JAMIE, THERE IS A GROUP OF DRIVERS FROM KANSAS AND MISSOURI, AND YOU GUYS ALL GREW UP KEEPING TRACK OF EACH OTHER. YOU’VE GOT THE ONE WIN OUT OF THAT TRIO THIS YEAR WHEN CARL EDWARDS AND CLINT BOWYER DIDN’T WIN A RACE. TALK ABOUT HOW THAT BOOSTED YOUR SEASON
“Well, certainly winning is what it’s all about. I think more than anything, looking back at that, with the amount of races that Carl was able to win last year and where the RCR cars were last year just shows how fast it changes. When we first started dealing with the COT car and bump stops and different parts that make these cars quick, I feel like everybody kind of thought they had the bump stops figured out and they had the set-ups going and they just keep changing and it’s hard to always be the car that’s the fastest and have that set-up that works. And so Carl won nine races last year and certainly hasn’t really been in the position to win maybe a couple this year. So it’s great to be one of the guys that’s won, but not just for that, but more than anything just because it’s just awesome to win.”
JAMIE, HAVE YOU HAD A CHANCE TO SPEAK TO JUAN PABLO SINCE THE SIGNING AND DO YOU EXPECT TO PICKUP SOMETHING FROM HIM? WHAT CAN HE LEARN FROM YOU
“I did talk to Juan at the Daytona tire test. I saw him in the lobby. It’s weird because you assume you’re together every week and you just hang out and chat. But you both have commitments and I just haven’t had a lot of time to go to his motor home. So I saw him at the Daytona tire test and I’ve talked with him. I think it would be interesting to me to see the set-ups that the No.1 and the No. 42 cars are running and see what the differences are there. And then you know, if you can bring something from where you’re at; it’s just that it changes so fast I don’t know if it’s going to matter what you’re going to bring from where you are. But I was a Formula 1 fan. For years I’ve loved watching F1. And when I heard Juan was going to come race with us, I was one of the first guys that went over and introduced myself to him and tried to help, more than anything because I wanted to hear his stories of what the F1 life was like in relation to what our lifestyle is. I’ve been pretty good friends with him. I was pretty good friends with him until he wrecked me at Bristol and then our friendship definitely has suffered a little bit. But I’ve looked past that now. And (laughter) I know Chip thinks so. Certainly being your teammate is a different position than you’ve been in. And Juan has run really well.
“So, I certainly look forward to being his teammate and it will be a lot different only having one teammate. But I’m telling you, having six or seven cars to look at set-ups is awesome. When things are going well and you feel everything they’re changing makes their car better. But when you have five or six different cars to look at and nothing’s working, it can also hurt you. I look forward to being able to literally just work with one guy and one other team and know that there’s going to be a lot of honesty there. So it’ll be different.”
CHIP - HOW HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO BUCK THE CONVENTIONAL WISDOM IN THE GARAGE THAT MORE TEAMS ARE BETTER, IS IT THE NEW CAR, TESTING LIMITATIONS OR OTHER FACTORS?
“I will be honest with you, I don’t look at it as bucking the trend. Jamie touched on it when he said was he said. I guess when things are going good, it would be great to draw on all of that, but when they are bad, I guess you can be fairly mixed up easily, I don’t know. I don’t know, as an owner, you always look at other organizations and you say to yourself, gee, what. It is kind of management by paranoia. You look at everybody else and see how they do it and then say hey, should I be doing it that way? I’ve questioned myself about what. My CFO tells me there are some financial benefits to having multiple cars. In our case, it becomes a management nightmare. At the same time, I can argue that we are a five car team. The problem is, two are in Charlotte and three are in Indianapolis. But I can understand how it becomes…multiple cars could be a laborious thing. But, again, it works for some people obviously. I don’t know how that would work for us.”
CHIP – TALK ABOUT THE HOW JUAN BEING MORE THAN JUST THE DRIVER EACH WEEK AND HOW INVOLVED HE IS IN THE TEAM AND CAR?
“The Juan that you see know and I started to see this guy mid-summer and at Richmond, he was back to the Juan I knew in 2000, when I met him…or ’99 or whatever. I guess I didn’t realize how hard he was…we were all working hard at making the Chase. There was obviously a lot at stake. Our goal was just to make the Chase. That is no secret. Suddenly, when we got there, the goal changed obviously. I said last night to someone, the Juan that everybody sees now is the Juan we all know and love. I’m glad he is back to himself and we are back to the front.”
JAMIE – LOOKING BACK ON YOUR PAST FOUR YEARS, DO YOU HAVE ANY REGRETS?
“No regrets at all. I certainly think it has been a great experience for me. The goal was to go there and win consistently and be able to make the Chase. We just didn’t have the success that we needed. With the economy and the sponsors the way that they are right now and with cutting back to four cars from five, certainly, things have changed. No regrets at all.
“I am really excited about this opportunity. You just always think that it is going to be better if you do something different and it isn’t always. Going back to Ganassi’s shop on Tuesday and you see the guys that you knew years ago, a lot of them still work there. To have come up and shake your hand and tell you how glad they are you are back, there is a lot to be said for having not just the eight or 10 guys on your specific team behind you, but to have the whole organization behind. A lot of those guys sent me texts before this happened saying they hoped you are the one that comes over. There is a lot to be said for that and a lot encouragement. Damn, it just makes you feel good to have all those people on your side. I really look forward to being able to come back and drive for Chip again.”
Bono – IN THE BEGINNING OF THE SEASON WITH YOU BEING SUCH GOOD FRIENDS WITH BRIAN PATTIE, IT WOULD HAVE SEEMED THAT YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN ON AN EVEN KEEP ALL SEASON. NOW, YOU SEEM TO HAVE FINALLY GOTTEN TO THE SAME PAGE, WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS TO GET THE CONSISTENCY BACK FOR THE NO. 1 CAR FOR 2010.
“Well, I think it in the beginning of the year, we got a little bit of a late start with the merger. The friendship between Brian and myself and the two teams is probably, in my whole time in racing, has been the best. Chip gives us everything we need. Just the two teams working together. Chip has a great support system back at the shop. We went whitewater rafting together. We do a lot of team-building activities. This is such a people sport and to be so open and truthful, Jamie mentioned it, truthful with your notebook. Back and forth. We share the same office, Brian and myself. I think looking forward to next year, Jamie has a great personality. People asked me if I knew Jamie before this, but I do remember when I first came in the sport, he was the guy who would walk by and say hey. I am looking forward to getting with Jamie and doing a little testing and hanging out a little bit. See what makes him click and makes me click and the team. It is a great time right now at Ganassi Racing. I hate that it is over this season but can’t wait to get started. We walked around the shop the other day and I pointed to the Daytona car. Brand new Daytona car. We are building three brand new cars for Daytona. We are building a lot of new cars and staying up with the times. I am ready to spearhead this thing and move forward.”
CHIP – FINAL THOUGHTS:
“I just want to say thanks for today and keep in mind, the three of us are up here today, but deals like this don’t happen without people like Felix Sabates and Teresa Earnhardt and Johnny Morris (Bass Pro Shops). Just because they aren’t sitting up here doesn’t mean they are not involved in it in a big way than just the three of us being up here. Thank you.”
| 
|