Rusty Wallace: Jeff, last week you were obviously dejected the way you ran. Which was a Top 10 finish, which is great in my eyes, and you got out and said it was done. And I know you, I don’t think you mean that.
Jeff Gordon : You’ve got to look at what we set out to do. It’s been a fantastic year for us. Our goals were to be consistent, to be strong. We had a few failures last year and some mistakes that were made that cost us an opportunity at it.
So we set out to do exactly what we’ve done, which is to have an awesome average finish throughout the whole year. A shot at winning races, a shot at the championship. And you know, when you go into the Chase and you have an average finish of about a 5.2, and you’re 86 points behind going into the final race, there is no doubt that that’s pretty frustrating. So it just says what kind of year Jimmie’s had.
We’re not going to give up. We’re going to go into this weekend’s race giving it everything that we’ve got. We want to end the season on a positive note. And no matter what, you know, the outcome is, whether we get it done or not, it’s been a fantastic year for us.
RUSTY WALLACE: A lot of other teams that have gone for a championship and are in the position you’re in now, they go into this last race with a killer instinct. Like, I’ve got to sit on the pole. I’ve got to lead the most laps, I’ve got to dominate and hope that somebody has bad luck. Are you going into this race with a different mindset?
You sound calm now. La
st week you almost sounded a bit defeated. But you do have a chance. Jimmie’s got to have a problem, but are you in the kill mode right now?
JEFF GORDON: Well, to me, yeah, we’ll certainly accept the trophy and the check and all those things up in New York if we win this championship. But we also know the only way we can win it this weekend is if Jimmie has a problem.
Doesn’t stop us from doing our job. Our job is to go out there, try to lead the most laps and sit on the pole and win the race. That’s our job every single weekend.
We’re not going to change anything. I was at the shop this week with the guys. They’re fired up. We’re bringing our best car. We’re putting everything we possibly can forward to put the best effort we can.
I mean, I guess the only way that things are going to change for us, and how we approach things is if Jimmie has a problem. And we don’t wish that upon anybody, and certainly not our teammate.
I’m just proud of Hendrick Motorsports, and the fact that this championship is going to come home to Rick Hendrick.
You know, we’ve got the best car owners, best support organization. To have two of these teams out there with a shot at it, it’s fantastic. Either way, like I said, it’s been a fantastic year.
We’re not going to lay down and just ride around. We’re going to go out there and do our best and see where it all ends up.
Q. After your Charlotte win, you said I don’t care what happens. If I don’t win the championship, this is my year. And we all look at that and understand that. But isn’t there a twinge of disappointment that that championship could have made this year even it could have completed it for you and now if you don’t get it, there is no void. And if Rick could talk about the changes with Jeff as a father, and speaking to his year personally?
JEFF GORDON: Well, when you go through becoming a first time father, there is nothing that’s going to top that. It is the ultimate. I’ve won championships before, and as bad as I want to win this one, I know that even that can’t top becoming a dad and that whole experience.
So, yeah, of course I want to win. I agree it would make it just kind of put that cherry on top, and that would be a year almost too good to be true, to be honest: To me, if Jimmie wins it, we’ve both won, because I’ve had something to me that means the world to me by becoming a dad. And I know how badly he wants that second championship. So either way I’m not going to be disappointed.
Sure, as a competitor, you want it. As a competitor, I’m pushing as hard as I can every weekend to get it done and so is this team. I feel like the team deserves it. They’ve really done a phenomenal job putting themselves in position to win this championship.
So from that standpoint, we don’t want to hang our heads and feel disappointed because it’s been a phenomenal year on and off the racetrack, and we’ll see what happens on Sunday. But this is a young team. I feel like there are more championships left ahead of us if this one, not me the driver, I’m not. I’m getting old. But this team has a lot of championships left in them in years to come. So if this one slips away, we go for it next year.
RICK HENDRICK: First off, he’s as competitive as I’ve ever seen him. He wants it as bad as I’ve ever seen him want to win this championship this year. But I have never seen him as happy as a person as he is right now with Ella and Ingrid. And I’ve never seen him in Victory Lane as excited as he was in Talladega, because Ella was there, it was her first time.
And it was so I think from my standpoint watching him. As competitive as he’s ever been, wants to win the championship as bad as he ever has, but he’s happier in his life as a whole than I’ve ever seen him since I’ve known him.
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