Jeff, he is currently second in the Series point standings; won the inaugural 400 back in ‘94. He has also won the race three other times. He is trying to tie F1 star Michael Schumacher’s all time record of five Indianapolis victories.
Q: The fans wanted to ask you if in the future, way in the future, after your driving days are done, do you sort of envision yourself staying in NASCAR with Hendrick Motorsports in another capacity?
JEFF GORDON: I certainly hope so. That would be my wish and my dreams, seeing of course, you never realize that being a race car driver and having the success that I’ve had at this level would ever even happen. If it did, it is kind of hard to plan ahead.
But I have done the best that I could in that sense and got myself certainly aligned with a great organization, a great person in Rick Hendrick. And I feel like there’s a great opportunity there for me whenever that day comes, hopefully not any time soon.
I’m loving driving, especially when we are having seasons like we’re having year this year when we are so competitive and a shot at the championship only inspires to keep driving longer and longer.
But one of my last contract negotiations, which was a while ago because I signed a lifetime contract, in that I was able to get equity in not only my team, the 48 team and a small percentage of Hendrick. So that certainly is where I’m banking my future, is in Hendrick Motorsports. And when I’m not a driver, I hope that I can add value to the organization with my experience to only keep the great success going at Hendrick Motorsports.
Q. Jeff, I wanted to ask you, what value is there in momentum this season? And I ask because only 33% of the race winners this season went on to finish in the top ten in the race after their win, and that is down significantly from the last few years.
JEFF GORDON: Yeah, I think it’s a great sign of the competition and how you know, I think the weather has played some crazy factors in there as well as you’ve got the new organization Stewart Haas doing well. So you have got some new kind of faces, if you think of it from a team sense, you know, with Reutimann and Michael Waltrip Racing as well as Tony.
Then you’ve got Mark Martin who has kind of also played a factor in there and been not a newcomer but certainly a guy that hasn’t had this kind of success for a number of years. And Hendrick is strong and, you know, so it Roush and Penske.
And so I think, you know, what I’m seeing this year is it is very difficult to get momentum on race wins, but I think the momentum is there to challenge for the championship for a couple of guys, Stewart certainly being one of those guys right now that’s really standing out. I think same for the 24 team. I feel like we’ve shown consistent strength all year long, and I think consistency right now is almost as important as momentum.
I think the momentum is really going to be key just prior to the chase, who can get that momentum and go into the chase and even start the chase with that strong momentum and continue it on. That’s, I believe, what’s going to separate the team or the top teams that are going to go vy for the championship.
Q. I know part of your answer will be based on your sort of Indianapolis roots and background. Indianapolis Motor Speedway is really special to a lot of people. It’s special in the history of racing, and I understand why NASCAR is there. Was the damage last year’s race, is the damage able to be overcome and does NASCAR still need to be at that racetrack?
JEFF GORDON: Well, I mean, I’m certainly biased because, you know, as a kid growing up, I always dreamed about racing at Indy and thought those dreams had gone away when I was moving down south and starting my NASCAR career.
I love the fact that the Brickyard 400 happens every August or July. And it’s just a spectacular event.
I think it’s I don’t know the financials and everything that go along with Indianapolis Motor Speedway. But, you know, to have two successful races there a year, I think, seems to make more sense than just one. But, you know, the history of the Indianapolis 500 has kept that place alive and doing so well for so many years that maybe it can sustain just one race. And I think that certainly had a lot to do with prestige and history of not only that event but as to the meaning of the Brickyard 400 when it came along.
Since then, you’ve had to Formula 1 race and now MotoGP. So there’s certainly decisions that go beyond my capabilities and depth, but I think it’s an important race. I think that you’re going to see us come out of what happened last year with the tires, you’re going to see a whole different type of race. And the issues with tires are not going to be from wearing them down to cords in eight or ten laps like last year. I’m very confident in the tires. I did the last test there and was very pleased.
So I think certainly a lot of damage was done. It might not take one race. It might take more than one race. I hope it happens and we get a chance for that to happen because the fans are supporting the event and, you know, knowing it could take more than one race to repair that. But I believe it can happen.
Q. Following up on that, Jeff, the reports are that ticket sales are pretty sluggish for Sunday. I’m sure some of that is due to the economic downturn, but I’m sure some of it is due to fans staying away because of last year’s race. I don’t think anybody would question that you guys and Goodyear have done a lot of work to try to fix the problem. Do you think the problem was remedied a little bit too late and it was only a month ago you guys declared it had been solved? Do you think there might be a little bit of lag time for fans to sort of react to realizing that, hey, this race may not be that bad and we should get tickets?
JEFF GORDON: I think some of that will build as we get closer to the race. We have seen a lot of that this year in general with the economy. I think, you know, a lot of fans are waiting it out for it could be a number of reasons. It could be their own finance issues that they’re dealing with, like so many others, basically everybody that’s dealing with something with the economy and holding off on that. It could be, you know, waiting for less expensive ticket prices and seeing if that happens later leading up to the race.
And I think, also, with Indianapolis, it’s a lot of it is what happened last year. So it might that’s why I say it might take a couple of races, at least one I’m hoping, to really kind of win back those fans that were very disappointed. And they should have been. I think we were all pretty disappointed in what happened there.
But we all had to come together to work it out, and I think Goodyear took the brunt of it. And it is not just all their responsibility. I mean, those tires were wearing out for a number of reasons and, yet, they took it and ran with it. And it took a long time, I think a lot longer to figure out what tire and what compound was going to work there.
But it took longer than I think they expected, all of us did, but they did get it. That’s what I’m happy about, is that they have found it.
Q. If I could follow up, when Formula 1 had its tire debacle a few years ago, everybody sort of returned from that series very contrite. When they were at Indy next year, the drivers went out of their way to do autograph sessions. I know Michelin did a lot, too. Does NASCAR have a responsibility, drivers, series and sponsors as a whole, to maybe welcome Indy back into the fold this year and try to do more to reach out?
JEFF GORDON: Absolutely. Absolutely. I feel like, you know, we already have a series that’s built around that. We do so much for the fans, whether it be autograph sessions and different types of meets and greets at the track or away from the track during the week for our sponsors.
I mean, I don’t think any sport is more accessible than ours is. I think just this year in general the economy the way it is and really trying to show our appreciation for how much we do appreciate our fans and how loyal they are and avid they are and we are still getting great crowds.
We have been doing it all year. But I know that we are scheduled to do more at Indy this weekend. I know there is an autograph session, I think, Friday and Saturday but don’t quote me on that. But I know I’m involved with, I believe, the one on Friday.
Q. Jeff, something you alluded to actually a couple months ago, David Reutimann’s improvements this season, from your perspective, how much better is he performing and is that team performing compared to the last couple years?
JEFF GORDON: Well, you know, what you’re going to have is if you have a crew chief come on, here he’s going to say his driver is driving better. If you have a driver, he says his team is building better, faster race cars. I think it all comes together when you put the total team effort and then the race cars and everything that goes along with it, the pit stops.
You know, a guy like David Reutimann is going to show what he’s capable of doing. And I think there’s certainly a reason why Michael Waltrip picked him to drive that car, and he’s showing the reasons why this year.
You know, I think experience in the Cup Series with this car and that team is definitely improved. I mean, even seeing Marcos Ambrose, how strong he’s been running this year as well tells me that team has definitely stepped up in a big way.
You know, another guy that’s in there and battling for the top 12 is Juan Pablo Montoya. I think his experience in these cars now is starting to show and pay off.
You know, there’s just any number of guys that I think are right there on the edge of really breaking through, and a couple of them already have and David is one of them.
Q. Do you feel like with what Reutimann has been able to do this year and what Mark Martin has been able to do this year, could that open up doors and opportunities for guys pushing 40 to land top rides in the Cup Series, in your opinion?
JEFF GORDON: If you’ve got the talent, you know, and if you’re as physically fit as Mark Martin is, you know, then I don’t age to me is really not, you know, an issue. I was talking to Bill Elliott a couple weeks ago at the last race and I said to him, I said, hey, how’s it going? And we were just talking. And he said, Jeff, he goes, I still feel like I’m 25 years old. He said, when I’m in that car, my mind is still just as in tune of what’s going on with the car and different things than when he was 25.
And so I think experience is very key in our series. Knowing how to balance out the patience and aggressiveness, and if you have that ability, I don’t think it ever goes away, doesn’t change. I think it is either in you or it’s not. It doesn’t matter how old you are.
So I think the physical side of it starts to play a bigger role than anything else. And so I think, you know, if you’re a guy like Mark Martin, there is no doubt you are going to have an opportunity. And I think he’s one of the rare few that have that much talent and that physical fitness that goes right along with it. I think he is one of the very few. I haven’t seen many out there like him.
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