green flag pit stop and not having had done many of those and not know what that was all about. I remember we decided to pit with Michael Waltrip so that I could try to get on pit road and that feeling of trying to get on pit road that fast and how crazy that seemed and shooting through my pit box. It was a lot of fun. It was something I had only watched before I got to go do that. I showed up and raced and it was only my third race. It was a pretty cool experience.”

ANY CONCERNS WITH THE HEAT AND HOW DO YOU AS A DRIVER MANAGE THE HEAT WITH THE MOTORS AND THE HIGH TEMPERATURES WE WILL HAVE THIS WEEKEND?  “I am not really worried about myself but the engine stuff and managing that under these rules is always something you have to pay attention to. I think it is manageable and I think Daytona and the 150’s if I remember correctly was pretty warm. The farther you are back in the pack the warmer it is and you have to be careful and just pay attention to it. I think it is the same for everybody and another aspect of this kind of racing that you have to manage throughout the day.”

YOU ARE CELEBRATED FOR YOU LOVE OF THE PACKERS BUT OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD I DON’T REMEMBER YOU SAYING ANYTHING ABOUT THE BREWERS, BUCKS OR BADGERS. IS IT JUST A PACKERS THING OR YOU JUST LIKE FOOTBALL MORE?  “If I am going to pull for other sports teams it is always Wisconsin sports first. I honestly don’t watch a lot of other sports. I have always enjoyed the NFL and was a big Packer fan growing up there. Other than motorsports I really just don’t watch a lot of baseball or basketball or any of that. It isn’t that I am not a fan. I would be if I watched the sport. I just don’t pay a whole lot of attention. I watched the Brewers a little last year but I just don’t watch them as much as when I was a little kid. I was a big Brewers fan then and collected all the cards and still remember that team. Then they went on strike and honestly I just forgot about them when they were on strike and I never really watched again. That was like 25 years ago. I don’t know why but I just lost interest when that happened.”

Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Fastenal Ford Fusion, met with media members at Talladega Superspeedway after the first practice session Friday afternoon. Edwards talked about the weekend ahead and other topics.

YOU HAVE HAD YOUR MOMENTS HERE AT TALLADEGA - TALK ABOUT YOUR OUTLOOK ON RACING HERE THIS SUNDAY.  “If the weather stays warm like this and the cars are sliding around like they were out there I think it will be a real fun race. This package seems to make it a little harder to bunch up and partner up. It will keep us, I think, in a big group. I am torn on that. It is worse because you have a better chance of being involved in somebody else’s wreck but it is more fun and I guess fun is why we do this anyway. I think it is going to be as good as Talladega can be. Last week was huge for us in that we led a bunch of laps and we felt like we worked really well together as a team and now we are ready to go out there and get that first win. I don’t think I have won a restrictor plate race in the Cup series yet so this would be a great place to do it.”

DO YOU THINK THE ROUSH FENWAY DOMINANCE THAT YOU GUYS SHOWED AT DAYTONA WILL TRANSLATE TO HERE?  “It can always be different. Everybody figures things out as you go along but that last run there got our Fastenal Ford up front and I was able to stay in front of the 24 car. He has historically been really fast at these places so that meant a lot for me. I don’t know if he was trying hard or not but it was a confidence booster to know we could stay out with those guys lap after lap. I hope our cars are as good as they have been on the speedways. That has been a strong point for us which historically we all know we have struggled at some of these places. To sit on the front row at Daytona and come here with the same attitude and same cars, this could be good.”

DID YOU SEE TODAY THAT THE TEMPERATURES COULD CUT DOWN ON THE TANDEM DRAFTING?  “I couldn’t get partnered up with anyone. I was following the 29 car and the 2 car and someone else I was trying to get partnered up with. I think people right now are using a little more caution. You don’t want to tear something up in practice. If we can partner with someone for just a couple laps in the second practice then we will know. From my seat in the 99 the cars are moving around a lot and going real fast and they feel a little nervous when you match them bumper-to-bumper right now. If that is how it is in the race, especially in the long run, I think you will see some real effort in those race cars trying to work it out and cars sliding around and finding a partner you can work with. It will be really interesting.”

ARE YOU OVER LAST WEEK? HAVE YOU MOVED PAST IT? ALSO, GREG BIFFLE SAID IT WILL SHOW THIS WEEK WHO IS REALLY IN SHAPE DUE TO THE HEAT. IT WOULD SEEM YOU WOULD BE AT AN ADVANTAGE WITH YOUR CONDITIONING.  “Yeah, last week is last week. That is done and behind us. There is nothing that I can do or say that is going to change it. That is last week. Yes, I looked at the weather report and was pretty excited to see how hot it was going to be here. My trainer was in Missouri this week and we talked about how to prepare for this race. I am personally hoping it is hot so that there is a little of the physical aspect in the race. I think that is a lot of fun.”

COULD YOU EXPAND ON THE WORD “FUN” IN YOUR VERY FIRST STATEMENT ABOUT HOW THE RACING WAS GOING TO BE FUN. WHAT IS MORE FUN ABOUT BEING IN THE BIGGER GROUP?  “It kind of depends on your attitude on a given day. Someone tried to describe it to me and they used the term cognitive dissidence. Where you can hold two different thoughts at the same time. There is one part of a driver at this place that screams, ‘This is silly, we are waiting to wreck there is no point being in this pack.’ Then there is the other part like the little kid that is going, ‘Man, this is really neat to drive these cars around 200 mph bumping into each other.’ When I say fun, I am speaking of just how neat it is to be out there in that group racing at that speed. There is still that huge other factor of the pure racer in me that is not a huge fan of this style of racing. I know the consequences and the risks. Not just physically but on your season. We don’t need a bad race here for our season but for some reason, whether it is that I got up on the right side of bed this morning or something, I was having fun out there in practice – more than I have at Talladega in a long time.”

IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WILL DO DIFFERENTLY BECAUSE OF LAST WEEK IF YOU GET INTO A SIMILAR SITUATION? “Yes.”

CAN YOU EXPLAIN? “No. I learned a lot last week. Like I said, that is last week and that is it.”

WHAT DO YOU DO TO GET PAST IT? DO YOU JUST MAKE LIGHT OF IT, HAVE FUN WITH YOUR CREW MEMBERS? WHEN SOMETHING LIKE THAT HAPPENS, HOW DOES A DRIVER GET PAST THAT?  “For me personally when something like that happens I have been working on doing just what I did. I gave my honest assessment of what I thought happened and how I felt about it. I spoke with NASCAR and came to the conclusion that those actions are all that I can take. That is it. There is nothing else that I can do. I am satisfied with that personally that I did everything I could do and that is that.”

WAS OVERHEATING NOT AN ISSUE OUT THERE?  “I did not partner up with another car so I didn’t get on someone’s bumper. My car was at 210 degrees, the normal temperature it would be. I never tried to get on someone’s bumper.”

WHEN YOU SEE A GUY LIKE JEFF GORDON IN 17^TH THIS LATE IN THE SEASON, DO THE REST OF YOU THINK HE IS VULNERABLE THIS YEAR OR IS IT TO EARLY TO TELL?  “I honestly don’t know what points position I am in. I think we are ninth. This early in the season I don’t know if anyone looks too hard at other guys and starts looking for weaknesses and things. Once you get closer to the Chase you definitely do. It is hard right now because you look out there at the lay of the land and where people are and a guy that is 15^th or 16^th in the points, even in the 25^th or 26^th race can still make it on the wild card and be a factor. I think what is different now in our sport is you have to give everyone that respect. You can not underestimate anyone that could be in the Chase because the final 10 races a guy can surprise you like we saw last year. That is the long way of saying I would never write Jeff Gordon off.”

EVERYONE ALWAYS TALKS ABOUT A BIG WRECK HERE. IT SEEMS PEOPLE ANTICIPATE A BIG WRECK OR SPECTACULAR CRASH. DOES THAT BOTHER YOU?  “No it doesn’t bug me. It just is what it is. This type of racing, as a driver you are less in control of whether or not you will be involved in a wreck. That is just a part of this style of racing. Nobody forced us to get in these race cars. I will be out there racing as hard as I can those last five laps and if there is a wreck, there is a wreck. I know what it is like as a fan to watch these races. You just can’t help but watch because it is just spectacular to watch. Unlike some folks, I do not wish and hope that there is a wreck but  I know that it is a possibility.”

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS TO YOU TO BE AN ALL-STAR AND YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE NEW FORMAT?  “I don’t know what the new format is. I will skip the new format part. Usually the day of the race I am asking what the format is. Greg (Biffle) is the perfect driver for an event like the All-Star event. I think he will be one of the toughest guys in the race. He will be very tough there. It is a very neat event to be a part of. I have been fortunate enough to be in a number of times and the fans voted me in that one time which was a huge honor. I can’t describe how big of an honor that was. I have also missed the race and know how disappointing it is to watch that race. Winning it was spectacular. To know that I will have at least an invitation to that race for the next 10 years or whatever, I am not sure I think it is 10 years after you win it, that is huge. That is a stressor for all of us drivers. If you haven’t won, you know that is a big deal to be in that race. It is one of the things that when you win, you get to mark that in the column of benefits of winning. It is really nice.”

 

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