NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
CAMPINGWORLD.COM 500
TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
OCTOBER 23, 2015

JEFF GORDON:

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 3M CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media Friday at Talladega Superspeedway. He discussed his approach to Sunday’s final race of the Contender round, his history and best memories at Talladega, his season to date and other topics. Full transcript:

YOU HAVE A LONG HISTORY AT TALLADEGA WITH SIX WINS HERE. IT IS A MUST-WIN SITUATION FOR YOU AND SEVERAL OTHER CHASE DRIVERS. WHAT IS YOUR APPROACH TO THE WEEKEND?
“In the position we’re in with most people besides Joey (Logano), the approach is the same whether you’re trying to win it, get a top-five, top-10, top-15 or top-20. We’re here to race a for a win. I feel like we’ve put together three pretty good restrictor plate races this year but we’ve not always ended up with the results we were looking for. We learned a tremendous amount in how we executed in those races and the mistakes we made that are easily fixed so we can hopefully get the result we need this weekend.”

THIS TRACK IS PROBABLY NOT ONE OF YOUR TOP-TWO OR TOP-THREE FAVORITES, BUT YOU HAVE DONE WELL HERE. IS THERE ON PARTICULAR MEMORY YOU’LL TAKE AWAY FROM THIS TRACK?
“It seems like it’s been awhile since we’ve had that kind of success where we were battling for wins like we did in the mid- and late-90s. The one where me and (Dale Earnhardt) Junior were racing side-by-side and had a great battle. One of the races that stands out the most to me is where we came from about 10th or 12th with only a few laps to go; I think Jimmie and I battled for a win, and we were either second or third. One of the other ones that stands out is when (Dale) Earnhardt (Sr.) came from 18th or wherever it was and beat all of us. Watching him maneuver through traffic and doing what he did so well was very inspiring and very impressive.”

DOES LAST WEEKEND KIND OF SUM UP HOW YOUR SEASON HAS BEEN? TAKE A CAR LIKE THAT INTO THE TOP-10 AND KEEP HANGING AROUND?
“I feel like earlier in the year we were taking 10th-place cars and turning them into 15ths. Ever since the Chase started – other than Chicago – we’ve been executing very well and getting a little bit more out of what we had on the track. I think Charlotte proved that. Did we have a car that if you put us in seventh or eighth could we have run there? Yes, but I thought we executed very well. We were at our best in the final run to finish eighth. Last week you could have put us in 20th and we would have finished 20th. We really struggled except in qualifying. That’s really a combination of the tire at that track. It felt really hit-or-miss to me. But I thought we executed very well. That’s kind of what we’ve done since the start of the Chase. We’re getting more out of the car. We keep doing what we talked about all year long, and that’s execute. That’s what we were working on earlier in the season.”

I UNDERSTAND YOU WERE IN THE BIG ONE ON THE BOULEVARD AND YOU’LL BE PART OF IT AGAIN. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THAT EXPERIENCE?
“The Boulevard is something I haven’t been out to in years. You hear it from the bus lot, and you hear all the excitement and fun that the fans are having. We hear that a lot throughout the season but I don’t know if any place compares to what goes out on there at Talladega. I decided to check it out earlier this year; it was really cool and fun to get up close and personal with the fans and see them have an amazing time. It was such a great experience that I wanted to be part of it again tonight. I look forward to it. I have some friends here that I went to high school with, and I’m looking forward to showing them what goes on. I won’t be out there late but I’ll be out there watching everyone enjoy themselves. That’s one of the things I wanted to do this year – enjoy myself and take it all in. This is one of the experiences that stands out this year.

AND HOW AGGRESSIVE CAN YOU BE IN SUNDAY’S RACE KNOWING THAT THIS IS AN ELIMINATION RACE?
“It’s a balance. You have to take each moment and experience to make the most out of it. If you have a car that qualifies up front like we did last time we were here, you want to try and maintain that track position. You have to be a little more aggressive. I watched Dale Jr., and a few other guys who protect their position when they’re up front aggressively. There’s a fine line that can get in trouble really easily as well. But I can tell you that it’s a lot harder when you get shuffled back to work your way toward the front than it used to be. People are smarter, cars are more equal, and the draft and aerodynamics are different than they used to be. It’s hard to make that work if you get behind. Hopefully we qualify up front. The last time, I made a mistake getting on pit road and got on the splitter and locked up the tires and was speeding on pit road; we never recovered. So that’s what’s more on my mind. We have a very fast racecar. We have to execute and I have to execute and not make mistakes. If we do that and have a little luck on our side, there’s no doubt that we can not only win this race but move on.”

WITH THIS BEING YOUR FINAL PLATE RACE, DO YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS?
“When the race is over, I’ll give you my thoughts (laughs). Right now I want my mindset to be excited and positive about coming in here to win this race and move on to the next round of the Chase.”

WHEN CERTAIN GUYS GO TO ICONIC PLACES FOR THE LAST TIME – WHETHER THEY LIKE IT OR NOT – THEY DO SOMETHING TO COMMERATE THAT VISIT. DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING LIKE THAT PLANNED FOR THIS WEEKEND?
“This place has been really good to be and also really bad. I’m coming in with a positive attitude – excited at how fast our racecar is and how good our team is. It’s a great opportunity we have in front of us. So I’m not thinking about it from a historic standpoint or even letting it sink in that it’s my final race here. We have too much of a job at hand here. Our focus is on this round, continuing in the Chase and moving on. I really
believe that if we can make it through this round, we have three great tracks coming up that we can move on all the way to Homestead and do something we didn’t do last year and possible something I’ve never done before, and that’s win a Sprint Cup Championship. I know that we’re not running the way that some others are. But if we get through this one, I’m telling you there are four tracks where we can surprise some people. That’s all that’s on my mind. In this type of racing, you have to accept it. You can’t fight against it; it is what it is. There are times where I’ve enjoyed restrictor plate racing more than any other race I’ve ever been a part of. When things go right, it can’t be more fun than this. But when you’re stuck in the middle of three-wide on a green-white-checker and playing bumper cars at 200 mph, you look forward to it being over. To me, it gets me excited about going up into the (TV) booth next year and talking about all the things that are going on from the driver’s perspective.”

DO YOU THINK THIS RACE AND THE DYNAMICS OF IT WILL BE MUCH DIFFERENT THAN TALLADEGA EVER IS?
“The only difference is the drama and storylines – what’s at stake, who’s on the outside looking in? No one is safe other than Joey. Just the Chase format itself is what heightens the intensity of each race, especially this one. You have to run it just like you would any other restrictor plate and Talladega race. When you know what’s on the line, what could go wrong and what that could cost you – and on the flip side if everything goes right – it’s a huge race. That just adds intensity and pressure that is on everyone within the Chase. Then there is everyone outside the Chase that wants to win because they feel they can. I don’t think there is a car in this field that doesn’t feel like they can win. It’s a track where everyone says they can do it and spoil the Chase.”

WERE YOU HAPPY THAT THERE WON’T BE THREE GREEN-WHITE-CHECKER ON SUNDAY. SHOULD THAT BE THE RULE GOING FORWARD FOR PLATE RACES?
“Is there a way to get a rule where there’s none? I’d be in favor that, too. Come February, I want there to be 10 green-white-checkers! I’ll be on your side then (laughs). There is a balance between the excitement and entertainment to give the fans what they came here for and putting drivers at risk. When we look at these tracks and what is involved in those restarts – especially when you’re coming to the checkered flag… If anyone in this room rode inside one of these cars on a green-white-checkered, there’s no doubt in my mind that every single one of you would say they really shouldn’t do that. It’s insane. It’s a white-knuckle experience. If anyone in the garage says it’s not, then they’re not telling the truth. It just is. You’re holding your breath. It can make for some amazing moments and highlights. I don’t know if you need to put any added risk out there to do more than one.”

WHAT’S THE CRAZIEST THING YOU’VE SEEN IN THE TALLADEGA INFIELD?
“I don’t remember. It’s all kind of foggy (laughs). There’s a lot of stuff going on out there. I’ve probably heard more stories than I’ve seen. Earlier in May, I had some friends out here who had never been to Talladega and some of them were new to NASCAR. To hear them tell the stories of their experiences, I love that. I love hearing people go, ‘Man, I had no idea that this what goes on in the infield and that the fans are this crazy and have a good time.’ One of the guys who had been with me in May had been all over the world at some of the biggest parties, and he told me it was something he’ll never forget that experience at Talladega. That goes to show you what a great time can be had here as a fan, and for some of us drivers too.”

DALE EARNHARDT JR.:

DALE EARNHARDT JR., NO. 88 DIET MOUNTAIN DEW CHEVROLET SS met with media and discussed his approach to racing at Talladega this weekend, when Dale Earnhardt Sr. won his last race here, his opinion of green-white-checkered restarts, the importance of his confidence in the race car at plate tracks, and more. Full Transcript:

YOU WON THE SPRING TALLADEGA RACE AND YOU ARE IN A ‘MUST-WIN’ SITUATION THIS WEEKEND AT TALLADEGA. WHAT IS YOUR MINDSET HEADING INTO SUNDAY’S RACE?
“We’re just going to go out there and practice and work on the car and do what we need to do today. Qualifying is tomorrow. We’ll try to do as good a job as we can there; and when the race starts, run up front and try to stay toward the lead. I think it’s important to be in the lead in the last 50 laps of the race, so we’re going to try to be there.”

YOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO A PROMOTION EVENT WITH JOEL MCHALE WITH THE SOUP. WHAT DOES BRINGING SOMEONE LIKE THAT FROM THE ENTERTAINMENT WORLD AND WHAT WAS IT LIKE WORKING WITH HIM?
“I don’t know if we’ll all be sorry once it’s over with (laughter). I’m just kidding. We had a really good time. They were very nice and we had a good time out on the West Coast shooting that promo. And we will be over there tonight. It’s live TV and it’ll be pretty interesting to see how that goes on and how they put the show on. It’s a very fun show. I’ve seen it several times. So, I kind of know what we’re getting ourselves into. But, it should be good. It’s kind of putting ourselves in front of a new audience and hopefully we get some fans.”

DO YOU AGREE WITH HAVING FEWER GREEN-WHITE-CHECKERED FINISHES? DOES THE FACT THAT YOUR POSITION FACING OF ELIMINATION HAVE ANY BEARING ON YOUR OPINION?
“If I get caught up on any of them at any time is never good, whether you’re getting eliminated from a race, or your running the Daytona 500. You don’t want to be in a wreck. I think the green-white-checkers are a way to give the fans an opportunity to see a race end under green, but how many are too many attempts? Even with three attempts, that’s not a 100 percent guarantee that you’re going to finish the race under green, so when do you end it? I thought three was a lot. It still think three is a lot; anywhere at any race. One attempt was kind of the ‘norm’ if anybody ever did that in racing in the last 100 years. One attempt seemed to be plenty. And I thought that was a good move for NASCAR, not only considering what happened in Daytona, but just one attempt. We want to finish under green. We should hopefully finish under green without the opportunity of a green-white-checkered. But if there is a problem where we have to run extra laps, they’ll be one attempt, and that should satisfy not only the fans, but the drivers and everybody involved.”

YOU SPEAK CONFIDENTLY ABOUT TALLADEGA AND SEEM TO ENJOY IT AND LIKE IT. YOUR COMPETITORS, FOR THE MOST PART, DON’T. THEY DREAD IT A LITTLE BIT. DOES THAT GIVE YOU ANY SORT OF ‘EDGE’ AND CONFIDENCE OF DOING WELL?
“You have to talk to everybody instead of just a handful of guys that you’ve had a chance to speak to. I’m sure there are some other guys here that are just as confident when they come here. But, we’ve won here this year and we’ve ran good and won at Daytona over the last several years. So when we come to all the plate tracks we feel confident we can do well and feel confident in the car. The confidence that you have in the car is really where it all stems from. If you go out there and go through about 50 to 100 laps and the car is just not really showing you what you’re looking for, you lose a little confidence in the ability of the car. And another guy beside you might be going through the opposite situation where his car is awesome and he’s gaining confidence as the race is going on. And with that confidence, his moves and decisions are different and changing. When you don’t believe in the car, you make different decisions. You might not go in a direction you would typically go because you don’t believe the car is capable of making that move without causing you to lose spots, right? When you feel like you have a dominant car like we’ve had over the last several years, you definitely make some moves with confidence and you come into the race with confidence. Until we see anything different, we’ll be confident.”

YOUR DAD WON HIS LAST RACE HERE. WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER FROM THAT DAY? WERE YOU AMONG THE DRIVERS HE PASSED IN THAT CHARGE?
“Yeah (laughs). Marty Smith wrote a good article on that this week. I was sitting behind Mike Skinner. We were in single file line on the inside and Mike was protecting the bottom. And I was going to sit there until the last lap and try to pass him. And, Dad’s line formed on the outside and was coming. And, I could see him in the mirror knocking off a few guys each corner and getting closer toward the lead. And then I had to decide whether I was going to try to pass Mike now, and then maybe battle my dad for the lead, which was probably the best thing I could have done. Was I going to push Mike and try to work hard? Once their line got tires, ours had been kind of stagnant for a while. I think ours would have sort of rejuvenated itself and maybe battled-back. And so, I knew that pushing Mike Skinner past Daddy was not going to work well. I think I was riding home with Daddy anyways (laughter). I didn’t have a plane then, I don’t think. I knew he wouldn’t have wanted that; for me to do that, you know? You can’t communicate at that moment, but you’re just thinking of about a million things like he’s passing me. Part of me is pulling for him; the other part of me is thinking I’m not in the situation I want to be in because I thought I was just going to have to try to pass Mike. That was the only thing I had to worry about until the end of the race. Now, our lane is not the lead lane. What do I got to do to get our lane back into the lead? So now again, it’s against me and Mike. But Dad, I don’t want to push Mike in our lane past Dad. So I started not pushing Mike. I started lifting.

“And then our line really started falling. And then I decided coming through the Tri Oval that I was going to pass Mike. And I went to the bottom and he stayed against the apron. So he said basically at that point, if you’re going to pass me you’re going into this corner on the apron. And that wasn’t going to work. I was going to wreck myself and Mike and everyone else. So, I had to lift. And when I lifted to get back in line, I fell to like 14th place. Of course we had already lost about five or six spots to Dad’s line. But, it was a mess.

“I just sort of felt destructed, mentally, when all that was happening because I didn’t know exactly what I should do, what Tony Sr. wanted me to do on the pit box, what Dad wanted me to do; but he won the race. It worked out for him and that was good. It was a hell of a comeback. And it’s great for Kenny Wallace. He seems to really enjoy being a part of that story; and he’s such a great guy and he had a lot of respect for Dad.

“So, it’s just great to hear that story. I hate to think about how it went for me because I wanted to win the race. We were just starting to sort of understand our strength at DEI as a plate track powerhouse. We began to win races after that. I’d like to try it again. I wish we could do it again because I think I would have done a lot of things differently.”

WITH YOUR FAMILY’S LEGACY HERE AT TALLADEGA, THERE IS ALWAYS MAYBE A LITTLE EXTRA PRESSURE. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT HOW MUCH THIS CHASE CUTOFF PUTS ON YOU AND EVERYBODY ELSE THIS WEEKEND?
“Yeah, it’s real intense. There’s no denying the intensity and the pressure it puts on drivers like myself to be in a cutoff situation where you’re eliminated if things don’t go perfectly on Sunday. But I think it’s what the fans enjoy. If I’m a fan, I like it. I know I’ve read quite a few comments about this system and whether it’s fair and so forth. And I think I’ve read a lot of great opinions about that. But, it definitely, as a fan, I think it’s really what we needed. And even if we don’t make it through this weekend, I think it’s still going to be exciting. It was great last year even when we weren’t a part of it. It was amazing to watch. I really like to see the sport be as healthy as possible. And what we saw last year was great for that.

“This one has been pretty intense. We’ve seen some guys get wrecked. I, myself, got wrecked. We were worried. I know we had some comments and questions from some guys. We’re we going to be able to see the kind of intensity we saw last year? I think we have. And, it’s not even Texas yet (laughs). I don’t know what happened there. So, who knows what’s left? I’m excited to see it and hopefully I’m a part of it.”

ROWDY HARRELL, FORMER FOOTBALL PLAYER IN ALABAMA, NOW A MEMBER OF YOUR PIT CREW, WHAT DO YOU KNOW OF HIM? DO YOU TEND TO HIRE ATHLETIC GUYS LIKE HIM TO PUT TIRES ON YOUR CAR?
“Well, we have a system at Hendrick Motorsports that brings guys in. A lot of these guys are coming out of college or coming out of different careers as athletes and maybe they just kind of went through the system and some coming back from injuries but they’re still capable of going over the wall and being competitive on a pit crew. So, we’ve got a pretty good system. We’ve had a lot of guys moving in and out of our team this year, trying to find a good combination that works for us. And I believe in what we’ve got going on at Hendrick Motorsports to find that combination. We’ve got a lot of good guys and I’m hoping what we have right now is going to work for us the rest of the season.”

WHEN YOU WON IN MAY, YOU WENT INTO GREAT DETAIL ABOUT THE LAST 20 LAPS AND THAT YOU KNEW WHERE IT WAS GOING TO GO. ALL THESE RACES SEEM TO HAVE DIFFERENT PERSONALITIES. HOW QUICKLY OR HOW LATE ARE YOU ABLE TO RECOGNIZE THE PERSONALITY OF A RACE SO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU NEED TO DO?
“I don’t think you see it until like 20 to go. And to me, they all look kind of similar up until those last 20 laps. And I think the personality of the race depends on the guys that are up front and what they’re willing to do and what kind or style of place racer they are and the kind of things that they’ve done in the past. And, you know, sometimes you get teammates up there working together and sometimes you get one group ganging-up on one lone guy. It just depends on the characters involved. It takes a long time. All the races feel very similar to me right until the end. And right around the end, you sort of realize where you are and what your chances are. Like I said, I think I need to be in the lead with 30 or 20 to go to have a really, really good shot at it. If not, it’s going to be a bit more difficult task to get that lead. It’s just really difficult to pass the leader. And he’s probably going to be a strong car if he’s got the lead. So, it will be tough to get around him. They’ll be trying to do everything they can to hold it. And hopefully it’s exciting. I’d love to lead the last 30 straight. So, we’ll see how it goes.”