No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R Brings 8th 12-Hour Victory to Corvette Racing
SEBRING, Fla., (March 16, 2013) – Tommy Milner made a late pass for the lead and then held on for the final 15 minutes as the No. 4 GT Compuware Corvette C6.R won the American Le Mans Series GT class 61st Annual Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring at Sebring International Raceway on Saturday.
The No. 4 Corvette C6.R – driven by 2012 Drivers’ champions Milner and Oliver Gavin, and Richard Westbrook – overcame an early electrical issue and two key penalties to win the 2013 ALMS opener. It is Gavin’s fifth victory at Sebring; Milner and Westbrook each recorded his first.
“What an incredible effort by Corvette Racing; these guys never gave up,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. Vice-President for Performance Vehicles & Motorsports. “They came from behind multiple times. It was a focused team effort, with great driving and great calls in the pits, and great pits stops, and they delivered a big win. I’m proud of them.”
The No. 3 GT Compuware Corvette C6.R – driven by Antonio Garcia, Jan Magnussen and Jordan Taylor – retired with just over three hours remaining due to an overheated gearbox. The team, which also experienced an electrical issue early in the race, finished in 11th place in class, 120 laps off the pace in class.
Milner took over for Gavin with two hours to go and the No. 4 Corvette C6.R the No. 62 Ferrari F458 Italia by about one minute; when he pitted with an hour remaining, he was about a half minute behind.
“Those guys had an unreal pit stop at the end,” Milner said. “We were about a minute back and then 35 seconds at the next pit stop, and then we were 14 seconds back. And once I got to see him, I thought, ‘Here we go. I’ve got a chance here.’ Once I got close to him, he went wide in one and I knew he was pushing hard and he kept making mistakes, and that was it, that was the moment.”
“Really, it came down to when Tommy got on the back bumper of the leader, and that’s when I thought this is when we can really make this happen,” Gavin said. “Tommy was relentless – chasing him down, chasing him down, putting the pressure on. It was a spectacular victory for everybody at Corvette Racing. I’m really delighted.”
Gavin qualified second in the No. 4 Corvette C6.R, and on the very first lap gained the lead. The team was still out front in its class when, nearing the race’s third hour, Westbrook reported that smoke was coming from the dashboard.
“It was clear that we had a good car from the beginning, and then when I had that problem with the dashboard, which put us two laps down – it took a few yellows and some great stints by these two to get us back into position on the lead lap,” Westbrook said. “The pit stops and Tommy’s stint was just amazing at the end, and on balance I thought we deserved it, and we did it the hard way.”
Corvette Racing, which last year won the ALMS Manufacturers’ and Team championships, earned its ALMS-leading 78th all-time victory.
“You can’t start a better way,” Gavin said. “We had a very good year last year in the championship. We didn’t have a great Sebring last year, but this win just puts us up there straightaway, leading the championship off the bat. Tommy and I just sort of picked up where we left off last year, which is exactly what we wanted to do. Proud of all the guys at Corvette Racing today. They nailed every single stop. It was spectacular to watch.”
The No. 3 Corvette C6.R started fifth but experienced a couple of problems early. Garcia accidently ran into the back of a slower car which was in the middle of the track, and incurred a 60-second penalty, then he reported problems with downshifting. Starting on lap 20, the car three times came in for repairs – which included changing the gearbox, steering wheel and electronics.
The car is very, very good, it’s just a shame that we’re so far back,” Taylor said after his first stint. “We have a very competitive car.” The team used its remaining time on track as a test session before its night ended early.
GT Class, 61st Annual Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring

Corvette Racing In Top 5 at Midway Point of Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring
 
SEBRING, Fla. (March 16, 2013) – Both the No. 3 and No. 4 GT Compuware Corvette C6.Rs have experienced early problems in American Le Mans Series 61st Annual Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring, but, at the midway point, the No. 4 Corvette C6.R remains in contention after overcoming a two-lap deficit at Sebring International Raceway.
 
At the six-hour mark, the No. 4 Corvette C6.R is in fourth place and on the lead lap in the GT class, after starting second and leading early in the ALMS season opener. The No 3 Corvette C6.R experienced an unfortunate electrical issue very early in the race, and is in 11th place in class, 26 laps off the pace.
 
“We’ve got a fast car and we’ve been stuck behind some of our class leaders,” said Tommy Milner after his second stint in the No. 4 Corvette C6.R ended just after the midway point. “When the tires are new, our car is really, really good right at the start, so I was able to get by the BMW and the Ferrari, and by the time I got by them, I used my tires up pretty good. So, it was the right pit call there to get us out of sequence and now we’re back on the lead lap.”
 
Oliver Gavin, who qualified second in the No. 4 Corvette C6.R, quickly gained the GT lead, which he held before handing over driving duties to Milner and Richard Westbrook. The team was still in the lead when, nearing the race’s third hour, Westbrook reported that smoke was coming from the dashboard.
 
“Unfortunately, toward the end of the stint, we had an electrical issue – one of the fuses burned out,” Westbrook said. “Small, I wouldn’t say fire, but smoke in the dash, so I came straight in. The guys turned it around very quick, as per usual, and we’re back in the fight.”
 
The team dropped two laps off the lead in-class, but managed to get back on the lead lap at about the 4½-hour mark.
 
Gavin’s first-lap dash to the lead contained a couple of near-misses.
 
“Those first couple of corners I managed to be in the right spot and pick my way through some of the PC cars that seemed to be struggling on colder tires,” Gavin said. “One car, I thought he was going to loop it around in front of me, but I just snuck by him before he spun – that was coming out of turn one. Then coming out of turn four another one did exactly the same.
 
“I knew that having qualifying tires on the car that it was going to be somewhat tough to do that first stint with the heat of today. So I was really mindful not to go all out on them straightaway. They lasted pretty well up until the last three or four laps, and then I was hanging on a little bit. The pit stop came just at the right time, and the guys did a fantastic job of that with that, getting Tommy into the car. It’s a very positive start for us.”
 
Milner took over about an hour into the race and kept the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R in front.
 
“We still have to work very, very hard,” Milner said. “The crew has done a great job so far. The entire week we’ve sort of been skeptical with the car because the track surface changes and things like that. But, you know, this crew is fantastic. We know from past experience that come race time the track grips up, the car feels good and we have a good car right now.”
 
The No. 3 Corvette C6.R started fifth but experienced a couple of problems early. Antonio Garcia accidently ran into the back of a slower car which was in the middle of the track, and incurred a stop-and-go penalty, plus a 60-second penalty to lose one lap, and then Garcia reported problems with downshifting. Starting on lap 20, the car three times came in for repairs  – which included changing the gearbox, steering wheel and electronics.
 
Jan Magnussen and Jordan Taylor also are driving the No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R this weekend.
 
“The car is very, very good, it’s just a shame that we’re so far back,” Taylor said. “We have a very competitive car.” One restart, he said, he easily passed three or four cars. “We’ll use the rest of the race as a test session.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
FOOD CITY 500
BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUALIFYING NOTES & QUOTES
MARCH 15, 2013
 
 
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER KASEY KAHNE WILL START ON THE FRONT ROW AT BRISTOL
Total of Four Chevys to Start in the Top-Ten in Sunday’s Food City 500
 
BRISTOL, Tenn. (MARCH 15, 2013) ~ Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Great Clips Chevrolet SS, put down the second-fastest lap of the day and will start Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on the outside of the front row.   His lap time of 14.875 seconds and 128.995 mph was also above the previous track qualifying record set by Ryan Newman in 2003.   This is Kasey’s fourth top-10 start of 2013 and his 10th in 19 races at Bristol.
 
Richard Childress Racing driver Paul Menard, No. 27 Menards/Sylvania Chevrolet SS, qualified fifth for his best start of 2013.   Menard is followed by Jaime McMurray, No. 1 Cessna Chevrolet SS, who reeled off the sixth-fastest lap of the day.   Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/MOBIL 1 Chevrolet SS, posted the eighth-fastest lap rounded out the Chevrolet drivers in the top-10.   Stewart won the fall race at Bristol in 2001 for his only NASCAR Sprint Cup series win at the “World’s Fastest Half Mile”.
 
Other Chevrolet drivers qualifying just outside the top-10 included:  Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet SS (11th); Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet SS (13th); Jeff Burton, No. 31 Cheerios Chevrolet SS was 16th; Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 42 Target Chevrolet SS was 17th; Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet SS was 18th and Kurt Busch, No. 78 Furniture Row/Beautyrest Chevrolet SS was 19th.
 
Kyle Busch (Toyota) was the pole winner, Denny Hamlin (Toyota) was third, and Brian Vickers was fourth to round out the top-10.  
 
Sunday’s Food City 500 from Bristol Motor Speedway will air live on FOX at 1:00 pm ET and can be heard on PRN radio and Sirius/XM satellite radio channel 90.
 
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 GREAT CLIPS CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 2ND:
POST QUALIYFING PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:
 
THAT WAS QUITE A LAP YOU PUT DOWN THERE TODAY
“Yeah, the car felt really good. I knew Kyle (Busch, pole-winner) had put down a great lap and a track record. So I knew I had to go pretty hard. I just felt like I may have given up a little bit in (Turns) 1 and 2, which would have made it really close for the pole. But, we it was still really good between (Turns) 3 and 4. The car was balanced really nice. We had to work on it a lot in practice getting it where it needed to be and it should be a good race on Sunday. I’m looking forward to it. I really like how the car has driven so far today.”
 
WHAT ARE THE LIMITS ON SPEED HERE? IS IT JUST A MATTER OF WHAT THE TIRES ARE LIKE AND CAN YOU EVENTUALLY GET DOWN TO THE LOW  ‘14’s? I think those speeds today were pretty good, especially what Kyle (Busch) did. That’s fast. You put softer tires on it and you might be able to go faster; I don’t know. But they have to last for a full race run. I felt like the tire felt pretty good today, so I was really happy with the way the car drive in race trim and in qualifying trim. You’re going into the corner has hard as we ever have and the cars are loading and traveling as much as they have with this combination. So, I think eventually we’ll probably go faster than that. But for today, I thought that was a good lap.”
 
GOING BACK TO LAST YEAR AND THE FIRST RACE WITH THE HIGH GROOVE, DID YOU LIKE THAT BETTER? AND IS THAT AN EXAMPLE OF A TRACK THAT MADE SOME CHANGES THAT MAYBE DIDN’T MAKE THE DRIVERS SO HAPPY BUT BENEFITED THE FANS
“I feel like that’s the most grip the bottom of the race track has had in a long time. You can get your car good there, and then move around to the top. The top is a little bit smoother at times. Or, there are spots up there that might be a little smoother so you can get good runs and momentum down the back-stretch and front stretch. But I think it’s going to turn into a good race. You’re going to be able to pass on the bottom, hopefully, as long as the grip stays there where as before, it was so hard to clear a car. You could get just about by him in the center of the corner, but by the exit they were back to your right so I’s hard to clear them. Sunday you’ll be able to get your car good enough to clear them on the bottom.”
 
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUALIFYING NOTES & QUOTES:
 
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 GREAT CLIPS CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 2ND:
WERE YOU ON THE EDGE OUT THERE?
“A little bit.  I was trying to get all I could because I knew that Kyle put down a crazy-fast lap.  So I didn’t get through one and two as well as I wanted and really pushed in three and four and got some of it back and it was really close.  Our Great Clips Chevy SS was pretty awesome and the car felt really good and its fun to go that fast at this track.  You can press pretty hard here so that was excited and was a good time.  I wish we could have beat Kyle but he put down a great lap.”
 
TONY STEWART, NO. 14 BASS PRO SHOPS/MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 8th
ANYTHING LESS THAN 15 SECONDS AROUND THIS PLACE IS HAULING THE MAIL. HOW DID YOU FEEL ABOUT YOUR QUALIFYING LAP?
“You’ve never watched winged sprint cars run around Eldora have you? I can promise you the track record at Eldora is a 12.7 for the World of Outlaws.  Under 15 flat is not a big deal here.  It just shows how good these cars are.  To come out with a new car and have them drive this nice off the bat is a pretty nice deal.”
 
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S/KOBLAT TOOLS CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 13th
WHEN YOU QUALIFY HERE MENTALLY DO YOU TRY TO REMIND YOURSELF OF A HABIT THAT MIGHT NOT BE GOOD OR DO YOU JUST THROW CAUTION TO THE WIND?
“You just go.  You’ve got to go hard.  With a 14 second lap time that has the pole right now there is no time to think.  It’s all about reacting.  I think through a few things on pit road, but usually you go through the gear box so fast and you are in turn three and it’s go time and you are coming to the green.  It’s really one of those things that you just throw everything you can at it, hope it sticks and hope you bring it back in one piece.”
 
JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 CESSNA CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 6th:
THAT WAS AN IMPRESSIVE LAP:
“Martin (Truex, Jr.) and I joked around I’m like ‘I just want to run in the 14’s at Bristol to say you have done that.’ In practice, I mean I don’t know how you go much quicker.  A really good day, we have Cessna on board, first race for them in NASCAR.  Our whole team did a really good job today.  We unloaded the car had really good speed.  You could run on the bottom.  I’m really hoping that the top groove doesn’t come in because our car was good on the bottom.  All around our team did a great job.  It’s just been a good day.”
 
RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 39 HAAS AUTOMATION CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 31ST
VERY PROUD OF A LOT OF HIS ACCOMPLISHMENTS THROUGH THE YEARS HERE AT BRISTOL BUT THAT TRACK RECORD HERE IN THE 14’S HAS TO BE ONE OF THEM:
“It was in the 14.90 back in ’03 I think it was.  That was two cars ago, probably about eight different tires.  A lot of things have changed the track has changed and everything else.  We didn’t have the good lap that we needed today.  We made some changes before qualifying and just didn’t hit on it.  Actually feel a lot better in race trim than we did in qualifying trim.  Happy we are done with qualifying trim.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
FOOD CITY 500
BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 15, 2013
 
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Bristol Motor Speedway and discussed filming the Pepsi Max video, racing at Bristol and other topics.  Full transcript:
 
SCARE ANYONE IN A CAR LATELY? (REFERRING TO PEPSI MAX VIDEO RELEASED THIS WEEK) (LAUGHS) “When you are at Bristol, you are just scaring yourself every other corner. That is what makes this place so much fun.”
 
TALK ABOUT MAKING THAT VIDEO: “What a fun experience this has been. I’ve never been a part of anything like this; a viral video that’s gone to this level.  Of course we did the Harlem Shake. We actually did that around the same time.  I never dreamed that this would surpass that in views, and get this much attention. I give Pepsi Max a lot of credit for thinking outside the box, and being bold in how they go about their creative advertising and marketing. Had a lot of fun doing it. And I’ve had a lot of fun seeing all the things on Twitter and everywhere else, as well as, every time I watch it, I still laugh.”
 
HOW MANY TAKES DID YOU HAVE TO DO, GETTING IN THE CAR, AND OUT OF THE CAR? THINGS LIKE THAT: “That’s the thing we might not ever see. I’ve been pushing Pepsi Max saying ‘Hey, let’s show more of the out-takes, and more of what goes on’.  Because people don’t realize it takes two hours to get into that makeup. It takes not just takes, but there is so much more that we did that gets edited out. It is very time consuming, that’s why we had to use a stunt driver. You only have so much time over a two day period as to what you can do.  That was something I would have like to have done, and I think I could have pulled off 90% of it, but, it’s pretty standard practice to have a stunt driver fill in for you.”
 
WAS THE PASSENGER ACTING, OR WERE THOSE REACTIONS REAL? “Those reactions were real. I mean, this guy was terrified. It was so much fun with me interacting with him. But then to get to see his reactions in that car when it is sliding sideways…  If you aren’t somebody…even if you are a race car driver, being in the passenger seat is uncomfortable when somebody is doing things like that. That is what makes it so great. It is like everyone is debating “is it real”, “is it fake”.  I can tell you, those reactions; there was nothing fake about that.”
 
WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION WHEN YOU FIRST SAW THE EDITED PIECE? “I just laughed. When I did that, I knew I was putting myself out there quite a bit, and that’s sort of unfamiliar territory. You look at yourself and you go ‘okay, I’m either going to look really dumb here, or this is going to be a hit, and people are going to laugh’. I know how much fun I had doing it, but after watching, I thought they did an awesome job editing it I, making the whole thing really come together and be a lot of fun. I laughed my butt off to be honest. I’ve watched it probably six or eight times, and every time I’ve just cracked up.”
 
IT SEEMS THAT PEOPLE HAVE TO WATCH IT TWO OR THREE TIMES, INCLUDING ME, TO TAKE IT ALL IN. IS THAT THE GREAT THING ABOUT THIS? “Absolutely. Certainly, I’m finding out through this experience, that what makes something go viral is when people are debating what’s real, what’s not. When people are watching it going I don’t care what it is, this is funny. The guy just did such an awesome job with those reactions. Then the way they edited everything. Doing the stunts, my part of getting into the car with the test drive, with the guy, that is all ad-libbed. You are just sitting there going with the way it feels. It’s not scripted to that level. I have no idea what I might just say at that time. Just trying different things the whole time. I knew what my goal was. Just getting in the car, then having that experience getting out of the car, you are putting yourself out there in such a way that you really don’t know if people are going to react positively or negatively.  It feels good when people are reacting they way that they are.”
 
TALK ABOUT PRACTICE TODAY: “The car is good. I’m really happy with how well it’s driving, and the grip level in the car. We have to work on the balance a little bit. I feel like we’re just a little bit away from really making the car a winning car. In practice, this early in the weekend, you’re not really going to take for the race. New car, rubber being laid down and everything. The left side tire is slightly different in stagger. We saw this race change the last time we were here with moving up to the talk. I expect a lot of those things to be the same. I thought we had a good day. We are not as fast I would like us to be. I think we can definitely qualify a faster speed than we ran in practice. “
 
CAN YOU TELL THE DIFFERENT SORT OF MECHANICAL GRIP IN THIS CAR? “I’m feeling a lot of mechanical grip, so they’ve done a great job. I’m impressed with how good the front is gripping and cutting through the corners. And, how the back is stuck right there with it.  It looks like everybody, when you look at the times, and consistency, and how hard guys are having to push the car, the car definitely has more grip than we’ve had in the past.”
 
HOW DO YOU SEE THE DIFFERENT GROOVES PLAYING OUT IN THE RACE THIS YEAR? “When you look at the rubber already ¾ of the way up the track, I think we are definitely going to see that type of groove coming in eventually.  Once you get on a long run, most guys are running 10, maybe 15 laps; you have got to go 60 to 80 laps on a set of tires on a run, or more. That’s when you are going to have to start really searching around the race track. We saw in the Nationwide race last time we were here, that groove moved up slightly in the Nationwide race. If it moves up in the Nationwide race, there’s no doubt it will in the Cup race.”
 
DO YOU SEE MORE BUMP AND RUN, SLIDE JOBS LIKE WE DID LAST FALL? “The bump and run happens when it’s single file and you have a faster race car than the guy in front of you. So, the thing about that groove moving up, is it opens up that inside for you to at least have room to pass. But, because of the speed and momentum that outside groove carries, you’ve got to be creative in how you make that pass. So, you have to find the weakness in the car in front of you, or push them to try and make a mistake. Sometimes that might be with your bumper, or that might just be riding an inch off of them. Other times, it is just kind of when they least expect it – do that slide job. But, you better complete that slide job. Because if you don’t, you are going to go back a lot of positions.”
 
DOES IT TAKE YOU BACK TO YOUR DIRT TRACK DAYS WHEN YOU DO THAT? “It does. I have a lot of fun here last fall doing those slide jobs and making them stick. It does take you back to the dirt track days, even though you aren’t completely sliding it sideways, you are still very committed to that move. You are carrying so much momentum to make it work to get ahead of that car; you have no choice but to take it all the way to the wall.”
 

 
CORVETTE RACING QUALIFIES BOTH TEAMS IN TOP 5 AT SEBRING
 
(SEBRING, Fla., March 15, 2013) – Oliver Gavin, driver of the No. 4 GT Compuware Corvette C6.R, qualified second (1:58.934, 113.206 mph) in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) GT class for the 61st Annual Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring at Sebring International Raceway – just 0.119 seconds off the pole. Antonio Garcia qualified fifth (1:59:348, 112.813 mph) in the No. 3 GT Compuware Corvette C6.R.
 
“I’m happy with what we’ve got,” Gavin said following his qualifying effort around the 3.74-mile track. “Yes, I’d like to have the pole, but this is a 12-hour event, it’s not a sprint. I think we can almost start in the back and still win this race. But, I’m pleased with the position we’ve got. I’m happy with our car.”
 
Garcia, too, is optimistic about the 2013 season opener following Friday’s qualifying session.
 
“That wasn’t the perfect lap; I just couldn’t get the perfect lap together like I should have,” Garcia said. “But, that’s not a big deal. It’s a long race and we’ll see about it tomorrow.”
 
Gavin and Tommy Milner, who won the 2012 ALMS drivers’ championship, will team with Richard Westbrook in the No. 4 Corvette C6.R for this weekend’s event. Garcia, Jan Magnussen and Jordan Taylor will drive the No. 3 Corvette C6.R.
 
“Going through the race tomorrow, I think our car’s going to come more and more to us,” said Gavin, who has four class wins and eight class podium finishes at Sebring. “The track’s going to come more and more to us. That’s from our years of experience from working here, driving here, racing here, competing here. You get a feel for it.
 
“I think that we’re in good shape. I feel confident. Our team has been doing seven-second pit stops. When you look at stuff like that, you go, ‘That’s pretty cool.’ As a driver, you know that when you come in for your stop, each time – boom – they’re going to be right there. It gives you a lot of confidence.”
 
Corvette Racing, the defending series Manufacturer and Team champions, has seven class victories at Sebring since 2002.
 
Gianmaria Bruni, driver of the No. 62 GT Ferrari F458 Italia, won his third consecutive pole at Sebring.

DALE EARNHARDT JR., NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET SS met with media and discussed the new Chevy SS race car, his history and hopes for performing at Bristol, his start to this season, and more. FULL TRANSCRIPT:
 
TALK ABOUT YOUR START TO THE SEASON AND NOW COMING TO BRISTOL
“We’ve got a good start to the year. I wish we’d have run a little bit better last week. I feel like we had a little better car than 7th. But we just never got the opportunity to really prove it. But I feel pretty good. The car has been driving really good. The guys did a lot of great work during the off-season. Steve (Letarte) and Chad (Knaus) and everybody in the shop just really have a good hold on the car out of the gate. We’re still learning a lot and there’s still a lot of things to uncover as far as what makes this car really run well. We’re hoping we can stay ahead of the curve.
 
“I like Bristol. I’ve always enjoyed coming here as a kid and watching races here. This is one of the best tickets in the series. It’s an exciting race track and it’s a lot of fun for the drivers. You’re always in the middle of something every lap. It keeps you on your toes and it’s a pretty tough race track. I enjoy the challenge and look forward to hopefully having a good weekend.”
 
YOU STARTED THE SEASON WITH THREE TOP-10’S AND YET YOU STILL FIND YOURSELF THIRD IN POINTS. IN YOUR CAREER, HAVE YOU SEEN THE COMPETITION LEVEL CHANGE COMPARED TO WHAT IT WAS IN YOUR ROOKIE YEAR?
“Yeah, the competition level has changed. It gets tougher every year. A lot of that has to do with the way the technical inspection and rules are refined over the years. When you go back to the 1970’s, everything was under interpretation. As you move on through the ‘80’s and ‘90’s, things were a little more uniform and a little more structured. Today, you basically have perfect measurements that the car has to go by from one end to the other and all the components are scrutinized. So that definitely has leveled the playing field and put everybody in a smaller window as far as competition goes. So, it definitely makes it tough.”
 
TO IMPROVE THE RACING, DO YOU THINK MAYBE NASCAR SHOULD MAKE IT MORE INCUMBENT ON THE RACE TRACKS INSTEAD OF THE TEAMS TO MAKE LITTLE TWEAKS AND ENHANCE THE ACTION LIKE THEY DID HERE AT BRISTOL LAST AUGUST?
“I don’t know if you could do that at every race track. This place is easy because it’s so small. And really, what they did was just went up and ground the race track a little bit. I didn’t anticipate it having the result; which I liked it as well. I didn’t anticipate it. Really, nobody knew what was going to happen. They were trying to eliminate the top groove and ended-up making it even stronger. And so it didn’t really have the intended result, but it was a good result nonetheless. Everybody seemed to enjoy the race. I did.  So, I think everybody needs to put away the pick axes and hammers because we really don’t know what makes a good race track. We really don’t need everybody hammering away at the surface of the race track trying to fix it, because nobody really knows what the result is going to be. I think if you look at Atlanta and you look at Vegas and Texas and the age of that asphalt, it seems like the older the asphalt gets, the more we move around. I think us running different grooves is better for the racing. I think us running in one single groove is not better for racing. I think we all can agree there. It really comes down to the asphalt and the tire sort of cooperating together and working together and working well together. The components on the cars and the cars themselves will have an influence on the style of racing. But the main component is the tire and it connects the car to the track and what the surface condition is. So we just repaved a lot of tracks and you’re going to have to be patient. There’s no way to speed that process up as far as aging that asphalt. Once it does age, I think the durability of the asphalt that we have now it a whole lot better than what we did 20 years ago. So, some of these surfaces, once they do age, will tend to be more durable and won’t need repaving so quickly and we’ll be able to enjoy that style of racing on those tracks a lot longer than we did in the previous paving cycle.
 
“Everybody has an opinion on what track is a good race track. Every driver is going to have a little bit different opinion on what type of race track they enjoy racing on. The fans like different tracks for different reasons. Everybody’s got a difference of opinion.  I really did enjoy racing at Bristol last time and I know they were trying to push us all down the race track and get us to run on the bottom like we used to run here, but that didn’t work out.  It was still a good show.”
 
WHEN PEOPLE ARE GRUMBLING ABOUT THE RACING, IT’S A FIX-ALL WHEN THEY GET TO BRISTOL BECAUSE THEY LIKE THE BEATING & BANGING. DOES THAT MAKE THIS A BIG WEEKEND FOR NASCAR AND FOR THIS CAR?
“I think every weekend is important; especially with the new car and the season being really early. But we all just need to sort of be patient, I think. At each race, there’s a variable that controls whether it’s a good race or not. I think in Phoenix, the newness of the surface handicapped us a little bit. But that was to be expected in my opinion. And I knew that going it. But when we went to Vegas, I knew we’d be all over the place. I had a blast racing there. We were moving all over the race track. I think that the best race is still yet to come. This is probably going to be a solid weekend. I’m not really worried or concerned that we won’t have a good race or an exciting weekend. Bristol always provides some kind of spark; whether it’s the last lap and what happens there or the overall race itself. But I think the rule changes they made to sort of cleanup what we were doing to the back of the cars and the rear-end houses is really going to make the racing here a lot more interesting.  I’m expecting it to be a good weekend. I’m expecting it to be the same old Bristol.
 
“We haven’t ran into each other with these cars yet on a short track, so I don’t really know what to expect. The bump-and run, you were going to use that no matter what kind of bumper you had on there. If you want to win at Bristol, it doesn’t matter what kind of bumper is on there. You’re going to try to get the guy out of the way.”
 
BECAUSE OF THE WAY LAST YEAR ENDED WITH YOU MISSING THOSE RACES, HOW IMPORTANT WAS IT TO YOU TO GET OFF TO A GOOD START THIS YEAR ~ EVEN MORE THAN USUAL?
“Well, I felt pretty confident in the off-season because I was able to run a couple of races at the end of the year. So I really wasn’t worried. The stuff from last year, I had put that to bed because I was able to come back. That’s just me, personally. I was able to come back and get the car and drive and I felt good; so I felt like I could close that chapter and not have any concerns. I just really put a focus on the first 10 races because it’s important to the Chase. I think if you get behind, you’ll be in that battle at Richmond and then all that stuff is big distractions. So last year we were able to get a good 10-race start to the season and not have to worry about the points deal. We were comfortable in the summer and we could worry about our car and think about other things and not be stressed out about our points situation. No mater how good a race tea, you are, if you get behind, it’s a battle all the way to Richmond. And we don’t want to be in that situation. We’re just real fortunate that we’ve been able to put together a couple of good races. We’ve already got a good cushion on some guys that we feel like we’ll be racing to get a Chase spot with, and hopefully we can keep that going the next couple of weekends.”
 
YOU’VE HAD AN AVERAGE FINISH OF 11.8 HERE. DO YOU THINK THE BUMP AND RUN WILL BE BACK BECAUSE OF THE NEW CAR, OR NOT? WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO L
EARN HERE TO BE EVEN BETTER AT THIS TRACK?
“I think the bump and run really never left. It’s just if you can reach the guy on the last lap and be able to get an opportunity to get to his bumper. And it depends on the mentality and personality of the two drivers involved in that situation.
 
“Fortunately we’re running good enough that really you can’t put your finger on we’ve got a bit problem here (or there). I think if we come out of the pits first on that one pit stop at Phoenix, we got a shot to win just because of the style of racing there. I think if we did what Matt (Kenseth) did at Vegas and didn’t take tires and come out of pit road first there; we might have had a win there. We had a good enough car. We’ve got cars that are competing well and running well and showing great speed. We’ve just got to do a few things right during the race as far as needing to be able to contest a spot or two better and put ourselves into that strategy to be able to do what some of those guys do to put themselves in position to win. I don’t want to put it on anyone’s shoulders or point the finger at any one thing, but it just comes down to us and me doing a better job and Steve (Letarte) doing a better job and all of us just kind of stepping it up a position or two and we’re right there.”
 
REGARDING THE UPCOMING FONTANA RACE, YOU FINISHED THIRD THERE LAST YEAR. HAVE YOU FIGURED SOMETHING OUT?           AND, DOES THE NEW RACE CAR ALTER THAT A LITTLE BIT?
“I seem to like this car and feel better and happier about driving this car than the CoT, so I’m looking forward to all the races every week. I like that race track. It’s really one of the tracks that has good old asphalt. And we use all the race track up. You can run the bottom, You can run on the apron. You can run on the top. It’s a very run race track to drive. And so I’ve got a good attitude about it. I think Steve (LeTarte) is going to give me a good car. We ran good last year because Steve gave me a good car. So, I think if we go in there in the ballpark, and are somewhat competitive off the trailer, we’ll have a good weekend. I do enjoy racing there and look forward to it.”
 
YOUR LAST FIVE RACES HERE, NO TOP TENS. LAST NINE RACES, NO TOP FIVES. DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU’RE STRUGGLING HERE OR HAS THIS JUST BEEN CIRCUMSTANCE? WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT IT?
“Yeah, I feel l was accustomed to coming here and running in the top 10 on a regular basis and we fell off about five positions. We were sort of sitting right outside the top 10; running 11th or 15th and things like that. We had a little trouble speeding on pit road last time, which cost us a top 10. I think last year; maybe that’s happened a couple of times here, I can’t really remember. But we run all right here. But, we’re still sort of have yet really found that magic that you look for trying to get around the corner here. So, we had a pretty good car the last trip; better than most, so I feel like we’re at bit on the upswing and as a team, I think we’ve gotten better. So, I’d agree with that. I think we’ve struggled a little bit over the last 10 races as far as what I’m accustomed to running here. But not badly; just five or six spots difference as far as how competitive we are on average.”
 

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S/KOBALT TOOLS CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Bristol Motor Speedway and discussed his strong start to the season, if the bump and run will return to Bristol and other topics.  Full Transcript:
 
TALK ABOUT BEING OFF TO A STRONG START, WE ARE NOW AT A DIFFERENT RACE TRACK THAN WE HAVE BEEN BEFORE TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU THINK WILL HAPPEN THIS WEEKEND AT BRISTOL:
“I think we have gotten off to a great start with all of Hendrick Motorsports and especially our Lowe’s Chevrolet, excited for that.  A lot of work went into it.  As we are working our way through the different styles of tracks we have been competitive.  Bristol has been tough on me years ago.  It has been pretty good to me here in the last two or three years that we have come to the race track.  I’m excited coming back.  I love competing here.  It’s nice to walk through the tunnel and emerge inside the race track with a smile on my face because for years I would walk in here with a frown.  Although I love the race track I just wouldn’t run very good and it makes for a long weekend.  Excited to get on track, the grinding last year I don’t think went as planned for the track.  That is now the place to be it seems.  I assume we will be back up there once the race starts.  The good news is that is where everybody wants to be so maybe we will rough each other up around the top instead of around the bottom as the fans want to see.  We are just plugging along, we feel pretty good about at least the first quarter.  I know a lot of teams are working hard to sort out the Gen-6 car.  As the year develops we will see different teams and manufacturers emerge with strength.  Right now I feel like our No. 48 car is right there at the top.”
 
YOU ARE OFF TO ANOTHER FAST START WITH A WIN, BRAD (KESELOWSKI) IS RIGHT THERE ON YOUR HEELS WITH THREE TOP-FIVE’S.  IN YOUR CAREER HAS THE COMPETITION LEVEL CHANGED SINCE YOU STARTED?
“The competition has always been there.  I think the faces have changed.  I think Brad (Keselowski) has shown that he and that team are going to be a familiar face up there week in and week out and year after year.  We have been able to stay in and around the top spot for the 10 years, 11 years we have been around which is staggering to me that we have had that type of staying power.  So, I’m very proud of that.  It’s awfully competitive and gets a little congested at the top.  Again, the faces might change, but it’s the sought after place to be.”
 
THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF DEBATE ABOUT THE TYPE OF RACING WE HAVE HAD WITH THIS CAR OVER THE FIRST THREE RACES THIS SEASON.  IS BRISTOL A TRACK WHERE YOU THINK THAT WON’T COME INTO PLAY?  IF WE HAVE A RACE LIKE WE HAD LAST AUGUST THAT COULD KIND OF SOLVE A LOT OF THE PROBLEMS PEOPLE HAVE BEEN COMPLAINING ABOUT FOR THE LAST TWO WEEKS?
“It’s so difficult to get the recipe right.  This race track is a perfect example.  For the longest time we didn’t think the racing was all that good from a competitors stand point.  But, we had a sold out event here with a long waiting list.  They change it, drivers are happy, the track is very racy, but you can’t sell out the spring race.  Last year’s race we were all fighting for one lane which was at the top instead of the bottom.  Somebody throws a helmet and it’s considered a good race.  So, I’m not sure racing and entertainment kind of go in the same piece.  I do think that racing is top priority for NASCAR and it has been.  They have created a very safe race car and a very equal race car.  I think the next step is to look at the tracks and figure out how to improve the tracks.  The garage area and the competition side of NASCAR has worked so hard to treat equality to make sure that the big teams don’t get away from the little teams.  You just have to think about it a little bit.  If the cars are that close you are probably not going to be able to pass that easily.  That is just one aspect of an equal field.  If we have race tracks with multiple grooves, multiple lanes, high tire fall off I think you will see a lot better racing.  But then there is still a portion of people that want to see fist fights so that is the balancing act.”
 
IN REGARDS TO TRACK SURFACES:
“NASCAR is aware and I’ve had great conversations with them and I know other drivers have too.  The folks on the competition side of NASCAR that I speak to it’s not ISC (International Speedway Corporation) or SMI (Speedway Motorsports, Inc.).  The suggestions I may have probably are hundreds of millions of dollars to change.  I don’t see anybody jumping at that opportunity.  When a track is resurfaced through the NASCAR competition side coming to some drivers and asking for advice, some tracks will listen others feel that they know what they need to do through their engineers and modeling that they like to use and come back with something that none of us ever talked about. I wish there was a better connection point between the guys on the track and the people that pay for the tracks to be resurfaced and redesigned.  That channel could work a little better and help make the racing better.”   
 
WHAT HAVE YOU WORKED ON HERE AT BRISTOL? WHAT HAS BEEN CHALLENGING FOR YOU PERSONALLY AND DO YOU THINK WE WILL SEE THE BUMP AND RUN COME BACK AND HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT?
“On a short-track if you are within bumpers reach you have to expect it’s coming.  I would definitely anticipate that here, especially if there is a green/white/checkered at the end I think it would get exciting as it would anywhere.  Me learning this track for the longest time back when we could test I came here with the No. 24 and he literally got in my car and went three, four tenths faster than I did.  I would look at his data, get back in and couldn’t find the speed.  It didn’t fit my natural tendencies inside of a race car.  I think the new surface has helped.  It has come my direction some, just constant focus on getting better here.  From my perspective and that kind of sends the arch of the team and I would say three years back or so I finally started driving the track right, which allowed us to start working on the set up and it wasn’t uncommon for me to be driving the track all wrong through practice and qualifying and I would get in the race, get into the correct rhythm and now the car isn’t even close to being set up how it needed to be. Over time we have found a good baseline place to start and we will be around that this weekend and hopefully have the same speed.”
 
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE WAY THE DENNY HAMLIN/NASCAR SITUATION HAS NOW BEEN RESOLVED:
“The way I see it Denny is still paying right? So he is still paying his fine.  It’s crystal clear to me that if you have an issue about this car you go inside the truck and talk about it.  You don’t use one of these (points to microphone) or this room to communicate that. You go up into the truck and talk about it.”
 
SHOULD THIS TRACK BE THE GOLD STANDARD EVEN THOUGH WHEN THEY CHANGED IT THEY DIDN’T REALLY DO WHAT YOU GUYS WANTED BUT THEY GAVE THE FANS WHAT THEY WANTED?  SHOULD THIS BE LIKE MAYBE A SHINING EXAMPLE OF WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT THAT WHEN THE TRACKS INVEST THERE CAN BE A GOOD RESPONSE FROM EVERYBODY?
“There can be and I do empathize or sympathize with the track owners in trying to create the right surface.  Burton (Smith) did everything in his power to create a racey track here.  We had it.  Driver’s loved it as you know.  Fans didn’t like it.  So, there is that balancing point and I think we have to keep the fans in mind and what is going to keep people buying tickets and sitting in the seats.  I don’t have the magic sauce.  I do know
that looking at the competition side of NASCAR and the team owners to make another change or to build newer cars or do something different we have exhausted all avenues.  High downforce, low downforce, bump stops, no bump stops, all these different combinations and the cars are equal.  You are going to have negative affect from equal running race cars on the track.  It’s just how it is.  If we could start focusing there are a lot of smart people in the garage and abroad.  If we start focusing on tracks I think an easy route is to use some of the older aggregate on these tracks.  This new stuff that they have used at a variety of different race tracks it lasts a long time. It doesn’t wear the tire out.  I’m sure it’s a smart decision when you are looking at your book keeping at the end of the year.  You don’t have to resurface the track as often, but I don’t think it’s helpful for good racing.  We need tire fall off and tire wear in order to do that.”
 
IS THERE ANY OTHER ONE TRACK WHERE IT WOULD BE EASY TO FIX LIKE WHAT THEY DID HERE?  IT WASN’T A COMPLETE OVERHAUL.  IS THERE ONE TRACK WHERE THEY COULD DO SOMETHING EASY TO IMPROVE THINGS?
“I think our biggest concern is the mile-and-a-half, the bigger tracks for side-by-side racing.  I would go to the newest mile-and-a-half or the one with the newest asphalt and start there.  Just put down abrasive asphalt.  The old mix whatever that was.”
 
A LOT OF TEAMS OR SOME TEAMS HAVE LOADED UP THEIR TESTING IN THE FIRST PART OF THE SEASON TO GET USED TO THE NEW CAR.  WITH THE STAR THAT YOU HAVE HAD DOES THAT IMPACT HOW YOU GUYS SCHEDULE TESTING?  WILL YOU PUT MORE TESTING TOWARD THE CHASE?  DOES IT CHANGE THINGS AT ALL?
“So far there has been so much testing through NASCAR that we haven’t needed to use our allotment that we have this year those four test sessions that we have for HMS. Our cars are quick so I think our goal is to wait until later in the year and ideally test at tracks that are within the Chase.  That is the best way to play it.  I think every team looks at it that way and tries to save the test dates.  How the team is performing now will affect that and teams will make adjustments.  For Hendrick right now we have been very happy with our stuff and I would expect later in the year is when we will start.”
 
EVEN WITH ALL YOUR WINS AND FIVE CHAMPIONSHIPS HOW MUCH APPREHENSION DO YOU ENTER A NEW SEASON AS FAR AS WONDERING WHAT YOUR PERFORMANCE OR WHAT YOUR TEAM’S PERFORMANCE WILL BE?  WHAT IS YOUR OWN PERSONAL KIND OF MARK AS TO WHEN YOU THINK YOU ARE OFF ON THE RIGHT TRACK FOR A YEAR?
“From the apprehension stand point I usually, every year I’ve started I’ve been concerned.  You don’t know until four or five races in really where you stand.  It’s hard to even leave Daytona feeling too good about things even with a victory because it’s just such a different kind of race.  I think the more time goes on the less concerned I am.  Just years of working with Chad (Knaus, crew chief) and being in the Hendrick system and knowing that we are going to be close and if we are not we will figure it out.  We have been there.  I think ’07, ’08 somewhere in there we struggled pretty bad and tested I think 22 times in one year.  Granted we can’t do that now, but we will find a way to get back and have a lot of confidence in that.  The most apprehension I had was after a championship.  You finish on such a high and for myself I wanted to start that next year right where I left off.  I felt more pressure to have a quick start then than any other situation.  I kind of answered the feel for the new car.  I have always looked at five races in.  We have had a couple of short tracks and a couple of big down force fast race tracks and kind of judge it from there.  I’m feeling like I know what my car is doing, but once we get through California and have one more race on a big track we will have our package pretty much sorted out for now.”
 
INAUDIBLE
“We will start testing for that here in the spring time and get going there.  The downforce is so… the speeds are so low especially at Sonoma that you don’t play the aero game so much.  It’s more about mechanical grip.  The set ups have been kind of the same out there for a long time to be honest.”
 
IN YOUR ROOKIE YEAR HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO GET COMFORTABLE IN THE CAR AND WITH YOUR TEAM?
“It took a while.  We were fortunate to win our 10th start of my rookie season.  That helped speed up the confidence process.  I still today have concern especially starting a new year, will I remember what to do, and how to do it, it’s one thing to be within a couple tenths, but to find those last few tenths and you get to Victory Lane is always a concern.  In a rookie year there was a lot going on.  Not only was on the race track, but understanding the schedule, sponsor obligations.  It takes probably a good three years to fall into the rhythm of being a Sprint Cup driver to manage all that goes on through request from NASCAR, sponsors, team, testing, racing, media obligations, it’s a big thing to sort out it really is.”
 
HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO GET OFF TO THE QUICK START YOU ARE HAVING?
“I think it’s important.  I have been so fortunate to not need to worry about Richmond and making the Chase and hopefully that stays that way.  Leaving Daytona in a hole is something we have grown accustom to.  It takes seven, eight weeks to get back up in the top five in points.  A quick start is important.  It frees up the first half of the year for you.  You can preserve the test sessions that we are allowed to have at real race tracks on the tire we are going to race on.  You can focus on inventory of your race cars which we are all behind with the Gen-6 car.  Just get your car allotment built up which is very important to do at this stage.  Instead of cutting up existing cars and rebuilding stuff and on and on it is important to get off to a quick start.  It helps lighten the work load for everybody.”
 
SINCE MARTINSVILLE IS NOT A DOWNFORCE TRACK IS THAT SOME PLACE YOU CAN TAKE LAST YEAR’S NOTES WITH THIS NEW CAR AND IT WORK TOGETHER?
“Yeah, definitely Martinsville, gosh, it has been the same stuff and also here for a long time.  It’s nice to go back to those tracks it doesn’t matter what shape or design is on the exterior the mechanical grip aspect is still the same.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
FOOD CITY 500
BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 15, 2013
 
DANICA PATRICK, NO. 10 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Bristol Motor Speedway and discussed returning to Bristol for her second run in the Cup Series, style of racing at Bristol and other topics. Full Transcript:
 
WHICH LINE TO YOU PREFER HERE AT BRISTOL? “I prefer the fastest line, and I would imagine to start the weekend, it’s going to be a little lower. In the second Cup race last year, it moved to the top, and it was really good on the top. I think if you can get the bottom to work and get the car turned, you have some options in your pocket for lapped traffic, and if you get stuck behind somebody. In general, as a driver, I would say I’m more of what I could call a bottom feeder. But, you have to run where the grip is.”
 
YOU WERE RUNNING WELL HERE LAST TIME AND YOU GOT WRECKED. HOW CAUTIOUS ARE YOU GOING TO BE THIS TIME? “You know, when we are racing nose-to-tail really close, it’s always more of a risk, of course. But, there is nothing I can do to prepare myself better for the race that would fix the problem from last time of getting taken out. If you get taken out, you get taken out. Hopefully that doesn’t happen. The best thing I can do for that is try and get further up the field so that it is around some smarter drivers. Hopefully that happens.”
 
HOW IS IT HELPING YOU RUNNING EVERY WEEK NOW, AND GETTING INTO THAT RHYTHM? “Last year I did 10 Cup races, and it was a great way to, I feel like, more than get my feet wet with the series, and with the different car. It’s nice to come to a place like Bristol that you know is going to be challenging, and know you have done some laps here. 440-odd in a race here, from what I remember from the second race last year.  All that stuff helps out. It’s not going to be the be-all-end-all of running up front, or should be running up front. But all of it helps.”
 
DO YOU LIKE RACING HERE? “I do. I like Bristol. Obviously can be a little bit…the cars definitely got in a train last time we were here. It was tough. It was a little bit hard to pass. But like I said, that is why the bottom becomes important because if you get stuck, or even if you start on the bottom on a restart.  If your car is turning, you can make that work I think for a little while. I think qualifying is going to be really important, so definitely going to find myself doing a lot more qualifying runs…as many as possible before qualifying in the afternoon. But, I’ve liked Bristol since the first time I came here.”
 
HOW AGGRESSIVE DO YOU HAVE TO BE? DO YOU KIND OF HAVE TO LET IT RIP AND JUST DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO? OR, DO YOU HAVE ANY SORT OF GAME PLAN ON HOW AGGRESSIVE YOU WOULD BE.  “I think that is a silly question. As a driver, every single one of us is going to go absolutely hard as possible. There’s never a plan to back off, or go easy, or anything like that; other than if you are saving fuel out there on a strategy at the end of the race, you always go as fast as you can all the time.”
 
HOW MUCH RISK-REWARD DO YOU TRY TO BALANCE HERE? “We run that every weekend. We run it every single weekend, no matter where we go. There’s risk in what we do, that’s what hopefully makes it exciting for the fans, and why people like to watch it because we’re running on the ragged edge of losing grip and finding ourselves up in the wall; or at least running up the track a little bit. That’s our job.”
 
DID YOU SEE BERNIE ECCLESTONE’S COMMENTS YESTERDAY? “Yes I did see something about Bernie’s comments and they sounded complimentary. It looked like he was kind of acknowledging my ability to drive a car. So that was kind.”
 
ANY THOUGHTS? WOULD YOU EVER WANT TO TRY IT (FORMULA ONE RACING)? “I’ve always said that unless that it would be something I would want to do for real, as in race a Formula One car, I don’t see any point in testing it. It is a lot or work to get fitted in the car comfortable enough to go drive it. Then as a driver, for me at least, I run the risk of what if it doesn’t go well, and then people judge me for that.  So, unless it was something that I was really serious, I wouldn’t do it. I will say that Bernie over the years has actually sent a lot of messages. Any kind of big high point that happens in my career, whether it be at Indy, or Daytona now, or winning in Japan – things like that, he has sent messages.  He even sent me like a big picture one time that was signed by him. He’s actually been really nice. I don’t necessarily think that his comments a long while back are representative of his opinion of me.”
 
WHAT DID YOU LEARN AT VEGAS FOR THE OTHER MILE-AND-A-HALF’S COMING UP ON THE SCHEDULE? “It was definitely a struggle last week in Vegas. It was very, very loose. To be honest, it was loose at Phoenix as well. There were a few things that we did; a few common denominators in the weekends. I feel like we came away, given the fact that it was so challenging, that we really need to figure it out. I went into the shop on Tuesday and there was definitely some thoughts and concepts that they were like look, we did this wrong; we need to fix that; your comments made sense from practice it didn’t even make sense to me that we needed to do them necessarily for the race. I think that this car works a little differently in traffic as well. Aerodynamically we have lost a lot of side-force, and I think that plays a roll. I think that we have to get all four tires on the ground the way they need to be. We have to get the rear tied down. There’s nothing you can do if you can’t put the power down.”
 
WHAT ABOUT THE GRUELING ASPECT AT BRISTOL? “It’s fine. I think it is a little daunting to say 500 laps, but there’s a lot of times that we do 500 laps, or 500 miles, this is just one of them – one of many. It makes me appreciate all the races I did last year, and how almost all of them were 500 miles. It is a different mindset. I feel like no matter what happens – whether it’s a 200-lap race, or a 500-lap race, you find your rhythm. Time goes by fast sometimes, and sometimes it’s slow.  All I can hope is the car has a decent balance because when it doesn’t, that’s when the laps seem wrong. If we can just get a decent car, and get into a rhythm, and find ourselves in a good spot, have a consistent car throughout the race, time does go pretty quickly usually.”
 
FANS COME HERE AND EXPECT A LOT OF BEATING AND BANGING. DO YOU LIKE THAT KIND OF RACING? “Yes. I mean, I don’t mind some beating and banging out there, I don’t mind pushing your way around a little bit. It just happens. I did it a little bit at Phoenix even. It is just the nature of short tracks when you are running really close to one another.   You put 43 cars out on a track this size; you are filling up a lot of the track. You are able to run closer as opposed to the mile-an-a-half or more. The short tracks are conducive for close racing. The aerodynamics don’t come into play quite as much. I enjoy it. I’ve always said from the beginning that NASCAR is a lot of fun for me because if somebody lays on you, you can lay right back. You aren’t risking your life, like the old days in IndyCar when somebody would do something that was not intelligent to you, I understood that it was a physical risk to try and get them back, because when the wheels are exposed, bad things happen. Not here, though. Not in NASCAR. You can bump and bang all you like.”
 

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
FOOD CITY 500
BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 15, 2013
 
DANICA PATRICK, NO. 10 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Bristol Motor Speedway and discussed returning to Bristol for her second run in the Cup Series, style of racing at Bristol and other topics. Full Transcript:
 
WHICH LINE TO YOU PREFER HERE AT BRISTOL? “I prefer the fastest line, and I would imagine to start the weekend, it’s going to be a little lower. In the second Cup race last year, it moved to the top, and it was really good on the top. I think if you can get the bottom to work and get the car turned, you have some options in your pocket for lapped traffic, and if you get stuck behind somebody. In general, as a driver, I would say I’m more of what I could call a bottom feeder. But, you have to run where the grip is.”
 
YOU WERE RUNNING WELL HERE LAST TIME AND YOU GOT WRECKED. HOW CAUTIOUS ARE YOU GOING TO BE THIS TIME? “You know, when we are racing nose-to-tail really close, it’s always more of a risk, of course. But, there is nothing I can do to prepare myself better for the race that would fix the problem from last time of getting taken out. If you get taken out, you get taken out. Hopefully that doesn’t happen. The best thing I can do for that is try and get further up the field so that it is around some smarter drivers. Hopefully that happens.”
 
HOW IS IT HELPING YOU RUNNING EVERY WEEK NOW, AND GETTING INTO THAT RHYTHM? “Last year I did 10 Cup races, and it was a great way to, I feel like, more than get my feet wet with the series, and with the different car. It’s nice to come to a place like Bristol that you know is going to be challenging, and know you have done some laps here. 440-odd in a race here, from what I remember from the second race last year.  All that stuff helps out. It’s not going to be the be-all-end-all of running up front, or should be running up front. But all of it helps.”
 
DO YOU LIKE RACING HERE? “I do. I like Bristol. Obviously can be a little bit…the cars definitely got in a train last time we were here. It was tough. It was a little bit hard to pass. But like I said, that is why the bottom becomes important because if you get stuck, or even if you start on the bottom on a restart.  If your car is turning, you can make that work I think for a little while. I think qualifying is going to be really important, so definitely going to find myself doing a lot more qualifying runs…as many as possible before qualifying in the afternoon. But, I’ve liked Bristol since the first time I came here.”
 
HOW AGGRESSIVE DO YOU HAVE TO BE? DO YOU KIND OF HAVE TO LET IT RIP AND JUST DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO? OR, DO YOU HAVE ANY SORT OF GAME PLAN ON HOW AGGRESSIVE YOU WOULD BE.  “I think that is a silly question. As a driver, every single one of us is going to go absolutely hard as possible. There’s never a plan to back off, or go easy, or anything like that; other than if you are saving fuel out there on a strategy at the end of the race, you always go as fast as you can all the time.”
 
HOW MUCH RISK-REWARD DO YOU TRY TO BALANCE HERE? “We run that every weekend. We run it every single weekend, no matter where we go. There’s risk in what we do, that’s what hopefully makes it exciting for the fans, and why people like to watch it because we’re running on the ragged edge of losing grip and finding ourselves up in the wall; or at least running up the track a little bit. That’s our job.”
 
DID YOU SEE BERNIE ECCLESTONE’S COMMENTS YESTERDAY? “Yes I did see something about Bernie’s comments and they sounded complimentary. It looked like he was kind of acknowledging my ability to drive a car. So that was kind.”
 
ANY THOUGHTS? WOULD YOU EVER WANT TO TRY IT (FORMULA ONE RACING)? “I’ve always said that unless that it would be something I would want to do for real, as in race a Formula One car, I don’t see any point in testing it. It is a lot or work to get fitted in the car comfortable enough to go drive it. Then as a driver, for me at least, I run the risk of what if it doesn’t go well, and then people judge me for that.  So, unless it was something that I was really serious, I wouldn’t do it. I will say that Bernie over the years has actually sent a lot of messages. Any kind of big high point that happens in my career, whether it be at Indy, or Daytona now, or winning in Japan – things like that, he has sent messages.  He even sent me like a big picture one time that was signed by him. He’s actually been really nice. I don’t necessarily think that his comments a long while back are representative of his opinion of me.”
 
WHAT DID YOU LEARN AT VEGAS FOR THE OTHER MILE-AND-A-HALF’S COMING UP ON THE SCHEDULE? “It was definitely a struggle last week in Vegas. It was very, very loose. To be honest, it was loose at Phoenix as well. There were a few things that we did; a few common denominators in the weekends. I feel like we came away, given the fact that it was so challenging, that we really need to figure it out. I went into the shop on Tuesday and there was definitely some thoughts and concepts that they were like look, we did this wrong; we need to fix that; your comments made sense from practice it didn’t even make sense to me that we needed to do them necessarily for the race. I think that this car works a little differently in traffic as well. Aerodynamically we have lost a lot of side-force, and I think that plays a roll. I think that we have to get all four tires on the ground the way they need to be. We have to get the rear tied down. There’s nothing you can do if you can’t put the power down.”
 
WHAT ABOUT THE GRUELING ASPECT AT BRISTOL? “It’s fine. I think it is a little daunting to say 500 laps, but there’s a lot of times that we do 500 laps, or 500 miles, this is just one of them – one of many. It makes me appreciate all the races I did last year, and how almost all of them were 500 miles. It is a different mindset. I feel like no matter what happens – whether it’s a 200-lap race, or a 500-lap race, you find your rhythm. Time goes by fast sometimes, and sometimes it’s slow.  All I can hope is the car has a decent balance because when it doesn’t, that’s when the laps seem wrong. If we can just get a decent car, and get into a rhythm, and find ourselves in a good spot, have a consistent car throughout the race, time does go pretty quickly usually.”
 
FANS COME HERE AND EXPECT A LOT OF BEATING AND BANGING. DO YOU LIKE THAT KIND OF RACING? “Yes. I mean, I don’t mind some beating and banging out there, I don’t mind pushing your way around a little bit. It just happens. I did it a little bit at Phoenix even. It is just the nature of short tracks when you are running really close to one another.   You put 43 cars out on a track this size; you are filling up a lot of the track. You are able to run closer as opposed to the mile-an-a-half or more. The short tracks are conducive for close racing. The aerodynamics don’t come into play quite as much. I enjoy it. I’ve always said from the beginning that NASCAR is a lot of fun for me because if somebody lays on you, you can lay right back. You aren’t risking your life, like the old days in IndyCar when somebody would do something that was not intelligent to you, I understood that it was a physical risk to try and get them back, because when the wheels are exposed, bad things happen. Not here, though. Not in NASCAR. You can bump and bang all you like.”
 

JEREMY CLEMENTS, NO. 51 ST. JUDE.COM/REPAIRABLEVEHICLES.COM CHEVROLET CAMARO, met with members of the media at Bristol Motor Speedway and discussed his recent suspension, the support he has received from other drivers and much more.  FULL TRANSCRIPT
 
ADDRESSING THE MEDIA IN REGARDS TO THE REASON FOR HIS SUSPENSION:
“I want to start out by saying I made a remark that has no place in our society, kidding or not.  I want to apologize to NASCAR, the reporter, my team, my family, my sponsors and of course all the fans out there.  I didn’t mean to offend anybody at all.  I’m sorry I let you all down.  It doesn’t represent who I am or how I was raised.  My Grandpa Crawford Clements who I looked up to and respected and got me started racing when I was seven was a crew chief for Wendell Scott in 1965.  I was raised to respect everybody.  It has been a challenging time for me.  I want to grow from it and help other people from it.  Anytime a race car driver gets sat out any amount of time it is the worst thing that can happen to anybody.  I don’t want to watch anybody drive your car when you are supposed to be in it driving.  I had a lot of time to think about my action.  I want to thank Dr. (Richard) Lapchick and his team for their time and helping me learn.  I’m excited to be back here at Bristol and get a chance to race again.   Hopefully, put all this behind me and move on.”
 
HOW DIFFICULT HAS THIS BEEN FOR YOU? 
“It’s been extremely difficult time.  At first it really hit me hard.  When I got the call from NASCAR I was definitely shocked.  They had called me and asked me if I did say that remark.  I was honest with them and owned up for it which I think anybody should have done.  I took my punishment and I have done everything I can to make it right and try to move on and make all this better.  But, it’s been very tough on me.  I’m just so happy to be back and just be able to race again.”
 
HAS THIS AFFECTED YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH SPONSORS?
“Yes and no, most of them have been behind me.  I’ve had one pull out on us, but we have a lot of support.  We have our car filled up this weekend and just very grateful for guys like Jim Sealy of US Petroleum for helping us and sticking through it with us.”
 
HAVE YOU HEARD FROM OTHER DRIVERS? HAVE YOU GOT SOME SUPPORT FROM OTHER DRIVERS?
“Yeah, Michael McDowell, Josh Wise, Justin Allgaier, I can just sit here and name a bunch of them.  They have all had my back.  Like I said it doesn’t represent who I am or what I’m about.  I have done a lot of stuff as you can see we have St. Jude on our hood, wearing a St. Jude suit.  It has no representation of who I am.  Hopefully, I just want to get that out of the way and make it right and show who I really am.”
 
WHY DID YOU USE THE WORD IN THE FIRST PLACE?
“I wasn’t thinking honestly. I was just walking along trying to help the guy find somebody else.  I just blurted it out.  As soon as I did I knew I didn’t do good.  I knew I messed up, but it was too late and I just kept talking.  It was stupid.”
 
WHAT DID DR. LAPCHICK HAVE YOU DO?
“We went through a day’s worth of studying different things, a lot of different meanings of different words where they came from, who they offend and why you shouldn’t say them.  You know you sit out here and talk to people all the time and make jokes.  Somebody could say something offensive and you might not say anything, but from now on I’m going to stand up and be like ‘man that isn’t something you should say’ and try to pass along what I learned.”
 
HAS DARRELL WALLACE OR ANY OF THE SCOTT’S OR ANY AFRICAN AMERICAN’S INVOLVED IN THE SPORT REACHED OUT TO YOU IN THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS?
“I hadn’t talked to any of them.  I don’t even have Darrell’s number or anything.  This is first time I have been back to the track.  If I definitely do pass Darrell I would love to talk to him.  I’ve had a lot of my friends call me that are African American and tell me ‘dude that is no way that is you’.  I had my support and it’s been great honestly.  I’ve had a ton of support.”
 
DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE BEEN TREATED FAIRLY WITH THE SUSPENSION?
“NASCAR did what they had to do.  I respect their decision and like I said I did everything they wanted me to do.  Anything to right the wrong, took the suspension, took the class, and apologized to the reporter and of course all the fans out there.  I didn’t mean to offend anybody.  I just want to try to move on now.”
 
YOU HAD TO PAY FOR THE CLASS YOURSELF IS THAT CORRECT?
“Yeah, it was the right thing to do.  I had a sponsor offer to pay for it, but I declined that.  I just felt like I needed to do that.”
 
HOW MUCH WAS IT?
“$2500 and then obviously missing racing you don’t get paid and the drivers points it hurts a lot of things.  We depend on that money at the end of the year for driver’s points to keep our team going.  It hurts us in all aspects.  It definitely doesn’t help us, but just want to make the best out of it and move on.  Try to get us a top-10 here at Bristol.”
 
YOU CHOSE RIGHT AWAY WHEN THE COMMENTS CAME OUT THAT YOU SAID YOU CAME OUT AND SAID ‘YES I SAID THIS’ IT WASN’T ON CAMERA.  YOU DIDN’T DENY.  DO YOU THINK IF YOU WOULD HAVE DENIED IT THAT THE SUSPENSION COULD HAVE BEEN LONGER?
“I don’t know.  I don’t know how it would have been handled.  I’m not sure I don’t even want to go back and look at it really.  I just want to move on.  It is what it is.  I said it, I owned up for it so that was it.  I didn’t have any thoughts of lying about it.”
 
IN REGARDS TO THE AFFECT ON HIS CAREER:
“Obviously, the way our sport is unfortunately it’s not all about, but it’s a lot of who can bring the money to what team.  We are here racing on a lot smaller budget than the guys up there that we race against.  I would love to bring a ton of money to (Joe) Gibbs (Racing) or (Richard) Childress (Racing) or something, but the way it is just can’t.  Obviously, hope that it doesn’t hurt my relationship with any of those teams and I think everybody deserves a second chance.  I think you’ve got to look at the person’s history.  I have never been in trouble with NASCAR.  I always just try to do the right thing and just stay here and be able to race.  I always try to get new fans coming and do anything NASCAR wants.  I hope it doesn’t hurt.  I don’t know.”
 
DID YOU GO TO THE HOSPITAL IN DAYTONA AFTER THE NATIONWIDE ACCIDENT?
“No, I went before.  I went Wednesday when I got there.  I had been the past two years and I go to the kids ward up there and visit the sick kids.  I like doing that.  I don’t do it because of anything else, but I just like to.  I was asked to come back Sunday.  I was already home and we were working on our cars to go to (Las) Vegas and Phoenix so I didn’t have a chance to come back.  That is originally what I thought because they kept calling me wanting me to come.  I just said there is no way and then he called me again Sunday night and left me two messages.  That is when I was in Church.  I got out of Church and I was like ‘this isn’t good this is something else’.  Then I was like ‘oh no’, it’s funny how all that works.”