HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE WHAT WE JUST SAW THERE AT THE FINISH?
“It’s no surprise to me. I think we all know that’s what’s going to happen when we come to Talladega. You know everybody is pretty patient throughout the day and just waiting to get crazy at the end. You know it’s going to happen eventually.
“A little disappointing for us on the DuPont Chevrolet just because we ran out of fuel. I felt like we saved a lot. I certainly didn’t think we were going to run out right then but I guess I’m kind of glad we ran out when we did because we were at least able to get back out there and destroy our car.”
DID NASCAR MESS UP BY TELLING YOU GUYS HOW TO RACE TODAY?
“No, no; it just didn’t change anything. As long as you can bump-draft period, you’re going to have those kinds of incidences. Everybody really used their heads all day long and it was great. With guys staying off of you in the corners I think it definitely allowed us to get to the end. But we had more cars at the end and you know that it’s going to happen coming down with a green-white-checkered finish. It’s no different; same old thing as usual.”
SEVERAL DRIVERS, EVEN RYAN NEWMAN AFTER HIS CRASH, SAID THIS WAS THE MOST BORING RACE HE’S BEEN A PART OF
“Well, yeah, but the only way it’s not going to be is for it not to be 500 miles. I mean we know what we’re up against. And why go out there and beat and bang and turn one another sideways in the first 100 or 200 miles? You want to make this a really exciting race for the whole race, make it 200 miles. That’s why the truck races and other races when they come here are so exciting. To me, our sport is about strategy, it’s about longevity, it’s about pacing yourself. I thought it was a great race. But unfortunately the rules that we have are going to play out. The cars suck up too much. And they need to change that for this race track or it’s just going to happen every single time.”
WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN BETWEEN NOW AND THE NEXT TIME THE SERIES RACES AT TALLADEGA?
“My recommendation to them a long time ago and still, is I think basically we’re just punching too big of a hole and we’ve got too much power to go along with that if you take away from that wicker. I just think we’ve got to get the air turned back down to catch the cars a little bit more. I don’t know what the solution is if it’s wicker or if it’s something else. I’m not an aero guy. I just know that we shouldn’t be able to just get into that pocket and close up; there’s two things: one, the car has so much drag that when you clear somebody it’s just like putting the brakes on. And then the other side is that when you get close up to them, you just close right up on them. And when you take 40 cars or 20 cars and pack ‘em, it’s just bumper cars at 190 mph.”
THE INCIDENT AT THE END, SHOULD THAT JUST BE LOOKED AT AS TALLADEGA RACING? OR IS THAT SOMETHING RELATED TO THE RULES AND EVERYTHING?
“Well, I think this contributes more to it. But Talladega is always, on a green-white-checkered, is always going to be pretty hairy and crazy. But I don’t think we had as much of that when the cars didn’t close up as much. But then again, we didn’t have the ability to pass as much. So I don’t know what the solution is. I look forward to the day when I can watch this on TV instead of being inside of it. It’s fun, exciting, and just so crazy at the same time, and you know what the outcome is going to be and that takes away a lot from the desire to want to go out there and race at Talladega.”
WAS THE BUMPING WORSE IN THE STRAIGHTAWAY THAN USUAL SINCE YOU GUYS WEREN’T DOING AS MUCH IN THE CORNER; WAS IT A LITTLE HARDER?
“Yeah, it was. I think everybody realized that they had to make it all up on the straightaway. But before, it was on the straightaway and in the corner. So I thought that part was better today.”
WHEN RYAN NEWMAN LEFT THE INFIELD CARE CENTER TODAY, HE SAID THAT NASCAR PUT YOU IN A BOX; AND BECAUSE OF THAT, IT’S CLEAR THAT THEY DON’T RESPECT YOU AS DRIVERS. WHAT IS YOUR REACTION TO THOSE REMARKS?
“No reaction. I mean the car’s in a box; there’s no doubt about that. Ever since this car has come about, we’ve seen pretty much the same results here at Talladega. NASCAR obviously sees what’s going on and we leave it up to them to make the call.”
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