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12
THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2007
Low on fuel
‘Rocketman’ a shell of his former self?
~ * 'V - jjßp
Ryan
Newman
stands
with
his wife
Diane at
Darlington
earlier this
year.
NASCAR Images
Special to the Journal
Following is a question
and answer session
taken from NASCAR’s
weekly media teleconference call
and featuring Ryan Newman:
Q. Assuming you make
the Chase, what do you do
differently strategy-wise
for those 10 races that you
might not do for the first 26
races?
NEWMAN: Nothing. I mean,
the only thing you can really
say is you go for it a little bit
more, maybe you gamble a little
bit more. We’re in the position
now where we’ve got to gamble
a little bit as it is.
For us in that position, noth
ing. It’s just a matter of, like I
said, going out and doing the
best job we possibly can each
and every week. Right now
Daytona 500 is no different
than this week going into the
400 at Michigan. It’s just, you
know, easy to think of things
you’d try to do different or say
different, but you really just
have to go out there and try to
win the race.
Q. With regards to the
Dodge this year, it’s been
an up-and-down year. Your
teammate got a victory
at Pocono and Tuesday at
Michigan, but still strug
gled at times. Can you talk
about that, talk about it in
relation to how your team’s
performance has been this
year?
NEWMAN: Our team’s per
formance I think has been good.
It’s been way better than last
year. The second part of that
is just our finishes, our consis
tency, hasn’t been the greatest.
That’s what got us into this
position now as far as points
go-
We’ve proven we can be very
competitive every given week.
It’s just a matter of getting
those finishes for us it seems.
Q. You know that Kyle
Busch announced he’ll join
Joe Gibbs next year, which
can be interesting consid
ering the relationship he
and Tony have had back
and forth. Since you sort of
He said it...
ON MICHIGAN
“It's been a few races since we've been
the best Raybestcs Reekie so that’s a
good day today. I felt like we lost a little
bit those last two restarts. It took our car
a few laps to get rolling. Our car was
really, really fast all day but we were off
just a little bit there at the end. They got
the best of me and I felt like we lost three
or four spots that we shouldn't have but
all in all an excellent day for the AAA
Ford. A top-20 gets some more points
and a good way to head into Bristol."
“This car will probably go to California.
We re trying to use our current cars
as much as we can now because next
year they won’t be any good to us. The
race was just a little crazy there at the
end. Everybody was driving hard trying
to get the last few spots and trying to
get this thing finished so they can get
back home. We've all had a long, boring
weekend and we were ready to get it in.
I'm sure the excitement at Bristol will far
make up for it."
- David Ragan
“I guess something we worried about dur
ing practice was getting loose because
we were like that in the June race here.
I felt pretty confident in how the car
finished Happy Hour. Obviously, there
were completely different track conditions
without having any rubber The race
weather was overcast and we struggled
with that all day.”
- J.J. Yeley
We were lucky there. They just came
down and hit us and we spun. Luckily we
"Our team's performance I think has been
good. It's been way better than last year. The
second part of that is just our finishes, our
consistency, hasn't been the greatest."
had a teammate relation
ship a couple years ago that
wasn’t exactly buddy-buddy,
how distracting or counter
productive can that be to
the team when that’s going
on? What’s the very least
you expect from a teammate
on and off the track even if
you aren’t friends?
NEWMAN: Well, I know that
it can be very productive or
counterproductive. I’ve experi
enced both. Kurt has been a
great teammate the last two
years. He’s taught me some
things. I think I’ve taught him
some things. In the end, you
know, a teammate can make or
break your performance. It’s
extremely important to have a
good relationship. It’s extreme
ly important to maintain that
relationship as well.
Q. You’ve been around
before the Chase points
system, now after it. Do
you think the fans feel the
excitement and stress of
making a Chase like drivers
and teams do?
NEWMAN: I think the fans
that follow the sport every week
definitely feel that. I feel that
just from them. I’ve had plenty
of fans come up to me and talk
to me about it. Yeah, there’s
very much merit in saying that.
Q. It appears you and Kurt
Busch are sharing your
information on the track as
opposed to when you were
a teammate with Rusty
Wallace. Is it harder for a
two-car team to stay com
petitive now in the NEXTEL
Cup?
NEWMAN: Without a doubt,
we’re sharing more informa
tion. Our teams are getting
along great. I mean, it’s not just
the drivers. It’s the teams and
the organization that has a lot
to do with that.
didn't hit anything. Then we came back,
we had a strong car, and one of the long
runs we came in and changed tires and
they were junk, I guess. The balance
went and we lost over half a second a
lap. At the beginning it was tight, actually,
and as the day went on just got looser."
- Juan Pablo Montoya
' We’re three for three on our 07s not
making it to the finish so that's the last
time I'm going run one of those this year."
"We had a problem in practice and then
this is a different problem so we ll just
have to go back and test these things a
little bit more. We can't be testing them
at the racetrack like we are. We've got to
test them at Kentucky or somewhere and
put some miles on 'em.”
- Paul Menard
“Honestly at this point I don't even care if
we fall back to fifth in the points. I want
the bonus points and nobody was going
to beat that 2 car today. Good thing we
don't run anymore two-mile racetracks
or two-and-a-half mile unrestricted tracks
the rest of the season because they’ve
got something figured out big-time there.
I thought we were racing for second and
we just took off there and we stayed out
and the car was coming to me prior to
that. And then it took off and was just
real loose and I was just trying to get out
of the way."
- Jeff Gordon
“We had a pretty good car today and
it was just starting to come back to us
when we started smoking We had a lot
of power in the engine, but had a prob
lem with a seal somewhere. It was just
an unfortunate incident"
But, yeah, it’s definitely
helped us to have a better per
formance, to be where we’re at
in the Chase, you know, in the
Chase for the Championship.
Q. It seems like the 10
bonus points being added
for wins has really kind of
changed the way guys are
approaching it if they’re
locked into the Chase at
this point. Is that the way
you view it? Do you think
that’s been a good thing for
tli6 sport?
NEWMAN: You know, I think
it’s NASCAR’s twist on it this
year for making more empha
sis on winning. For me person
ally it hasn’t change the way I
raced in saying that. We’re not
in position to say that we’re a
championship team right now.
To me the best answer, I don’t
think that it has. But, you know,
we’ll see how it all plays out this
year.
Q. After you won eight
races in 2003, did you think
you were going to come
close to that every year?
Did you think you’d be close
to that productive in ensu
ing years?
NEWMAN: I thought we
would do better the next year
and better the year after. That’s
just the way it would work.
But, you know, I still feel as a
driver I’m fully capable of win
ning those eight races plus per
year. The team and the people
are what make the difference.
We’ve had pretty much every
member of the team, besides
the truck driver, change posi
tions or we have new people.
We’re kind of starting over. We
are rebuilding. 2003 was pretty
much the last year we had that
full-time group of guys we had
in 2002.
- Mark Martin
“The guys did a really good job. We
qualified in the top five and had a pretty
good first practice. The second practice
we weren't as good and Doug made
some good calls in the race. The car
gave up a little bit throughout the day but
definitely not like it did here the first race.
We made some head way on that and
had a really smooth weekend."
- Bobby Labonte
“I would like to congratulate Kurt, but
we gave one away. The guys didn't do
well on pit road. I had some sharp things
come off and couldn't hold a rivet in the
race car. It was disappointing but we'll do
better next time."
- Ryan Newman
“Same story different weekend. We
struggle when rubber gets on the track
and in traffic. It s no fun. That's just the
way it is. I'm looking forward to Bristol
the COT stuff has been better for us. And
Bristol has been a lot better with the COT
than some of the other places .So I’m
looking forward to that and hopefully our
first good finish of the year.”
- Kasey Kahne
“I just couldn't do anything with the car.
It was loose entering the corner and
everything we tried just didn't help the
situation. On one occasion, I though I
had a flat tire, but after changing all four
the crew found that wasn't the case. It's
frustrating We didn't practice that bad
and we had a good qualifying effort. We
just didn't' get the car hooked up with
the track. That's a problem here. If you
don't have your racecar hooked up in the
corners, you have no momentum off the
SPORTS
corners. Bristol is next. We had a great
car there earlier this year, the first for the
COT.”
- Elliott Sadler
“We had great pit stops all day and at the
end of the race the car was handling the
best it has all weekend. But this was not
the finish we were looking for. We strug
gled to find the right balance with the car.
It would react to adjustments but was
always loose somewhere in the turns. I
will be happy to get to Bristol next week,
and get another shot at a top finish."
- Scott Riggs
“We started off, the car was good. Then
all of a sudden on the second run it was
loose, loose, loose. There was nothing
we could do. We made some changes
but weren't catching up on it. It is unfor
tunate because I thought that we had a
pretty good 1 car. In the race it was good
then was just couldn't get caught back
up. In reality something happened. We
had to get shocks off. It was a balance
issue. It started off just fine and then
we could never get in back. I think we
accomplished a lot this weekend and
we'll continue to do that throughout the
rest of the year."
- John Andretti
ON BRISTOL
"The heat is what will get you at Bristol
because when it is hot, it's hot. The heat
is the biggest thing and it is probably
one of the most physically demanding
tracks that we go to. At this point in the
season, everyone is a little tired and a
little drained. It Is a tough time of year for
that race to come up but it is there every
year. You need to be conditioned for it."
- Jeff Burton
Kyle Busch ready for next move
Special to the Journal
Following is taken from a Joe Gibbs
Racing teleconference featuring Kyle
Busch and upon the official announce
ment he would drive for the organiza
tion:
Q. Kyle, obviously the question
that we all want to know is the
process. How difficult, how many
people did you talk to, and what
was sort of the process did you go
through? What was the tipping
point that led you to this deci
sion?
BUSCH: Well, you know, it was a
great decision-making process that I
was able to go through, a great learn
ing experience as well, being able to
sit down with the various owners,
spend time with them, get to know
them, build a friendly relationship
with them all.
I think we went about it in the right
way where everybody was pleased
with the way it went down. I’m sure
they were a little disappointed when
I led into my phone calls a couple
Mondays ago and my decision in who
it was going to be.
But, you know, I felt like for myself,
for the time in my career, I made
the right decision. You know, it was
just all about laying all the cards out
there, seeing what all the possibilities
were, seeing who the teammates were
going to be, who the team members
were going to be, the crew chiefs, stuff
like that.
I feel like at JGR, with everything
that they’ve got going on here, they’ve
got a great track record and also one
that’s second to none with the PR
staff and everybody else that works
here. It just felt right. It was a tough
decision, but in the end I feel like I
made the right one and I feel like it
was an easy one.”
Q. Can you outline how much
different Hendrick is to Joe Gibbs,
the drivers, the teams? Were you
ever really serious about going to
Dale Earnhardt, Inc.?
BUSCH: I think to the first part
of it about the differences between
the drivers, I think as J.D. led into
a little bit, Tony and I have a lot of
similarities. That is a scary thing. But
when you look at it, for who we are
off the race track, I think it makes a
lot of sense in why we’re here, why
we’re together. Denny and I are great
friends on the race track as well as
more so off the racetrack. So I felt like
that was going to be a great fit.
Jeff (Gordon) and Jimmie (Johnson),
I’ve got a lot of respect for those guys.
Obviously they’re both champions in
their own right - Jeff a four-time,
Jimmie just last year. There’s great
equipment over there. There’s great
equipment over here.
You know, I don’t feel like I took a
step back one bit. I feel like I’m actu
ally right where I left. I feel like I will
be able to go out there, contend week
in and week out, get Norm here back
to seeing that checkered flag again
hopefully and being able to just put it
on them next year.
DEI, there was the opportunity to go
there. I felt very strongly about DEI
as well as here at Joe Gibbs Racing.
What set me apart, honestly, they
were so similar, it was really a hard
decision. That’s what it came down to
in the end was DEI and here.
With the support from Joe and J.D.,
I just felt maybe a little bit more
at home. But, you know, DEl’s got
a great reputation over there, too.
They’ve been coming on real strong
here in the middle part of the season.
Competition was definitely a tough
side to look at. But I feel like in the
end, it’s the right decision.
Q. The 18 car has not been very
"It's (the Busch Series, in which he will
be racing this weekend at Bristol) very .
difficult, those guys are serious and
that's how it has always been. I think
you have a lot of good race teams and
drivers involved in the Busch Series.
Especially you have a lot of the Cup
teams and owners who have multiple
cars in there. You really have to be on
top of your game. I like what I've seen,
especially on the Toyota side with Jason
Leffler getting a win a couple weeks ago
and David Reutimann sitting second in
point standings. He's done a good job all
year. They claim that David was really
fast when they went over to test and they
are going to build me a car just like that.
I hope that is the case. Bristol is a fun
place to race. As much as anything it is
going to give me an opportunity to get
some laps on that race track before I get
in (hat Cup car.”
- Dale Jarrett
"They've repaved Bristol, so that means
a lot of unknowns for everyone. I'm hear
ing they've smoothed-out the bumps
and I'm anxious to see what impact that
will have. The old surface was very very
rough - it was like a jackhammer on your
body - but it offered you a chance to get
past someone if they got loose on the
bumps coming up out of the turns. We ll
see if that makes it a lot harder to pass
people. But, it it can be done,*we'll stick
our nose in there and get it done We've
run great the past six weeks or so. but
just can t catch a break. We ll need a
really big break in the point standings
to get back in contention to make the
Chase But it was only a few years back
(2004) when we were struggling after
I got burnt (in a sports car crash), and
we came in here and won the Busch
THE HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL
strong over the past few seasons.
Were you concerned about com
ing to a car that hasn’t had top
performance?
BUSCH: Well, I think you look at
the 20 and the 11, and you say, ‘Well,
what’s going on with the 18? Is it
team? Is it crew chief? Is it driver?’
I’ve got a lot of respect out there for
J.J. Yeley (current driver of the No. 18
Interstate Batteries Chevrolet), his
talents, what he’s done in open-wheel
ranks, stuff like that. When he came
to the NASCAR ranks, he’s been com
petitive. He’s been a legitimate top-20
driver week in and week out. I wish
him all the best in his future endeav
ors, whatever he does.
As far as the 18 ride, what I foresee
going on with it is being able to run
up front. The 20 and the 11 do it. You
know, I hopefully think that every
thing will work out fine where we’ll
be able to jump in there and hopefully
get the chemistry right, right off the
bat and be able to get up there and
run competitive in the first few races
or maybe even take a couple of them
and throw them away and hopefully
be able to run competitively through
the middle part of the season to try
to get towards the Chase (for the
NASCAR NEXTEL Cup) next year.
Like I said, the biggest thing for
me is just try to come out of here, be
competitive to try to win races and
win championships. But, you know,
there might be a little bit of a growing
period, but hopefully it’s not too long
where we can’t catch back up. Maybe
we can start off strong, be in conten
tion to contend for the championship.
Q. Do you feel like you have to
mature based on all the events
that happened in the last few
years as you come to this new
team?
BUSCH: You know, I feel like being
22, I’ve got a lot of time - not a lot, but
I’ve got some time and a lot of room
to grow and become more responsible,
more mature, things like that.
You know, being thrown in this light
has just definitely shown a different
aspect of life towards me. For the past
couple years, I haven’t shown prob
ably my full potential. But there’s
plenty of it out there. I feel like I can
not necessarily change but probably
bring out more of who I am.
I’ve got a great marketing staff now,
great agency with MMI Incorporated,
Jeff Dickerson, where we’re working
on that - trying to bring out the real
Kyle Busch, show everybody what it’s
all about, I guess who I’m all about.
These guys here at Joe Gibbs Racing,
obviously they saw a little bit of that
as well as some of the other owners
we were able to spend time with.
You know, I guess I’m different
when the camera shines its light on
me than I am when I’m behind closed
doors.”
Q. Kyle, as you’re going through
this process, a lot of people were
speculating that you might want
to go somewhere where you could
be the No. 1 driver. Did being the
No. 1 driver even enter into your
mind?
BUSCH: It entered my mind. When
I read about it actually I kind of
laughed in the beginning because I
didn’t know where it came from. It
never came from me. Jeff and I, we
sat down and we were kind of tossing
it back and forth. Did you want to be
the No. 1 guy? Did you want to be the
No. 1 guy? I never said anything.
I think going to DEI, that was defi
nitely a possibility. I think being the
leader of a team or even being right
there with Martin Truex Jr. at 22
years of age isn’t something that I’m
ready for.
and the Cup races that weekend. That
was a great boost for the whole team,
and it meant a lot to me personally to
win at Bristol. Maybe we can do it again
Saturday night. How cool would that be?!
It's just one of those tracks where you
want that victory on your resume. I used
to spend time here as a kid, watching my
dad and all of the guys I worshipped do
battle around here, so it always means
a little something extra to me to do well
at this place. With the short week this
week (due to the two-day rain delay at
Michigan), it's going to be some long
days for the crews. These guys work
hard enough, and this just makes it that
much worse going into a race where tem
pers seem to always show up. They talk
about the fireworks on track every year
at the Bristol night race, and I think we'll
see a lot of tempers for 500 laps."
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
“There's not a lot I look forward to when
it comes to racing at Bristol. I love to go
watch the races there. I think it is a great
place for a spectator. But when you are
in the car you know how you seem to be
escaping disaster multiple times each
lap. I guess the only other way you would
enjoy it is if you had a huge points lead
so maybe the 24 (Jeff Gordon) will have
a good time there. For us it is tough. It
is a track where when you see it in the
rear view mirror you are relieved that you
got out of there. It's a rush to drive the
track. No doubt about it. But you are in a
different mindset when you have some
thing to lose when you go there verses
if you are a fan or have a great position
in the points. The place can be a lot of
fun then."
- Jimmie Johnson