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.”