Daytona Testing Day one
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By Greg Engle
Editor, Cup Scene Daily
January 8
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(DAYTONA BEACH Fla.)No doubt hearts will be heavy today as the Nextel Cup series begins to shake off the mid-winter rust with the first of two testing sessions at Daytona International Speedway.
Former Nextel Cup competitor and one of the most popular drivers in NASCAR Bobby Hamilton lost his battle with cancer Sunday at age 49.
Drivers and teams will deal with their grief and cope the best way they know how, by turning laps on the 2.5-mile speedway in preparation for the season opening Daytona 500 in 41 days.
-(Cont'd from front page)
All teams that were in odd-number positions in the car owner standings as of July 12, 2006, are scheduled to test from Monday, Jan. 8 through Wednesday, Jan. 10. The following week, teams in even-number positions in the car owner standings as of July 12, 2006 will test from Monday, Jan. 15 through Wednesday, Jan. 17.
“Daytona testing gives you the chance to get back in the swing of things after the holidays,” said Kevin Harvick who finished fourth in the 2006 series standings. “It gives you momentum heading into the Budweiser Shootout and the Daytona 500. And it also helps you see where you stack up against other teams.”
Drivers attending this week’s session include Jimmie Johnson the reigning NASCAR Nextel Cup champion, Harvick, fifth-place finisher Dale Earnhardt Jr. and eighth-place finisher Kasey Kahne.
P.J. Jones will drive Robby Gordon’s No. 7 Ford in this week’s session while Mike McLaughlin will drive Tony Stewart’s No. 20 Chevrolet. Gordon is competing in the Dakar Rally, while Stewart gets ready for this weekends Chili bowl Nationals in Tulsa Oklahoma.
NASCAR Busch Series teams will split into two sessions for the first time later this month. Teams in odd-number positions in the car owner standings as of July 9, 2006 will test from Friday, Jan. 19 through Sunday, Jan. 21. Teams in even-number positions will test from Sunday, Jan. 21 through Tuesday, Jan. 23. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series tests from Friday, Jan. 12 through Sunday, Jan. 14.
Drivers scheduled this week are: Reed Sorenson, Casey Mears, Joe Nemechek, Sterling Marlin, Dave Blaney, P.J. Jones, Eric McClure, Brian Vickers, Ricky Rudd, Morgan Shepherd, Jeff Green, Tony Raines, Kirk Shelmerdine, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Jarrett Jamie McMurray, Scott Riggs, Scott Wimmer, Kasey Kahne, Bobby Labonte, Martin Truex Jr., Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick, Greg Biffle and Mike McLaughlin.
All sessions begin at 9 a.m. and end at 5 p.m., weather permitting
7:00AM- In route to the speedway, I expect to arrive and get set up around 10AM. Look for reports and photos soon after. This year I'll also try and upload audio as well... stay tuned!
11:45-After a brief delay, cars finally hit the track for the first morning session. This morning is devoted to single car runs, the afternoon sessions will be spent drafting.
Ricky Rudd is turning his first laps with Robert Yates Racing in the No. 88.
“It’s pretty neat, I missed it,” Rudd said. “There’s a lot of it I missed. Talk to me at the end of the year and I’ll let you know the real story, but right now I’m fresh and feel good and ready to go. I’m not tired out from all of the travel.”
The passing of Bobby Hamilton Sr. is weighing heavy on everyone’s mind here. Hamilton lost his fight with cancer Sunday. He was 49.
Jimmy Elledge is now the crew chief on the No. 41 Dodge, but he his first victory as a crew chief came with Hamilton in 2001 at Talladega. He spoke at length Monday morning about his friends passing.
“When we won that race at Talladega, that was back when we ran a practice motor and then put another motor in for the race. Bobby went out and ran a little bit and came back in and parked the car. He wouldn’t tell me anything about the car, so I followed him into the truck. He was changing clothes and I asked him if we needed to do anything to the car. He said no and asked me if the race motor was a little better. I told him it had a couple more horsepower and he said we’d be fine. You had to pry it out of him, but he knew we were going to be good and we won the race the next day.
“Bobby really meant a lot to me. He’s the guy I won my first race with and so far it’s still my only win. Bobby taught me a lot about a lot of things. When he came to the team in 2001 that team was two years old and he came in and really embraced the guys. He really had some neat qualities. He came over every week and spent the day with us and took us to lunch and stuff. He was a real solid figure that that team needed at the time, and I needed, too. He’d calm me down when I’d get upset.
“One of the funniest things that happened was probably at Sonoma. He had his transmission hanging up. We were running really good. The caution had come out and we were right behind Jeff Gordon. I told him he had to pit this time by because the lap down cars pit with the lead lap cars on the road course. I told him if we got good track position we could get our lap back. He didn’t pit and I went off. I started yelling at him. I was cussing and raising cane, and he was laughing. He said ‘just calm down, everything will be fine.’ That’s the way he was. Instead of yelling back at me he was laughing at me.
“I didn’t get to talk to him a lot after he got the cancer. I talked to him at Martinsville once, and he said he thought everything was going to be OK. I talk to Bobby Jr. a lot. He was probably the best link I had to keeping up with him. I went hunting in December with Andy Petree and he kept me up to speed. It’s unfortunate. It’s a huge loss, but you just never know. A couple years ago he was the champion, then he’s diagnosed with cancer and bam, it’s done. I hate it for the whole family. He got a special treat with his little grand daughter. When Dale Sr. passed away I know how I felt that my kids never got a chance to know him. The time he had with his grand daughter was precious, and that’s the way you’ve got to look at it.”
“It’s really odd. Yesterday before I left to come down here, I’m building a building and I’m building a room to put the car we won Talladega with in. Andy (Petree) gave me the car, and I’m going to fix it and put it in the showroom. I came across the trophy we got at Talladega and one of the screws had come out. I was fixing the trophy and put it in a closest. I thought it was a shame. You win trophies and you move and you go through life and see a trophy you won five years ago and I was just thinking about that day we won at Talladega yesterday. When we got here John Darby had called and left me a message, and I thought that was really strange that I had been thinking about that win earlier in the day.
“You know the inevitable will happen eventually, but you hope it doesn’t happen. When I got the phone call I was very disappointed and upset, but at the same time you don’t know anybody to suffer. I know he’s in a better place now. It’s unfortunate for all of us here. We wish we still had him here, but you prepare yourself in a situation like this. You know the time is limited, but it’s a sad, sad day. That’s for sure”
1:00PM-Tony Raines led the way in the morning session with a speed of 183.974. Jimmie Johnson was second follwed by Dave Blaney in a Toyota at 183.576.
During his Q&A session, Dale Earnhardt Junior said he'd be interested in someday owning part of DEI. "I have no interest in owning a Cup team otherwise." He also talked about the comments his stepmother Teresa Earnhardt said a few weeks ago. Full details and transcript soon...
Click Here for Morning Testing Speeds
Click Here for Jimmie Johnson Audio
Click Here for Kevin Harvick/Kasey Kahne Audio
Click Here for Dale Earnhardt Junior Audio
1:20PM-Benny Update..Benny is in critical condition, however, he is showing some slight improvement.
2:55PM-It's a washout. Rain has cancelled all activity for this afternoon. The revised schedule will now add a half day to Thursday.
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE'S MONTE CARLO SS:
THE BURNING QUESTION IS HOW IS YOUR WRIST DOING AND HOW ARE YOU FEELING?
"My wrist is good. I'm going to wear a splint in the car just to be smart and to be sure, but the cast is off and the hand is working and everything is good. The timing was perfect. I got the off-season to heal up and I'm ready for Daytona."
ARE YOU IN ANY PAIN?
"No. The pain quit - I'd say the first couple of weeks into it the pain was there, but after that, the pain was gone."
HOW MUCH DRIVING HAVE YOU DONE SINCE THEN?
"I was down in the islands and they have these crazy little cars that we raced around the islands in and I did a lot of driving there, so this (the test) is my first time back in a race car."
WILL THIS AFFECT YOU IN THE DAYTONA 500?
"No, not at all. It won't affect the 500. I'm going to be able to race in the 24 Hours of Daytona coming up here real soon and so it's just something that kind of slowed me down over the off-season. I had a cast on my hand and it kind of kept me on the sidelines watching my wife swim and being on vacation and watching my friends do all these fun things and I had to sit around and watch. But, beyond that, everything is good."
HAS WINNING THE CHAMPIONSHIP SUNK IN YET?
"It has. I spent a lot of time reflecting over the off-season. I'm just so proud of what this team has done and how we've grown and matured as an organization; and the relationship with Chad and me and how it's grown. We've had tough times and great times, but through it all, we're still close friends and we've built an amazing race team together. We accomplished a lot last year with the 500 and the Brickyard and the championship. The best motivation we have though after winning the championship is experiencing what we did in New York and being honored as the champions. We want to do it again and we're just as hungry as we've ever been to come back and try to do it again."
BACK TO THE GOLF CART ACCIDENT, WHICH IN HINDSIGHT WAS PROBABLY A BONE-HEADED THING TO DO, DID IT PROVE THAT YOU'RE JUST A REGULAR GUY?
"I work hard and I focus on my job and give it everything I've got. But on the flip side of that is that I like to play hard. Unfortunately I broke my wrist in the process. I'm a normal guy and like to go out and have fun and do my thing and I broke my wrist in the process unfortunately."
WOULD YOU CLIMB ON TOP OF GOLF CARTS AGAIN?
"No, I think I'm going to stick to just driving the golf carts. That way I'll have something to hang on to and I won't get ejected."
HOW'S YOUR PAIN THRESHOLD? WOULD YOU TELL US IF IT HURT OR WOULD YOU TRY TO NOT SHOW IT?
"Well, it's been almost five weeks. So it's been a long time. The cast is off. I was at the doctor's on Friday and the x-rays look good so everything is in great shape and I'm ready to go."
DOES YOUR CONTRACT AT HMS SAY YOU CAN'T RIDE ON THE TOP OF GOLF CARTS?
"I haven't talked with Mr. H on that one (laughs). The best thing with Rick, and I think with our sport in general, is that in order to drive race cars you've got to learn skills in other ways. And we all like to have fun and do crazy things and that's just an example of it. So, now if it would have affected the season, I think that Rick and Lowe's and everybody would have a different opinion. But it's really been lighthearted. Rick has called me and has done nothing but harass me as Rick Hendrick does, so it's really been a funny experience."
WHY DID YOU CLIMB UP ON TOP OF THE CART?
"It was just one of those bad decisions I've made in my life to get up on top of it."
HOW MUCH OF THIS TEST SESSION IS TO TEST THE CAR AND HOW MUCH IS IT TO TEST YOUR WRIST?
"None. My wrist is running it's course. We're down here just doing single car testing - three laps at a time basically. I'm just trying to focus on the car. My hand is working. I'm fine. I'll put a splint on it to drive the car just to be smart and to be safe with it. But beyond that, I'm scheduled to run the 24 Hours of Daytona and then the Vegas test and I'm right back in the middle of things."
ON SPOTTER, EARL BARBAN, LEAVING THE TEAM:
"Earl's leaving was kind of a shock, but at the same time you've got to understand how many years he's been in the sport and the fact that he really wanted to be on the road and we simply didn't have that position open for another mechanic on the road. So it's a huge loss for me. I've trusted him so much in the course of a year. He did an amazing job for me so he's going to be missed. I'm not sure we've signed anyone yet, but we're still looking - trying to find the right guy who can come in and give me what I need and can also add something in the shop."
HOW HARD IS THAT TO FIND THE RIGHT PERSON? WHAT DO YOU NEED?
"It's tough. We have to operate under a head count and under certain restrictions that Hendrick Motorsports has for budgeting reasons and to try to fit someone in is really the hard part because what we really need him for is spotting. But they are all usually good mechanics or fabricators or whatever it may be. And our shop is full. We're at maximum head count. And it's hard to find someone to work in that position."
ON THE DEATH OF BOBBY HAMILTON:
"I saw that yesterday and was completely shocked and truly saddened by it all. I know Bobby Jr. more than Bobby and I remember seeing Bobby at Martinsville after the Cup practice was over. I was going through the tunnel and he was coming up the other side and I stopped and shook his hand and said hello. He said he felt amazing and he looked great. So I wasn't aware of his condition and to hear that news yesterday was really sad. And BP. Our thoughts and prayers are with BP and hope that we can get him out of the hospital soon and get him on the right track."
Interview With:
DALE EARNHARDT JR.
KASEY KAHNE
KEVIN HARVICK
Q. (Inaudible.)
KEVIN HARVICK: That's really the only turnover
we've had on our team and it's intact as it was before. The new sponsor with
Shell Pennzoil for me is good. You know, it kind of gets you out from underneath
that shadow of everything that we had, you know, with Dale. It's hard for me to,
you know, kind of beat down somebody else's path when you're used to beating
your own path. It's a good start for me with a company that's behind me 100%,
and not that Goodwrench wasn't, but it's just so much in the past that
everything had to do with.
THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Kasey Kahne,
eighth last year driving the No. 8 Dodge Dealers. Getting ready for the Daytona
500, what's the outlook?
KASEY KAHNE: Just nice to be back in the car. You
know, I had a month and a half off from testing and just looking forward to it.
Looking forward to getting started. Looking forward to Daytona. We had a
good Daytona the last Daytona 500, and just looking forward to running better
than we did. We have a new nose and we're doing all we can to go fast.
Q. Inaudible – would you agree if they
did that, and is there an optimum number that you feel like they should choose?
KASEY KAHNE: Personally, I think, you know, going
into the Chase this year, I was the guy on the edge going into Richmond, going
into California. It was as much pressure in those final five races to go into
the Chase as much as I've ever had just to be able to make it, and that's a big
part of the season to that point was those five races.
There's a lot on the line and, you know, for TV
and for being at the track was exciting. I think ten guys was pretty good
because you have probably 12 to 13th is really close, and if you put more in,
there wasn't be quite as much on the line at Richmond I don't think.
KEVIN HARVICK: Myself personally, you know, I
think everybody knows the way it's going to be coming into the year with the
points. However they want it to be is fine with me. I think, you know, in the
end, the guy who had the best year won the championship last year. So if
we'd had the old points system, he would have won the championship. If we had
the new points system, he'd win the championship still. To me the best car
usually is going to come out on top in the end.
Q. Is there one overriding question mark
you have going into this new season? Is it the Car of Tomorrow, is it changes
your team has made but from each one of you is there an overriding question
mark?
KEVIN HARVICK: I think for me, I think the new
engine is obviously a huge question mark for the Chevrolet team just because,
you know, we just have to build them and there's a lot of development, trying to
develop the new engine. Chevrolet has done a great job getting us to this point.
It's going to be up to the teams to keep the progress going forward.
It's something that we've had to develop that,
we've had to develop the Car of Tomorrow which Richard has been good to let us
develop as the process has developed through NASCAR's evolution of making the
Car of Tomorrow.
So, you know, we're still trying to make our
current car better, so there's just a lot of things going on and just a lot of
work, I know for our guys in particular, the winter was really short this year,
just for the fact they didn't get a lot of days off just because he had to build
a lot of stuff.
KASEY KAHNE: Yeah, I mean, I think it's nice for
me to be back with the same team for the second straight year. So that's
definitely a good thing that our whole team is the same.
You know, the Car of Tomorrow is going to be
something different. The car that we have that we are starting the season with
has a new nose which will be a little bit different, too. We'll be doing a lot
of testing with both of those. I don't know, I think Evernham Motorsports has
done a pretty good job of trying to stay on top of it and trying to be prepared
and being ready to race whatever car it is and we'll have to see what happens
when we get to some of these tracks.
Q. After all of the hyperbole and all of
the talk and preparation, Toyota is here. Can you talk about your feelings about
what you think they are going to bring to the game?
KEVIN HARVICK: Well, I think obviously bringing a
new manufacturer puts a lot of pressure on the other manufacturers and the
teams. I think all of the talk is over. It's time to finally go race and we
don't have to hear about Toyota is going to change the sport and how this is
going to happen and how that's going to happen. We're going to actually see
what's going to happen.
It's something that we get to get out of the
racetrack and just kind of see where everybody stands. I don't think adding
another manufacturer is going to hurt anything at all. I think it's going to
make it as competitive as it's ever been.
KASEY KAHNE: I agree with Kevin on that. I think
the first time I saw one was this morning, and to see a Camry sitting there was
something different. Other than that, see how things go and I feel like we're
going to be pretty good.
Q. Can you address after a phenomenal
year, what precautions does Richard Childress Racing take in order not to hit
that lull again?
KEVIN HARVICK: Well, you don't want to stink
again. We didn't stink in the past. We were just mediocre, and I think everybody
got a taste of success and everybody wants to keep elevating that to the next
level.
So everybody didn't mind working the extra hours
and they didn't mind working over the winter to keep going with the Car of
Tomorrow. And you know, we tried to just keep everything going as it was, you
know, just to kind of stay in the mode and just try to keep everything evolving
in the right direction. That's the main focus for us is to make sure we don't
become kind of stagnant with what we had. We tried to take the next step with
the engines and the next step. We have changed our cars and so hopefully that
work pays off down the road.
Q. Are you maybe the one Dodge team
that's maybe not happy to see the new nose because you had an advantage over the
other Dodge teams last year?
KASEY KAHNE: No, I think we're happy, too. We
figured out the charge nose last year and ran really well, but still had certain
places where we just didn't feel like things were right with it. Even on the
tracks where we weren't good, when we got back in traffic, it was really hard to
get back to the front. It was probably the same for a lot of the teams, but
we're hoping that the new nose helps that a little bit.
Q. Can you talk about running the Sprint
car over in Australia and what was the crowd like over there?
KASEY KAHNE: Running the Sprint car over there
was great. I grew up wanting to race there because they race during the
wintertime which is their summer. It was great. I finally had the opportunity to
go and do it. Enjoyed myself. We ran two nights and had pretty decent finishes,
and the crowd wasn't – I expected more people than what was there. There was a
good amount of people, but they were calling for rain both nights. It rained
during the day and it actually rained at night once and we had to re pack the
track halfway through the night.
It was a decent sized crowd but that was about
it. The fans were cool but I think they like their Australians. They are a lot
more into it here; they get excited and yell.
Q. How did you go do?
KASEY KAHNE: I finished third the first night and
fourth the second night.
Q. They said that you didn't particularly
like being away from home over the holidays, is that first time you've been out
of the country?
KASEY KAHNE: That was the first time I had been
out of the country and the first time I had missed Christmas. I thought it would
be a good idea, you know, just to go and do something different over the
holidays. And once I was there, I realized I was wrong it was not the right
thing to do. From now on if I go to Australia or anywhere else, I'll go
maybe on the 26th instead of the 20th and stay at home for Christmas.
Q. Real quick, the passing of Bobby
Hamilton?
KASEY KAHNE: I was really surprised and sad.
That's someone that I've looked up to just because of his work ethic and the way
that he got into NASCAR, the way that he's ran his teams. He's just always had
to battle and fight to do what he's done and Bobby, Jr., I just – it was just
sad. I was surprised. I thought he was doing better than that and I just heard
last night. He had a great career, though, when he was in NASCAR for sure.
THE MODERATOR: We are joined by the
driver of the Budweiser Chevrolet. You've won the Daytona 500 before; what's the
outlook to win it again this year?
DALE EARNHARDT JR.: We're pretty excited already
today. Really just the first few hours we've been here have been real
productive, and so I'm pretty excited. We've got a great track record here, and
it's a great racetrack for me. I really enjoy running here, and I feel like if
you've got a good car, you've got a great shot at winning.
Q. Can you give us your reaction to
Teresa's comments about TV personality or race car driver?
DALE EARNHARDT JR.: Well, my sister said that in
this sport they go hand in hand, and I sort of agree with that. I think that
everybody is smart enough to understand the position the drivers are in. You
guys that are here every weekend, you know what the sport is like because you're
here every weekend. You know what it's about. And I think that that, you
know, I think that it's probably on advantage to have a decent personality as a
race car driver, one that can garner to several sponsors that you might have on
any given race team. I think is important to be well liked and be marketable. I
think it's any owner's dream to have a driver that's succeeded. I don't know,
she might have just been having a bad day or something when she said that. I
really don't know where that was coming from.
I tried, and tried not to comment on it. I didn't
want to comment to the press on it. I don't want to get in a – because you
know, even if I don't and she don't want to be in a pitching war back and forth,
you guys can make one out of it if you want. I was trying not to get involved in
it. I really didn't appreciate it, whether she was taken out of context or not.
I just didn't really appreciate it. But a lot of people went to bat for me,
especially a lot of people in the press. It was nice to read those comments and
stuff as far as what everybody's opinion on it was.
Q. Junior, the Car of Tomorrow is going
to start this year, there's been a lot of work on it. One of the biggest areas
is safety. Do you think they have gone far enough? Specifically one of the
questions that I have about the Car of Tomorrow is the fire safety. We had a
couple – at the Homestead race last year we had some cars that had some pretty
horrific fires. Do you think they have gone far enough in that arena and safety
overall in the Car of Tomorrow?
DALE EARNHARDT JR.: Yeah, I really think the car
is very safe, safer than what we drive now and what we drive now is really nice.
As a driver, I feel very comfortable. I get in and out of my car with had I melt
put and my HANS on. I don't have any difficulties getting in and out of the car
with those items on. A lot of drivers find it more difficult and choose to take
those things on and off while they are in the car.
Driver’s headrests and location of the seat
mounts and stuff like that will determine how quickly a guy can get in and out
of the car. Every individual is probably different. Probably the size of the
driver has a lot to do with it, too. I'm real happy with the way my car is now.
The Car of Tomorrow gives you a larger window
opening, and the larger cockpit as well, so you'll have plenty of room, plenty
of ability to get in and out of the car. As long as we're burning, you know,
gasoline in the tank, you're going to have the threat of fire. I think that all
of the increase in thickness and stuff in the fuel cell area and stuff like that
is going to be a big help.
You know, you can't help when a guy gets put into
a fence, you can't stop controls being crushed on those situations no matter
what. We are very fortunate that Juan, in the little time he was in the sport,
was able to get out of that with no issues. I think the cars are very safe and
I'm real proud of what I've seen over the last several years. I really had no
concern before, but NASCAR showed us a lot of things and opened the driver’s
eyes to a lot of different issues and stuff that we could be doing better. It's
been a great gain in last couple years.
Q. You're heading into this season with
some stability with Tony Eury again, basically the same team. Talk about your
frame of mind going no 2007 as opposed to the two previous seasons.
DALE EARNHARDT JR.: I was real worried going into
both those seasons, '05 and '06. I was just, you know, when I got with the new
team, I was wondering how we were going to run. I know nothing about the cars. I
knew nothing much about the team as far as their experience and talent and the
crew chief was the big question mark, I was a big question mark, everything
about it.
I think going into last year, I was worried
whether me and Tony Jr. could be successful again as we were in '05. I was
worried whether we could match the pressure of trying to make the Chase, we
didn't have any excuses. All of these things were going through my mind last
year.
And this year, very comfortable, feel like I
proved to myself what I wanted to know last year, and I feel like we're very
capable of winning the championship. I feel like I know more each year in and
out about what to do to win the championship and how to better position myself
to make the Chase and do those type of things. Each year you learn more about
that. I have to minimize my mistakes. It's really hard as a human being to do
that, but you've just got to really, really try, just to be perfect as a driver,
not to make mistakes on the racetrack. Even in those – and it's tough in those
situations. Sometimes you just forget about the big picture and you're going for
the little one.
But, you know, just got to try harder as a driver
really to minimize those mistakes and give those guys every opportunity they
can. They put together great race cars, they drive great, we brought it car down
we've been running mostly today. It's just so nice to see it running well and
performing and reacting to the changes we're making as far as what we've done
today. As a driver, you just try to put it on the racetrack, you go out there
for him.
Q. Along those lines, everybody keeps
asking about the contract being done, at what point does it become a distraction
from the goal which is winning a championship? Obviously everybody wants to
know, as you sit here today, is there one chance in a billion or what are the
chances that that's not going to happen, because that's the question that fans
have.
DALE EARNHARDT JR.: I don't really have a
percentage for you. You know I like driving the red Bud car with the number 8 on
it, and to drive that car, basically I don't really know what to tell you other
than that.
We're working to get through the contract and finish up a new deal.
Whereas individuals, as a team, me and my sister are pursuing that, you know,
the right way. We are doing, we are asking and trying to get – do things, like
the way we feel they need to be. We've hit a few roadblocks and whatnot with
things that they are willing to do and not willing to do. It's, you know, truly
just whoever is involved, it's truly their business and not necessarily the
publics.
It’s just tough. To get a new deal done it's
going to be very difficult but I feel like we can get it done. It's just there's
some things involved that, you know, I think you guys maybe can guess what they
are, but there's just some things involved that I want out of the future
involving the company, and it's very difficult for everybody to see eye to eye
there.
Q. (Inaudible.)
DALE EARNHARDT JR.: That would be obvious. If I'm
in the position I'm in, that would be obvious. But I want to be very involved in
the company, but you know, I've got to do what I've got to do, and I want to win
championships. Aside from that, I have no interest from ownership. The Jarrett
Motorsports program is hopefully going to be very successful in the Busch
Series. I don't know whether Cup series is something I want to involve that
company in or not. That's really a totally different deal.
But you know, ownership is – only way I see
myself being a Cup either in any way is at DEI. Other than that, I could care
less about owning Cup cars, I just want to drive races and win championships and
hang it up one day and not have to worry about whether I have enough money in my
retirement fund. That's what is really important to me is just give me a good
race car. Don't give me any – just give me a good race car and make it run
fast and give me guys I can enjoy working with, and I'll go to the racetrack and
I'll do whatever you need me to do with the sponsors and everything else. Just
don't make everything a hassle and don't make everything a pain and you'll have
my dedication and everything else you need as far as a driver goes.
Q. You just went through this whole thing
about how everything is all good, but I asked Kevin and Kasey the same thing: Is
the one question you have going into the new season the Car of Tomorrow? Kevin
mentioned the new Chevy engines; is there one question you've got really on the
top of your mind that you would like to see answered?
DALE EARNHARDT JR.: Could you ask me again? I
really didn't understand what you meant.
Q. Going into the season, is there one
overriding question that's kind of in the back of your mind that you would
really like to have the answer: Is it the Car of Tomorrow; Kevin Harvick said it
was the engines, the new Chevy engines; you have questions about your contract.
Is there one thing that's really foremost on your mind right now that is
bothering you that you would kind of like to get the answer to?
DALE EARNHARDT JR.: Well, I think the thing
that's bothering me the most is probably the contract. I think, you know, you
guys – there's really nothing being hidden or pushed under the rug here. I
don't have the answers no more than I can give them to y'all. That's probably
bothering me the most. It's what I put most of my – you know if I'm sitting at
home on weekends, I don't want to spend time worrying about it, thinking about
it figuring it out.
And my sister and I spend quite a bit of time
talking about it and trying to figure out, you know, because really, the last
– you know, when you're dealing with contracts, you sign the deal, and I think
I've had two now with DEI, two , three year deals; I might be wrong. But I
signed the first one, I was really happy to do it. I've never had a contract and
so it was nice. Actually, come to find out after six years, it's kind of nicer
for that one because I never got all of these questions and never got badgered
about what about this, what about that; I just drove. I just drove; it was way
simpler back then.
You know, once we starred dealing with the
contracts, it got a little more difficult. Me and my sister, we learned over the
last couple of years, the last couple of contracts that we have to do a better
job on our end to make a contract as favorable as possible. That had nothing to
do with money. It just has a lot to do with the future. Money's fine. I don't
need any more money. I make good money.
It's just about trying to make life as simple as
you can make it and trying to make everything as successful as you can make it.
I don't want to come here if I can't compete well and run well and I just get
by. I want the best, I want the best cars, I want the best people. As
individuals, me, Richie, everybody at the company, we want that and we see other
companies doing it and you see other teams doing what it takes and making the
right moves, and I just want it to be – I want to be in the same situation as
I see other drivers in. I know I'm a good enough race car driver and I deserve
it. We're just trying to, you know, get it all settled and make it right.
Q. As a car owner, how would you describe
what Michael Waltrip is trying to do to go from a Busch team to three Cup teams?
What are the challenges, pitfalls that he could face, and can he really succeed
at this?
DALE EARNHARDT JR.: I believe he can. You know,
it's sort of – if you were here if the garage and see his car rolling around
the garage, it's a reality. Throughout the summer, knowing Michael, I thought
about it quite a bit, and my concern as a friend. But throughout the off
season, you wondered, you know, wow, how is he going to put all of that
together. That's quite a bit to get done in such a short time even though they
have been working on it for a little while. It's such a tremendous amount of
people and equipment and parts, and everything you need – not just the stuff
you see here. You've got fancy machines, all kind of stuff that you have to get
to be able to have functionable race team back at home.
I'm super impressed that they were able to put it
together. Michael, everybody in this sport knows Michael pretty well. He's kind
of a volatile guy. He can be in a really great mood one day and a really bad
mood the next. I think he'll be successful as an owner, and you know, he's got
pretty good guys working over there. Knowing Todd, I think Todd will do a good
job. I think they will be fine. I don't think, you know – I don't think their
manufacturer is going to let them fail no matter what.
Q. When you're doing your contract
deliberations, have you thought about how long you want to drive and what else
you might want to do in life besides race cars?
DALE EARNHARDT JR.: Yeah, the Jarrett Motorsport
program is a lot of fun, and it necessarily isn't – it's not making money,
probably won't make money. It doesn't hopefully lose too much money. It's pretty
fun to have and I enjoy it. There's a lot of passion there. You've got to be
serious if you're going to do something like that. I'm talking, when I hired my
uncles, Jimmy and Robert on my mother's side of the family, that was sort of the
– that was sort of the decision where, all right, we're going to do this and
we're taking it – we're taking it as far as we can.
I had to really answer a question that I asked
myself at that moment because I was taking the responsibility of their lives in
my hands and I was basically saying to them that, you know, they are going to
dedicate themselves to me. These are my uncles. I think they are the greatest
guys on earth. And for them to come work for me meant that I really had to make
it work so I was really worried and scared.
Navy has been great and given us what we need as
far as funding and a lot of programs have come on board to help that deal. And
it's fun, I don't know how far I want to take it. It could go really, really
far, and it could do a lot of great things. If all of the signs are good, when
it's time to make decisions like that, we might do something like that as far as
Cup or whatever.
But that's quite a responsibility. I personally
don't want to put up with it. That's not in my makeup. That's not in my
chemistry to be that type of guy to run a three car team in the Cup series. I
don't think I want to put up with that. If I can make a living without doing
that, I would probably try to do that.
I would like to drive as long as I can; I really
enjoy it. When I'm out of the car in the off season, I miss it. I'm ready to go
back to the track right the day after Christmas, I'm ready to get back on the
track. I love racing, I love racing against people in this sport. The drivers
that we have, the drivers that have been an inspiration to people like me to
keep going, and I would like to do it for a very long time.
I know that there's been a lot of articles in the
past several months about the way the sport is now is kind of cutting careers
short and there is a prediction of careers being shorter and things being more
hectic in the sport. When you have the kind of leverage that I've got, you can
basically dictate your schedule. Guys like me and Jimmie and some of the top
tier drivers can dictate your – you can kind of control your – keep from
running you out of the sport. I've been careful about doing that, making sure it
doesn't get to where it isn't any fun anymore. So I feel like I can do it for a
long time.
Q. Have you talked with Teresa about her
comments directly, and what's your relationship factor in your decision to stay
in DEI?
DALE EARNHARDT JR.: Absolutely. Any relationship
– my relationship with the car owner is definitely going to factor into my
decision to drive. I haven't talked to Teresa about what she said in the paper.
I figured if anything needed to be said, she'd call me up and say it. But you
know, my and her relationship definitely factor into my decision to drive there.
Q. Richie Gilmore said today that Teresa
had sort of handed off the negotiations on your contract to someone else so that
she could take the personal side out of it and that Kelly was doing that for
you. I guess with you saying you haven't talked to Teresa, there's a perception
out there that this relationship between you two is not good. Can you just
clarify for us what the relationship is?
DALE EARNHARDT JR.: Well, I don't want to really
get too personal, but Teresa is my stepmother, and I have a mother at home that
I have a very good relationship with. Mine and Teresa's relationship has always
been very black and white, very strict and in your face. It is what it is, not
necessarily it ain't a bed of roses, but there's really, you know, it's not –
I don't know how to explain it honestly.
The relationship that we have today is the same
relationship we had when I was six years old when I moved into that house with
Dad and her. It's always been the same. It hasn’t gotten worse over the last
couple years or last couple months. It's always been the same, the way I felt
about her then is the way I feel about her now.
Like I said, Kelly is a big part of my contract
negotiations and in no, way, shape or form will she not be a part of that and
not be a big part of that. So I don't know if what Richie said is exactly the
case. Teresa, didn't come to the last – we did have a meeting probably several
months ago and then we had one with everybody present. And then we had one a
couple of months ago that Teresa decided that it best that she wasn't part of
that meeting and that these other two guys do the negotiating. You know, my
sister and me, we're a team when it comes to those type of things.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much.
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