yeah but thats like me saying im going to quit playing the slot machine after i win the jackpot 2wice..basically, even if it happens, its going to be too addictive to quit..at least im hoping..go jeff wooohooo
Will Jeff make the chase? He is only 30 points out of 10th and another 54 out of 11th. Then again he is only 26 behind Denny. What will Nascar do if Jeff and Dale Jr. do not make AGAIN? Will panic set in? Jeff is good at the next 3 courses, I am not sure about Richmond. Time will tell. What do you think?
"You know, I'm not sure what those numbers are exactly. I'm curious to know. I have a different opinion on salaries and things. I think that for the first year or two we should all be on salary caps until we prove ourselves. I feel like to just throw a bunch of money around, it just really dilutes the sport and hurts. really giving guys the proper opportunity to go out and prove themselves and really focus on the driving. What we're all here for is to win races and gather trophies. I look at how much I made as a rookie. I didn't make a lot of money and I didn't get swayed by tons of money. I exceeded my expectations because I won two races and the third year I won a championship and that's when my salary really went up. Once you start winning races and championships you want to be a part of the market. You want to be where you feel like you deserve to be. I think until you prove yourself that there should be a different level. Brian Vickers has won a Busch championship and he's been in the sport for a couple years so it doesn't surprise me that he's been offered good money but what those numbers are, I couldn't tell you."
IS THAT BECAUSE GUYS LIKE YOURSELF ASK FOR MORE?
"I can put it in a different perspective from crew members and people that work for us that have been offered big money. Go back to my pit crew, for instance, that Robert Yates paid a lot of money to as a group. And you know what, they went over there and they did well for a while, but where are they now? That's the way we look at it, at Hendrick Motorsports. If you want to be there, then we want you there. If we have to step your pay up a little bit because you're worth it, then we're going to do that. But if those numbers start to get out of the realm and ridiculous and someone else is offering you that and you'd rather be there then we say "bye." Go do it, you know. We've already have had guys that have left us for more money and have come back within a week because they know how good of an organization we have. And they realize that money is not everything. That's important, you know, and money is not everything. There may have been opportunities for me to go out there and really feel it up and possibly make more money somewhere but would I have been as successful, as happy, as in good of hands as I have been at Hendrick Motorsports? I'm very doubtful of that. That's what we try to do - to really create that kind of atmosphere for all of the people that work at Hendrick Motorsports. To know that you're going to get paid good money here, you're going to have benefits, you're going to be part of an organization that's going to win races and championships on a pretty consistent basis, hopefully. Some years are going to be up, some are going to be down but if it's all about the money then go somewhere else."
GAUGE YOUR OPTIMISM RIGHT NOW:
"Well, it's not so comfortable position. We're in there but it's so tight that for us it's really intense right now. Every qualifying session is important, every race, every lap is important. We're fighting for positions right now harder than we ever have. We've been putting up a good fight but unfortunately we've been putting up a fight for 12th and 15th place positions. We've been getting ourselves into a hole and we've got to make that fights for top fives. I'm hoping we can turn some things around here. We've been running good. That's the thing I like; now we're running good, now we've got to get some of the good fortune and put ourselves into good positions to get that good fortune and fight to maintain that."
ON BRISTOL THIS YEAR COMPARED TO LAST:
"It's a lot different this year. We struggled at so many places last year and Bristol was like our last hope. I feel like this year we're running good at a lot of places and we just have to make sure that we get out of it what we're capable of. Last year, we weren't capable of being in the top five in races. I feel like coming in this week and next week and next week we're capable of being in the top five."
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT WHAT PEOPLE SAY REGARDING HOW NASCAR WILL MAKE IT HAPPEN SO YOU GET IN THE CHASE?
"Last year was pretty obvious about that, how it wasn't the case or else we would have been in there. The only thing that creates that sentiment is that when NASCAR says they're going to adjust the points. It makes you wonder why they're doing that - who is not in there that they want in there. I want to talk to them about that because I think if they were really considering doing a change I think that something that could be fun and exciting is you take the top 10 guys and anybody who has won a race, they get to come in. Because it's unfortunate that in those first 26 races it's easy to have some bad luck and we've seen it happen to some good teams. But teams that have won races and you think could be a real threat for the championship, you do want to see them in there battling for the Chase. So that's something that I think. But the conspiracy stuff, the fans are always going to have their opinions and I love it, because if they didn't have their opinions then we wouldn't have as much stuff to talk about."
DO YOU THINK THEY WOULD LISTEN TO YOU?
"I don't know. I do plan to tell them. I'm going to talk to them about the Car of Tomorrow after Monday. I haven't had a chance to talk to Brian (France) or Mike (Helton) about what their thoughts are, if any, if they'll make a decision. I certainly have my opinions, I don't know if they will listen but I'm going to get it to them."
DID YOU KNOW THAT CHEVROLET HAS WON THE LAST SEVEN RACES?
"No, I didn't know that. It does amaze me because I don't think that Chevrolet has necessarily been the fastest car every weekend. Last weekend there's no doubt that the Dodge was the best car. Kurt Busch had us covered and we know what problems he's ran into. There's been certain tracks where certain teams and drivers have put together the best program. It's nice that it's Chevrolet, but I think that no matter what manufacturer you have, you'd see the same results because of the team. You take that combination and they're going to make the most of it."
DO YOU STILL SEE ROUSH RACING AS A THREAT?
"Well, obviously you want momentum going into it. I think Kenseth has been able to maintain his good runs and that momentum. I'm a little bit surprised. I don't feel like is as much as they've lost anything as other teams have gained. They were strong last year and it happens to a lot of teams. I've been in that position before where you're so strong the year before that you're afraid to change too much going into the next season that you tweak here and you tweak there to get a little bit better and then other teams find something big and all of a sudden you're behind. That can happen to anybody."
HOW COMPETITIVE DO YOU EXPECT TOYOTA TO BE NEXT YEAR?
"I don't know. I don't expect them to be a threat for the championship but I wouldn't be surprised if they have some good races. I wouldn't be surprised if they are fast at times. But I'm looking at the depth of the teams; I'm not looking at what Toyota is bringing to the table. I'm looking at it as start-up teams, new crew chief/driver combinations, what their driver lineups are. I think that you've got somebody like Jarrett, a quality driver that's going to be consistent; he's going to give them a lot of good information. But he's coming from an organization that's struggled and I think his confidence is down a little bit and he needs that boost and if they can give it to him then he can win some races next year. But again, I don't think they're going to be a threat for the championship. I just think that you're up against Hendrick Motorsports, you're up against Roush Racing, Penske, Gibbs, RCR, you've got other teams that are established and have driver/crew chief combinations and have been working on what they need to go fast for several years. I give a lot of credit to that. And the fact that this is NASCAR because of how much they limit you from being able to use that technology. You can have all the technology in the world but if you're not able to apply it the way you want to it's not going to do you as much good. it's not going to give you as much of an advantage. And this is not the Truck series. The Truck series is not near as competitive as the Cup series is. We're not getting out-budgeted or anything like that. You've got top teams with top funding and I think Toyota is definitely going to elevate it and push us as well as other teams to find areas where we can make ourselves better. But I think that it's going to take them a couple of years to establish themselves as solid teams."
WHAT DO YOU KNOW OF DAVID GILLILAND?
"I only know that I saw him win the Busch race and he did a great job of running that race. It's always cool to see an unsponsored or basically a new team and driver get their first win. It's exciting to see someone like him come along. I always like to see guys get a couple years under their belt in the Busch series before they jump into the Cup series. He's definitely got a tall order there because Yates has been struggling but I think it's a boost for them and their company to have a young, talented driver that maybe they can build on."
WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF KURT BUSCH'S INCIDENT LAST WEEK?
"I kind of feel like that light needs to be moved out a bit further. If the light is right at the line, if you're committed and that light turns red, you've got no option of trying to avoid it. Where I feel like if the light was mover further out ahead of the pit road entry and you drive by it and it's green, then I think that. there should be a safe zone there where you're committed. I think that would be a little bit better. It still comes down to the luck of you make your decision, and it happens almost every weekend, where we make our decisions and sometimes it works for you and sometime it works against you."
ARE THERE ANY TRACKS THAT YOU DON'T LIKE, POSSIBLY CHARLOTTE?
"I like Charlotte, we ran good at Charlotte but we did have our problems so I'm more concerned with tracks that we don't run good at than tracks where we have bad luck at. I feel like you make your luck by being competitive and putting yourself in good positions. I'm more concerned right now about Richmond, trying to get in the Chase. Richmond has been not a good track for us the last few times we've been there, not to mention we've had bad luck there as well. I'm trying to think of some tracks that are in there. Is New Hampshire in there? I mean, New Hampshire is a track that we typically run good at but we didn't the last time we were there so we have some concerns. I couldn't even tell you which tracks are in the last ten. So until I get in the Chase. Texas is probably my number one concern. We've struggled there and I feel like we've made some gains to help us in Texas but I can't guarantee that, don't know. But we've been at best, a 15th place car the last three times we've been there."
DO YOU SEE ANOTHER FOUR-TIME CUP CHAMPION?
"Yeah, why not? I think that if you get on a roll and you get your equipment where it needs to be and you stay on top of it and you have a good driver and a good crew chief and a good pit crew, I mean, there's no doubt in my mind that somebody can come and not only win four championships but win ten or so races in a single season as well. I think you're capable of it but it's not easy to do. I don't know if you're going to see a lot of it but I still think it's possible."
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE CAR OF TOMORROW?
"I'd rather really hold my comments until after I test it because I don't really know, I look at the car and I question a lot of things. Our car right now is a race car and as much of a race car is a stock car can be, and I look at the Car of Tomorrow and I don't see much of a race car there and so I have some concerns. I also like the fact that they are trying to do some things to make the car safer and they're also trying to make the cars put on a better race and have more side-by-side racing but I don't know if they're accomplishing that yet until I get out there and drive it some more."
WOULD YOU BE SHOCKED TO SEE MARK MARTIN OUT THERE AGAIN NEXT YEAR?
"I wouldn't be shocked at all. Not many drivers will ever come along that are like Mark Martin. He's got a tremendous amount of talent and commitment and I think he's the kind of guy that as long as he's competitive he doesn't want to step away from it. He could step away any time and be proud of his accomplishments other than a championship. He's probably the only guy out there that deserves the championship as much or more than anybody that hasn't achieved that. So I wouldn't be surprised to see him out there. He's a racer and age doesn't really apply to him."
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE PAST CHAMPIONS PROVISIONALS?
"I think it's being abused, put it that way. As long as it's there and people can utilize, if NASCAR keeps it that way, and that's the way it's been then they're not breaking any rules. I don't think I necessarily agree with it. I think the fastest 43 cars should be in the field every weekend."
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It's hard to imagine a Four Time Nextel Cup Champion being thought of as a "has been" at the ripe young age of 35. Yet, I hear race fans say it all the time. Granted, they are certainly not part of the "Gordon Nation". There are no "Rainbow Warriors" chiming in on this conversation. But, the throng of NASCAR fans that are not part of the Gordon faithful are all too eager to let you know how they feel about "their" Darth Vader, "their" New York Yankees, or "their" Dallas Cowboys. These are the fans that hate a winner.
They hate the fact that Gordon owns four Cup titles, they hate the fact that he has already won three Daytona 500's and three Pepsi 400's at the famed Daytona International Speedway, they hate the fact that he has already won a record four Brickyard 400's at Indianapolis, and most of all they hate the fact that he is good looking, has a gorgeous girlfriend and makes a ton of money. No one can dispute that Gordon is the most hated man in NASCAR. Sure there are plenty of fans clad in the rainbow colors Gordon has made so popular, but for every fan dolled up in the bright colors of Gordons #24 DuPont Chevrolet, there are 10 others hollering despicable things at him that you would make your grandmother cringe!
But isn't that what we do in this country? We hate the victors. We hate Notre Dame, the Yankees, the Cowboys, the Lakers and Celtics, heck even Tiger Woods gets horrific hate mail that would make your skin crawl. But why Gordon? Why do so many people hate Jeff Gordon and why do so many people think his reign is over? Maybe it is simply because people love to hate a winner but maybe it's also because it is over. Maybe because we may never again see the Jeff Gordon that came into the sport with guns blazing.
Gordon won his four championships in his first nine Nextel Cup seasons yet he hasn't won a championship since 2001 and with rookie crew chief Steve Letarte, it is unlikely he will win his fifth this season. His wins in majors (the Daytona 500, Brickyard 400, Southern 500, and All Star Challenge) were mostly in the 90's. Gordon has won just one Daytona 500 since 1999, one Southern 500, one All Star challenge, and two Brickyard 400's. Hardly the numbers of the dominant driver we saw in the 1990's when crew chief Ray Evernham had Gordon's race car dialed in week in and week out.
You would be hard pressed to find anyone to argue Gordon's dominance in the mid 90's. Between 1994 and 1999, with Evernham on the top of Gordon's pit box, Jeff won an average of eight races a year. He twice won 10 races in a season doing so in 1996 and 1997, and in 1998 he earned his career high for wins with 13. In 1999 he won seven races and became the first driver ever to win the most races in a season for five straight years. He was making it look easy! But soon after, Evernham would leave his side to lead the resurgence of Dodge Motorsports and become a team owner. Gordon managed one more championship after Evernham left, but he has never had the success he enjoyed with Ray leading the way.
Since 2000 Gordon has averaged less than four wins per season, and in 2000, 2002, and 2003 he won only three races. Last year Gordon missed the Chase For The Nextel Cup for the first time in his career and this season he spent a portion of the year on the outside of the Chase looking in. Has Gordon's lack of success been the result of the loss of Evernham, the changes on top of his pit box, or has Gordon just lost his ability to drive a race car? How about none of the above!
Jeff Gordon has not forgotten how to drive a race car, and although he has a rookie crew chief in Steve Letarte, his cars are just fine. Perhaps it is the competition. Perhaps the rest of the field has finally caught up to Gordon. Clearly, the competition in the 1990's was not what it is today. The equipment today is more closely matched than it has ever been, the rules governing the equipment is more stringent, and more importantly the drivers are better than ever. A look at the Nextel Cup standings provides a vivid view of the future of the sport. Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne, Kurt and Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman, and Tony Stewart are all younger than Gordon and are all capable of competing for the Nextel Cup championship. In fact, Edwards, Kahne, the Busch brothers, Johnson, Harvick, and Newman are all 30 years of age or younger and five of the seven are still in their twenties.
The sport has reached a level of competition that it has never seen before. The competition is obviously better, the parity is greater than ever, and each and every week there are fifteen different drivers that can win the race. How else can you explain the season we have had so far with eleven different winners? The days of winning 8,9,10, 11 races in a season are long gone. It is unlikely that you will ever see a double digit winner again in your lifetime. Jeff Gordon was the class of the 1990's and he is still one of the greatest drivers in the sport. The only difference between the 1990's and 2006 is that there are seven or eight Jeff Gordon's, they all have the same equipment, and are all capable of winning every week.
So, as Jeff Gordon approaches the late great Dale Earnhardt's win total of 76 career victories, most of which came in his six years in the sport, don't diminish Gordon's recent accomplishment's, don't listen to anyone who says he is a "has been", and don't look at today as you did yesterday. Times change, people change, sports change, and race car drivers change. But one thing remains the same, champions live forever, and Jeff Gordon will forever be a four time Nextel Cup champion. Regardless of Jeff's future, the future of the Nextel Cup Series, the future of the Nextel Cup Series' ever changing points system, or the future of the Car of Tomorrow, Jeff Gordon will always be a legend and he will most likely have at least a chance to win every weekend when he fires up his #24 DuPont Chevrolet. But it won't be easy.
John Nevins, AKA Captain Thunder, is a NASCAR reporter and radio personality. Throughout the Nextel Cup season he travels the country to cover the sport with an in depth perspective his fans have come to know and love. Known as NASCAR's "Bad Boy", no one does the infield like Captain Thunder! No one get's the interviews, no one get's the inside scoop, and no one get's the story before Captain Thunder does.
Captain Thunder's racing roots go back to the 1970's and 1980's when his father was a racecar driver and he was a motocross racer. Captain Thunder raced motocross all over the country and quickly became a force to be reckoned with on the motocross circuit.
You can listen to Captain Thunder each week during the Nextel Cup Season on SIRIUS Satellite Radio, ESPN Radio, and Fox Sports Radio, as well as many independant stations across the USA. Visit www.captainthunderracing.com for more on Captain Thunder.
You can contact John Nevins at .. Insider Racing News.
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Gordon Has Shot To Make Up Ground In SUBWAY 500
Martinsville Speedway, Press Release
MARTINSVILLE, VA (October 15, 2006) – Martinsville Speedway’s tight half-mile oval always produces excitement, but Sunday’s SUBWAY 500 has the makings of a Chase-for-the-NEXTEL-Cup thriller.
With the top five separated by just over 100 points coming into Sunday’s sixth stop in the Chase, and just 216 points separating leader Jeff Burton and 10-th-place Jeff Gordon, the SUBWAY 500 could turn the chase upside down.
Even though he’s 10th in the points, Gordon has to be the favorite in the SUBWAY 500. He leads all active drivers at Martinsville with seven wins and he swept both Martinsville Cup races in 2005. He also swept both races here in 2003.
Over the past seven races at Martinsville Speedway, Gordon’s average finish is an amazing third.
In addition to seven wins in 27 Martinsville starts, Gordon has five Bud Poles, 15 top-five and 21 top-10 finishes and has led 2,041 laps. Incredibly, he’s never had a DNF at Martinsville.
So while he’s saddled with a 210 point deficit to Burton coming into Martinsville, it’s the one place in the Chase he could take a huge bite out of that lead.
Not surprisingly, Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmy Johnson has almost mirrored Gordon at Martinsville over the past seven races. He has one win – in the 2004 SUBWAY 500 – and has an average finish of 4.2 over those seven events.
Like Gordon, Johnson is toward the bottom of the Chase headed into Martinsville, three spots ahead of his teammate in seventh. But he’s just 146 points behind Burton.
“We have a lot of confidence coming into this race,” said Johnson. “I think it’s a great race for myself and Jeff, but also not a great race for some of the other guys like Matt Kenseth, who’ll we’ll be battling with. Hopefully, we’ll hit the marks and get some good points there.
Kenseth is second in the points headed into the SUBWAY 500, 45 points behind Burton, while Kevin Harvick is third, 89 in arrears. Rounding out the top five are Mark Martin, 102 points behind the leader and Dale Earnhardt Jr., fifth, 106 points back.
Kenseth has not fared well at Martinsville. While Gordon’s average finish over the past seven races has been third and Johnson’s has been 4.2, Kenseth’s has been 15.1 and his career average finish at Martinsville is just a tad over 17.
Four Chase drivers posted top-10 finishes in the spring Cup race at Martinsville. Gordon was second, Earnhardt fourth, Kyle Busch fifth and Harvick seventh.
On the other hand, four Chase drivers posted finishes of 24th or worse in the spring. Kenseth was 24th, Burton was 33, Kahne was 35th and Hamlin 37th.
Tickets remain for both the SUBWAY 500 on Sunday, October 22, and the Kroger 200 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, on Saturday, October 21, and can be purchased by calling 1.877.RACE.TIX. SUBWAY 500 tickets may also be purchased online at www.racetickets.com. For race information, please visit www.martinsvillespeedway.com.
Ticket prices for the SUBWAY 500 range from $42 to $77. Tickets for the Kroger 200 are $35 in advance and $40 the day of the event. Kroger 200 tickets for children ages 6 to 12 are $5.
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Teleconference Transcript: NNCS Driver Jeff Gordon (Part 1)
NNCS Driver Jeff Gordon
GM Racing Communications, Press Release
Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont Monte Carlo SS was the guest on the weekly NASCAR Teleconference. The transcript follows:
An interview with Jeff Gordon:
THE MODERATOR: NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series four-time series champion Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet. Jeff spent yesterday testing here. We'll have a second day of tests today. Jeff is 10th in the points but has 75 victories, the best among active drivers.
Jeff, can you start a comeback this week?
JEFF GORDON: Well, we're certainly going to make as much of a comeback as we are capable of. You know, obviously it's been disappointing the last three races to have the problems that we've had. You know, our goals are to go into these last five races just giving it everything we've got to win races and get as high up in the points as possible.
The likelihood of having seven, eight guys in front of us have problems to get us back into the Chase I think is very unlikely. So we're kind of more relaxed now where we're just going out there to win. Martinsville is a great place for us to do that.
THE MODERATOR: We'll go now to questions from the media.
Q. Jeff, when you get this far behind in the Chase, do you go into any sort of let's experiment some for next year in addition to going bonsai or do you stick with what you got and say we go all out?
JEFF GORDON: No, that's exactly what we do. We basically just do everything that we can to experiment, try things, but win races.
We'd done the test a couple weeks ago to prepare for Martinsville that allowed us to go to Martinsville and try something a little bit different, just to try to get ahead of the competition, to be better than we've been in the past. Even though Martinsville is a solid and pretty consistent track for us, we never stop trying to get better.
If we were leading the points right now, maybe we wouldn't go that route, but we're not. Yeah, right now it's about experimenting as well as just putting solid races together, going off of what we learned all year, what we know, and also incorporating some new things to just learn for this season and next year.
Q. With so many guys now from other racing ... Sam Hornish will run a Busch race this year, Montoya, Villeneuve talking about coming in, Patrick Carpentier, even Ricky Carmichael, what does that say about NASCAR today with so many guys that have been so successful in other series, they just want to be a part of it and want to do something in NASCAR?
JEFF GORDON: Yeah, I mean, I think that's a great indication of the popularity of this sport, especially in America. As far as motorsports go in America, this is the elite and the top level that you can get to. At one time, that was not necessarily the case. If you look at the Indy 500, IndyCars back in the '80s, even maybe I guess late '80s, early '90s, it just seemed like the sport of NASCAR just started to take off.
I was very fortunate to get involved with it in the early '90s and be a part of that. It's continued, you know, to take off among the American public. So you're seeing guys from other series that want to be in NASCAR.
I think at one time our cars were just considered taxi cabs and not real race cars. We've gotten the cars now to where they're fun to drive. Obviously the competition has always been there. We get to go to great racetracks as well. But the competition, as far as drivers and teams, you just can't beat it.
I think guys like Sam Hornish, who has accomplished pretty much everything that he can accomplish over there in IndyCars, is probably thinking, okay, now let's go try to do that in NASCAR. Juan Pablo, winning the Formula One championship, that's kind of the same situation.
Q. Jeff, after the words between you and Junior at Talladega, do you see the positives as far as marketing the sport with a Tiger Woods/Phil Mickelson image? Would you rather patch things up so you can draft together and work together again?
JEFF GORDON: Well, I mean, I think the rivalry is more among our fans than it is Junior and myself. He and I have talked. There's no issue there. I have more issues with the way the bump-drafting is not being focused on or taken care of when we go to Daytona and Talladega more so than what Junior is doing.
What Junior is doing is the type of drafting - he's a great drafter. He's got a car capable of pushing guys around, and NASCAR allows him to do it. He's not the only one. I think I probably used him as an example because he's the most extreme with it.
I told him that, you know. We talked about it. I think that, you know, we're in a unique situation because he's one of the guys that I have to beat out there. I'm not trying to make any friends out there. There's been times when he's pushed me that maybe has helped me but then there's been a lot of times he's pushed me in a way to get me out of the way.
I feel like there is a bit of a rivalry on restrictor plate tracks. But it's just different styles. He has a style and I have a style. They're both successful.
We talked yesterday a little bit more. I don't think there's any issues as far as he and I are concerned. I mean, I'm not saying it's good or bad for the sport. I think to have drivers that are popular and then fans that are against them, others that are for, I think that does create a rivalry among the fans, and it creates excitement. It seems to create a buzz within the media. I know that that's good for the sport.
But you can't create that; it just happens automatically.
Q. Were Junior's comments unfair about you not having friends on the track? In retrospect, do you regret questioning his tactics since he did bump you in front without wrecking you?
JEFF GORDON: My response to that is that I absolutely have no friends out there. Not trying to make friends. Don't want any friends. I'm proud of what I've accomplished in restrictor plate tracks by not having somebody that made some commitment to me that they're going to stick with me.
I work with my teammates the best I possibly can. I've explained to them, Hey, you do what you got to do to win the race. I'm going to do what I got to do to win the race. If we can work together and get there and put ourselves in position late in the race, then great. But if not, I'm not going to blame you for not working with me. I don't want you to blame me for not working with you.
You know, I think the only thing about Junior's comments is him saying that he pushed me to help me. Very few times has he ever pushed me to help me. I know how many times he's pushed me into the corner, in the corner, where I couldn't control the car, drove up the racetrack, he passed me. I can remember lots of those times.
But we're racing one another. You know, he's not my teammate. He's a competitor. I like racing him. I like drafting and racing with him. But my only real issue that I had, as long as NASCAR allows those types of things to go on, then bump-drafting is always going to be an issue and we're going to see big wrecks.
I'm not saying we won't see big wrecks without bump-drafting, but it only contributes to it more. When you've got the most popular guy, one of the best drafters out there, doing it to the extreme, it only sets the example for other guys where they think they can go out there and do that, too.
Q. With all the contact out there, there's potential for one driver to have a beef with another driver after the race. We saw that with Vickers, Jimmie Johnson, Earnhardt recently. How do you specifically deal with that afterwards in terms of maintaining relationships with other drivers? Do you like to confront somebody right away? Is there another way of dealing with it?
JEFF GORDON: I think every situation is different. My experience has been usually you want to let things calm down a little bit, a day or two. If it was something that was really intentional or something that was just a really dumb mistake, then you make a phone call the following day and try to talk to that person throughout that week. If it was a little something that really was not that big of a deal, if you see the person at the next race, maybe talk to them, give them your side of the story.
We're seeing more and more contact all the time just because the competition is tighter, the track position is so much harder to get these days. We talk about this aero push. It just continues to get worse and worse and worse. You're seeing guys push one another around or fight harder for positions. It has caused a little bit more heated battles on and off the racetrack.
It is important to maintain relationships because you cannot go 38 weeks without upsetting somebody. But at the same time, at the end of the day, if you want to win the championship you can't have too many enemies out there.
I've done them different every time I've gotten in that situation. Sometimes I just let it go away; other times I confront it right away.
Q. This is the first time they're testing the Car of Tomorrow?
JEFF GORDON: I'll admit, I'm not a big fan of the Car of Tomorrow. I think there's some technology in there that's good. Certainly safety-wise, I think there's some things that I like. You know, I'm definitely - I drove the car in Michigan.
By itself, it doesn't really drive that bad. I saw some guys have some cars here, at times they're off a little bit, but the cars out there on the track don't seem to be out of control or anything like that. They seem to be driving okay.
I heard a lot of guys are having issues with the cars pushing, that they cannot get the push out of the car. That doesn't surprise me. If you look at the aerodynamics of the car, it's very rear downforce heavy. You can get all the rear downforce you want in the car. The front downforce, you're very limited. We had some issues at Michigan. We addressed those to NASCAR.
I feel like what's happened with this car is not a lot of people took them serious, meaning the teams didn't take them serious. They were very serious about this Car of Tomorrow. Very few of the teams and engineers and really design people that could have been more involved were not involved because we thought that it wasn't something that seriously was going to happen in '07 or maybe '08. NASCAR took a stance to say, Hey, we are serious, this is going to happen. Here is the car. Either you like it or you don't like it, but you better get on board.
Now the teams have seriously taken - are serious about it. They've gotten on board. I think we're going to start to see where we can start to massage that car and make it what I think the potential of it is.
The biggest issue I have with the car is it doesn't look like a race car. To me I think a Car of Tomorrow, I think of the ingenuity, technology, things we could have done to incorporate what NASCAR has wanted to do. We need to slow these cars down through the corners. That's why we have the big aero push.
The splitter and the wing are good ideas. Make the car safer. That's great. But I think we could have done it by also making it look like the Car of Tomorrow, have some futuristic things in it that look cool. It doesn't have that.
Q. What kind of driver are you off the track?
JEFF GORDON: I'm pretty calm. I mean, I don't - I haven't had any speeding tickets in a long time. I feel like that record kind of speaks for itself.
I'm get from Point A to Point B. That's the whole point of driving really. I enjoy listening to the radio and having that downtime in the car when I'm driving by myself. I enjoy driving.
I'm not a speed demon or anything like that, if that's what you're asking (laughter). I'm like anybody else. If I'm running late, I'm in a hurry. I got to speed a little bit more than I would. If I'm not in a hurry, I'm pretty calm.
Q. What's behind the success of Jeff Burton with Roush?
JEFF GORDON: I would say it's Richard Childress Racing and two years of hard work. The setups and the things that they are experiencing this year that have been working for them, they've been working on that for two years. A year and a half ago they were so far out to lunch, you could see they were trying crazy things. You could see the way the attitude of the cars, the cars being very edgy, not look very pretty as far as under control. The drivers really struggled with them. But they were trying things outside the box. I think that has really paid off for them.
You know, they were probably one of the first teams to have a seven-post rig in their facility, at their shop. I think that piece of equipment showed them some things that they needed to be doing that now all of us are pretty much doing because they were kind of the first ones to go that direction, they struggled with it. Now it's paid off for them. I think their cars are handling good. Their teams are together. They've got great drivers. You got Harvick and Burton. Harvick now has quite a bit of experience under his belt. Of course, Burton has had a little the experience, what he's been through in the sport. You have Bowyer, who is a talented young driver, adding something to those teams, as well. They just have their act together.
Teleconference Transcript: NNCS Driver Jeff Gordon (Part 2)
Q. You've had your share of bad breaks the last few weeks. In spite of all the hard work that goes into a race, how much of it do you think comes down to plain old luck at times?
JEFF GORDON: Well, I'm not a big fan of the word "luck." I know that plays a role in everybody's lives and in racing. But I think you make your luck by being in the right position at the right time, being in the wrong position at the wrong time.
I look back at all of our situations. There's always a solution. There's always something that you could have maybe foreseen and prevented. That's what we try to do. I think it's one of the things we do best at Hendrick Motorsports is that we when find a problem, we get to the bottom of it, try to make sure it doesn't happen again.
All the issues that we've had in the Chase are issues we've never had before. So it's kind of hard to foresee those things. You know, I still look at them and say that they could have been prevented. Like the situation at Talladega, I made - I was leading the race and I chose the wrong lane to block, got shuffled back. We came in and made a pit stop. We ended up getting back further in the field than I felt like we should have, got caught up in the big one.
I feel like all those things - luck can be prevented by qualifying good. Bad luck can be prevented by qualifying good, having good track position, putting yourself in the right place at the right time, not to mention hard work, all those things. I'll go with that a lot more than I'll just go off of just luck.
I think if you look at the guys that are up front in the Chase, I think they've prepared themselves very well. You can call it luck or preparation, but that's the way I like to lean on it.
Q. (Inaudible)?
JEFF GORDON: Well, you're in a good position, bad situation. I mean, for me, we came - the first two races were awesome races. We finished third in both those races. I felt like - I really felt like we had the team to beat for the championship. We were running good, finishing good, putting ourselves in good positions, creating good finishes.
Then we went to Kansas. We had our problems. From that point on, you start to lose that confidence and say, Okay, now we have to rebound next week. You go to the next week, you don't rebound, it just starts to get harder and harder and harder.
I said all along, you don't have to be dominant to win this championship, you just got to be consistent. If you look at the guys that are up front, yeah, Burton has won a race, but other than that he has not been super spectacular. But they've been solid all the way to the checkered flag, and that's what it takes. That's what we haven't been able to do.
I think we've performed well enough to win the championship this year. But doesn't matter how well you perform if you don't finish it off at the end of the day. Right now at this point, we just kind of go out there and relax and have fun and just try to turn things around and put the best effort we can. No matter what we do, I don't think it's going to win the championship.
Q. (Inaudible)?
JEFF GORDON: Oh, yeah. You're battling against nine, ten other guys. That in itself makes it more difficult. You close the gap of the points down. That makes it more difficult. There's no doubt in my mind that the Chase makes it more challenging, more exciting and makes it more rewarding when you do win it.
Q. As you look at the points standings, as you look at the nature of the next track, Martinsville, do you think the waters are going to clear quite a bit after this coming weekend?
JEFF GORDON: For who?
Q. As far as the Chase goes.
JEFF GORDON: I mean, there's just no guarantees any weekend. Any given weekend there's potential for disaster, whether it be a failure, a crash, a mistake made on pit road or on the racetrack. It can happen any weekend. Burton can lead this thing all the way up to Homestead, have a problem at Homestead. It can happen anywhere.
I think it's going to be clearer and clearer each and every weekend as to who the guys are that have a shot at it once we get to Homestead. Right now it's not that clear. You got Burton out there. He's obviously a clear favorite. But other than that, you really have no idea who else can come on strong or who might be able to take this thing besides Burton.
I think everybody's looking at Burton, saying he's got this thing under control right now. That can change in a hurry. It can happen this weekend. It can happen at Texas, Phoenix, Atlanta, anywhere.
Q. The Car of Tomorrow, you said you would like to see it look cooler, better. Can you draw comparisons to another car in another series that you like the way it looks?
JEFF GORDON: Well, the challenge with that is we got to keep it, one, as a stock car. This is stock car racing. We also have to accomplish what NASCAR is trying to accomplish safety-wise but also speed-wise. They're trying to slow these cars down through the corners because this aero push, we talk about the lack of passing, it's because the cars are going so fast through the corners, we're so dependent on the aero.
I mean, just look-wise, I think the Trans-Am series. Just take our race cars that we have today and put them on steroids. I think just beefing up the fenders, different areas of the car, to give it a little more rake and slope.
There's too many smart engineers out there. NASCAR has some working for them. The teams have them. The manufacturers have them. Just too many smart engineers that could have gotten together and designed a car that accomplished the aerodynamics that we were looking for, the safety that we were looking for, and also make it look like the Car of Tomorrow.
Q. There's been talk since the Chase started about tweaking it. Do you like the way it is or tell us what changes you'd like to see made?
JEFF GORDON: I'm not big on change. I wasn't crazy when they made the change to the Chase. Now I'm sold on the Chase. I like the Chase. I don't know if I want to see much change.
The one thing I've always said for years, even before the Chase, I felt like the points structure that we have pays so much for consistency. I'm not a big fan of going through a wreck, having a car that's tore up, having a team throw fenders back on the car, tweak this, tweak that, a car that's really not capable of being out on the racetrack at speed. Yet we get out there just to gain one or two positions and finish 45th or 34th, just to make up five or ten points.
I think if the points structure was about what it currently is now down to 25th or 30th place, then it paid the same amount of points for everybody there on down to start the race, I think we could give up some of our bad races, we wouldn't have to put race cars out there, throw debris all over the track. I think it still would make guys - the incentive to go out there and win would still be there.
We keep talking about raising the points to the winner. I don't see how we can go out there and do more than what we're doing now to try to win. Everybody wants to win. Not that a guy goes out there and says, Third or fourth, this is where I want to be. It's that we do settle for that because of the consistency of the points structure. We realize that a third or fourth place finish is good enough to win the championship and be in the Chase.
I think they're thinking about adding some points to the top there. That might make guys risk a little bit more. That's the thing, it's about risk versus reward. If you're second and you think it's worth the risk, then you might take that extra risk which to me means there probably will be more 'green-white-checkered' finishes at some of these races if they do that.
Q. What about the idea of making the Chase the 10 Chase guys within their own points structure?
JEFF GORDON: I like the idea of once we get into the Chase of having a separate points system among the 10 guys. I like that. I think that's a great idea. Means that we're still racing with the other guys out there. Everybody's racing to win races, get the best finish. To be able to finish further back and have like a ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. You can spread it out a little bit more, kind of like the F1 series, but just among those 10 guys. I think that could be very interesting.
Q. The next active driver behind you in career wins is Mark Martin with 35. What has been among the tougher challenges for you in winning every year? Is it a case with all these changes that the sport won't see anybody win more than 50 any more?
JEFF GORDON: Well, I mean, you've got Kasey Kahne who has six wins under his belt this year. I think you're still able to see guys win a good number of races if your team gets on a roll, you hit on some things.
I will say the Car of Tomorrow, one of the things that that Car of Tomorrow is going to do is make it far more competitive among all the competitors out there. I don't think you're going to see a big advantage to one team or one car, one driver that you've seen in the past. That could definitely change that. It will be interesting to see how that goes.
I think the crew chief, the pit strategy is going to become extremely important. I don't think you're going to see guys just driving up through the field from the back to the front like you have in the past.
Yeah, it's a very interesting question. The challenges for me have just been the evolution of the cars and the setups. The cars get faster every year. How you adapt to those speeds, to the changing environment, the competition, has been the biggest challenge. Something I'm extremely proud of is the fact that we've won a pole every year that I've been in this series, and the streak we have for race wins. It boggles my mind to look at it. Honestly, I think how in the world did I win 75 races? I have no idea. I know we had some great years there, but I think of a 10 race, a 13 race, I still don't know where the 75 came from. Still don't know where 75 came from.
There certainly have been many challenges along the way, and they'll only increase over the next several years.
Q. Frank Kimmel just won his eighth championship in ARCA. Pretty impressive feat, is it not?
JEFF GORDON: I think anybody in any series out there that wins that number of championships is an awesome accomplishment.
I think the reason why you don't see that happen more and more towards the Nextel Cup or Busch, some of the other top series out there, is that in ARCA it's just rare that you get one or two guys that competitive that stay in that series. Usually when they're that competitive, they move on.
Frank is in a unique situation. He's a little bit older than a lot of guys out there, but he's got a great team. He does a great job. They know that series. They know those tracks extremely well. As long as he continues to stay in the ARCA series, he'll probably continue to battle and win championships.
Q. It's so difficult to attain a win. Does that affect your performance, your team's confidence?
JEFF GORDON: Yes and no. I mean, obviously winning heightens your confidence level a lot for every team, any team out there. But I will say another way to build that same amount of confidence is to put consistent top five finishes together. That's one of the things that has gotten us in the Chase, what really built our confidence prior to the Chase was that we put togeth
Jeff Gordon: Cup Contender or Has Been?
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Teleconference Transcript: NNCS Driver Jeff Gordon (Part 1)