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WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT BEING UP FRONT ON SUNDAY?:
“It’s the place to be, no doubt and it’s the place to finish, obviously that’s what we want. Tony Gibson (crew chief) and the guys did a great job with this race car. It hasn’t actually been run since our first race here in the spring. It’s nice to get it back out and they’ve shined it up a little bit and bottom line is it was a really good lap. It kind of helped to go out a little bit later to see Mark (Martin) and Jeff (Gordon)—see what the track had in it and watch them to see where there might be some gains to be made. Just kind of ran my lap and it’s equally as important here to charge the corner as to not overcharge the corner. I just got everything I could.”
WHAT ARE YOU ABLE TO SEE OR LEARN FROM WATCHING OTHER DRIVERS?:
“You can use that lap tracker and see where guys are coming off the corner compared to rolling the center and see if there’s any time to be had from rolling the center. Who got off the corner really good. If Jeff (Gordon) got off turn four better than two or things like that. The track is pretty symmetrical so if he didn’t or if he didn’t get off of two as good as he got off of four then there might be some speed in two to run that 56 instead of the 61. Just to watch it and listen to see if anybody is complaining. We had a good practice session—I ran the 71, I think is what I ran in practice when I was behind the 88 (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) car. It was kind of a misread as to how good our car was in practice compared to what we were capable of in qualifying. It’s just being observant and paying attention to the things that might make a difference is the biggest thing.”
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT HOW YOUR SEASON HAS IMPROVED SINCE THE SPRING RACE AT MARTINSVILLE AND HAVE YOU BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO COMING BACK?:
“I definitely look forward to coming back to Martinsville. I’ve always said that for me and for whatever reason at short tracks the driver has a little more of an impact on the end result then some of the bigger race tracks and I like that. I like that part of it and I think that Clay (Campbell, track owner) and everybody has done a great job with this speedway to accommodate everybody and make it a nicer race track. Each time you come back it seems to be a little nicer. That was a big step for us in the spring to get that top-10 finish. We’ve had some ups and downs since then, but whether it’s your first year together as a team or your first year as a driver or just the first part of the year, it’s nice to come back to these race tracks a second time and apply the things that you’ve learned, where you made your gains and do your homework. You’re homework is based off the past problem solving that you’ve had.”
DID YOU FEEL LIKE THE SPRING RACE AT MARTINSVILLE WAS A TURNING POINT FOR STEWART-HAAS RACING?:
“That was a statement that I made to Bobby Hutchens in the truck less than an hour ago, when qualifying had already started. This was the place that to me was a turning point for our organization, getting the two cars good finishing positions and showing what we were capable of to everybody. Whether it was Martinsville or Charlotte or any place else, it doesn’t really matter. It awards just as many points here as it does at any other race track. There was no real us trying to make a statement, it was just that we made a statement.”
WHO WAS THE NON-TEAMMATE DRIVER THAT HELPED YOU WHEN YOU STARTED YOUR CAREER?:
“Buddy Baker was pretty much the guy. He was on the team as a mentor, but at the same time he was a guy that had been there and done that and I could go to him and not have to worry about him being biased. It’s not like I was racing against him that next day or that next practice session. He taught me and Buddy will tell you the same thing, he taught me more so sometime the things not to do rather than the things to do. To me, that made a big difference and a big impact. If I could not make some of the same mistakes that he did that cost him a shot at a victory to make an addition to his resume then those were things that were going to help my resume.
