JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER BOATS IMPALA: WINNER
FROM JAMIE MCMURRAY: "Unbelievable. Unbelievable. I told my wife today, she was like if you win tonight....oh I am going to cry...it is so unreal. I thought if I made it without seeing my Dad or my wife, I'd be ok. (IN TEARS) It is unbelievable really. I can't explain it. It is a dream. I mean it really it is.
"Where I was last year...and for Johnny Morris (Bass Pro Shops) and Chip (Ganassi) and Felix (Sabates), Bass Pro Shops to take a chance on me and let me come back, it means a lot to me. What a way to pay them back. Happy Valentines Day to my wife. My Dad is here, it is just very emotional.
"After we won Talladega, we went to McDonalds. I think tonight we will have a Big Mac."
TALK US THROUGH THE LAST LAP: "Biffle helped me out. I spun the tires on the restart. It is just a gamble on which line to get the biggest run. Greg gave me an unbelievable push down the backstretch. Then when I saw the No. 88 (Dale Earnhardt, Jr.) behind me, I thought 'Oh no'. He had a good car and Earnhardt at Daytona is just, I mean they win all the time it seems like. So you never know what to expect.
"I certainly thank the fans that stuck around. That was tough having to get in and out of the car but they stuck with us and it was cool to here the applause when I got back in car. Sprint for everything they do. I went to one of their parties the other night and Dan Hesson is just a great guy and it means a lot. Not only Sprint, but everybody that is a part of our sport. With the economy the way it is, we couldn't be here to put this show without all these sponsors. I want to get with my team."
KEVIN "BONO" MANION, CREW CHIEF, NO. 1 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER BOATS IMPALA - Winner
"I guess this means I'm going to Disneyland! That was awesome. Chip, Felix, and Teresa give us everything we need. Brian Pattie, you couldn't ask for a better teammate and brother. You'd better watch out for this Earnhardt Ganassi Team this year. Thanks to everyone who helped push. I don't know; I closed my eyes for the last lap."
DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 AMP ENERGY/NATIONAL GUARD IMPALA, FINISHED 2ND: "I am just disappointed to come that close and not win it but, I'll tell you. We did the right thing by coming down and getting two tires. The AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet was pretty good all day. Just working on some handling issues. I don't know if got them fixed or not. When it gets cold, everybody's car handles good. I want to thank my team for working really hard. The engine shop did an awesome job. The car worked really good. I'm happy for Jamie and his crew chief Bono who helped me when I was younger."
Showing posts with label Dale Earnhardt Jr.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dale Earnhardt Jr.. Show all posts
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Jamie McMurray wins the Daytona 500
Jamie McMurray wins the Daytona 500. Dale Earnhardt Jr. came out of nowhere to take 2nd.
Daytona 500... closed for repairs
With 78 laps to go in the Daytona 500, the race has been red flagged so that a hole in the asphalt (near the bottom of turn 2) can be repaired.With the cars parked on pit road, Clint Bowyer leads David Ragan, Kasey Kahne, Carl Edwards and Elliott Sadler.
So far in the race, Bowyer, Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick, Mark Martin, AJ Allmendinger and Kurt Busch have all led a significant number of laps.
UPDATE: Engines re-fired at 5:01 p.m. after a 1 hour and 40 minute delay to repair holes in the track surface. The party line is that heavy rain and cold temps are to blame. That or a track that hasn't been re-paved since 1978. Dale Jr. had some timely comments on the issue two days before this race.
UPDATE 2: Another red flag, at lap 161. Report from Kevin Harvick (leader) that the original patch is now totally gone. Does anyone have a big wad of gum?
Sunday, January 10, 2010
NASCAR: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Q&A.... (Jan. 9, 2010)
KERRY THARP (Moderator): Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is kind enough right now to come on out and talk to you. Dale, as you look ahead to 2010 season, tell us your thoughts.
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: Well, it will get here as soon as it gets here, Daytona. We're kind of still in the middle of the off season. I'm still enjoying taking it easy, doing whatever I want to do. We've been doing a little bit of work. A lot of changes have happened with our race team to try to get better. We also have been working trying to prepare the Nationwide program and get it ready, shore up a few more relationships for that deal.
But, I don't know, off season was good. Holidays were really, really good with my family and everything, so... Pretty happy.
KERRY THARP: Questions for Dale.
Q. Obviously you've hired Danica Patrick. Do you think she's going to struggle? Do you think she's going to adapt? Will it take her long? Are you the perfect person to be a car owner for her because you understand the attention she's going to be getting?
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: Yeah, I'm kind of going into it with an open mind. I mean, it's going to be an uphill battle for her to do well. But I think she can. She's a racecar driver. She should be able to adapt and do whatever she needs to do.
We're going to give her the best tools we can. I don't know if there's a perfect owner or whatever. But, you know, we'll just do the best we can for her. She has been in a car. Pretty happy with how that's gone. Pretty happy with what we've seen. I love her attitude. She gets along great with Tony, Jr. All that stuff is going better than planned. We just need to get to the racetrack. I mean, she's been around Daytona. Went to Orlando tested. Need to run some laps.
I hate testing myself. But, you know, the policy as it is now, it's difficult for someone like Danica to come in and really try to understand the cars, get to know them. We're going through that challenge, trying to help her as much as we can.
But feel pretty good about it. I don't know what she'll do. I wouldn't even know where to begin to sort of guess on how her performance will be or what her stats will look like. We'll just have to see.
Q. Dale, can you talk, there's been proposed rule changes to Daytona, perhaps no passing under the yellow line.
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: No, you can. They're going to let you, right?
Q. Right.
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: You said they're going to say no.
Q. I'm saying they're getting rid of that, perhaps getting rid of the no bump drafts, all that stuff. How will that affect the competition?
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: It will be like going to a race about 10 years ago, I guess. They didn't have any of them rules then. We didn't see anything too crazy. I think it will just, you know racing will look a lot similar as it does now. I don't think you're going to see anything different. Passing below the yellow line, which will be a little different, but that's fine. There's a lot of asphalt down there, so it should be fine.
Q. Do you think if they take away the wing and go to a spoiler, will that help you? How will it impact the racing?
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: I don't really know. I think it's more important that it seems to be what the fans want. The fans want to get rid of the wing, get the old spoiler back. So, you know, NASCAR seems to I don't really know what that will do to the racing. I don't think it will change it a whole lot myself. I don't know what that wing's really doing back there, what the spoiler would be like on this car. We've never really tested it so...
I don't really know what it would do to the racing. I don't think it would change too much. It could punch a little smaller hole in the air than the wing does and give us a little opportunity to get a little more grip on the front end, but it might do the opposite. You never know.
Q. Dale, Carl Edwards was in here earlier talking about Danica. He said he heard she's been fast in testing. You said she's been fast. Where have you been going? How has she been on the testing scene?
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: We went to Orlando. It rained. Only got a couple laps the first day. She really took to it pretty good. The lap times were pretty good. I don't know what the second bracket is there, but we were about 3 or 4/10ths faster than what some other Busch teams had tested there the week before and the week after.
We felt good. We put her out on the track with Kelly Bires for a little spell. He had a hard time really kind of hanging on her bumper there for a while. I wasn't there. I'm just going by what Tony, Jr. and them said.
I called Tony, Sr. first because I knew he would tell me the truth. He was blown away. So that told me that things were going really, really good if he was happy.
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: Well, it will get here as soon as it gets here, Daytona. We're kind of still in the middle of the off season. I'm still enjoying taking it easy, doing whatever I want to do. We've been doing a little bit of work. A lot of changes have happened with our race team to try to get better. We also have been working trying to prepare the Nationwide program and get it ready, shore up a few more relationships for that deal.
But, I don't know, off season was good. Holidays were really, really good with my family and everything, so... Pretty happy.
KERRY THARP: Questions for Dale.
Q. Obviously you've hired Danica Patrick. Do you think she's going to struggle? Do you think she's going to adapt? Will it take her long? Are you the perfect person to be a car owner for her because you understand the attention she's going to be getting?
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: Yeah, I'm kind of going into it with an open mind. I mean, it's going to be an uphill battle for her to do well. But I think she can. She's a racecar driver. She should be able to adapt and do whatever she needs to do.
We're going to give her the best tools we can. I don't know if there's a perfect owner or whatever. But, you know, we'll just do the best we can for her. She has been in a car. Pretty happy with how that's gone. Pretty happy with what we've seen. I love her attitude. She gets along great with Tony, Jr. All that stuff is going better than planned. We just need to get to the racetrack. I mean, she's been around Daytona. Went to Orlando tested. Need to run some laps.
I hate testing myself. But, you know, the policy as it is now, it's difficult for someone like Danica to come in and really try to understand the cars, get to know them. We're going through that challenge, trying to help her as much as we can.
But feel pretty good about it. I don't know what she'll do. I wouldn't even know where to begin to sort of guess on how her performance will be or what her stats will look like. We'll just have to see.
Q. Dale, can you talk, there's been proposed rule changes to Daytona, perhaps no passing under the yellow line.
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: No, you can. They're going to let you, right?
Q. Right.
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: You said they're going to say no.
Q. I'm saying they're getting rid of that, perhaps getting rid of the no bump drafts, all that stuff. How will that affect the competition?
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: It will be like going to a race about 10 years ago, I guess. They didn't have any of them rules then. We didn't see anything too crazy. I think it will just, you know racing will look a lot similar as it does now. I don't think you're going to see anything different. Passing below the yellow line, which will be a little different, but that's fine. There's a lot of asphalt down there, so it should be fine.
Q. Do you think if they take away the wing and go to a spoiler, will that help you? How will it impact the racing?
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: I don't really know. I think it's more important that it seems to be what the fans want. The fans want to get rid of the wing, get the old spoiler back. So, you know, NASCAR seems to I don't really know what that will do to the racing. I don't think it will change it a whole lot myself. I don't know what that wing's really doing back there, what the spoiler would be like on this car. We've never really tested it so...
I don't really know what it would do to the racing. I don't think it would change too much. It could punch a little smaller hole in the air than the wing does and give us a little opportunity to get a little more grip on the front end, but it might do the opposite. You never know.
Q. Dale, Carl Edwards was in here earlier talking about Danica. He said he heard she's been fast in testing. You said she's been fast. Where have you been going? How has she been on the testing scene?
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: We went to Orlando. It rained. Only got a couple laps the first day. She really took to it pretty good. The lap times were pretty good. I don't know what the second bracket is there, but we were about 3 or 4/10ths faster than what some other Busch teams had tested there the week before and the week after.
We felt good. We put her out on the track with Kelly Bires for a little spell. He had a hard time really kind of hanging on her bumper there for a while. I wasn't there. I'm just going by what Tony, Jr. and them said.
I called Tony, Sr. first because I knew he would tell me the truth. He was blown away. So that told me that things were going really, really good if he was happy.
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
REPORT: Danica set to sign with JR Motorsports
From ESPN:
IndyCar Series and crossover media star Danica Patrick is nearing completion of a two-year contract with JR Motorsports, the NASCAR Nationwide Series operation owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr., and a source close to the negotiations described the talks as being "in the final phase."
A second source close to the situation confirmed the deal is moving forward, saying "talks are moving in a very positive direction and it would probably be a surprise if it didn't happen."
Full story and video at the link above
Friday, May 08, 2009
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Press Conference Transcript - Darlington
NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
SOUTHERN 500 / DARLINGTON RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
May 8, 2009
DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD/AMP ENERGY IMPALA SS, met with members of the media at Darlington Raceway and discussed the conditions on the track, his feelings about Darlington and more. Full transcript.
HOW’S THE CAR WORKING? “It’s fine. We’re working on it.”
WHAT DOES THE TRACK FEEL LIKE WITH THE SURFACE A YEAR OLDER NOW? “The same. The same as last year.”
WHY DO YOU THINK WE ARE SEEING SO MANY PEOPLE GET OUT OF SHAPE? “The tire is real hard. It’s slick.”
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF NASCAR’S DRUG TESTING POLICY AS IT RELATES TO ALL THE PROBLEMS THEY ARE HAVING IN OTHER SPORTS? “I don’t know. I don’t do drugs so I don’t have nothing to worry about. I’ve got no opinion otherwise.”
YOU GUYS HAD A CHALLENGE LAST WEEK, CAN YOU TELL US THE REAL DEAL SO IT’S NOT OVER INFLATED? “Well ya'll saw what happened. Why do I got to comment on it? It don’t help nothing to talk about it. Not for me. My team has had enough crap from everybody else. I don’t need to weigh in on it. Ya’ll saw what happened and ya’ll can say what you want to say. We’re working on it and we’re trying to fix it.
“I’m pretty sure that guy will concentrate harder and try not to make that mistake this time. We had three screw jacks in the car, one in the track bar adjustment and one in each screw jack in the right rear. I don’t think anybody would have been able to make all them adjustments correctly under the heat of the fire. I don’t have any hard feelings at all. If the car is not so far off we don’t have to make that many adjustments under one stop.”
ARE YOU CONCERNED ABOUT HOW THE RACE WILL BE GIVEN THE TIRES ARE REAL HARD? “Well they were last year and it will be the same race that we had last year.”
I KNOW WHEN YOU FIRST STARTED RACING HERE YOU DIDN’T THINK TOO HIGHLY OF THIS PLACE, BUT NOW AFTER FIVE STRAIGHT TOP-10 FINISHES ARE YOU FEELING A LITTLE BIT MORE LOVE FOR DARLINGTON? “Well it’s alright. I don’t really enjoy it that much. It’s alright. I don’t know. I’ve got to run. It’s my job whether I like it or not.”
WE’RE NOT THAT FAR FROM MYRTLE BEACH SPEEDWAY WHERE YOU SPENT A LOT OF YOUR DEVELOPMENTAL YEAR, WHEN YOU LOOK BACK ON THOSE YEARS HOW MUCH FUN WERE THOSE LATE MODEL DAYS? “When you’re doing that kind of stuff you don’t realize how good you’ve got it and how lucky you are. There was a lot of pressure and a lot of worry just like there is today. You don’t understand what opportunity you have at that age. I did poorly in trying to enjoy it. Every week if we didn’t run in the top-three it was a failure just like it is up here.”
ON HIS FANS BEING SO LOYAL THROUGH HIS STRUGGLES THIS YEAR. “That’s what fans are for. That’s what they do. I wouldn’t call a guy a fan if he jumped ship in the middle of the season if a guy is doing poorly or a team is doing poorly in any sport. I don’t need any fair-weather fans. I appreciate the ones that are loyal.”
HIS THOUGHTS ON MARK MARTIN COMING BACK TO RUN FULL TIME NEXT SEASON. “I knew it was coming. It’s good. I’m happy. He’s awesome, an awesome guy.”
IS IT DIFFERENT AT NIGHT AS OPPOSED TO RUNNING NOW? “It will be not as hot to the touch and maybe a little more grip. It’s a tough race track. Its two lanes, one groove and hard to pass. It’s real, real hard. This is the hardest place to pass on the circuit.”
WHAT’S GOT YOU FRUSTRATED? YOU SEEM A LITTLE BIT MORE ON EDGE. “You go sit in that car. It’s not fun.”
From GM
Saturday, February 21, 2009
NASCAR: Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Press Conference Transcript... on being the 'bad guy'
NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
AUTO CLUB 500
AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY
WEEKLY TOP 12 DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE
February 20, 2009
DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 AMP ENERGY/NATIONAL GUARD IMPALA SS, met with members of the media at Auto Club Speedway and discussed incident at Daytona last week, his car for this week, his Nationwide team and much more. Full transcript:
IT SEEMS LIKE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN YOUR CAREER THAT YOU ARE WEARING THE BAD GUY LABEL, HOW HAS THAT BEEN TO DEAL WITH? “It’s not been too bad. Just been hanging out all week. I did get ripped up quite a bit. I don’t know, it’s kind of different being on that side of it.”
DOES IT BOTHER YOU? “No not really. It was interesting to be on this side of the fence. I’m not on this side too much. So it wasn’t too bad. It will all turn around just as quick as it blew up.”
WHAT ABOUT THE REACTION FROM YOUR FANS, DID YOU NOTICE ANY DIFFERENCE OVER THE PAST FIVE DAYS? “There are some people, fans, friends, family, media – some are real supportive and some aren’t. You’re either on one side or the other of the deal I guess.”
IF YOU HAD IT TO DO ALL OVER AGAIN, WHAT WOULD YOU DO? “Well I mean I definitely could have used better judgment coming back up on the race track. It’s hard to tell. There was rain coming. I was a lap down so I had to get my lap back to even have a shot at winning the race and there was rain coming. It was early in the race, but the race was getting ready to be rained out. Everybody knew that. It’s hard to say you know. When you’re running real hard trying to win and you’ve got rain coming and you’re a lap down and you need to get it back you race hard. I hate that it wrecked all them cars and I hate that me and Brian (Vickers) had to get on bad terms with each other. Those things I regret but I’m out there racing. Made mistakes before and probably won’t be the last one that I make.”
HAVE YOU TALKED TO BRIAN? “Yeah I called him this week. You know he said it was intentional on the television and I wanted to make sure he knew it wasn’t intentional and that I didn’t have a problem with him and that I wouldn’t wreck him intentionally. Just trying to clear that up with him. I think we got that cleared up.”
ABOUT THE GETTING IN AND OUT OF THE PIT BOX, WHAT WAS THE DEAL WITH THAT? “I had some problems with the brakes all weekend and we put some more rear brake on the car that seemed to help it because I was sliding through the box in the first part of the week. We got that fixed. I don’t know. I just wasn’t paying attention coming down that second stop when I missed my stall. That was my fault. I just wasn’t paying attention that good enough and didn’t see my stall. The next stop that was unfortunate.
“We weren’t on the line until I turned the tires to the right. I don’t know. It’s just unfortunate. That call could have went either way and that official decided to choose that direction and that’s the way it goes.”
DIDN’T HE GIVE YOU A WARNING? “No, we got a lap penalty.”
BUT THEY TOLD YOU THEY OFFERED YOU THE CHANCE TO BACK UP. “I wanted to back it up but they were already jacking me up so I can’t drive off the jack.”
WHAT COLOR IS YOUR SIGN THIS WEEKEND? “I don’t know. I’ll have to pay hard attention to make sure I see it because they’re all about the same.”
HAVE YOU AND YOUR TEAM TALKED ABOUT GOING FORWARD WITH PIT STOP PROCEDURES, WHAT YOU CAN DO TO COMBAT WHAT IS HAPPENING? “No, that’s just my responsibility. I take full responsibility for everything that happened on pit road. There’s nothing that they can do better to help me and it’s up to me to make sure that I get the job done which I obviously wasn’t getting it done. There’s nothing they did wrong or weren’t doing right or weren’t doing enough. I mean they do their job just fine. I just was having too much fun I guess.”
WITH ALL THE STUFF THAT WAS GOING ON, YOU GOT THE PENALTY, YOU FELL A LAP BEHIND, IT WAS GOING TO RAIN, DO YOU THINK IF THE SITUATION COULD HAVE ALL BEEN DIFFERENT WOULD YOU HAVE REACTED DIFFERENTLY? “Well it is called a race and there always is urgency no matter what your situation is. It’s the Daytona 500 and everybody pretty much knew we weren’t going to get the whole race in so when there’s no determined lap when you know it’s going to be over with you got to take all the risks. It’s a big race and it’s unfortunate that everything that happened, happened. I personally do feel bad for everybody that was swept up in that wreck. At the same time that was a unique situation where nobody really knew when the race was going to end and I was a lap down. One thing that is important to point out is that I knew before that caution that I wasn’t going to get the Lucky Dog so my only option was to race into the front of the leaders and try to get my lap back that way because I can’t get the Lucky Dog after serving a penalty. I knew that from last year in a situation that we got ourselves in one time.”
ISN’T IT OKAY IF PEOPLE ARGUE ABOUT YOU JUST LIKE THEY WOULD ABOUT ANY OTHER DRIVER? “Well I don’t know. There’s a lot of people that like you and there’s a lot of people that don’t like you. When you give them people that don’t like you an opportunity they’re going to come out of the woods after you and that just the case of what’s happening this weekend.”
WHEN YOU TALKED TO BRIAN WAS HE RECEPTIVE? “Yeah I mean Brian is pretty tough. He’s a pretty tough dude. He’s a good guy though. We’ve known each other for a long time. We’ve been down that road before, wrecking each other and carrying on. It’s a tough call. I tell you when you get in an accident with somebody whatever you believe your fault or not, the hardest thing to do is typically the right thing to do and that’s probably call the guy up and talk about it and see where it goes from there.”
HAVE YOU TALKED TO ANY OF THE OTHER DRIVERS THAT GOT WIPED OUT BY THAT WRECK? “I wasn’t going to call them all up.”
JUST TO PUT ONE THING TO REST, THERE WERE SOME FANS THAT TRIED TO SAY BECAUSE IT WAS BRIAN VICKERS THAT HE HAD WRECKED YOU TWO YEARS AGO AT TALLADEGA AND IT WAS SOME KIND OF PAY BACK. “Well that’s not the case. You don’t forget things like that but I mean after even a couple of weeks you get over it. You’re better off in the long run to concentrate on racing your race car and finishing the best you can. You’re worse off in the long run if you concentrate on the grudges that you keep and somehow find a way to manipulate them every weekend. That’s not going to get you as far obviously because you’re not concentrating on the right thing. Me and Vickers have actually been friends for a while. The deal at Talladega was a hard, bitter pill but he was trying to win his first race. I don’t think it was intentional what he did so it wasn’t the worst thing in the world to get over.”
THAT’S ONE OF THE REASONS THESE THINGS HAPPEN, IS THEY HAPPEN SO FAST AND YOU DON’T HAVE TIME TO SIT THERE AND THINK ABOUT IT. “It all happened pretty fast and it was unfortunate how it all went down. My statistics at the plate tracks speak for themselves and I don’t have to really defend myself of how good a plate-racer I am and what kind of moves I make out on the race track. I’ve got just as much right to be on that race track and do whatever the hell I want to do on it as anybody else out there. I’ll race just as hard as I choose to race and want to race and I race people how I want to be raced. I’ve always raced with a lot of respect and I’ll continue to do so in the future.”
JEFF BURTON SAID HE HAD A GREAT DISCUSSION WITH YOU, THAT YOU WERE VERY CLASSY AND HE CAME UP AND CHATTED WITH YOU, CAN YPU TALK ABOUT THAT? “It was a situation where I think I was a lap down and I was trying to get back up there toward the front and I come off of (turn) two and had a good run. He was on the inside of somebody and I made it three-wide and we just had a restart so everybody’s tires were pretty good so I thought it was okay. Hell, we had been going three-wide a lot and there was big sense of urgency at that point of the race due to the weather. He was shuffled back and several laps later he wrecked. He was like man you doing what you did put me in that position ten laps later. I’m like what, I can’t be responsible for that. We just talked about it. He was upset when he first got out of the car
when the rain came. I didn’t even really remember what he was talking about. He was like why did you take me three-wide and I’m like I can’t remember everybody that I took three-wide. I walked down pit road and thought about it and then I remembered so I walked back down there and said look man I know what happened. I remember what happened and I can’t be responsible for your wreck five laps later. That’s not my responsibility. How can you pin that on me like that? We sat there and debated my ethics and my values and all those things and ended up agreeing that I’m not a jerk and don’t race like a jerk. He was just kind of hot under the collar a little bit. Bygones are bygones I suppose. He’s a good guy. We’ve got a good friendship too. I’ve always been too nice and that was the Daytona 500 and I felt like I had the car to win. I felt that way 100 percent also. I wanted to go out there and win the race and I felt like if I could get my lap back I could get it done. I was racing everybody as smart as I could but I was racing as hard as I could.”
SO IS THAT THE END OF THE NICE GUY? “Well I’m still a good guy but when I feel like I’ve got a real good opportunity to win and I’ve got to make up a little ground you’ve got to race hard. You’ve got to race hard. We go to places like this where there’s still typical give and take. When guys are faster than you let them go and take it easy and take care of your car. That’s the Daytona 500 and is a little different situation. A lot different.”
DURING SPEEDWEEKS FROM MEDIA DAY ON YOU JUST SEEMED LIKE YOU WERE A LITTLE OFF AND BOTHERED. “I actually feel like I was in pretty good shape mentally. I know what you mean and I guess if you looked at everything as a whole you would probably take that kind of idea away from there. I really felt good going into even media day. Media day was really the easiest media day we’ve ever had. I usually hate that and that was actually pretty bearable. I was a little upset by a couple of questions. I get a little annoyed sometimes when the media takes a couple of angles that are odd and unfortunate and uncomfortable for me. I always try to be good with you guys and answer your questions and try to think about the answers and give you the right answer and give you a good, honest answer and then sometimes the way you ask them I don’t get paid the same type of respect sometimes. There’s nobody here in particular but those type of things just kind of upset you a little bit. For the most part it went really good and I was upset with myself a lot for the pit road stuff. The way the Nationwide race went down. I don’t know I felt like I was on my game, I felt like my cars were fast and I was driving them fast. I was making good moves on the track but I couldn’t put it together in the pits real good and I was making a lot of mistakes. That was very frustrating. I make mistakes you know. I probably am making them just as much as anybody else if not more than most these guys in the garage. I was really piling them up this past weekend.”
DID YOU STILL THINK YOU HAD ENOUGH TIME TO GET BACK ON THE LEAD LAP TO WIN THE RACE EVEN WITH THE RAIN COMING? “I felt like I could. I had
drove from the back of the pack to the front in around 30 laps and I wasn’t even as urgent when I did that. I felt like if we got on the lead lap we probably would be in 28th place, so I felt like I could get up there and put up a fight for it. I definitely had a good enough car to win the race. I had the best car I’ve had at Daytona in a couple of years.”
HOW’S YOUR CAR HERE AND ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS? “Yeah I’m looking forward to it. Seeing how we’re doing and seeing how what we did over the off season is paying off. We’re alright today. We need to do a little bit better in qualifying trim but in race trim I was pretty happy with my lap. That’s about it. It’s been pretty interesting though. I’ve had a lot of support from my teammates and all that stuff. It’s not been too bad a week. I got ripped really bad in the press. Maybe I deserve part of it. Everybody has got a job to do.”
WHAT DID RICK (HENDRICK) SAY? YOU SAID HE WAS ALWAYS ON TOP OF WHAT GOES ON, DOES HE CALL YOU UP AND GIVE YOU SOME GOOD ADVICE? “We had a couple of conversations on the phone and we really didn’t even talk about last weekend. We’ve got a couple of other things going on that we were talking about, getting ready for this weekend. He was just wanting to make sure that my head was on straight for this weekend and that all that crap didn’t get you into too bad or whatever. I really didn’t even get on the internet any because I just knew it would be a bad deal if I did.”
ON THE EFFECTS OF HAVING HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS COME IN AND PROVIDING THE DIFFERENT RESOURCES TO JR MOTORSPORTS. “That really boosted the No. 88 last year and gave them a good season. That really pushed them into the opportunity they had last year where they finished third in points. They were a top-10 team. That made them a top-five team for sure.”
HAS HAVING THE SAME DRIVER EACH WEEK HELPED WITH THAT CONSISTENCY? “Yeah, he does everything that I want as far as taking care of the race cars and that’s my main number one focus aside from you’ve got to have a little bit of talent and be able to run well.
“We’ll give you a really good race car, you just can’t tear it up and run wreckless especially now with the economy the way it is. We don’t budget in the fact that we we’re going to kill a couple of race cars. He did a good job last week. We actually made a little bit of money in the Nationwide Series last week. That mostly goes to Gus (Larkin) and Tony (Eury) Sr. and Brad (Keselowski), those three guys.”
YOU’LL BE IN THAT CAR IN TEXAS, ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT? “I look forward to it. I enjoy racing in the Nationwide Series. I enjoy racing in there. Going to Texas is always fun. With the cars that we’ve got this year and the way our design stuff, it’s pretty neat stuff. Pretty fun to bring out new designs and stuff every other week.
The history is good there. It would be good for (Eddie) Gossage and those guys to help promote the Nationwide race on Saturday too.”
General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), one of the world’s largest automakers, was founded in 1908, and today manufactures cars and trucks in 34 countries. With its global headquarters in Detroit, GM employs 244,500 people in every major region of the world, and sells and services vehicles in some 140 countries. In 2008, GM sold 8.35 million cars and trucks globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, Hummer, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM’s largest national market is the United States, followed by China, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia and Germany. GM’s OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. More information on GM can be found at www.gm.com.
CONTACTS: Nancy Wager Judy Kouba Dominick
727.415.3109 317.408.1049
nmwager@aol.com jkdracer@aol.com
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Transcript of Interview with Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Daytona Int'l Speedway
Note: This is a LONG transcript
PRESEASON THUNDER TESTING // DAY TWO, SESSION TWO
JANUARY 15, 2008
DALE EARNHARDT, JR., No. 88 Mountain Dew AMP/National Guard Impala SS, met with members of the media in the Daytona International Speedway Media Center during day two of the second session of Preseason Thunder Testing and discussed how it would be to win the 50th anniversary of the Daytona 500, on the affect to a team and driver on winning the Daytona 500, testing success with new Hendrick Motorsports team, expectations of running the Impala SS full-time in '08, expectations for Daytona in the Impala SS and other topics. The transcript of the press conference follows:
An Interview With: DALE EARNHARDT, JR.
JOSH HAMILTON: Dale, if you can just start off and tell us how your first day and a half and gone testing with your new team.
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: It's been great. We've had great speed in the car. We've had Casey's car from last year and a car that we built this year, and we're real happy with both of them, happy with the guys and their work ethic and their attitude, and it's went great, it really has. We've been pretty happy with the speeds and the things we've seen the car do and how it's reacted to the changes we've been trying, so it's been really fun.
JOSH HAMILTON: You have one Daytona 500 victory. This year is the 50th running of the great American race. Talk about what it would mean to win on the 50th anniversary.
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: Yeah, just to get a win here any time, no matter what it is, whether it's a Shootout or 125s at the Daytona 500, it's a great feeling to go to victory lane at Daytona, and I really appreciate it every time it happens to me. It's going to be ‑‑ you know, it's going to be quite a spectacle with it being the 50th, so it'll be a pretty big deal. Whoever wins it will get a lot of fanfare and whatnot. I think it'll be great for our team, great for our season to start off like that, and I'm sure we want to win as bad as anybody right now.
Hopefully we're preparing well, and I think we are. I think the cars are ‑‑ I haven't drafted yet, so I can't really comment. I don't really know how it's going to be, but I assume it'll be all right, probably about like it used to be.
If my car drives around the track and handles the same, characteristics are the same as far as how the car goes around the racetrack it feels like to me, but I heard some things from last week's test that I should be aware of and whatnot, so I don't know, might be a little bit more of a handful than we're used to. But the characteristics of the cars ‑‑ the problems and issues the guys were having last week were sort of the same old problems, just a little worse, so we'll just have to see over the next day and a half.
Q. Can you talk about your frame of mind and the only contract you're worried about now is when Whiskey River is going to be done as opposed to what you faced coming into last year?
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: Yeah, it's been pretty nice to be able to concentrate on the things that are important right now and testing and working and getting to know the guys. It's definitely ‑‑ there's a little bit less pressure in certain areas and more pressure in other areas. I didn't have to worry about job security when I was over at my other job, but I've got to worry about that now.
I think if I do what I've been doing, I should be fine. But with being the son of the guy who built the place, you can get away with a few more things than most guys could.
You know, I've got a really good owner that makes me feel comfortable, and so that eases a lot of other pressures, talking to him and hearing from him and listening to his thoughts on what we're doing. It takes away some pressure from that side of it.
But I don't know the guys that well, so I'm just nervous in getting to know them and hoping that they like me and like the kind of driver I am and they're happy that they have me as their driver. That's what you want from the guys working on your cars is for them to be glad you're there and that you're the one that's driving it.
So it's kind of neat. It's really fun to be going through this for me, and I'm enjoying those parts, and even the difficult things or the challenging parts are fun because of the atmosphere and because of the attitude that everybody there has. Everybody at Hendrick is really pumped up and giving me a good vote of confidence going into the test and going into the season, so it really makes it exciting to face all the challenges we're going to face.
Q. The TV ratings have gone down the last couple seasons, and at the same time, maybe not coincidentally, you haven't had a lot of success on the track. Now that it looks like you might be getting into top form again and have a chance to win races again, do you think that will bring some fans back in and that maybe your fans are more traditional fans that maybe have been tuning out?
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: I don't know. We should probably have some on‑line polls or something to figure that out. Those seem to work pretty good.
I can't tell you whether that's why the television ratings are down. It would be nice to think you had that kind of influence, but at the same time, I don't want to be the downfall or the reason for it. If I can get back into victory lane I know my fans will be excited about that, and if they're not tuning in they'll be turning up personally to see it.
Any time I run a Busch race I know my fans get excited about it and they might buy a ticket to see it on Saturday or they might set up a camper outside the racetrack regardless, whereas if we had been in the field ‑‑ it's just hard to say. I know those comments were made by Brian and taken out of context a little bit, but he referred to it ‑‑ them two things happening at the same time maybe did have something to do with each other. But it's not ‑‑ I don't feel comfortable really taking any credit one way or the other.
Q. You used to be the restrictor plate king, now it seems it's shifted over to Hendrick. Do you think this Daytona 500 is the best chance of your career to capture this second victory?
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: It's hard to say. I haven't drafted with my car yet, but I know it's going to be pretty good, I'm pretty sure. I'll have a great shot. You know, I think I had some pretty good cars down here in the past, and it's hard to say ‑‑ hard to really rank them as to which was better than the other. We had some pretty good cars.
The Daytona 500 is ‑‑ that race, so many things happen in that race. It's like a little mini‑series. It reminds me a lot of a season in itself because of the ‑‑ there's so many ups and downs and you still can find yourself with a shot to win, and if you look back at several things that happened to you during the event, you can't imagine that all that would happen in one race. But it does.
It's a special race, and it carries a lot of weight with me and how I feel about the event. I feel very strong about it and very dedicated to it and very dedicated to winning it every time I show up. I think I've got a great shot and I think I know what I need to do to get the job done.
If I have a car that's merely capable, I think I should have a shot to win every time I show up.
Q. I know you've been in Cup obviously a long time and racing at Daytona a long time, but I'm wondering if it has you feeling any more jitters than normal, or you sort of alluded to a little pressure in some new ways. And if so, is it like any kind of feeling you can compare to any big steps or big leaps that you've taken in your life, whether that has to do with late models or Busch?
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: The worst I ever was was trying to qualify for my first race in Charlotte. I was so scared and I wanted to get out of the car but it was too late. I already told them I'd drive it.
We were sitting right there at the ‑‑ we were like two minutes away from going out to qualify, and I just couldn't ‑‑ I was so nervous it was painful. It was painful to be that nervous. We ended up qualifying Top 10, and there were other times where I was as nervous or close to that.
Nowadays ‑‑ I've been doing this for a while, like you said, and I sort of understand what's around the next corner. When we made this decision I knew what to expect and what it would be like coming back to Daytona and what it would be like coming back to ‑‑ facing the fans, the press and the NASCAR community, and I knew what the expectations would be.
So I guess that sort of prepares you mentally to be able to deal with it one way or another because you've got to focus on driving and trying to do right by your team, and if they see that people's expectations are affecting your ability to make decisions on the racetrack, then you're not a good race car driver.
When I was a rookie and I was scared to go out and qualify for my first race, my fear and my nervousness was affecting my ability to go out there and run good, and somehow or another, we still did okay. But as you get ‑‑ as things happen to you in life that prioritize everything for you, you know, you go through ‑‑ you have like some real bad things happen to you and some really, really good things happen to you over the course of seven or eight years and that prioritizes everything in your life.
Right now I'm pretty much set on what I know I need to do. Although this is a high‑profile race team and I'm a high‑profile driver, I can handle it. With how I've grown up in the sport, I think I'm as prepared as anybody could be for this certain situation.
Q. Certainly there are people that have chased Hendrick here for a little bit. You've been in that role and now are inside the fences there at Hendrick. From your experience and just from what you're seeing now, what do you see that is so different or what's kind of opened your eyes about being at Hendrick that maybe you kind of wondered about when you were chasing them?
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: It's hard to say what I see that's different. They have more stuff as far as if it's a CNC machine or whatever. They have more of everything. They're able to mass‑produce more, and they have the ability to cover all the bases easier with the amount of personnel and the talent in each individual. I see that.
Otherwise it's about the same. I mean, I really was proud of where I came from and proud of the team that I had last year, and it's hard for me to really put into words without ‑‑ I'd rather ‑‑ I choose really not to discuss it that often because I don't want anyone that I've worked with in the past to get the impression that I am in a much better place and much more happier and I've got better people, because it really just comes down to the tools and how you use them.
Now, Rick has built ‑‑ Rick's deal is bigger, like I said. He's got more stuff, and he's had a lot of the same employees for a long time. When I first started winning races and running good in the Cup Series, the one thing that I started to understand that I should worry about was loyalty, and I see that they have that there. They have a lot of loyalty and there's a lot of pride in being loyal and being dedicated to that team, and there's a lot of pride in people doing it for Rick. You work with people for years and years and you see where some people are ‑‑ some people concentrate and focus on how to improve their position and improve their ‑‑ whether it be their way or their title or whatever. I see a lot of people at Hendrick that sacrifice ‑‑ sort of the opposite; they sacrifice for the good of the company or for Rick or whatever makes that car go faster.
I know I'm just seeing things for the first time, but that's really the initial thing that popped up to me that I saw. You get to know things more and better and deeper and you start to understand it more, and I'm sure there will be more evident things that I didn't ‑‑ other tools or people or whatever that I didn't realize I had before or didn't use before or that wasn't around at DEI or whatever.
But it's hard to get real specific. DEI builds race cars just like Hendrick does. They build good race cars. I drove them. We won. We ran up front.
I just think you look at the track record that Hendrick has and they're doing something different and they're doing it better. It's hard to say really where it is other than just how large a program it is. They have 20‑some CNC machines cranking stuff out all the time, and DEI has nine. Or they had nine. I don't know how many they have now. That's an instance in maybe 150, 200 instances where that makes a difference when you add all that up. That's how Hendrick is so consistently dominant.
Q. I want to ask you, when you made this move you obviously anticipated your life changing to some degree. Now that you've been through it, what has changed? Is it busier? Are there more sponsors, more responsibilities, less time, and is maybe the greatest change a peace of mind?
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: There is a peace of mind. I think one of the changes, like I said, has been not being the son of the boss anymore, going to somewhere ‑‑ me and Tony, Jr., both experienced sort of a little bit of a growth or maturity about just going from one door to the other overnight. You know, like I said, I got away ‑‑ I grew up over the years, but when I first started you could get away with saying things and get being quoted certain ways and be able to get away with it working for my daddy. I wouldn't be able ‑‑ my job now is to stay out of Rick's office as much as I can.
We have a great relationship, and he seems to ‑‑ I mean, he's known me for a long time like everybody else here, and I think everybody gets the kind of person I am. And I think he made the choice to hire me as much as I made the choice to go there, and I feel like it's going to work out and be fine. But it's sort of refreshing to not have that safety net, you know?
I've always talked about trying to get credibility and people to respect you and whatnot, and by putting yourself out on a limb here, it's definitely hopefully going to get me some of that, especially if we can perform and get the job done that everybody thinks we should get done, and I think we will.
Peace of mind, I think the peace of mind comes from probably the same thing, just knowing that I'm taking the risk and it took a lot of guts to do it, so I'm pretty proud of being able to just do it, just to do that. I could have popped out or went another direction, but I went in the best direction and I took the risk to put my career and my credibility on the line to work with a company that has won a lot of races. So that should ‑‑ hopefully if we win some races, it'll all work out.
Q. Fans are IM'ing, what did he wear today, did he get here early, did he get here late, is he smiling, not smiling, but one of the things that hasn't been addressed is Kyle Busch, whether people can compare you and him or if he does better or you do better early on and are you rivals, and can you sort of address that? Is that a story line that we might see? Is that fair?
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: It's up to y'all what y'all write, but I told Rick ‑‑ when you were talking about what time I got up, I told him I don't like to stay at the hotels right next to the track because these race cars wake me up first thing in the morning. I thought that was funny.
But anyways, getting back to your question, I think that I've got a lot of respect for Kyle's ability, and it's been a little bit of a challenge to not let ‑‑ for me not to get under his skin and for him not to get under mine, I suppose, to end the season last year, especially after I wrecked him at Kansas.
But I think that we both understand we need to be successful where we're at, where he is and where I am, and that's what our priority should be, and getting to know our teammates and getting to work well and being an asset to the company.
Joe is an amazing man regardless of his involvement in motorsports, but I think Kyle, if he doesn't know that already, he'll understand that and realize how important that is that he does well and represents the company well and is an asset to Gibbs. And for me, too, it's probably the same thing.
Q. A lot of people talked about your relationship with Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, but not much is talked about in your relationship with Casey Mears, and since you guys are going to be ‑‑ your cars are going to be built in the same shop, how is your relationship with him and how do you guys interact?
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: Me and Casey, you know, I goof off with him because we've hung out before at the racetrack and we were pretty good buddies. You know, he drove for ‑‑ he drove with Jimmy who was married to my sister, so we became pretty good friends through that. I've known Jimmy for a longer period of time and I've known Jeff for even longer than that, but I've never really spent time around them away from the racetrack. I know how they are as race car drivers and what their work ethic is, and I think we'll be able to work together and be pretty happy that we're teammates.
But me and Casey will probably do more goofing off and take it ‑‑ I mean, he takes it pretty serious because he wants to do good. Me and him, we'll spend time together away from the racetrack where I might not do that so much with Jimmy and whatnot.
Q. A lot of people are already making predictions about how you'll do this year. Tony, Jr., said yesterday you'd win at least four. What are your expectations for the year, goals, and what would be a successful first season for you at Hendrick Motorsports?
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: I just like running up front every week. I like going to the racetrack and being in the... being toward the top of the chart, at least on the left side of the page in practices and whatnot.
And in the race I like to run up front. We did that a lot last year, and when I look at ‑‑ when I take a look at all my seasons, I was better last year at showing up and being there every weekend. We weren't there every weekend, but I had a better car the majority of the season than I had had in seasons past.
That's really all I wanted out of driving race cars. I want to be up front and be toward the front and challenging, and when I show up to the racetrack I want people to expect me to run well, not just at particular tracks everywhere. It was good to go and to do that at some tracks last year that I typically hadn't been able to do that at.
I was hoping that with some of the extra ability that Hendrick has in winning championships and races on a regular basis that that could even improve my finishing. I don't want to sit here and guess how many races we'll win. We'll win some races, and I expect to win soon. I'm a good driver with a good team, and if we don't make mistakes on a Sunday we should have great finishes and win some races.
JOSH HAMILTON: Thanks a lot for your time, Dale.
FastScripts by ASAP Sports
PRESEASON THUNDER TESTING // DAY TWO, SESSION TWO
JANUARY 15, 2008
DALE EARNHARDT, JR., No. 88 Mountain Dew AMP/National Guard Impala SS, met with members of the media in the Daytona International Speedway Media Center during day two of the second session of Preseason Thunder Testing and discussed how it would be to win the 50th anniversary of the Daytona 500, on the affect to a team and driver on winning the Daytona 500, testing success with new Hendrick Motorsports team, expectations of running the Impala SS full-time in '08, expectations for Daytona in the Impala SS and other topics. The transcript of the press conference follows:
An Interview With: DALE EARNHARDT, JR.
JOSH HAMILTON: Dale, if you can just start off and tell us how your first day and a half and gone testing with your new team.
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: It's been great. We've had great speed in the car. We've had Casey's car from last year and a car that we built this year, and we're real happy with both of them, happy with the guys and their work ethic and their attitude, and it's went great, it really has. We've been pretty happy with the speeds and the things we've seen the car do and how it's reacted to the changes we've been trying, so it's been really fun.
JOSH HAMILTON: You have one Daytona 500 victory. This year is the 50th running of the great American race. Talk about what it would mean to win on the 50th anniversary.
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: Yeah, just to get a win here any time, no matter what it is, whether it's a Shootout or 125s at the Daytona 500, it's a great feeling to go to victory lane at Daytona, and I really appreciate it every time it happens to me. It's going to be ‑‑ you know, it's going to be quite a spectacle with it being the 50th, so it'll be a pretty big deal. Whoever wins it will get a lot of fanfare and whatnot. I think it'll be great for our team, great for our season to start off like that, and I'm sure we want to win as bad as anybody right now.
Hopefully we're preparing well, and I think we are. I think the cars are ‑‑ I haven't drafted yet, so I can't really comment. I don't really know how it's going to be, but I assume it'll be all right, probably about like it used to be.
If my car drives around the track and handles the same, characteristics are the same as far as how the car goes around the racetrack it feels like to me, but I heard some things from last week's test that I should be aware of and whatnot, so I don't know, might be a little bit more of a handful than we're used to. But the characteristics of the cars ‑‑ the problems and issues the guys were having last week were sort of the same old problems, just a little worse, so we'll just have to see over the next day and a half.
Q. Can you talk about your frame of mind and the only contract you're worried about now is when Whiskey River is going to be done as opposed to what you faced coming into last year?
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: Yeah, it's been pretty nice to be able to concentrate on the things that are important right now and testing and working and getting to know the guys. It's definitely ‑‑ there's a little bit less pressure in certain areas and more pressure in other areas. I didn't have to worry about job security when I was over at my other job, but I've got to worry about that now.
I think if I do what I've been doing, I should be fine. But with being the son of the guy who built the place, you can get away with a few more things than most guys could.
You know, I've got a really good owner that makes me feel comfortable, and so that eases a lot of other pressures, talking to him and hearing from him and listening to his thoughts on what we're doing. It takes away some pressure from that side of it.
But I don't know the guys that well, so I'm just nervous in getting to know them and hoping that they like me and like the kind of driver I am and they're happy that they have me as their driver. That's what you want from the guys working on your cars is for them to be glad you're there and that you're the one that's driving it.
So it's kind of neat. It's really fun to be going through this for me, and I'm enjoying those parts, and even the difficult things or the challenging parts are fun because of the atmosphere and because of the attitude that everybody there has. Everybody at Hendrick is really pumped up and giving me a good vote of confidence going into the test and going into the season, so it really makes it exciting to face all the challenges we're going to face.
Q. The TV ratings have gone down the last couple seasons, and at the same time, maybe not coincidentally, you haven't had a lot of success on the track. Now that it looks like you might be getting into top form again and have a chance to win races again, do you think that will bring some fans back in and that maybe your fans are more traditional fans that maybe have been tuning out?
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: I don't know. We should probably have some on‑line polls or something to figure that out. Those seem to work pretty good.
I can't tell you whether that's why the television ratings are down. It would be nice to think you had that kind of influence, but at the same time, I don't want to be the downfall or the reason for it. If I can get back into victory lane I know my fans will be excited about that, and if they're not tuning in they'll be turning up personally to see it.
Any time I run a Busch race I know my fans get excited about it and they might buy a ticket to see it on Saturday or they might set up a camper outside the racetrack regardless, whereas if we had been in the field ‑‑ it's just hard to say. I know those comments were made by Brian and taken out of context a little bit, but he referred to it ‑‑ them two things happening at the same time maybe did have something to do with each other. But it's not ‑‑ I don't feel comfortable really taking any credit one way or the other.
Q. You used to be the restrictor plate king, now it seems it's shifted over to Hendrick. Do you think this Daytona 500 is the best chance of your career to capture this second victory?
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: It's hard to say. I haven't drafted with my car yet, but I know it's going to be pretty good, I'm pretty sure. I'll have a great shot. You know, I think I had some pretty good cars down here in the past, and it's hard to say ‑‑ hard to really rank them as to which was better than the other. We had some pretty good cars.
The Daytona 500 is ‑‑ that race, so many things happen in that race. It's like a little mini‑series. It reminds me a lot of a season in itself because of the ‑‑ there's so many ups and downs and you still can find yourself with a shot to win, and if you look back at several things that happened to you during the event, you can't imagine that all that would happen in one race. But it does.
It's a special race, and it carries a lot of weight with me and how I feel about the event. I feel very strong about it and very dedicated to it and very dedicated to winning it every time I show up. I think I've got a great shot and I think I know what I need to do to get the job done.
If I have a car that's merely capable, I think I should have a shot to win every time I show up.
Q. I know you've been in Cup obviously a long time and racing at Daytona a long time, but I'm wondering if it has you feeling any more jitters than normal, or you sort of alluded to a little pressure in some new ways. And if so, is it like any kind of feeling you can compare to any big steps or big leaps that you've taken in your life, whether that has to do with late models or Busch?
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: The worst I ever was was trying to qualify for my first race in Charlotte. I was so scared and I wanted to get out of the car but it was too late. I already told them I'd drive it.
We were sitting right there at the ‑‑ we were like two minutes away from going out to qualify, and I just couldn't ‑‑ I was so nervous it was painful. It was painful to be that nervous. We ended up qualifying Top 10, and there were other times where I was as nervous or close to that.
Nowadays ‑‑ I've been doing this for a while, like you said, and I sort of understand what's around the next corner. When we made this decision I knew what to expect and what it would be like coming back to Daytona and what it would be like coming back to ‑‑ facing the fans, the press and the NASCAR community, and I knew what the expectations would be.
So I guess that sort of prepares you mentally to be able to deal with it one way or another because you've got to focus on driving and trying to do right by your team, and if they see that people's expectations are affecting your ability to make decisions on the racetrack, then you're not a good race car driver.
When I was a rookie and I was scared to go out and qualify for my first race, my fear and my nervousness was affecting my ability to go out there and run good, and somehow or another, we still did okay. But as you get ‑‑ as things happen to you in life that prioritize everything for you, you know, you go through ‑‑ you have like some real bad things happen to you and some really, really good things happen to you over the course of seven or eight years and that prioritizes everything in your life.
Right now I'm pretty much set on what I know I need to do. Although this is a high‑profile race team and I'm a high‑profile driver, I can handle it. With how I've grown up in the sport, I think I'm as prepared as anybody could be for this certain situation.
Q. Certainly there are people that have chased Hendrick here for a little bit. You've been in that role and now are inside the fences there at Hendrick. From your experience and just from what you're seeing now, what do you see that is so different or what's kind of opened your eyes about being at Hendrick that maybe you kind of wondered about when you were chasing them?
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: It's hard to say what I see that's different. They have more stuff as far as if it's a CNC machine or whatever. They have more of everything. They're able to mass‑produce more, and they have the ability to cover all the bases easier with the amount of personnel and the talent in each individual. I see that.
Otherwise it's about the same. I mean, I really was proud of where I came from and proud of the team that I had last year, and it's hard for me to really put into words without ‑‑ I'd rather ‑‑ I choose really not to discuss it that often because I don't want anyone that I've worked with in the past to get the impression that I am in a much better place and much more happier and I've got better people, because it really just comes down to the tools and how you use them.
Now, Rick has built ‑‑ Rick's deal is bigger, like I said. He's got more stuff, and he's had a lot of the same employees for a long time. When I first started winning races and running good in the Cup Series, the one thing that I started to understand that I should worry about was loyalty, and I see that they have that there. They have a lot of loyalty and there's a lot of pride in being loyal and being dedicated to that team, and there's a lot of pride in people doing it for Rick. You work with people for years and years and you see where some people are ‑‑ some people concentrate and focus on how to improve their position and improve their ‑‑ whether it be their way or their title or whatever. I see a lot of people at Hendrick that sacrifice ‑‑ sort of the opposite; they sacrifice for the good of the company or for Rick or whatever makes that car go faster.
I know I'm just seeing things for the first time, but that's really the initial thing that popped up to me that I saw. You get to know things more and better and deeper and you start to understand it more, and I'm sure there will be more evident things that I didn't ‑‑ other tools or people or whatever that I didn't realize I had before or didn't use before or that wasn't around at DEI or whatever.
But it's hard to get real specific. DEI builds race cars just like Hendrick does. They build good race cars. I drove them. We won. We ran up front.
I just think you look at the track record that Hendrick has and they're doing something different and they're doing it better. It's hard to say really where it is other than just how large a program it is. They have 20‑some CNC machines cranking stuff out all the time, and DEI has nine. Or they had nine. I don't know how many they have now. That's an instance in maybe 150, 200 instances where that makes a difference when you add all that up. That's how Hendrick is so consistently dominant.
Q. I want to ask you, when you made this move you obviously anticipated your life changing to some degree. Now that you've been through it, what has changed? Is it busier? Are there more sponsors, more responsibilities, less time, and is maybe the greatest change a peace of mind?
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: There is a peace of mind. I think one of the changes, like I said, has been not being the son of the boss anymore, going to somewhere ‑‑ me and Tony, Jr., both experienced sort of a little bit of a growth or maturity about just going from one door to the other overnight. You know, like I said, I got away ‑‑ I grew up over the years, but when I first started you could get away with saying things and get being quoted certain ways and be able to get away with it working for my daddy. I wouldn't be able ‑‑ my job now is to stay out of Rick's office as much as I can.
We have a great relationship, and he seems to ‑‑ I mean, he's known me for a long time like everybody else here, and I think everybody gets the kind of person I am. And I think he made the choice to hire me as much as I made the choice to go there, and I feel like it's going to work out and be fine. But it's sort of refreshing to not have that safety net, you know?
I've always talked about trying to get credibility and people to respect you and whatnot, and by putting yourself out on a limb here, it's definitely hopefully going to get me some of that, especially if we can perform and get the job done that everybody thinks we should get done, and I think we will.
Peace of mind, I think the peace of mind comes from probably the same thing, just knowing that I'm taking the risk and it took a lot of guts to do it, so I'm pretty proud of being able to just do it, just to do that. I could have popped out or went another direction, but I went in the best direction and I took the risk to put my career and my credibility on the line to work with a company that has won a lot of races. So that should ‑‑ hopefully if we win some races, it'll all work out.
Q. Fans are IM'ing, what did he wear today, did he get here early, did he get here late, is he smiling, not smiling, but one of the things that hasn't been addressed is Kyle Busch, whether people can compare you and him or if he does better or you do better early on and are you rivals, and can you sort of address that? Is that a story line that we might see? Is that fair?
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: It's up to y'all what y'all write, but I told Rick ‑‑ when you were talking about what time I got up, I told him I don't like to stay at the hotels right next to the track because these race cars wake me up first thing in the morning. I thought that was funny.
But anyways, getting back to your question, I think that I've got a lot of respect for Kyle's ability, and it's been a little bit of a challenge to not let ‑‑ for me not to get under his skin and for him not to get under mine, I suppose, to end the season last year, especially after I wrecked him at Kansas.
But I think that we both understand we need to be successful where we're at, where he is and where I am, and that's what our priority should be, and getting to know our teammates and getting to work well and being an asset to the company.
Joe is an amazing man regardless of his involvement in motorsports, but I think Kyle, if he doesn't know that already, he'll understand that and realize how important that is that he does well and represents the company well and is an asset to Gibbs. And for me, too, it's probably the same thing.
Q. A lot of people talked about your relationship with Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, but not much is talked about in your relationship with Casey Mears, and since you guys are going to be ‑‑ your cars are going to be built in the same shop, how is your relationship with him and how do you guys interact?
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: Me and Casey, you know, I goof off with him because we've hung out before at the racetrack and we were pretty good buddies. You know, he drove for ‑‑ he drove with Jimmy who was married to my sister, so we became pretty good friends through that. I've known Jimmy for a longer period of time and I've known Jeff for even longer than that, but I've never really spent time around them away from the racetrack. I know how they are as race car drivers and what their work ethic is, and I think we'll be able to work together and be pretty happy that we're teammates.
But me and Casey will probably do more goofing off and take it ‑‑ I mean, he takes it pretty serious because he wants to do good. Me and him, we'll spend time together away from the racetrack where I might not do that so much with Jimmy and whatnot.
Q. A lot of people are already making predictions about how you'll do this year. Tony, Jr., said yesterday you'd win at least four. What are your expectations for the year, goals, and what would be a successful first season for you at Hendrick Motorsports?
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: I just like running up front every week. I like going to the racetrack and being in the... being toward the top of the chart, at least on the left side of the page in practices and whatnot.
And in the race I like to run up front. We did that a lot last year, and when I look at ‑‑ when I take a look at all my seasons, I was better last year at showing up and being there every weekend. We weren't there every weekend, but I had a better car the majority of the season than I had had in seasons past.
That's really all I wanted out of driving race cars. I want to be up front and be toward the front and challenging, and when I show up to the racetrack I want people to expect me to run well, not just at particular tracks everywhere. It was good to go and to do that at some tracks last year that I typically hadn't been able to do that at.
I was hoping that with some of the extra ability that Hendrick has in winning championships and races on a regular basis that that could even improve my finishing. I don't want to sit here and guess how many races we'll win. We'll win some races, and I expect to win soon. I'm a good driver with a good team, and if we don't make mistakes on a Sunday we should have great finishes and win some races.
JOSH HAMILTON: Thanks a lot for your time, Dale.
FastScripts by ASAP Sports
Friday, December 14, 2007
Marcos Ambrose shows Dale Earnhardt Jr. around his V8 Super School in Australia
Ambrose hosted Earnhardt Jr, who is in Australia on holiday with friends, and gave the American the opportunity to drive one of the school's 450-horsepower race cars around the V8 Super School's 2.1-kilometre road course circuit.
Ambrose and Earnhardt Jr shared the track in a Ford and GM-Holden respectively for some laps before speaking with the assembled media contingent.
Ambrose only recently arrived back in Australia after collecting his eighth place championship trophy at the NASCAR Busch Series Awards banquet in Orlando, Florida.
Earnhardt Jr spoke with Ambrose late this season about his impending trip to Australia, taking tips from the Australian regarding his homeland.
The two agreed to catch up on the Gold Coast in Queensland so that Ambrose could host Earnhardt Jr and his friends for a day of fun and thrills at the V8 Superschool, which Ambrose co-owns with friend and Australian V8 Supercar driver Paul Morris.
"It was great to catch up with Dale and give him the chance to experience one of our cars at the V8 Super School," said Ambrose.
"I always make a point of visiting everyone here at the V8 Super School when I am back in Australia, and this time around they were very impressed with the friend I brought along for a drive.
"It's been a great year for me in the United States and it's nice to come home to the Australian summer for a break. Sonja and I are busy catching up with some friends and family and showing off our new daughter Adelaide along with Tabitha, who is already two years old.
"I've had the chance to speak with Junior a couple of times this year and late in the year he came up and asked me about Australia because he intended on coming down here for a holiday.
"From that point on I have kind of been his travel consultant. We made sure he saw the V8 Supercar final at Phillip Island, stayed in Melbourne, Sydney and now the Gold Coast.
"Dale and his buddies are here having a ball at the V8 Super School and it's been great to catch up with him and spend some time with him because he is definitely one of the guys I look up to in NASCAR.
"He's a real driver's driver and he's got awesome skills. You can see how quickly he has adapted to these cars today just how good he is and I look forward to the day where I can hopefully get to his level and run side-by-side with him because he's a great driver and a great guy.
"I'm already looking forward to next season. We've got some great things going and I think the Kingsford team will be really strong in the Nationwide Series next season. I'm also really looking forward to getting in the Little Debbie Ford for my first races in the NASCAR Sprint Cup and working on the Cup program with everyone in the team."
Earnhardt Jr thoroughly enjoyed his time behind the wheel of one of the V8 Super School's cars, more accustomed to oval racing a NASCAR at over 300km/h.
"I have to thank Marcos for everything he has set-up for me on this trip," said Earnhardt Jr.
"This is my first trip to Australia and I absolutely love it. Everyone here has been so good to me and to all of my friends and we will never forget this trip.
"I have really enjoyed the chance to drive these cars on a road course-style track. It's great fun and Marcos and Paul Morris have been great to me and really looked after us. We are having a ball.
"It's been great to experience Australia and see how racing is down here. Our group has all had a blast and Marcos' advise on where to go and everything he has set up for us has been awesome.
"He's a great guy and I think he is doing very well in NASCAR and has the potential to go a long way."
From BAM Media
Friday, November 30, 2007
2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship odds
A Vegas-based betting company has offered its odds as to who will be the NASCAR Sprint Cup champion in 2008.If they're right, it's a two-man race between the usual suspects. Do you think they're right?
From Micah Roberts // Station Casinos:
"Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon find themselves at the top again favored at 4 to 1 and 9 to 2 respectively to win the Championship. The Hendrick teammates were equally consistent using the "Car of Tomorrow" and the "Car of Yesterday" last season. No other team was close from start to finish on the season. Because the Hendrick team appeared to have such an edge in the COT last season, and the fact they'll be using the model for all 36 races this season, the question of the season will be, "Who can compete in the COT with Johnson and Gordon?"
To win 2008 Sprint Cup title...
Jimmie Johnson 4/1
Jeff Gordon 9/2
Matt Kenseth 8/1
Dale Earnhardt Jr 8/1
Tony Stewart 10/1
Clint Bowyer 15/1
Carl Edwards 15/1
Kurt Busch 15/1
Martin Truex Jr 17/1
Denny Hamlin 20/1
Kyle Busch 22/1
Kevin Harvick 22/1
Jeff Burton 25/1
Casey Mears 28/1
Greg Biffle 35/1
Ryan Newman 35/1
Kasey Kahne 38/1
Jamie McMurray 50/1
J.P. Montoya 75/1
Field - All Others 50/1
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