NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
AARON’S 499
TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
MAY 3, 2013
 
DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Talladega Superspeedway and discussed the mindset it takes to win at Talladega, his thoughts on JR Motorsports having the opportunity to lead the NASCAR Nationwide Series point standings and many other topics.  Full Transcript:
 
TALK ABOUT COMING TO TALLADEGA AND YOUR OUTLOOK FOR THIS WEEKEND:
“Really have had a lot of success here, a lot of great runs.  Always feel confident when we come here that we are going to have a good car, going to know how to use it and I think we feel that way coming in this weekend.  We had a great run at Daytona.  Feel like as far as a company goes Hendrick Motorsports has done a great job with this car at these particular race tracks.  Our confidence level is real good, real high.  Just looking forward to getting a little practice in, make sure everything is working the way it is supposed to.  Probably won’t run a whole lot, but the weather here is going to be odd all weekend.  Hopefully, we get an opportunity to race on Sunday and go to Victory Lane.  We really feel like we have a good shot at it and feel like it is about that time for us to win one here at Talladega.”
 
NOW THAT YOU HAVE SEVERAL RACES UNDER YOUR BELT WITH THIS CAR ARE YOU ENJOYING THE CAR?  DO YOU LIKE DRIVING IT AND DO YOU HAVE A GREAT SENSE OF HOW THIS CAR WILL RACE AT ANOTHER PLATE RACE?
“I am enjoying the car.  We are learning as we go. It’s hard to have a real good idea of what to expect every week.  There is still so much to learn with this car that the competitive line is a moving target.  Someone will find speed and really force the rest of the sport to chase that mark down.  Then the ante just keeps getting raised it seems week after week.  So it’s still a lot of questions and stuff about the new car. I really enjoy it I think it’s been good for me and we have run well pretty much everywhere we have been. I think that I’m not sure exactly what to expect on Sunday as far as a style of event we are going to have, style of drafting we will have and the way that the race will play itself out.  I think the asphalt has aged a little bit hopefully it is getting slicker and slicker.  Makes actually racing around each other a lot more challenging than it has been lately at the plate tracks. That should really separate the men from the boys.”
 
WHAT DO YOU EXPECT IS GOING TO BE THE TOUGHEST PART OF THE RACE ON SUNDAY?  ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT ANOTHER LAST LAP SCRUM LIKE WE HAVE HAD HERE A COUPLE OF TIMES LATELY?
“Yeah, that is something I think you worry about every week.  Especially at a short track like last week and you feel like that could happen at any short track race.  The mentality is the similar at the plate tracks.  Someone is going to have a position on somebody and not be willing to compromise and somebody is going to get turned around and bring about that green-white-checkered.  I don’t know everybody likes to see as far as race car drivers go. I mean I don’t know the fans probably love to see that kind of ending and see that kind of excitement.
 
“I’m certainly if I’m a fan I think that is one of the best ways to end the race is make it as exciting as possible with a green-white-checkered.  As far as some of the drivers are in position and putting themselves in position especially the plate tracks to make a move at a certain time that works out for them when the checkered flag is expected to fall.  Then when those plans kind of go out the window with a green-white-checkered you really have to scramble to put something else together because you are going to line up behind another guy or a different person or be side-by-side on the restart with someone else and the plan you had is not there anymore because there are different people involved.  It’s really a challenge at the plate tracks when the green-white-checkered start to happen to put something together and be able to trust the person you are trying to work with because they might not be a teammate of yours.  They might not drive the same manufacturer you do.  So it’s really a big challenge and something that can really turn the race upside down.”
 
LAST NIGHT YOU WERE WITH RICK HENDRICK AT THE HALL OF FAME.  WHAT DID THAT EXPERIENCE MEAN TO YOU?
“I was really moved by the speeches from all the guys that were inducted.  Particularly Dale Inman just his appreciation really showed through and the comments he made.  It meant a lot to him and you could tell that he had seen a lot.  You could tell he had been through just about as much as a guy could go through in this sport.  It was really neat to be able to see him get some kind of recognition and for him to get that opportunity to speak in front of everybody.  That was really emotional I think for all the guys involved and for the people who know these individuals.  It was inspiring to me.  Even some of the things that the drag racers were talking about, as far as his father being a man and that means more to him than the stats.  Some of the quotes and some of the lines in there really said it all and really encompassed the meaning of the night and the meaning of being inducted.  It was really inspiring to be there and to be able to listen to some of that stuff.”
 
WHEN YOU GET IN THE CAR HERE YOU JUST DON’T KNOW.  YOU MIGHT WIN, YOU MIGHT WRECK, HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THAT THOUGHT PROCESS WHEN YOU KNOW IT GOING IN?
“I think that you go in still with this mentality ‘I’m going to put it together, I’m going to make the moves, the car is going to be there and we are going to make great pit stops.’ You still go in with the mentality that you are going to put together this formula that is going to win the race.  You are going to do all these things that equal victory.  Even though you know it’s really a lottery in some aspects.  You still go in there kind of turning a blind eye to that part of it.  Restrictor plate racing is a race where you can get swept up in something that is totally out of your control and totally random and at times ridiculous.  You can be so frustrated by how out of your hands that happens.  How there was nothing you could do to avoid that fate.  You’ve really got to be able to put that behind you fast.  You’ve got to be able to know that is a possibility, a real possibility much more than any other track.  When you are running a short track you can see trouble coming.  You can avoid trouble.  You run your car how you want to run it.  It’s hard to explain, but you have got to know that is right around the corner.  You have got to be able to accept that kind of result and move on and go to the next race the next weekend. At the same time you’ve got to feel like you are going to do everything right.  You have to have confidence in what you are doing. If you are not making confident choices or not having confidence in what you are doing on the race track sometimes that type of mentality and just driving with caution or driving without confidence sends you backwards or puts you in a mess that tends to be the one that takes you out. So you have got to make confident moves, make moves with assertiveness and conviction.  That sort of has a better result more times than not.”  
 
JR MOTORSPORTS HAS NEVER LED THE NATIONWIDE SERIES.  REGAN SMITH IS CURRENTLY ONE POINT OUT.  WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO HAVE THAT PROGRAM COMPETITIVE AGAIN AND WOULD THE SERIES LEAD MEAN ANYTHING AT THIS POINT?
“Yeah, I think it says a lot about the changes we made over the last several months to try to turn things around and get the program more competitive.  I th
ink it raises awareness to potential partners for us to help us afford to put a great competitive team on the race track.  It says a lot about Regan (Smith).  It says a lot about the employees that we have there and how competitive they are and how talented they are.  It says a lot.  I’m excited about that. I’m excited about their potential this year.  I told Regan, ‘you’ve got to minimize your mistakes to do well in the points over a long haul’.  If he does that he will have a great opportunity of winning the championship.  I feel like that a lot of those guys in that series are going to… some of them are young and they tend to make more mistakes than the experienced guys.  If he can just keep his head on his shoulders, he has a bit of a temper sometimes, if he can just kind of keep that in check he has a great chance.  He has got a good team around him.  They are going to get better I think because they just started working together at the start of this year.  The potential there is through the roof for those guys if they can just all work together and stay on a good positive path mentally with each other and work together well.  They have to go to the race track every week and try to do the best they can and stay out of trouble.”
 
YOU ARE SO GOOD AT RESTRICTOR PLATE RACES, HOW MUCH OF THIS IS THAT YOU ARE GOOD AT IT AND FEEL IT; AND HOW MUCH OF IT IS RE-STUDYING THE CHANGE IN THE CAR AND WATCHING TAPE AND THINKING ABOUT IT THIS YEAR AS OPPOSED TO OTHER YEARS?
“The one thing that’s been consistent with restrictor-plate racing since I started racing in NASCAR is that they constantly change the rules. They constantly change the plates and the spoilers. They’re taking away and adding things to the cars so the package itself is changing just about every year. And sometimes in the middle of the seasons, the package can change. And what that means is, every time you move something on that car on the body of that car, it’s going to draft differently.
 
“It’s going to react differently with cars around it. The weigh it pulls up on somebody and your ability to pull out and pass changes every time. So you really have to have an open mind and be willing to change how you’re going to race and how you’re going to draft because of the way the car reacts. I think that you find those things out in practice. We don’t really practice as much as we used to. As a sport, I think everybody has really backed off on how much they run in practice.
 
“I remember we used to come here in ’02 and ’04 and we used to run lap after lap after lap in the draft from the start of the day until the end of the day and just run every lap we could run. And we’d learn so much about how the car drafted and how it reacts and what works and what doesn’t work and what’s new as far as the package and how the draft works. But you don’t do as much of that anymore. The crew chiefs don’t really like you on the track as much anymore. The engine guys want to keep the miles down on the motors. For several different reasons, we just really don’t spend a lot of time out there in 20-car packs running lap after lap and learning too much. So, you’ve kind of got to learn in the race on the fly.
 
“But you’ve got to be open-minded about what you’re seeing and what you’re feeling in the car because the package has changed so much. You’ve got to be willing to change the style of the way you try to pass people and how you put together passes and how aggressive you are out there.”
 
DO YOU HAVE ANY SPECIAL PLANS FOR THE UPCOMING MOTHER’S DAY?
“Yeah, we’re going to cook a brisket together. I just started. I bought Myron Mixon’s book, that guy from the show, BBQ Pitmasters, and I’m trying to learn how to barbeque (laughter). So we’re going to cook us a brisket and see how that goes. So, yeah, that’s going to be Mother’s Day for me. She lives 100 yards from me. We took her to lunch this week. I like sushi a lot and I just got her to where she’ll eat some of that. So we went and took her to lunch this week and got a haircut and just typical, normal stuff.”
 
LAST TIME WE WERE HERE YOU WERE PRETTY ANGRY ABOUT THE RACING IN GENERAL.  YOU KNOW THE POSSIBILITY OF A CRASH IS THERE. WHEN YOU ROLL IN HERE, DO YOU HAVE A SENSE OF DREAD? ARE YOU APPREHENSIVE ABOUT WHAT COULD HAPPEN?
“Well, I hate to put the blame on the concussion, but the feeling that I had physically when I got out of the car, I knew that I had set myself back somehow with the concussion thing. And so I was really angry with that because I had spent four weeks to get to where I could feel like I was great. And then now I’m going to take two steps back and have to do all that again. I was really, really mad that I couldn’t just get through that wreck and not have that happen.
 
“I don’t care if I’m in the crash and out of the race, but to get out of the car and feel concussed and feel like oh shoot man, now I’ve got to go through the process again and you’re not supposed to have them close together and all this stuff so you just have all kinds of worry running through your mind. It had me really, really angry and not myself, obviously. So, I’ve regretted that. I’ve regretted making those comments and I think I overreacted and overstated my feelings quite a bit. It’s frustrating when you run around and we spend all day running 495 miles and then crash in the last five (miles). The whole field crashes. It’s really frustrating to sort of accept that as what I decided to do today. I got up Sunday morning and decided to run 495 miles to crash in the last five miles and now I’m going to go home, and I’m all right with that. That’s hard to wrap your brain around, and I’m okay with it and everything’s cool. But I think I did over-react a little bit and just was real emotional. I think about feeling concussed. On Sunday morning I’m like man, I feel great and just 100 percent myself and I was just so happy to have that feeling and feel like I could get back on track and try to do well in the Chase and put that test crash behind me and get all that in the back of my mind and not worry about it ever again, and now I wasn’t the case after that race.
 
“But I don’t think about Talladega when I come here for a race such as this weekend, in a bad way. I think about it as a place where I’ve done well. I think about it as a place where we need to win and we can win. I know what I need to do to win at places like this and we can make it a good weekend. And if I drive the way I need to drive, I’m not in position to be in a wreck. I’m up front where I’m supposed to be. That’s my feeling inside is I’m supposed to be up front. And then, I get swept-up in a crash running 18th. I didn’t do something right. And I put myself in that position at some point in the race. So, if I do everything I need to do, then I won’t have to worry about being swept-up in the last lap crashes and we can go into Victory Lane and celebrate. That’s what I think about when I preparing to come here.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
AARON’S 499
TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
MAY 3, 2013
 
KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 BUDWEISER CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Talladega Superspeedway and discussed racing at Talladega, why he has a good attitude about restrictor plate racing, sponsorship and other topics. Full transcript:
 
TELL US ABOUT THE BUDWEISER MOBILE 360 APP:
“The new 360 App is pretty cool. Obviously it gives you a 360 degree view of the inside of the car. We had cameras hanging off the left side of the car. I think we freaked the guys out that were mounting the cameras on the car when it ran at 190 miles-an-hour on the first lap. I don’t know how much their camera cost; they were happy with the footage, but scared to-death it was going to fly off the car. It was fun. I always like to do things that are authentic. When you drive the car at full-speed, and you take a real race car. That was kind of my requirement I wanted to do the deal, and Budweiser spending the money to do something unique for the fans. Go to the Budweiser 360 App and check it out.”
 
TALK ABOUT BEING AT TALLADEGA THIS WEEKEND:
“It’s one of those deals where the last few times, really the last race, I thought coming to the checkered flag ‘Man, by the time we get to the start/finish line, we’re going to have a chance to win the race’.  I think we were running third; never made it off of turn four.  You just kind of go through cycles like. We won the qualifying race and Shootout (at Daytona International Speedway in February, 2013) this year. Points races haven’t been kind to us over the last few (superspeedway) races, but you keep doing the same things. You try to put yourself in position. Sometimes you miss the wrecks, and sometimes you don’t. I enjoy the restrictor plate style racing. Interested to see if there is any difference from Daytona to here as to how the cars draft, and drive, and handle – but that won’t be that big of a deal at this particular track. We’ll go practice, and see how the cars are and go from there.”
 
COMING OFF THE RICHMOND WIN. HOW MUCH FEEL GOOD AND CONFIDENCE TRANSFERS TO HERE?
“Obviously very different. I think a win is obviously a good fix for…whether you’ve had good runs; bad runs; it gives that instant boost. All the guys are pumped up. Everybody is excited to be at the race track. There’s really nothing you can take from last week to this week, other than some positive momentum. There is a W in the win column, and everything’s going okay, but it’s just two totally different animals.”
 
HOW IMPORTANT IS TODAY’S PRACTICE GOING TO BE? WILL YOU DO CLOSE DRAFTING DURING PRACTICE?
“I think the weather will have more of influence on that for tomorrow, than probably anything. I think everybody’s half-way convinced that today’s practices will line-up will line-up the cars for Sunday’s race. So, I think that race in Daytona kind of eased everybody’s minds just for the fact that we have more cars now. People have had time to build more cars. At Daytona, we were lacking some parts, and time was really the biggest thing that we lacked. I think everybody has had some time to put their cars back together, and put more cars together. I think you want to go out and practice, and get the best speed you can for qualifying. Possibly.”
 
HOW DO YOU DESCRIBE THE PROSPECT AND THE CONCERN FOR THE UNKNOWN HERE? “My approach to these types of races has always been just you don’t worry about the things you can’t control which is a whole lot here. You go out, and go in with a mindset of that I enjoy restrictor plate racing.  That unknown is something that is intriguing to me to know that you can go somewhere, and you can race all day.  I know that a lot of people might think that you are crazy for thinking like it’s fun. But it is fun. I know that the end result doesn’t look like it is fun; it is a lot of work for the guys that fix the car. It’s dangerous. But, that thought of being able to push and shove kind of like you are at the go kart track with your buddies. That is really how you would race; especially at the end. You are pushing whoever is in front of you, no matter what color, what brand, what driver, who you hate, who you don’t hate; you are pushing the guy in front of you to try to make the be position at the finish that you can.  Sometimes you push too hard; sometimes somebody else pushes too hard and you are in there mess, and you get out and go home. You have to have that….for me, I’ve always just tried to approach it that I don’t care attitude, and just do whatever you have to do to try to put yourself in position. And, when you leave here, if you wreck, you can’t be mad. It’s part of the game.”
 
DO YOU HAVE ANY SPECIAL PLANS FOR MOTHER’S DAY NOW THAT DELANA IS A MOM? HOW MUCH OF A HELP WAS YOUR OWN MOM TO GET YOU WHERE YOU ARE TODAY?
“My biggest plan is to not screw up Sunday in the first year.  You don’t want to screw up the first Mother’s Day. My main objective is to make sure that you have the gift pre-week, and don’t forget to hand it out on Sunday. Obviously, my Mom has always been there. Always been supportive of everything I do. That is something you don’t want to forget as well. You want to make sure you don’t forget on either front.”
 
WILL SUNDAY’S RACE BE MOSTLY A FEELING-OUT PROCESS FOR THE FIRST HALF AS GUYS FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH THESE CAR, AND KNOWING AT DAYTONA,  YOU DIDN’T GET A LOT OF PACK STUFF?
“I don’t envision it being a lot different. We ran four Cup races in Daytona, so you kind of know what you have. The track is different. There will be the opportunity to have some bigger packs just because of the style of the race track, and there is more room to maneuver, and what affect, and how big that affect is on this style of racing is obviously yet to be determined. Honestly in my mind, I don’t envision it being a whole lot different.”
 
WHAT DID YOU LEARN IN DAYTONA EITHER BY RACING OR WATCHING THAT WILL HELP YOU HERE WITH THIS CAR?
“Winning is a lot more fun than wrecking. (SMILES) That is what I learned. We won the whole week, and wrecked on Sunday. But, that’s just kind of the way it goes. I think it is all going to be the same here.”
 
WHAT TWEAKS WOULD YOU MAKE TO THE GEN SIX CAR IF YOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY IN TERMS OF AERO PACKAGE? WHAT WOULD YOU ASK FOR?
“I think the car has been very competitive as we have gone through the weeks. This will be our second event with the superspeedway stuff. It’s easier to get engaged on the downforce stuff when you are racing it every week. We’ve had several really good races, and finishes. Man, I got out of owning cars, and trucks and all those things, and trying to play the politics of it. I’ve learned to just drive the things, and let them figure out the rules and adapt to them the best we can.”
 
IS BELL HELICOPTER GOING TO BE ON THE CAR AGAIN?
“We had Bad Boy Buggies the week before (Richmond) at Kansas. Bell Helicopter was on last week. Cesna is a partner of our throughout the whole season. I know Bad Boy Buggies will be back on the car in the Nationwide Series as we go through the rest of the year.”
 
HOW MUCH OF YOUR RESTRICTOR PLATE TRACK SUCCESS TO YOU ATTRIBUTE TO YOU ATTITUDE OF KNOWING WHAT CAN HAPPEN AND BEING PREPARED FOR THE THINGS YOU CAN’T CONTROL?
“You see a lot of guys drive themselves crazy about having to come to Talladega, and complaining about what they think is right, or what they think is wrong. It is just a race. It really is. You know what is going to happen coming into the race. I’ve been through a lot of different styles of racing here. I’ve been in races with no cautions here; I’ve run one race with no cautions here back in the day. We’ve run races that are caution-filled and wrecks all over the place. We’ve wrecked on the first lap; last lap; middle
laps. You just never really know what to expect, so you just….  I think that mindset is kind of an RCR (Richard Childress Racing) mindset that was installed in the beginning, when I started restrictor plate racing. I think that Richard (Childress) has never been one to get on me about wrecking cars at the speedways. He knows the deal. He’s raced the cars. He knows the position that you get put in as a driver. You just have to go for. You have to be smart about it, but you have to be in position at the end of the race. You have to take some chances, and sometimes those chances pay off, and sometimes they don’t.  Sometimes you have absolutely nothing to do with what happens, and you are in the wrong place at the wrong time. The other side of that is you can drive through the biggest wreck in the world, and not have a scratch on your car. It’s definitely better to have a good mindset about it, and not let yourself get completely torn-up about what you would change and how you would change it. This is a part of NASCAR racing, and it has been for a long time.  You might as well just enjoy it.”
 

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
AARON’S 499
TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
MAY 3, 2013
 
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 IMRON ELITE CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Talladega Superspeedway, and discussed superspeedway racing, rain in the forecast and other topics. Full transcript:
 
HOW WILL YOU APPROACH PRACTICE WITH RAIN IN THE FORECAST?
“Obviously, we are going to put a lot of effort into going fast in this practice session, which means you’re going to have to work the draft. We want to make sure that’s we’re starting up front. It’s not crucial here, but I think it’s important and with what we learned in Daytona, I think track position is more important these days at a restrictor plate race than they used to be.”
 
DOES THE RAIN MESS WITH YOUR MINDSET?
“Honestly, if we didn’t practice at all it wouldn’t even affect my mindset. I don’t think we’re going to learn a lot in practice so this is actually kind of exciting that we’ll actually be able to go out there with a purpose for a potential starting position for tomorrow. It will be interesting to see how that plays out.”
 
ON STARTING POSITIONS:
“I certainly would like to qualify. I think our team has an excellent shot at being on the front row or pole. We typically qualify well here. I would like to see us qualify and we can’t be guaranteed that the weather is going to come and rain this thing out tomorrow. We’ll be prepared for both scenarios.”
 
WILL THE HENDRICK CARS RUN TOGETHER IN PRACTICE?
“We’re going to consider all options, but we’re actively going to work the draft to try to go fast. If that’s what’s going to help us start up front tomorrow then we’ll do that. Typically, we wouldn’t worry about that. Typically, we would just go out there and see how the car is in the middle of the draft and look at our temps, look at our handling and look at the options of pushing or not pushing, being pushed and all those things. We’ll still do some of that, but we’re also going to try to put up a fast number.”
 
ON THE IMPORTANCE OF TRACK POSITION:
“It was hard to pass in Daytona and it’s not that it’s just hard to pass, it’s that nobody wanted to get out of line. Everybody kind of protected their position until those crucial moments in the closing laps. I think that there could be some more of that this weekend and I made some mistakes by getting a little bit over-confident that we could make some moves with some other cars and drive to the front. Until we see that happen here, I think it’s going to be more of start up front, try to have good, solid pit stops and strategy and stay up front and go after it in the closing laps.”
 
IS THERE ANY REASON THIS COULD BE DIFFERENT THAN DAYTONA?
“No. The only thing that is different is this is a wider race track. You don’t have to worry about handling where handling was a little bit of an issue at Daytona. You don’t have to worry about that at all here. You might be able to push a little bit more aggressively and we’ll look at the temps, but I think it’s going to be just as challenging and difficult to jump out of line and to get a line formed on that inside to move up there. It certainly could happen and it could have happened at Daytona, it just didn’t seem like enough guys really wanted to get organized to do it. They were pretty committed to stay in that outside lane so it made it very challenging and I would think you are going to see a lot more of the same here.”
 
HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THE UNKNOWN THAT CAN HAPPEN AT DAYTONA?
“This car this year, we’ve experienced a lot of that, not just at Talladega or Daytona, but a lot of tracks. I think that we go into it trying to utilize our past experience, try to utilize what we’ve learned so far this year and then always try to look ahead at what we feel like we could gain and how we could get better. I think that here at Talladega, the only unknown is when that big wreck is going to happen and what’s going to cause it and sometimes it happens when you least expect it, but you can be assured that you get a full group of cars down to the closing laps of this race and it’s going to happen. It’s just whether or not you get caught up in it or not. Last time I was here I got very fortunate, they were slamming and banging and cars flying all over the place and we were able to sneak by on the apron in three and four and come out in second or third.”
 
HOW DO YOU COMPARE YOUR MINDSET NOW AT TALLADEGA COMPARED TO WHEN YOU STARTED RACING HERE?
“The first time I came here, I came with moderate confidence because of our success at Daytona that year. We ran up front. I don’t remember how we ended up here in that first race, but you definitely have to treat this slightly different than Daytona because it is bigger, wider, faster and the drafting is slightly different. What moves you’re able to make as a driver, just because of the security the car has here is a little bit different. Over the years, certainly that confidence is built because of our success, but at the same time the cars have changed, packages have changed, how you win at Talladega has changed. We were close a couple years ago and hopefully we can be smart and make some good moves and get ourselves back in a position. All you want at a track like this is to have yourself in position to be able to make some of those moves and hope that your momentum carries and you get a good finish and maybe even a win.”
 
HOW DOES THE GEN-6 CAR IMPACT THESE RACES?
“It’s a different aero package and this car has a lot of drag, but a lot of down force in it. It’s a little bit different in the draft. We saw in Daytona where you could upset the cars a little bit more when you got up close to them and outside of them. I don’t think we’ll have to worry about that too much here, but still it’s something to think about. You can really play with the side draft a lot more here at this track with this car and so it’s certainly different than what we had last year.”
 
ON THE INDUCTION CEREMONY LAST NIGHT:
“Oh my God that was so cool. I haven’t been to the International Motorsports Hall of Fame event in a few years. It was very special to be there with Rick (Hendrick) and to see him honored like that. I know how much effort he and his organization have put into this sport and I know how much it means to Rick to be honored like that and having all four drivers and crew chiefs and many others that have been a part of that success over the years there last night meant the world to Rick. He did an awesome job as usual, very classy. It was also very cool to hear the other stories with Dale Inman and Richard Petty and Don Schumacher, Rusty (Wallace), it was a great event I thought.”
 
ON INCREASED SPEEDS IMPACTING RACING THIS SEASON, SPECIFICALLY AT INDIANAPOLIS DURING THE TIRE TEST:
“The speeds were up because Goodyear, it’s a tire test. They’re trying different combinations and different tires. The speeds won’t be that fast because that tire didn’t really pan out. It just didn’t lay the rubber that we were hoping that it would lay so it had a lot of grip, was super fast. We showed up second day, low temps on the track early in the morning and we busted off some crazy laps. Then it wasn’t short after that we went back to the Indy tire that we’ve run in the past. It’s a great tire, but it definitely doesn’t have as much grip. Speeds are going to be significantly less than what those were that we were putting out there. Just because it was cool to go that fast. I thought it was awesome. To have a car stick like that, not even in qualifying trim was to me a great experience at Indy. I wanted to talk about it and so did other drivers. There’s no doubt that the faster you go through the corners, the bigger hole you punch in the air, the more it’s going to impact the racing. We need wide race tracks where we can get multiple grooves
and we can search around the race track to be able to make that work. That’s just been evolution. That is just how the sport has evolved over the last 50 years. That’s where we’re at and that is where the Gen-6 car is and I think we have had some great races and certainly plenty of challenges. You do not want to be in the wake of that car. You have to get away from it. Yet when you’re away from it, it sticks really good so it’s got a lot of comfort, gives the drivers a great feel of confidence and allows us to push a little harder.”
 
WHO WOULD YOU PICK AS THREE DRIVERS FOR A FANTASY TEAM FOR THE ALL-STAR RACE?  “Oh my gosh, active drivers for the All-Star race. You can’t go wrong with Jimmie Johnson. Those guys have been so good in that race. The way that Matt Kenseth is running this year, those guys are just so, so strong. I’m trying to think who else has really been, I think maybe it would come down between a Kyle Busch or a Brad Keselowski, those guys have just been solid, fast and I would probably lean towards Kyle just because of his aggressiveness and abilities to do such a good job on restarts in those first couple laps. That’s when that race is won in my opinion.”
 
HOW MUCH DO YOU PAY ATTENTION TO SECURITY AT RACE TRACKS AND SURROUNDINGS IN GENERAL?
“I think you go through different times. I’ve been in this sport a long time and so when I first came into the sport, you put a moderate amount of energy and a team does into the safety of the cars. You’re main focus is how I can make this car go fast. How do I get it to the end? That’s is just your primary focus. Then some incidents happen where safety becomes a top priority and you put a lot more energy into that. I see the same thing with the tracks. They’re always trying to make sure everybody is safe, but sometimes things happen that you don’t really anticipate whether it’s what happened with (Denny) Hamlin, with me in a similar scenario in Vegas or what happened in Daytona. I think everybody needs to understand that these cars are traveling 200-plus miles per hour, safety is something that is a big focus, but there’s still things that you can’t prepare for. I think they’ve done a great job looking at the Daytona incident and that was one of those incidents where that car hit an area of that fence that just, it’s like an one-in-a-million chance of that happening. I think those are the things sometimes that are hard to foresee that you wish you could, what about that one-in-a-million? How could you possibly prepare and get ahead of that and be proactive rather than reactive. The nice thing is that I know the speedway here has made sure and all the speedways have looked at those crossover gates making sure that area does not give way in an impact if that were to happen again. Cars are going to get airborne, I think the cars are far better these days. They are going to get airborne, parts are going to fly off if they get into the fence, but I think most of the time it’s going to be minimal debris that gets put up into the grandstands as well as minimal injuries to the drivers, but it’s still possible.”
 
ON TRACK SECURITY:
“You know we had Monica Seles to a race, oh my gosh, 18 years ago as guest of DuPont and to me that was the first time we were really focused on it because it was after her incident that happened on the court. I know we were all conscious of her coming into our series where there is very minimal security when it comes to the fans access because that’s part of our sport. I wanted to make sure she was comfortable. She handled it well, but she was pretty shocked at how interactive we are within the garage area with the fans. I’ll be honest with you, not much has changed over the years. That’s just something we’ve come to expect and I’ve never felt threatened ever. I’ve had great interactions with the fans, doesn’t mean they always say or do the things that you hope for, but I’ve never felt unsafe. It’s one of those things that we’ve got to continue to keep that uniqueness and that accessibility. You just hope that there’s not one person out there that ruins that for everybody else.”
 
AT WHAT POINT IS IT DANGEROUS FOR AN INJURED DRIVER TO COMPETE?
“I think you have to look at your injuries. You have to put faith in your doctors and listen to them, they are the experts. Then you have to understand where you’re at in your career. If you have many, many years ahead of you then you have a bright future and you have a team that supports you to get through that healing process then you need to take your time and think long term. If you’re somebody that is struggling to keep that ride, they are going to push the limits more and take that risk. Life in general is just risk versus reward. As a race car driver, we don’t think of ourselves any more risky out there than somebody else that has a nine-to-five job. It’s just the way our minds work. You have to take yourself out of that and understand what the dangers are, what the risks are and if you re-injure yourself, can that be life-threatening or something that ends your career. I think for me, I’m later in my career and have a family and so an injury like what Denny (Hamlin) went through, I don’t know. I might not come back from that just because, is it worth it? For Denny, I think it’s worth it for him to really take his time and do it right. What he’s doing this weekend, to me that makes sense. It’s Talladega, there’s ways to avoid those incidents. I’ll be interested to see if he gets out or stays in there. If I know Denny he’s going to have a hard time getting out. Sounds like he is ready to go.”
 
ON PERSPECTIVE OF INJURIES THAT COULD TAKE YOU AWAY FROM YOUR FAMILY:  “My perspective on what kind of risks I’m going to take when I know what’s laying in front of me. It doesn’t change the risk that I’m going to take out there on the race track or how hard I’m going to push or whatever it takes to win races. That’s not on my mind when I’m out there, but when incidents happen and you go through certain injuries and stuff like that, yeah, you’re family definitely plays an important role because they are very important to you. You start to realize where the real priorities are and when I’m at the race track my priority is to win. If there is something that’s going to take me away from spending quality time with my family 10, 20 years from now, that’s something I would weigh in any decision I make.”
 
HOW DO YOU TREAT THE ALL-STAR RACE?
“I think we push hard to try to win every race. The difference is that you have a shorter amount of laps. You know that it’s kind of a win or nothing scenario and that’s not the case on the other weekends. Again, going back to the risk versus reward thing, it’s sort of a win or nothing maybe top-two or three, other than that it really doesn’t lend itself to battling over the top to try to get fifth or sixth or eighth or something like that. I’ve always approached it as being aggressive, I love the energy from the crowd and the whole event. We try to push hard whether it be in practice or qualifying just to get that car to be really, really strong especially over a 10 or 15 lap run because that seems to be where you can really make up positions and put yourself in position to win.”
 
WOULD YOU DO THE SAME THING DENNY HAMLIN IS DOING THIS WEEKEND?
“I probably would take a little longer vacation. He’s young, he’s got so many years ahead of him. I probably would be more patient with it just because what do I have to gain? I’ve had the fortune of winning four championships, sure I would like to win more, but he’s not won a championship. He has so many race wins ahead of him. I think he’s seen how good his team is this year and I think that makes it more challenging for a guy in his position than it would be for me to wait it out.”
 
DO YOU LOOK FORWARD TO RETURNING TO DARLINGTON?
“I am, I always look forward to going to Darli
ngton. It’s a great track, it’s fast and exciting. It’s not the same track it used to be 10 years ago, but it’s still one of those tracks where you have to push hard, be patient. We’ve run good there the last couple times so I’m looking forward to it.”
 

DANICA PATRICK, NO. 10 GODADDAY.COM CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Talladega Superspeedway and discussed the expectations coming into Talladega after a successful run in Daytona, the possibility of getting the Fan Vote for the All-Star race and other topics.  Full Transcript:
 
FIRST PLATE RACE SINCE DAYTONA, DO EXPECTATIONS SPIKE ALL OVER AGAIN?   
“I suppose based on Daytona and how fast this car is, which is the same car we ran at Daytona, and how the race went.  I suppose it’s fair to say that there should be a little spike in expectation, but you also have to take into consideration on these big speedways that there is a whole lot of luck that comes into it.  Everything has got to be clean.  The stops have to be good.  You have to stay in the pack no issues, not getting caught up in an accident.  From what I remember last year even at Talladega it was more of a pack race than Daytona even.  It will be interesting to see how it plays out.  Obviously, this is a wider track than Daytona so when we start getting four-wide that is when stuff starts to get a little exciting.  We will just have to hope that we are in the right place at the right time.”
 
SHOULD YOU BE THERE AROUND THE LAST LAP, DID YOU LEARN ANYTHING FROM THAT LAST LAP AT DAYTONA THAT WOULD HELP YOU SWIM WITH THE SHARKS ANY BETTER?
“I learned that if I just stay in line and keep my foot down and don’t try and come up with any kind of plan that you are kind of a sitting duck.  I mean I talked to Tony (Stewart) after the race and I talked to Jimmie (Johnson) after the race too.  I think Tony pointed it out most specifically is just that there was probably more to lose in third than there was to gain. By pulling out and trying something I could have just as easily ended up 15th or so back, again right place at the right time with the right opportunity ahead of you. I have a better idea of what it is going to take, but it’s also circumstantial.  Jimmie told me after the race he said ‘look I didn’t have a plan.  The two times I’ve won now I didn’t have any plan going into the last lap.’ That is where the luck comes in and right place at the right time.”
 
WITH ALL THAT BEING SAID WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS YOUR CONFIDENCE LEVEL ON THE SUPERSPEEDWAYS?
“I don’t know if the confidence level shifts a tremendous amount as much as the comfort level does.  Just being comfortable on these big speedways and comfortable with this pack style racing that I was so used to in IndyCar on the ovals.  Just having a feel for it, it is something that I probably caught on to quicker than anything in stock car racing.  I guess I show up here and it’s just a little bit more comfortable.”
 
WHAT DO YOU HOPE DAYTONA DID FOR YOU IN TERMS OF PEOPLE’S CONFIDENCE RUNNING WITH YOU AND AROUND YOU?
“Anytime you run at the front and you run with good drivers you hope that they just have good experiences and they think nice things and they feel more comfortable around me.  They think less about me probably to be honest as far as just thinking about it other than worrying about me being fast.  I mean that is the best kind of thinking you can have.”
 
IS THE NATIONWIDE RACE GOING TO HELP ON SATURDAY AND MIGHT YOU MAKE ANY MOVES THAT BE GEARED TOWARD SOME EXPERIMENTATION FOR SUNDAY?
“Yeah, the Nationwide race that is why we are doing it.  We are doing it to try to win and we are doing it to get a little bit more practice in before the big day on Sunday.  There is going to be more bump drafting in the Nationwide race, but I think that everything is happening really fast in the Nationwide race because you have such shifts in speed with bump drafting and drafting. I feel like it kind of just sharpens your instincts up and sharpens you up out on the track and gets you ready for and more prepared for the next day.”
 
HOW COMFORTABLE WERE YOU ON THE ICE IN CHICAGO?
“I was wearing heels when I arrived to the Blackhawks game (Hockey).  At the last second I intelligently grabbed a pair of flats so I’m glad I did that because knowing that I had to go… I didn’t really understand what I was going to have to do out there.  When I realized I was going to be like really trying to score and hit the puck into the goal I thought you know what I better give myself the best chance possible.  I put those flats on and tried a couple of shots in the back just on concrete floor.  They gave me some advice on how to hit it and luckily that very first one went in.  I’m glad they didn’t show the rest of them because they didn’t look so pretty.”
 
LOOKING AHEAD TO THE ALL-STAR RACE WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR CHANCES ARE OF GETTING THE FAN VOTE?
“I don’t know.  I think about it from a fans perspective and I think that you want the driver that you cheer for to be out there of course, but you want a good race.  Hopefully, they think of me when they think of those two.  We always have the opportunity to race in as well.  We are going to be working really hard over the next month on our mile and a half car and we need to. Let’s hope it all comes together by the All-Star race.”
 
ON THE VIDEO FOR FAN VOTING FOR THE ALL-STAR RACE WITH RICKY STENHOUSE:
“We thought that was fun. Ricky (Stenhouse) and I shot that little video. I would love to be in the race and I think more than anything you want to entertain your fans of course. I hope I can be in the race to do that. Also, I want to perform well in the Coke 600 and racing in the All-Star race would definitely help that.”
 
HOW DID THE VIDEO COME ABOUT?
“I think it was between Go Daddy and Sprint and them all making that happen. In fact Joe (Crowley, PR) coming up with the script and thought it was a clever little script so we shot it in a matter of about 20 minutes and it aired. Obviously, we both want to be in the race and to try to create a little bit of buzz to get people to go vote and have some fun with it.”
 
WAS IT DIFFERENT DOING THE VIDEO AS A COUPLE?
“I suppose. We’ve done stuff on camera before. We shot stuff for Nationwide and some other things together. It wasn’t the first time, but I think it’s clever and cute for the both of us. I think I would vote for him, I like watching Ricky (Stenhouse) race.”
 
WHAT IS THE MENTAL APPROACH AT A TRACK LIKE TALLADEGA OR DAYTONA?
“You just have to hope and pray that you’re in the right place at the right time as I’ve said. You have to be smart enough to know when you’re putting yourself in a bad situation and when you need to force the issue. That’s the exciting part. As a fan, I’ve watched plenty of these speedway races in Cup and I want to watch to see how it plays out too and I think that’s part of the excitement of these tracks is that you’re not sure how it’s going to play out. There can be some new players up front and there can be some real shuffling of the field and that’s what makes it exciting to watch is you just have to watch it to see how it plays out.”
 
HOW HAS TONY STEWART BEEN DEALING WITH THE FRUSTRATIONS THIS SEASON?
“Tony (Stewart) is obviously an incredible driver. They’ve had tons of success as a team, Stewart Haas has and I think that when things aren’t going as you hope they would go, it’s frustrating and you just have to figure out what it’s going to take to turn that around. I know that he’s been around the shop more and trying to figure those things out because obviously he wants to run well as a team, but he wants to run well himself. I’m sure that all that will help and as I’ve said, we’ve got a lot of tests lined up for the next month. It’s just a matter of stumbling on to the right balance of setups so you can go to these mile-and-a-halves and unload close and then make it better instead of, at least in my situation, not sure exactly what platform you should be run
ning and what setup you should be running. We just need to get closer on that and arrive at the track with a closer setup.”
 
DO YOU HAVE CONCERN ABOUT HOW RAIN MAY IMPACT PRACTICE AND QUALIFYING?
“Well from what I’ve heard practice times are going to line-up the field for the Cup race, that is what we were inside talking about needing to get a draft and put a big number up on the board as possible. I said, ‘Okay, everybody is going to be trying to do that.’ You’re probably going to see a lot of cars on the track, obviously you want to get out there in case it rains and you want to give yourself opportunities to get that big draft run where you can put a big time up. It’s a little bit of a unique scenario on these speedways because you get so much faster when you catch up to a big pack. It will at least make practice interesting on these speedways, which can probably be pretty boring sometimes.”
 
ARE YOU ANY MORE COMFORTABLE AT DARLINGTON?
“Last year I ran there in the Cup race, it was one of the, well it was basically my first Cup race really. I ran Daytona, but Darlington was getting thrown into the deep end. That was the purpose of it was to get seat time so I’m not thinking or dreading going there next weekend and worrying about what that’s going to look like for me and how it’s going to feel. I have an idea now of how it is going to feel and what needs to be done.”
 
WHO WOULD YOU WANT YOUR THREE CAR FANTASY TEAM TO BE IN THE ALL-STAR RACE?  “Three car fantasy team for the All-Star race, I think as far as going out to win the race I think Tony (Stewart) would be a good one. I feel like he always seems to do well in these one off races in particular. I think Tony, probably Jimmie (Johnson) of course and Kyle (Busch). I would say they would be pretty good picks.”

2014 Corvette Stingray to Pace 97th Indianapolis 500
INDIANAPOLIS – The all-new, seventh-generation 2014 Corvette Stingray will serve as the Indianapolis 500 Pace Car, leading the field to green at the start of the 97th running of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” on Sunday, May 26, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
It marks a record 12th time the Corvette has served as the Pace Car, starting in 1978.
“It is an honor to help inaugurate the all-new Corvette Stingray at the hallowed Brickyard and further the legacy between Chevrolet and the Indianapolis 500,” said Jim Campbell, GM vice president of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “The 2014 Corvette Stingray’s performance was influenced by racing, making this prestigious assignment even more fitting.”
Along with Chevrolet’s return in 2012 as an engine supplier, the Corvette Stingray Pace Car extends a legacy at the Brickyard that dates to the racetrack’s early days.
“Chevrolet is a great partner of the Speedway,” said Jeff Belskus, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation president and chief executive officer. “That connection is heightened this year with the next-generation Corvette in front of a very talented field of racers.”
Decked out in Laguna Blue Tintcoat with official Indianapolis 500 graphics on the doors, the   Corvette Stingray Pace Car differs from production models with only track-mandated safety features and strobe lights. No powertrain upgrades are required to run in front of the IndyCar pack, thanks to its all-new 6.2L LT1 engine, which features advanced technologies including direct fuel injection, continuously variable valve timing and Active Fuel Management (cylinder deactivation). They help produce an estimated 450 horsepower more efficiently.
The 2014 Corvette Stingray coupe goes on sale this fall, with a convertible model – featuring a fully electronic top that can be operated remotely with the key fob – coming a few months later. Vehicle highlights include:
·         An interior that offers genuine carbon fiber and aluminum trim, hand-wrapped leather materials, dual eight-inch configurable driver/infotainment screens, and two new seat choices – each featuring a lightweight magnesium frame for exceptional support
·         Advanced driver technologies, including a five-position Drive Mode Selector that tailors 12 vehicle attributes to fit the driver’s environment and a new seven-speed manual transmission with Active Rev Matching that anticipates gear selections and matches engine speed for perfect shifts every time
·         Lightweight materials, including a carbon fiber hood and removable carbon fiber roof panel on coupes; composite fenders, doors and rear quarter panels; carbon-nano composite underbody panels and a new aluminum frame help shift weight rearward for an optimal 50/50 weight balance that supports a world-class power-to-weight ratio
·         A sculpted exterior featuring advanced high-intensity discharge and light-emitting diode lighting and racing-proven aerodynamics that balance low drag for efficiency and performance elements for improved stability and track capability
·         Track-oriented Z51 Performance Package, including an electronic limited-slip differential; dry-sump oiling system; integral brake, differential and transmission cooling; as well as a unique aero package that further improves high-speed stability.
The Corvette Pace Car features the track-capable Z51 package.
Chevrolet and the Indianapolis 500
Chevrolet has a long shared history with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Indianapolis 500 and the IZOD IndyCar Series. Chevrolet was founded in 1911, the year of the inaugural 500-mile race, and the Chevrolet brothers – company co-founder Louis, Arthur and Gaston – all competed in early Indy 500 races. Arthur Chevrolet competed in the 1911 race and Gaston Chevrolet won it in 1920.
Chevrolet competed in Indy-style competition as an engine manufacturer in 1986-93 and 2002-05 with V-8 engines, and returned in 2012 with the Chevrolet IndyCar twin-turbo V-6 engine with direct injection. In that time, Chevrolet won 118 IndyCar races, powered seven driver series champions and scored seven Indianapolis 500 victories.
2013 marks the 24th time a Chevrolet has served as the official Pace Car of the Indianapolis 500, more than any other brand, dating to 1948 with a Chevrolet Fleetmaster. Camaro has served in the role seven times and, with this year’s running, Corvette has led the way a record 12 times.

Chevrolet Takes Points Lead to the Challenging Course on the Streets of São Paulo
Itaipava São Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle Set for Sunday, May 5
 
DETROIT (May 1, 2013) – With three races on the 19-event 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series schedule in the record books, Chevrolet holds the lead in the Series’ Manufacturers’ Standings, and Team Chevy driver Helio Castroneves holds the lead in the overall driver point standings heading into this weekend’s 75-lap, 190.2-mile race on the Streets of São Paulo (Brazil).
After a perfectly choreographed journey of over 5,000 miles, the Chevrolet teams and drivers will face the 11-turn, 2.536-mile temporary street circuit that presents a set of circumstances virtually unlike any other. The engineers from Chevrolet and its technical partners have been working tirelessly with team engineers in preparation for a successful trip to South America.
“The Streets of São Paulo circuit is a conglomerate of challenges all wrapped into one venue on the IZOD IndyCar Series schedule,” said Chris Berube, Chevrolet Racing Program Manager, IZOD IndyCar Series. “A number of unique circumstances coexist there that dare our Chevrolet engineers, team engineers and technical partners to reach optimum performance from the Chevrolet twin turbocharged V6 powered cars. The altitude, 2,368 feet above sea level, is higher than any other circuit visited by the IndyCar Series.  This, along with weather patterns that can change unexpectedly, can bring engine cooling, aero setup and calibration to the top of the focus list.  In addition, the circuit offers the longest straightaway (0.93 mile) followed by one of the slowest corners on the schedule which gives the brakes a workout and provides opportunities for passing.  Combine all that with the road surface variability of a street circuit and you have a situation that rewards the team and driver that adapts quickest and best.  With the enthusiasm the Brazilian fans have for the sport, the São Paulo Indy 300 is always brimming with intensity and excitement.”
Chevrolet drivers James Hinchcliffe, and defending IZOD IndyCar Series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay took Chevrolet V6 power to Victory Lane respectively in the first two races of the 2013 season to give the Bowtie Brand the lead in the IndyCar Series Manufacturers’ point standings.
Brazilian born Castroneves, whose consistency so far this season has landed him on the podium in two of the three races run to-date, and took him to the top of the standings, has been a fan favorite since the Series’ first race on the São Paulo circuit in 2010.  In the 2012 Chevrolet IndyCar V6 debut in his native city, the three-time Indianapolis 500 winner rebounded from a qualifying effort that landed him deep in the field to finish in fourth position.
Will Power heads to Streets of São Paulo undefeated in IndyCar competition on the circuit. He is the only winner in the three-year history of the event, winning in both 2011 and 2012 from the pole.
Tony Kanaan, another fan favorite from the Chevrolet stable, will make his fourth start in IndyCar competition in his native Brazil. He calls Salvador, Brazil his home.
The 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series season continues with the Itaipava São Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle on Sunday, May 5 on the streets of São Paulo, Brazil. The race will be televised live at 11 a.m. (ET) by the NBC Sports Network (Verizon FiOS 90/590, DirecTV 220, DISH 159 and AT&T UVerse 640) and broadcast by the IMS Radio Network, including on Sirius and XM Channels 211 and