News for February 11th 2010

2010 Daytona 500 NSCS Pre-Race Conference with Greg Biffle

Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 3M Ford Fusion, held a press conference in the Daytona International Speedway infield media center Wednesday before practice.

GREG BIFFLE – No. 16 3M Ford Fusion –

WHAT’S YOUR OUTLOOK FOR THE 500? “The Bud Shootout, I think, was a good test for us. My car drove fairly well. I was a little disappointed after qualifying for the 500 that our car was as slow as it was. We’re still not sure why it was so slow, but after qualifying, I was on the front row at Talladega last year, we felt like we’d be better – certainly with the new engine and all the things and all the work the guys had put into the car. So I was pretty disappointed and the outlook wasn’t that great, and then in the Bud Shootout the car drove really good. You could tell it was off a little bit on speed because the guys were pushing pretty hard from behind, and it looked like the inside row might be a little bit faster, but the car drove good and we were able to keep our track position up there in the top five fairly well, so that made me pretty optimistic for the 500. It certainly didn’t end up like we wanted it to, but I think we’ve got a car that if we continue to work on it here, if we can get it going as good as the Bud Shootout car, I think we’ll have something for the 500.”

ON A SCALE OF 1-10 WHAT IS THE CHANCE RFR IS COMPETITIVE EVERY WEEK WITH FOUR DRIVERS VERSUS ’09? “I would say the chances are pretty decent. It’s kind of a unique situation, not only did we go to four drivers, but we already had the alliance with the Yates organization and their cars, but now that organization has been strengthened tremendously with the addition of Kasey Kahne and some others. We always shared information with Paul and those guys, and had big production meetings with everybody in the room, and I think that’s actually gonna be enhanced this year over last year. Yes, we did lose Jamie, who had a lot of good input, but we also picked up Kasey Kahne and AJ Allmendinger and Elliott Sadler. So by losing one, we’ve kind of gained some more that we share information with – not necessarily that we’re in the same camp, but we share information. You may not get it as quick. It may not be that particular weekend, but, overall, as we move forward throughout the year, by sharing information we stand a chance of being better as a group as a whole. So weekend to weekend it might be a little bit different, just losing Jamie’s input, but, overall, in a bigger picture we may be positioned better with being aligned with the RPM organization.”

WHAT DID YOU SEE SATURDAY AS FAR AS BUMP DRAFTING AND WHAT DO YOU EXPECT THIS WEEK? DO YOU EXPECT GUYS TO BE PRETTY AGGRESSIVE? “Yeah, I think so. I think we’re gonna continue to be pretty aggressive with it. From everything I saw on Saturday night was pretty aggressive, but, yet, everybody kind of maintained control. I saw a few times when there was concrete flying – when a guy pushed somebody and they kind of got squirrely and hit the outside wall. I saw that once or twice in front of me and, in fact, I helped Matt at the end of the straightaway get a little bit of the concrete before we got into the corner, so we were pushing like hell and we were doing all we could do. I think you’re gonna continue to see us be aggressive like that. One difference between here and Talladega is Talladega is really smooth and really wide open and a lot more room. It’s a lot easier to push there, certainly around the corner, in the corner, off the corner – things like that. My car is sideways through the tri-oval by itself – without anybody on me – and it’s not like that at Talladega, really. At Talladega you can push about everywhere, but here you can’t push in the corner, off the corner, around the corner because the cars are moving up and down and the track is so rough. It’s really hard, but we’re gonna continue to be aggressive and push all we can.”

WHERE HAS YOUR TEAM WORKED HARDEST IN THE OFF-SEASON AND WHERE IS YOUR TEAM IN THE ADJUSTMENT GOING FROM THE WING TO THE SPOILER? “I’ll start with the last question. We were one of the first cars to have the spoiler on at Texas with Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch and Brian Vickers being the other cars. I feel like the car turned a lot better on corner exit, and that’s been the big problem with this car. On corner exit, the nose really wants to push and the spoiler shifts the center of pressure forward and makes the car turn better on exit, so I think it’s gonna be an improvement – not only in driving but in racing. The car is gonna race better. We’re gonna be able to get underneath guys, pass more, more like the old car was, so I think that is a positive. I encourage NASCAR to make sure that we try different heights and widths on that spoiler before we put the water in the concrete and let it set up. Now is our chance to explore some of the different combinations and see what tends to be the best as far as characteristics, the way it drives, and things like that. We’ve worked really hard on our cars. We’ve made our cars a little bit lighter. We’ve made probably 25 improvements on our cars, but just bits and pieces everywhere – a little bit better, a little bit lighter, a little bit lower center of gravity, a little bit better bump stops. We think we’re a little better on geometry – just a number of things that we’ve made them a little bit better. That’s why I was surprised in qualifying that we were in the thirties.”

ARE YOU USING THE FR9 THIS WEEK? WHO IS AND ISN’T AND HOW MUCH OF A DIFFERENCE IS IT MAKING? “We were hoping for big changes. Like I said, we didn’t see it in qualifying and that was kind of disappointing, but we do have the FR9 engine in and we’re gonna run it in the 150. I don’t think we’re intending to run it in the 500 yet, but I know they’re doing durability tests and doing on-track testing with it now, and I really don’t know their whole schematic layout – who has it, who might be running it for the 500, if anybody. I know it’s in my car because I saw it with my own eyes, and, obviously, we’re gonna run it in the 150.”

ARE YOU ENVIOUS OF SOMEONE LIKE MATT WHO HAS WON A CUP TITLE AND DAYTONA 500? “Yeah, I just wish it was me up there when it rained last year. He had a great car, great track position, and I’d certainly like a 500 trophy, but, more importantly I’d like the Sprint Cup trophy. That’s really the one I want, so I look forward to being competitive this year and getting my crack at it, but Matt has certainly accomplished a lot. Either one of those trophies I’d be good with right now.”

DID YOU HAVE A TIRE GOING DOWN SATURDAY? AND DO YOU FEEL BEING AN AGGRESSIVE DRIVER BY NATURE GIVES YOU AN EDGE WITH NASCAR OPENING THINGS UP? “It could and the edge is until the guy in front of you spins out. That’s kind of the edge – you just go as far as you can. As far as the tire going down, I had a suspicion coming to the green that the tire may have been soft, but when I went across turn one and two it felt fine, so that kind of foiled the idea that I might have had a tire going down. I wasn’t sure what happened until I saw the tape and saw the replay. Things happen so fast, there’s so much adrenaline, the track is bumpy, it’s noisy, it’s loud, but upon further review of the tape it appears that the 24 was against the bumper when I entered the corner, so it’s obvious why the car spun out, I think.”

DID YOU LEARN ANYTHING SATURDAY ABOUT TIRE STRATEGY THAT MIGHT HELP ON SUNDAY? WILL GUYS TAKE TWO TIRES, FOUR TIRES OR NO TIRES? “I think a little of both. My thing Saturday night was, ‘I’ve got nothing to lose right now. There are no points or really anything on the line.’ I wanted track position because I knew if something happened on that restart, which was highly likely, being out front is gonna be the place to be, especially if the caution comes out, so that’s why I chose that. Yeah, we’ve got an idea of what my car is gonna be driving like and, certainly, the 150 will be a telltale sign, they always are, on how the track continues to rubber up and how the track condition gets later in the run. I’m looking forward to that 150 for gathering the rest of that and filling in those bits and pieces.”

Edited: February 11th, 2010

More than “Pretty Good Driver”

As Michael Waltrip prepared for what could be the final Daytona 500 of his career, he took exception when someone described him as “a pretty good driver.”
Pretty good drivers don’t last 25 years at NASCAR’s top level.

Pretty good drivers don’t get two different opportunities to drive for Dale Earnhardt.

Pretty good drivers don’t win two Daytona 500s.

“I haven’t been able to let that go in my brain because I think I am at least a good driver,” Waltrip said Wednesday. “I’m better than pretty good. I think what says a lot about my character and attitude is that when I lined up to run the 2001 Daytona 500 I was 0 for 462, that’s what the record said.

“But I was convinced that I was going to win that race. I believed in my heart that I had the tools, and I knew I had the ability to win that race. And I don’t know of very many people in this sport who could have lost 462 races and lined up in a car and driven to a win in their 463rd race.”

The record book shows that Waltrip is 4 for 759, and it’s not totally clear just how many races will be added to that total. Faced with a decision to prolong his driving career or focus on the continued growth of Michael Waltrip Racing, he had to think of the betterment of his race team.

It meant turning his car over to free agent Martin Truex Jr., and scaling back into a much more limited schedule. Only sponsorship didn’t develop the way Waltrip had hoped, and he headed into the season with only the season-opening Daytona 500 secure on his schedule.

He’s since put together a deal that will likely allow him to race at Talladega Superspeedway in April, but Waltrip feels confident this is likely his final 500.

And his participation in Sunday’s season-opener isn’t even guaranteed.

Waltrip must earn his way into the starting lineup via one of Thursday’s qualifying races. He can win a spot in the 43-car field by either claiming one of the two “transfer” spots in his race, or, if Bill Elliott, Scott Speed or Bobby Labonte should claim a transfer spot, Waltrip would make the race based on his speed from qualifying.

He’s not worried, even though he joked about the three spins he’s had down the back straightaway this Speedweeks.

“I’ve gone down it three times backward, and it’s the only straight part of the entire track, so I can’t figure that out,” he said. “But I’m actually really encouraged, and I don’t think making the race is going to be a problem.”

Even if it was, Waltrip would likely find a way to overcome it.

He’s made a career out of making the most out of every situation, and the end result is a reputation as an endearing corporate spokesman. The groundwork he laid there is probably what continued his NASCAR career after a disastrous 2007 debut as a car owner.

Flush with three race cars, millions in sponsorship money, a glistening new race shop — and a ton of debt to show for all of it — Waltrip’s first season exploded before it even began. He was caught in a cheating scandal that rocked the Daytona 500 and almost caused him to pull out of the race, and it quickly became apparent that his cars were not competitive.

The three MWR drivers missed races, Waltrip suffered through his own personal and family issues, and money quickly began to run out.

His sponsors never stopped trusting that Waltrip could get it figured out.

“I bit off a whole lot and sacrificed a whole lot, my driving career, things at home, financially, and that’s probably because I am an all-in type of guy with my personality,” Waltrip said. “And I was lucky that my sponsors gave me the benefit of the doubt at the start, that they didn’t say to me “This isn’t going like how you promised it would.’ ”

In the two seasons since, MWR has improved by leaps and bounds. Waltrip found the savior to his race team in Robert Kauffman, a founder and managing partner in the Fortress Investment Group that invested in MWR late in the 2007 season. The partnership gave MWR financial stability, and the progress has gone steadily up since.

The MWR drivers all finished 2008 inside the critical top-35 mark, and David Reutimann last season gave the team its first victory with a Coca-Cola 600 win. He also flirted with making the Chase for the championship.

And they were able to sign Truex, who was one of the most coveted free agents last season.

“I’m proud and impressed that he got through the ramp-up, the issues that happened, he continued to press on and made a successful program out of it,” NASCAR president Mike Helton said of Waltrip. “Whatever he does next, he will continue to draw attention because he’s charismatic and fans like him. The further away he gets from racing, the more that character will be followed.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. said he hoped his former teammates legacy will be what he offered off the track.

“You can’t be around the sport as long as he was and not influence someone. He was a good friend to a lot of people, and for me, he always made it easier to be around here,” Earnhardt said. “He was one of the personalities that would help you understand not to take (stuff) so seriously. He was great friends with my dad, I got to know him pretty good, and I appreciated him for being a good person.

“And I think he’s going to be an even better car owner, so he still has quite a lot to accomplish.”

Waltrip doesn’t want his driving record to define his career, nor does he want to be judged by his colorful personality. His true mark in NASCAR may not come for several decades, after MWR has a chance to build its own record.

“I think the main thing that I hope to get out of this is just respect that I know what I am doing, there’s a method to the way I do things,” he said. “I don’t mind making fun of myself, I don’t mind people thinking I am crazy or goofy, but I do have a plan. When I showed up in 1985, I didn’t have a plan, I just wanted to race a car.

“But now I have a plan to make MWR a destination — for drivers, crew members and sponsors, because they appreciate the way we conduct business and that we are thankful for the opportunity to be here.”

Edited: February 11th, 2010

JIMMIE JOHNSON Talks Racing

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S IMPALA, met with members of the media at Daytona International Speedway and discussed his outlook for the season, preparation and racing the Daytona 500, Danica Patrick, the new NASCAR rules and other topics.

TALK ABOUT YOUR OUTLOOK COMING INTO THE DAYTONA 500: “Excited to get going. It was nice to be on-track for the Shootout and the Shootout practices. We didn’t finish like we had hoped we would in the Shootout. Early in the race we were in good shape and then the handling started to slip and the right rear tire wasn’t agreeing with the setup and the car faded pretty bad at the end of the Shootout. But, it is nice to be back obviously. I really think that when we get to California and go to Las Vegas, we will have a much better idea of what teams are where. I feel very good about where our team has been focused during the off season. The areas we are looking for speed in some of the new components, some of the new thoughts and setups that are coming along. But really until we have a chance to validate them, we don’t have a clue what how good it is going to be, or if it is going to be good at all or where other people are at. We’ve not taken the four championships in a row lightly. We want to win a fifth, we want to perform each and every week. We want to win races and a lot of them. So, we are still full steam ahead. Hopefully the whole organization has been working in the right areas.”

HAS IT REALLY SURPRISED YOU THAT ALL THE ATTENTION SO FAR THIS SPEEDWEEKS HAS REALLY GONE TO ONE PERSON, DANICA PATRICK, AND SOME OF THE BIGGER NAMES LIKE YOURSELF, JEFF GORDON, TONY STEWART, HAVE BEEN SOMEWHAT NOT NOTICED? “First of all, I am excited for our sport to have this magnifying glass on it, so I think it is great for all of us. With it being a tough time with the economy where it is, with us wanting more viewers because the viewership numbers weren’t where we wanted them last year, this is great stuff. With that being said, people are paying attention to our sport, this is great. With what we have had going on with the HBO show, 24/7, and our own stuff going on, I don’t feel like a lot has changed for me. I am getting more exposure; more is going on for me in my own personal situation than ever. I am very content and pleased. I think she (Danica Patrick) did a good job in the ARCA race and the Nationwide race is the next step for her. As long as it is bringing eyes to television sets and putting butts in the seats in the stands, that is a good thing.”

THE BIGGER RESTRICTOR PLATES, THE BUMP DRAFTING ALLOWANCES, THE SORT OF LAISSEZ FAIRE ATTITUDE THAT NASCAR HAS EXPRESSED, IF YOU HAD TO BE PINNED DOWN ABOUT IT, WHICH OF THE FOUR HENDRICK DRIVERS DO YOU THINK THAT MIGHT HELP THE MOST? “When I look at our situation at plate tracks, I think that Jeff (Gordon) and Junior (Dale Earnhardt, Jr.) are our two best plate drivers. It took me a while, but I did a good job with the old car at the end before the car went away. “With the COT, I just haven’t been able to figure what to do all the time, really, how to defend once I get to the front. I can get there, but how do I defend and stay up there for long periods of time like we have seen Jeff and Junior both do, the No. 14 (Tony Stewart), the No. 18 (Kyle Busch). So that is where I need to get better. I have been studying tapes and trying to understand as much as I can to be better at that. I’m not sure how much it is really going to change things. I think with the bigger plate and the fact that the cars suck up easier, it is making us more impatient. We all have these big runs and you are letting off the gas and you know that if there is an opening there, you are going to take advantage of it. But you are stuck two-by-two and nowhere to go. I think there is a good chance you will see more aggression. And I say all that based on the race in the Shootout when the track was still pretty grippy and green. Daytime Duel race, I don’t think you will see us in a big pack for long. The handling is going to go away quick. I guess I am talking in a circle now that I recognize what the hell I am saying. But, when the race ends at night, green-white-checkered, a shootout at the end with 10 laps to go, whatever it may be, it is going to be exciting, I can promise you that. Because you can stay in a big group, temperatures will be down. Tires will work; it will be one heck of a show.”

JUST FOLLOWING UP ON DANICA, IT SEEMS THAT A LOT OF GUYS WERE IMPRESSED WITH WHAT SHE DID IN THE ARCA RACE, YOUR THOUGHTS ON HOW SHE DID AND HOW THAT WILL PLAY IN TO NOW THAT SHE WILL BE RACING IN THE DRAFT, STARTING TODAY WITH PRACTICE, DO YOU THINK THAT EARNED HER SOME RESPECT AND CREDIBILITY FROM VETERANS? “I think so. She is going about it the right way starting with ARCA race and moving up. Things went well for her there so now on to the Nationwide Series. If I can draw any parallels, I would say the ARCA race would be more like the high school level of ball, now she is in the college section of it then the Cup Series would be the big wigs. She is making the progression; she is doing a great job through the progression. She will learn a lot more today. When she is out there with a lot of these Cup guys that run in the Nationwide Series, it will be overwhelming, but, there isn’t a better way to learn than diving in their head first. The speeds aren’t as high as what she is used to so I think that part is fine for her. It is just understanding these cars and how the draft works and how much to move around. The only way you figure that stuff out is by making laps. She’s going for it; she is doing it.”

HOW MUCH BUMP DRAFTING DID YOU SEE ON SATURDAY NIGHT AND HOW MUCH DO YOU EXPECT TO SEE TOMORROW AND ALSO SUNDAY? ALSO, GIVEN THE FACT THAT MOST OF THE DRIVERS ARE LOCKED IN TO THE 500 ALREADY, COULD WE EXPECT A LITTLE BIT MORE WILD RACING ON THURSDAY THAN WE HAVE SEEN IN THE PAST, GUYS DON’T HAVE TO BE AS CAREFUL? “I don’t think anyone wants to tear up their cars even though they might be locked in. I think it will be like you have seen in the past with the race on Thursday. You put so much work and effort in to that primary car; you don’t want to tear it up.

“It will be a race, but I don’t think it will be as exciting as the end of the Daytona 500. At that point, when you can see the white flag and all you need to do is come back, that is going to be a totally different situation than what we will see in the Duels. The bump drafting, the ban was lifted, some guys tried it at the end of the Shootout and it clearly doesn’t work at this track. On the straighaways, you can do the bump drafting, but the cars are so on-edge and there is so little grip here compared to Talladega, that I don’t think that the bump drafting in the corners, you just can’t do it. You can try it, but you are going to have a big pile up like we did. I’m not sure many people enjoy that. I know some people love to see the crashes, but I am sure that everybody would love to see a great race and finish under green than 10 cars piled up in turns three and four.”

WHAT DO YOU SEE THIS YEAR AS THE PLACES YOU ARE TRYING TO MAKE THE MOST GAINS OVER LAST YEAR AND WHO DO YOU SEE AS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE BEING POTENTIALLY IN THE WAY OF FIVE STRAIGHT CHAMPIONSHIPS? “In the Chase, when the championship is on the line, I feel really good about the tracks in the Chase. I think that New Hampshire, we need to be a little bit better there, although we finished, I think, in the top-five. We haven’t won there in a while and it would be nice to start to narrow in on that to start the Chase strong. I think we could send one hell of a message to the garage area if we could come out and win the first race of the Chase. So looking that far ahead, I would say that is one track in the Chase that we really need to zero in on. I would say Texas in the past, but we have done a really good job of understanding Texas and being competitive there. I feel good about those tracks. Before the Chase I still look at Bristol, I look at the roadcourse races, that is just kind of a personal thing to me. I’m running much better at those tracks and much more competitive, that is just something that is under my skin, I need to win at those tracks in my mind. Other than that, I think it is about winning races. We need to win races, to make sure we are in a comfortable position in the Chase. That is our goal starting the season. We want to win races and win a lot of them and I would love to roll in to Richmond and have ourselves locked in to the Chase, ideally, a race or so out. To watch what Mark Martin and that team went through last year, three or four months out being as far behind as they were and to fight all the way in, it took a lot out of them. If possible, I don’t want to be in that position, so winning races is what it is all about.”

AS YOU BEGIN YOUR QUEST FOR YOUR FIFTH, DO YOU THINK THE GARAGE FEELS LIKE YOUR TEAM HAS DEVELOPED AN ARMOR-PLATED AURA THAT YOU GUYS CARRY YOURSELVES WITH AND WHAT KIND OF INTIMIDATION FACTOR DOES THAT CARRY TO YOUR COMPETITORS? WHEN THE NO. 5 AND NO. 88 HAD THEIR SUCCESS IN QUALIFYING, DOES THAT INDICATE THAT THEY ARE GOING TO LOOM AS A REALLY THREAT TO YOU? “The confidence we have as a team is seen in the garage and the things that we have done in the past is great and it might carry over to the start of this season. But truthfully, as a competitor in this sport and the other competitors do this as well, you have to let stuff roll off your back quick. You can’t hang on to the past too long. You have to keep looking forward and moving ahead. With that in mind, if we do have some type of mental advantage, it is not there for long. But, what can simulate that is if we are winning races. The best thing we can do to keep that advantage is to win races. If we go a long stretch without winning and not performing, weren’t not going to be a threat in the minds of those other teams. It is really up to us to keep that going and I think we can. Out of people in the garage area right now, with less success, we can intimidate people. I don’t think we have everybody beat for the entire season, we have to go out and prove ourselves week in and week out. That is kind of my twist on that I guess.

“I am expecting the No. 5 and No. 88 to be challengers but qualifying here is so different from what the bulk of the season is based on that it is a great feather in Rick’s (Hendrick) cap and both Mark’s and Junior’s. For the company (Hendrick Motor Sports) is a great way to build momentum internally because of all the hard work during the off season to take down the front row. There are small battles won there internally at Hendrick Motorsports. But, California is really the true test bed for what the bulk of the season is going to be.”

LAST YEAR WAS RAIN RACE, THE 500 HAS A HISTORY OF FLUKY FINISHES, WHEN YOU WIN ONE OF THOSE RACES, DO YOU LOOK AT A GUY WINNING A RAIN-SHORTENED RACE ANY DIFFERENTLY? “Yes, I do. A win is a win, I get it. I think I have been in a position once or twice where rain came and we won the race. But, there are some situations where you are running 20th or that driver is running 20th and all the fast guys pit and they take a chance and stay out, that one, it is definitely a win. But I think even in those driver’s heart, they know that they still need to win one by beating the guys, by beating everybody heads-up on the track. I do see that at times. Restrictor plate racing I see less of that because we are all in such a big pack and typically everybody pits at the same time, it is more indicative of what was going on on the race track before the rain came. Like Matt’s (Kenseth) win last year. Matt was fast. Matt did a great job. We all pitted and came back and were racing, the caution came out, he was in the lead, he wins the race. So that one, he earned that one in my eyes.”

THE ONE THING YOU HAVEN’T SHARED WITH CHAD OUT OF ALL THE SUCCESS YOU HAVE HAD TOGETHER IS A DAYTONA 500 WIN. HAS HE EVER EXPRESSED TO YOU WHAT IT WOULD MEAN TO HIM TO GET A WIN HERE? “We talk about it each January and February that we need to get him a win. So that is priority number one and I hope we can get it done for him. I also use as an opportunity to give him a hard time and try to get under his skin with I have won the Daytona 500 and I have a picture in victory lane and he doesn’t. You know how it is with Chad, anything you can do to get his blood pressure; I usually take advantage of that.”

DO YOU SEE DENNY HAMLIN AS ONE OF THE LEADING THREATS TO YOUR STREAK OF CHAMPIONSHIPS? “Without a doubt, he and that team are more than capable. They have everything there and once they figure out how to win a championship, they are going to win a bunch of them. They just need that road map and it took us a few years to figure that out. We had to lose a couple of them to really understand how to do it. Thankfully in ’06 it came together and that made ’07 easier for the brain, we knew where to focus. It did not make winning the championship any easier, but we knew what to worry about; we knew what to focus on and had kind of a road map of where to go. And then it has just progressed each year. A lot like a race win, once you get your first one, the second one seems a little easier because you have been there through experience. I can see him, once they figure it out, they are going to be very tough to beat year in and year out.”

HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THE DRASTIC CHANGE IN DIRECTION FROM NASCAR THE WAY THEY ARE CONDUCTING THE RACES NOW, THE RULE CHANGES, BUMP DRAFTING, HAVE AT IT? “From my seat in the race car, we weren’t pushing each other through the turns here anyway. It is just something you can’t do. Although the rule has changed for Daytona, I don’t see it. It isn’t a big deal to me. I don’t see the drastic swing in things. I think it is great to see, I think the fans are very excited to hear it. But, we saw the other night, what happens with bump drafting in the turns, you just have big wrecks. Where you can do and it is helpful and it puts on a good show is Talladega. So when we go back to Talladega in the Spring, it would be more of a fair opportunity to have an opinion there. But here, we will just tear stuff up.

“They have honestly been telling us this stuff for a long time for a couple of years. They continue to remind us about what is going on. But I think the fact that we race each other every week, we have corporate situations to be concerned about, there is a lot of things that frame in each driver to where they are with their own personalities and stuff. I think that once something does happen, I think there is a better chance that it will last longer now because of the encouragement from NASCAR, but I don’t see this changing anyone’s mind to ‘You know what, I just feel like starting an issue with someone. I am going to go wreck this guy then we are going to live it out through the media for four or five months.’ That stuff is not going to happen. But that stuff has already been around. So now those guys may feel more comfortable expressing themselves, crashing each other more because the riff has already started. But for drivers who don’t have a riff, I’m not going to start driving around on the race track saying ‘You know what, NASCAR has changed their rules, I’m wrecking the shit out of this guy. Watch this.’ It is just not going to happen.”

EVEN WITH THE NO. 77 (SAM HORNISH)? “He has already wrecked the shit out of me. (LAUGHS) Again, from my standpoint, it polices itself on the track and I have not, including Sam, I’m picking on him here, he did not drive in to the corner and pick my rear tires up of the ground and wreck me. It is not the situation. If that situation does happen, we’ve seen it with Denny (Hamlin) and Brad (Keselowski). We saw Tony (Stewart) and Juan (Pablo Montoya) take care of things in Homestead, that is a different type of a situation that I think the fans want to see. Racing is racing. We are going to lean on each other. Wrecks are going to happen; bumping is going to be there. But if somebody comes in and cleans me out intentionally, then it starts. That is the same for everybody.”

Edited: February 11th, 2010