THE MODERATOR: Patrick.
PATRICK CARPENTIER: For me it was the first time on the oval with the Car of Tomorrow. We tested that in Kentucky with the car of today or yesterday. And it went pretty well. But the track here is really challenging. It’s a new track for me also.
So it’s fast. The cars come up to the corners at tremendous speeds. They’ve got no downforce and they weigh a ton. It’s very hard. You’re always moving sideways and pushing and trying to get the car in the right lane. And it’s been a challenge. Yesterday morning when I got in it, in the first, probably the morning, the whole morning I thought, man, am I going to figure this out one of these days? But it was better, the afternoon was a bit better and this morning is better again.
I got Kasey and Elliott to just keep coming to the car talk to me, explain to me what to do with the throttle and different things and it really helps out quite a bit. So quite a bit more comfortable this morning. Not fully comfortable yet but it’s a lot better than yesterday morning.
THE MODERATOR: Questions.
Q For both you gentlemen, I’d like to ask you what you think your reception is going to be this coming year by, let’s say, the traditional NASCAR fan base and whether you think that being cast in or what you’ll probably be cast in, as the role of villains is a motivating factor to you.
PATRICK CARPENTIER: I’ve never been a villain, so that will be a first for me. (Laughing) but for me I feel like I have part of it because part of my life I lived here in the states. My kids, they’re Americans. And we live in Vegas, and I’m a U. S. citizen. So I’ve always been – I remember when I was young doing speed skating, going to Lake Placid to train over the winter and stuff like that.
But I think it is what it is. I think because the Car of Tomorrow, maybe the teams they want to take a little bit more chance, because I guess with the other car, as already explained to me, experience plays a big part into it. It’s almost impossible to come in and keep up with these guys with all the experience and technical background they have.
And I think with the Car of Tomorrow, that’s why you see so many guys coming. It’s not the first time. Tony comes from Open Wheel, and you’ve got Casey Mears comes from open wheels and Robbie Gordon. And Kasey Kane did some open wheels too and Jeff Gordon you’ve got a lot of guys, this year you just got a lot of guys coming in at the same time.
But I think the reason for that is because the switch to the Car of Tomorrow and you see that there’s a opportunity for guys to learn and adapt and be able to be up there with these guys later in the year. Otherwise I think it would be very difficult?
Q Do you think the big adjustment for you might be the schedule and the demands for time, 38 weekends a year to race and all the other things that go on being a Cup driver?
PATRICK CARPENTIER: Yes, it’s pretty busy for me. But I’ve always loved ovals. And that’s what I want to do. NASCAR is the place. I was doing it in IRL but I stopped at the end of ‘05 because I didn’t want to do it there anymore. So we’ve been working on it for a while and for me it’s unbelievable opportunity for me to be here and so we talk about it with my wife and everybody and I won’t see the kids as much, but it’s such an unbelievable opportunity that it’s going to be – I might travel with the motor coach from race to race when they’re close together so visit the country at the same time.
Q Before you walked in, Jeff Burton was up here talking about how there are hundreds of guys running in the dirt track series right now who have enough talent to be in this league, don’t have a rich uncle or father, have trouble finding a sponsor, that type of thing. It’s not a perfect meritocracy getting a seat. Do you think you might get sideways glances from the NASCAR fans as you come out here later on in the year?
PATRICK CARPENTIER: I think even now the path is different from when everyone was watching, I think it’s Jimmie Johnson coming from motorcross, which is pretty different from anything that any of these guys have done. I don’t know how it happens or it doesn’t and for us we work really hard and did the race, the Busch race in Montreal and it went really, really well. And after that we got a test on the oval and that went really well, too.
And Ray and Mr. Gillette decided to give me a shot. Obviously I know there’s guys that have been running on the dirt track all their life trying to come up. But sometimes it’s just timing. Everybody gets different opportunities. For us what we did in Montreal and like you said we ran a lot of ovals. For me I’ve been on an oval since I was five. But it was different with speed skating, but it’s still kind of similar to me and it’s not the same speed and you’re the engine. But to me it’s the same thing. When I got on the oval in the Indy cars at first it felt like home because of that. So it’s just different path and everybody, even now the guys that aren’t there have gone through different path, and it’s just unbelievable opportunity.
Like the spotter told me, once you get your name on that thing, it’s a good part done. So it’s fantastic?
Q So far Sam Hornish has been 0 for all the attempts he’s made to get into Cup races. Can you speak to how difficult the psychological adjustment is to come to NASCAR racing from where you’ve been, where you’ve been real successful winning races, winning championships, how difficult is that adjustment?
PATRICK CARPENTIER: As you sit in the car and drive it around the track, you have no idea how difficult this is and how much time you need in the car to get adjusted to it. So now it’s going to be a very difficult for me going to Phoenix. We’ll have to qualify the car and now I know what I’m going to be up against. I mean we did a test in Kentucky and it went 12 and I thought it might not be too bad but coming to the track here it’s a whole different animal than every race, weekend, like you say. For me right now I’m doing my fast lap comes in the fourth or fifth lap. But to do it on the first and second lap is a whole different story again.
Q I want to ask you about the off season, what you’ll be doing professionally and personally to get ready for 2008.
PATRICK CARPENTIER: Same thing, just need to, like talked to Joe Nemechek before I went in, you need to sit and live in that car every day if you can as much as you can, so just sit in the car and test. And buy a motor coach that will be important.
Q Jeff Burton, another thing he was talking about was a lot of guys coming, the Open Wheel guys come over, he said while not stressing there shouldn’t be any kind of standard or qualification or trying to shut anybody out, they said there might come a point where more and more non-American drivers get into the series it might be an issue because it’s an American-based sport, a lot of American fans and pointed out how IndyCar was perhaps hurt by having a lack of American drivers. Is that a legitimate concern or should it be open to everyone?
PATRICK CARPENTIER: I think I was reading the newspaper and they were talking about the football, where they’re going to – they might go play in London for a game or two. So it’s not only happening over here in this sponsorship. You take Coca Cola or any sponsors, it’s all worldwide. And in today’s world, I think any sports anywhere will have to become with the Internet and everything, everything is connected together. And I think that’s a good way to go.
But I think it’s good that most of the field stays the way it is now. But any sports in the future will have to go that route for products and sponsors and many different reasons because it’s all becoming interacting together more and more.
To watch it on TV is one thing but once you see a race live anywhere NASCAR is going to go, like when they won Montreal this summer, they were sold out and around the world I think people are going to love the sports and embrace it. So I think it’s a good thing.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you.
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