NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
MEDIA DAY
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 14, 2013
 
 
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET SS met with media and discussed the off-season, volunteering to take the concussion impact test, social media, who he follows on Twitter, racing in the Daytona 500, his Hendrick Motorsports teammates, and more. FULL TRANSCRIPT:
 
JEFF GORDON:  Hi, guys.
 
Q.        Tell us what happened in the off-season.  Get a chance to spend any family time?
JEFF GORDON:  Yeah, definitely.  We pretty much have a routine down that we’ve done for several years now.  Of course, that changed a little bit with the kids and evolved slightly.
For the most part, yeah, as soon as Christmas is over, we have a great time with my family and our family, then we head somewhere hopefully fun and exciting and warm that we can have a great time as a family.  We went down to St. Barts.  Had a good time.
 
Q.        You volunteered to take the concussion impact test.  Can you tell us what went into that thinking.
JEFF GORDON:  Well, I mean, one is I think there’s a potential for it to be mandatory in the future.  To me why not go ahead and get ahead of the game.  Plus I’d rather have it before the season starts, before the potential of having a head injury, to get a baseline.
I talked to Junior about it.  He told me the process of it.  It was pretty simple.  I stay in pretty close contact with Dr. Petty.  We’re good friends as well as I just admire his work and his opinion.  So I mentioned it to him.  We made it happen.
It was kind of fun to do.  I tell you, it was stressful.  It makes you think really hard.  Haven’t had to think that hard in a while, maybe other than the closing laps of a Talladega or Daytona race (laughter).
Other than that, it went pretty smooth.
 
Q.        Do you think it needs to be mandatory?
JEFF GORDON:  I just think whether it’s voluntary or not, it’s a good idea to have.
I don’t think NASCAR necessarily has to make it mandatory.  But if you’re a racecar driver, you feel like you’re going to be here a while, then you need to make it mandatory to yourself, in my opinion.
 
Q.        Junior’s situation spur you to do this?
JEFF GORDON:  I mean, I didn’t even know what an impact test was prior to that.  So, absolutely.
 
Q.        Did you imagine being like a crash test dummy?
JEFF GORDON:  I’ve hit my head many times, so I felt like a crash test dummy at times.  But also I don’t know if I just really have a hard head, good helmet, good racecars.  I’ve never been knocked unconscious, never had headaches following.  I’ve had MRIs and things like that just for precautionary measures, but never had any issues.
 
 
When you hear about guys having issues, you want to take every measure you can possible to not only the safety of what’s going on in the cars and the tracks, but if there’s a way to get a baseline of where you’re at, it’s a good idea.
 
Q.        Would you ever take yourself out if you didn’t feel lucid after a crash?
JEFF GORDON:  You know, I’m in a position these days with my career that I don’t have anything out there to prove.  I don’t have a situation where I feel like my job’s on the line if I’m not out there in the car.
So for me, yeah, if I felt it necessary, I would.  But I also think the doctors can help you make those calls.  But if you don’t feel right and you don’t feel prepared to go perform at your best, not to say ‘at your best,’ there’s days I felt like I wasn’t at my best, but in a competitive way, then I think, yeah, you got to make that call with other information at your disposal.
 
Q.        Did they want to retest you after that video you posted?
JEFF GORDON:  Yeah (laughter).  Probably after a few things I’ve done in recent years, they said, Maybe you should take that test.
You know, I’m not scared.  That’s one thing I’ve found over the years about myself.  I’m not afraid to put myself out there.  The Saturday Night Live thing did that.  The break dancing.
This thing happened fast.  We did it in two takes.  One of the best times I’ve ever had.  Certainly the best time I ever had in my race shop with my guys in there.  Luckily it was quick so it didn’t take them away from their jobs too long because there’s a lot going on at the shop.
It turned out fun.  I’m a little embarrassed at my dancing, but it was still worth it.  It was fun.  It was a great time.
 
Q.        How do you deal with social media as part of your racing persona?
JEFF GORDON:  It’s fun.  You got to laugh at yourself.  Your fans, they’re very loyal, they want to be connected to you in a closer way.  I think it’s a great way to connect with your fans.
I really enjoy Twitter and Facebook, our YouTube channel, getting reactions from them, seeing what they like, their comments.  I love it.
The sponsors, they enjoy it as well.  Knowing you have that kind of loyal following makes a big difference when you’re talking to sponsors, when you’re re-upping with sponsors, or current sponsors, another way for them to benefit.
It’s great for everybody as far as I’m concerned.  But it opens you up.  You got to be a little careful.
 
Q.        Who do you like to follow on Twitter?
JEFF GORDON:  I follow where I can get my news, to be honest with you.  I follow all these guys that write about racing because I’m interested in knowing what’s happening, what’s the latest.  Then there might be a couple drivers that I follow.  Then outside the sport, people.
But if a fan writes enough interesting things to me and asks great questions and is intuitive and into with who I am and our sport, I’ll follow them as well.
 
Q.        As far as getting butterflies, jitters, do you get those before a big race like Daytona?
JEFF GORDON:  You know, not necessarily at this stage or even next Thursday.  But come Sunday morning right when you’re getting ready to take the green flag, everybody probably handles it differently.  But for me it’s, Oh, wow, the Daytona 500 is getting ready to start.  It’s a huge race.  We’ve prepared and worked so hard.  It’s just been all work up to that point.  It’s all on the line and this is the moment.
So there’s no doubt for me there’s a few butterflies.  Then once the green flag drops, it’s back to business.
 
Q.        Is that the best way to handle it?
JEFF GORDON:  It’s just the way I handle it.  It’s worked out good for me three times over my career.
 
Q.        What do you see as the differences in running for a first championship and defending one?
JEFF GORDON:  I think a lot of times the hardest thing is to get the first one because once you get that first one it gives you confidence in yourself and your team.  You know:  I’m capable of doing this.  Especially in the new format, to do battle over 10 weeks, you got to get in and you got to be on top of your game for 10 weeks.
So to me that gives you confidence to come back and do it again.  But it also puts a target on you.  People are now focused on you, paying more attention to your every move, what’s going on thr
oughout the season.  That’s going to make it a little bit more difficult for you to repeat.
Plus other teams want to step up and find out where their weaknesses were, what they missed out on in winning the championship and make themselves better.  So competition gets better and you have to improve along with that.  You can’t stay stuck in that place where you were at.
This year with a whole new car, not many people are stuck.  They’re in that mindset of, We got to push, push, push, because it’s all different and they’re not sure what is going to work and what is not.
 
Q.        Are you surprised Junior hasn’t competed for a championship yet and can he still do that?
JEFF GORDON:  I think he can.  It’s just things have to click at the right time.  It seems like guys peak at certain moments in the season.  With the way the points are now, you’ve got to peak right at the end of the season.  You got to be careful of getting off to too good of a start and how you maintain that momentum.
I think Kasey Kahne was a good example of that I think last year.  Brad was pretty even throughout the season.  But I just think that Junior had a great start to the season and then it seems like some things flattened out a little bit for them and it was hard for them to get it ramped back up.  Of course, he had the issue with the crash.
I mean, I don’t see why not.  It’s a great team, best organization.  Steve Letarte is a great crew chief.  They click well together.  Junior is a great driver.  I’m going to say yes.
He gave me a ride down here today.  I’ll tell you all kinds of good things about him.  I wouldn’t be here right now if it wasn’t for Junior (laughter).
 
Q.        Things in the garage changed in the last years?  He was the butt of a lot of jokes because he was getting a lot of coverage but his results weren’t there.  Now it seems like that has dropped off.  What are things like in the garage?
JEFF GORDON:  I would say the way I look at it is he had a lot of buzz and hype coming into the series.  He did very well his first couple years.  Came off of a championship in the Nationwide Series.  For whatever reason, and I’m sure there’s a long list of them, of why things didn’t continue to progress.
To me where he earned so much respect in my book was that he looked at Hendrick Motorsports as a team that he wanted to come to knowing how much pressure there would be, how good the equipment would be.  That could also add pressure, not necessarily take it away, yet he wanted that challenge and he felt like that’s the right place to be.
That’s the mindset you should have.  A quality driver that feels like they can go win championships should have that kind of mindset and he did.  That certainly earned a bunch of points in my mind.
Now I think that decision is starting to pay off.
 
Q.        Over the years, what it means to win a Daytona 500 compared to what it means to win a championship, has that changed?
JEFF GORDON:  Not in my opinion.  I’ve always looked at it as the single biggest race we have is this one.  The single biggest thing we strive for is the championship in every season.  So the championship is really the ultimate goal.  But when you just look at each race you prepare for, you prepare for this one different.
It is different.  It’s a huge, huge event.  For all the good reasons, the history, the excitement and energy that this track and this event has is second to none.
 
Q.        What about for a driver’s career, to win at this level?
JEFF GORDON:  Depending on your career.  Everybody wants a Daytona 500 win.  If you don’t win another race, you win the Daytona 500, it’s made a huge impact on your career.  If you’ve won championships and haven’t won the Daytona 500, you feel like you’re missing something on your résumé.  It is obviously very, very important to your stats and where your career is going.
 
Q.        Speaking of through the years, can you believe it’s been 20?
JEFF GORDON:  No, I can’t.  When I look in the mirror, I see more wrinkles and gray hair, I know it has been a while.  I look at some of those old photos and things.
It’s been a heck of a ride, a lot of fun, great and challenging moments.  I wouldn’t have wanted or asked for anything different than the way it’s been over the last 20 years.
 
Q.        Got to be gratifying to compete this long and still be competing for races.
JEFF GORDON:  I’ve gotten beat up and beat myself up a little bit not being as competitive as I was 10 years ago.  No matter how long you’ve been in this sport, when you’re competitive like that, it’s hard to manage those expectations.
I’m so excited the way this team has stepped up.  Winning the final race of the year last year was big for us.  I think I’ve got a crew chief that can take us all the way.
The pressure’s on me to step up my game and maintain that level of consistency and drive and talent that I’ve had that’s gotten me to this level and has gotten us wins and championships.
I know that I don’t have 10 more years left in me.  It’s important to me to stay competitive as long as I possibly can.  I think I definitely have a few more good years left in me.
 
Q.        The first Duel you won in ’93, how big was that?
JEFF GORDON:  That was huge.  That was more of I didn’t expect anything, didn’t plan on it, and it happened.  I was just like, Wow, how did that just happen?  Now I go into the Duels, make that same move and finish 15th.  I’m like, Gosh, the move worked that time, not necessarily other times.
We’ve won a bunch of Duels.  ’93 was a very special Daytona 500 for me.  It’s one I’ll always remember because we qualified well, won the Duel, battled all day long in the top five with Dale, not just Earnhardt, but Jarrett, who won the race.  It was a surreal experience for me that I’ll never forget.
My mind wandered during that race.  There were only four or five of us up there, so you could breathe a little bit more.  I just remember trying to take it all in.  I mean, full grandstands, live television, Daytona 500, and I’m sitting there in a position as a rookie making an impact on the race and the sport, starting my career.  That was exciting to me.
 
Q.        Do you have any advice for young drivers that are up-and-coming?
JEFF GORDON:  Yeah.  Work hard, try to get yourself in the best equipment, the safest equipment, race as many different things as you possibly can.  Diversity is extremely important.  When you get to the Cup level, the competition is so tough, the types of tracks you race on are very diverse.
That’s why I love guys that have dirt backgrounds, because they’re racing on high banks, flat tracks, short tracks, big tracks, tacky tracks, to black, slick tracks.  I think it just teaches them how to be very well-rounded and have great car control and have what it takes to be at this level.
 
Q.        (Question regarding Danica and Ricky racing against one another.)
JEFF GORDON:  I’ve raced my wife on the track and I can tell you that I’ve raced her different (laughter).
You know, they’re racecar drivers.  They’re professionals.  I’m sure they’ll handle things accordingly.
Listen, we all have awkward moments with our competitors, our teammates, our friends out there.  There’s no doubt it’s going to happen.  It’s just how they handle it.  I’m s
ure that hopefully that conversation has come up and they’ve talked about it, or they will if they haven’t.
 
Q.        What did you race your wife in?
JEFF GORDON:  Just go-karts.  I didn’t let her win.  I scared her and tried to show her a few things, bumped into her.
 
Q.        Is she competitive?
JEFF GORDON:  She’s very competitive, very competitive.  Once she got over the fact that she thought it was going to flip over and realized it wasn’t, she just kept going faster and faster every lap.  It was fun.
No, I was much easier on her than I was on anyone else that would have been out there for the first time go-karting.  I would have taken it much harder on others.
I knew where I had to draw the line and say, Okay, can’t cross it.
 
Q.        Keselowski has said that he didn’t like the way the COT looked and that looks matter in a car.
JEFF GORDON:  A hundred percent agree with that.  That was the first thing I noticed about the COT, that I didn’t like the way it looked.  I expressed my opinions.  I didn’t like the way it drove either.
In the last couple years, we made that car drive really well – but at a price.  You hear the TV commentators saying, What is that car doing?  It’s running sideways down the straightaway.  Through inspection line, NASCAR’s head is spinning trying to figure out what these teams are doing.
What’s nice about this car is it’s going to start off looking good, driving good, looking like a racecar should look.
 
Q.        Any sentimental value regarding DuPont?
JEFF GORDON:  I can tell you it makes racing Homestead that much more special to me, that that DuPont oval won’t be on there.  It’s kind of odd to answer that because I’m working with the same people.  It’s the same business, probably a lot of the same customers, as well.
Other than the name change, getting used to that, making a few mistakes along the way, and probably just not going to Wilmington, seeing the broader scope of DuPont, that’s going to be significant.

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
SPEEDWEEKS MEDIA DAY
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 14, 2013
 
PAUL MENARD, NO. 27 MENARDS CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media and discussed Richard Childress Racing’s outlook for 2013, his plans beyond this season and other topics.  Partial Transcript:
 
ERIC WARREN (DIRECTOR OF COMPETITION) HAS TALKED A LOT ABOUT GETTING THE THREE TEAMS ON PARALLEL TRACKS BUILDING THE CARS THE SAME WAY AND SO FORTH.  TALKING ABOUT THAT IS EASY BUT GETTING EVERYBODY LINED UP TO DO THAT IS THE HARD PART.  HOW IS THAT GOING SO FAR?
“It sounds good on paper, but it’s tough to do in practice obviously.  Eric (Warren) is one of those guys he has great organizational skills.  A very structured guy and if anybody can do it, it’s him.  Every team wants all their cars to work together.  Any multicar team that is the goal is to get everybody sharing information, but it’s tough to do.  You just have to bring everybody together.  Have meetings, sit everybody down to have open dialogue on what everybody is working on to try to go to the same focus.  What you don’t want to do is have two cars do the same thing over and over and just waste time.”
 
THE COMPANY (RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING) HAS OBVIOUSLY STRUGGLED ON THE CUP SIDE THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS.  WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE ISSUE?  WHAT’S BEEN HOLDING YOU GUYS BACK?
“Last year was a struggle.  I would say 2011 we were pretty good as a company.  I think every car expect the No. 31 won a race.  Kevin (Harvick) won several.  Last year we took a step back.  We just got behind on some of the tricks I guess with the skew.  We were one of the late comers to that.  Then having Eric (Warren) come in towards the end of the year I think we saw our performance pick up a little bit towards October, November.  Just getting everybody on the same page and working the same direction that has translated to this 2013 car trying to get everything that we can build up a notebook for the off season and all the testing we have done.  I feel like we have got good speed and I think the test in Las Vegas in a couple of weeks is going to be one of the biggest test of the year just to understand what these cars do.”
 
IS (KEVIN) HARVICK’S WIN AT PHOENIX SORT OF AN ILLUSTRATION OF WHAT ERIC (WARREN) IS TRYING TO GET GOING?
“Yeah, that was a great example of team work.  The No. 27 guys we tested there at Phoenix with the 2013 car a couple of weeks before the race.  We struggled in practice, all of us struggled in practice and we basically threw in what we learned with the 2013 car at the test.  We threw that in and we felt like we were really good in happy hour and then the No. 29 just threw that in for the race kind of going off of what we said.  We kind of had the same issues they were fighting so they threw in our setup and he went out and won the race.  That is the way it should be.”
 
THIS IS A REALLY BIG YEAR FOR YOU WITH YOUR CONTRACT COMING UP HAVE YOU DECIDED WHAT YOUR PLANS ARE GOING TO BE BEYOND 2013?
“It’s a contract year so I’m sure these questions will be coming throughout the year.  I hope by middle of summer we will have an answer for everybody.”
 
HAVE YOU LOOKED INTO ANYTHING BEYOND WHERE YOU ARE AT AND WHAT YOU ARE DOING? WOULD SLUGGAR (LABBE, CREW CHIEF) STILL BE PART OF THE PACKAGE?
“Yeah, honestly I haven’t had discussions with anybody.  Sluggar (Labbe) is a great friend and a hell of a crew chief.”
 
COULD YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT YOUR FIRST IMPRESSIONS WERE OF A CHILD OF GROWING UP IN RACING?
“I grew up around it.  One of my earliest memories was my Dad used to race go-karts.  I was too little to reach the pedals so I would sit in his lap.  He would run the pedals and I would steer the steering wheel in his race kart.  I was probably three or four years old.”
 
HOW CAN KURT (BUSCH) FIT INTO WHAT YOU GUYS ARE TRYING TO DO?  THERE IS A LOT OF TALK ABOUT HIM HAVING MORE OF A ROLE THIS YEAR CAN HE BE A BOOST?
“I mean Kurt (Busch) he’s a champion. He is a race winning champion.  He has the same equipment that we do essentially.  Even though his team is out in Colorado it’s almost like a fourth car.  We share a lot of information.  He is in our weekly meetings, our race weekend meetings also.  He is a highly driven, motivated guy, not afraid to speak his mind either which is a good thing.”
 
DOES HE FIT IN PERSONALITY WISE WITH THE GROUP?
“Yeah, we all get along great. All four of us get along.  All four of us have pretty distinctly different personalities but we all have good working relationships and feed off each other.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
SPEEDWEEKS MEDIA DAY
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 14, 2013
 
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 33 CHEERIOS CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media and discussed making his first Daytona 500 start, racing for a championship in the Nationwide Series in 2013 and other topics.  Partial Transcript:
 
WITH SO MANY PEOPLE COMING INTO NATIONWIDE TRYING TO PROVE THEMSELVES HOW WILL THAT AFFECT YOU RUNNING FOR A CHAMPIONSHIP?
“Running for a championship this year is going to be tough.  Not only do we have guys that are consistent and are coming down from the (NASCAR Sprint) Cup series that are going to be tough.  Like you said you have got guys that are going to want to prove themselves and I have seen back in the Truck Series when I raced that you have guys that make big mistakes trying to make that move.  Instead of trying to take a top-five you are taking more than what the car can give you at that time.  You will see some of that this year I’m sure you are just going to have to watch who you are around and be smart the people you race.”
 
WHAT DO YOU EXPECT CUP WISE THIS YEAR? WHAT DO YOU WANT TO GET OUT OF THAT?
“The biggest thing is to gain experience and have that ready for 2014.  The great thing that the Nationwide Series is going to give me this year is the competition level is going to be awesome. Especially with the experience that is coming in and then you’ve got guys that are just fast there is a lot of sheer speed out there. That competition level is going to help me going into 2014.  For the races that we run just want to go out there and gain experience and try and lineup with these guys and make sure we are going to be confident for the next year.”  
 
YOU HAVE SEEN THE STRUGGLES RCR (RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING) HAS HAD ON THE CUP SIDE.  ON THE INSIDE WHAT IS YOUR VIEW ON THAT?  WHAT HAS BEEN THE ISSUE?
“I think we have made the right steps as a company to come back this next year and work together more.  I think that was one of the big things.  Our Nationwide shop did a great job of making sure we were all on the same program when we got to the track. Our drivers worked well last year together.  I think this year the Cup drivers are going to be better together also.  We will just have to kind of corral and make it more what we had at that Nationwide shop where we worked really well together in practice.  If a car was faster we switched to that setup.  It’s not an ego thing it’s more just you take what is faster and go with it.  In today’s world you have to have good teammates that push you and use their setups.  We will see how it goes this year.  I think we have made a good step hiring Eric Warren.  With him and my dad (Mike Dillon) they have been working really hard in the off season to make sure that the cars are very similar and working together well.”
 
WHAT DO YOU FEEL LIKE IN TERMS OF GOING FROM NATIONWIDE TO CUP WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE THAT YOU CAN SEE YOURSELF FACING?
“The competition level is obviously the best in NASCAR.  You don’t have from first to 15th, you have first to 25th, 26th, 27th, all the way back to 30th. You’ve got guys that are running within the same three to four tenths.  You can’t miss a line, you can’t mess up, and you’ve just got to be very consistent.  That is where you see a guy like Jimmie Johnson who has done so well.  He is mentally just a very tough guy and stays up front and just wears you down.  I think the Cup series is a grueling 36 races that you really have to be prepared for when you go into it.”
 
ERIC (WARREN) HAS TALKED A LOT ABOUT GETTING EACH TEAM ON PARALLEL TRACKS.  THAT IS KIND OF EASIER TO TALK ABOUT THAN ACTUALLY DO.  CAN YOU JUST SIT GUYS DOWN AND SAY THIS IS WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN?  
“It’s pretty tough you’ve got to have guys that are willing to want to change.  You can’t change it on your own.  They’ve got to want to buy into the same program.  I think it is going to be an interesting to see how we do when we get to these oval tracks.  I know these cars have been faster.  Our RCR cars have been faster at the tests.  I’m looking forward to getting out in one.”
 
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT RUNNING THE NO. 3?
“I’d love to run the No. 3.  Jeff (Gluck) sitting right in front of me, he had a great article with Richard Petty and just to see the No. 43 and No. 3 out there it would be very cool.  We were able to push each other around last year in the July 4th race.  I enjoy running the number.  It’s very special to me and my family.  Not only that, it’s just a fun number to have running out there.  All I can guarantee is 110 percent from my part and if we are running that number it’s just going to give you a great opportunity to see it back out there and be up front.”
 
WOULD YOU AND TY (DILLON) EVER BOTH WANT TO RUN THAT NUMBER?
“I think from the beginning I started running that in a Bandolero.  He (Ty) started running a No. 2 then he switched to No. 41 in ARCA.  He has been pretty comfortable with that.  I think he would like to have the No. 41.  Just because my grandfather ran that at Bowman Gray (Stadium) and that was one of his other numbers.  He likes that number and he won an ARCA championship with it.  He kind of leans toward that number he said.”
 
DO YOU OWN A (RICHARD) PETTY MODEL CHARLIE 1 HORSE HAT?
“I don’t have all the cool stuff on top of mine.  I’m kind of a little bit more simple.  He has got the really cool feathers and snake skin and stuff.  I have seen some of his hats.  They are very awesome.  I got to go to the main office in Texas.”
 
HAVE YOU JUST ALWAYS LIKED THE HATS OR DID YOU MAKE A CONSCIOUS DECISION THAT THIS WAS GOING TO BE YOUR THING?
“I have always liked the hats.  I don’t know if it’s my thing because I can go out and wear a baseball cap or spike up my hair whatever it may be.  I don’t want to lock myself into anything.”
 
DO THE FANS LIKE THE HAT?
“Yeah there are a lot of people that like the hat.  I gave one away at Bristol to a kid.  I try and pass them out every now and then if I have some straw hats.  I don’t give out the felts very often.”
 
IS THERE ROOM FOR TWO COWBOY HATS IN THE CUP SERIES?  YOU AND RICKY (STENHOUSE, JR.)?
“He doesn’t really wear his on race day.  He just kind of wears his around before.  Yeah, I’m fine with that.  I think it’s cool to look back at some of these heroes that wore cowboy hats.  Everybody back in the day a lot of people wore them.  Not only just because they are cool, but during the summer it gets pretty hot.  We get to some of those places where the sun is burning down on you it’s nice to have a little shade.”
 
WHO LOOKS COOLEST IN A COWBOY HAT?
“Well, Dale Earnhardt with his long hair was pretty awesome.  He had that suit undone and he had the cowboy hat on.  I don’t know if it was here that picture was taken, but it’s a pretty awesome picture.”
 
AS FAR AS JITTERS GO DO YOU GET THEM AND WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO HANDLE THEM?
“I think I’ve gotten better with the butterflies.  The only time I ever kind of get a little bit nervous is probably before qualifying just because you are the only car out there and I always want to bust off a big lap.  That has always been a fun time for me is qualifying.  I’ve been able to be pretty successful with it.  Once we are in the race and all the weekend’s events are kind of dying down that is the most calm you will see me is getting into the car.  Just because we are sitting down in the place I f
eel comfortable.  The Daytona 500 qualifying for it that is going to be pretty nerve racking, but once we get in it’s going to be fun from there.  It’s all going to be fun, there are no points, just go out there and give it your all which is an advantage in my opinion.”     
 
 
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NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
SPEEDWEEKS MEDIA DAY
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 14, 2013
 
DANICA PATRICK, NO. 10 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET SS met with media and discussed her outlook for the 2031 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, her relationship with driver Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., her rookie status as a full-time Sprint Cup drivers, the new race cars and her driving style, running some races in the NASCAR Nationwide Series this year and more.  FULL TRANSCRIPT:
 
DANICA PATRICK:  Okay, let’s do it.
 
Q. I asked Joey Logano if there any sense in the garage area of a relationship.  He laughed and said, Ray Charles could have seen it.
DANICA PATRICK:  I’m curious what that means (laughter).
 
Q.        Did you notice that other people were noticing?  Did y’all talk in the garage, hang around together around the garage?
DANICA PATRICK:  We’ve been friends for a long time.  I mean, I’ve always gotten along with him.  I guess that is what they observed.  They saw something we didn’t know about.
 
Q.        Oh, really?
DANICA PATRICK:  Yeah, I mean, here we are now, but…
 
Q.        Are you surprised at the attention it’s gotten from media and fans?  Seems like now that’s all anybody wants to talk about.
DANICA PATRICK:  Seems like that now.  I haven’t been asked that many questions about it.  Poor Ricky has been asked a lot of questions.  But I haven’t gotten too many.  But I’m happy to answer them.  I’m happy to talk about it.  It’s fine with me.
 
Q.        How is Ricky doing with all this attention?
DANICA PATRICK:  I think you have to ask him.  Seems like he’s doing pretty well.  A little while back he was talking about not wanting — doesn’t like people looking at him, staring at him.  So I’m like, You better get used to that because there’s going to be a lot of people looking at you.  He said, No, they’re not, they’re going to be looking at you.  I said, No, they’re not, they’re going to be looking at you as well.
Anyway, but he’s doing good.  Doing good.
 
Q.        How did it change from a friendship to a little bit more romantic?  Who asked whom out first?  What was the bud of the thing?
DANICA PATRICK:  I mean, the friendship is the bud, for sure.  But beyond that, I think it was like, you know, just talking a little bit more often and then deciding to spend time together, and that goes on from there.
 
Q.        Was there a first date?
DANICA PATRICK:  I don’t know if you could really say.  I mean, I’ve spent so much time with him, whether I have dinner with him or do appearances or things like that, so I think it’s pretty tough to put a first date on anything.
 
Q.        You don’t, like, have an anniversary?
DANICA PATRICK:  There was one point in time, though, that I asked him to ask me out on a date, though, because it’s just like you go do something.  Are you going to ask me on a date?  When was that?  It wasn’t that long ago.  Just an official one, you know.  I can’t remember what the date of that was, though.
 
Q.        What are you guys doing tonight?
DANICA PATRICK:  Good question.  Well, luckily my bags (luggage) came in.  My flight was very delayed out of Chicago, so I caught another flight.  They were supposed to be in already.  They’re hopefully going to be in in time because my Valentine’s Day present is in that bag.  In fact, there’s like a whole bag dedicated to Valentine’s Day.
So what are we doing?  I’m going to bet I’m cooking ’cause I cook and he does not cook.
 
Q.        He bought you a card, but you tweeted that you haven’t gotten his yet.
DANICA PATRICK:  Oh, no, no, I have a card.  What I was saying is in the future, I was saying in the future, when you get my homemade card, it’s like a folded over white piece of paper from the fax machine or from the printer machine, that’s when you’ll know I forgot to get you one and that will be funny.  But like I said, I’m creative.  So I’ll make it look nice.
 
Q.        Have you ever done a press conference like this before?
DANICA PATRICK:  No.  This doesn’t feel very racing oriented really.  I don’t want to be on this loud speaker, honestly.  I asked them if I could not be on it.
 
Q.        Jimmie Johnson said this would be a fun thing to follow because everybody would be watching it.  He said, Danica, she can get a little upset and let people know it.  Ricky, on the other hand, is never involved in payback much but he drives the car sideways.  If Ricky is driving his car sideways and drives it into you, what happens then?
DANICA PATRICK:  He better have a really good ‘I’m sorry’.  I’m just kidding.
I got a feeling PR is just lurking and sweating their butts off over there.
 
Q.        Can you talk about how you will race each other and eyes will be on you every time you’re near each other.
 
DANICA PATRICK:  I think racing-wise that’s obviously a big question in a lot of people’s minds, fans’ minds.  I had a friend say, I’m excited to see how you guys race against each other when you’re out there.  That’s someone that isn’t even into racing curious to see how that will go.
We’ve been racing against each other as long as we’ve known each other.  So, you know, there are times you’re out there on the track, you don’t even see each other, you’re not even next to each other.  Every time we have been, it’s about respect and neither of us put up a big fight.
So far it’s been pretty obvious who is faster than who whenever someone comes up behind the other.  For the most part it’s been him faster than me, I would say, of course.  The few times it’s happened to me, he doesn’t put up a fight.  And I don’t see that any different.  I don’t see us putting up a huge battle.
But I’m guessing, I mean, as we keep getting better over the year, over the years, you know, you’re going to end up having to race each other harder because they’re going to be for better spots.  But in general, it’s going to be just like it always has been.
 
Q.        Have you sat down with Tony or your sponsors and do they have any interest or care about this?
DANICA PATRICK:  You know, when I told them about the relationship, they had no questions about the racing side of it.  I think they all trust that both of us are going to do our jobs and do it the way we always have.
 
Q.        Other people, the ones asking, curious about this, have you actually had a conversation with Ricky, If that happens, then this or that?  Or do you feel other people are more concerned?
DANICA PATRICK:  I think the extent of our conversation about racing with each other is like laughing and saying that I’m going to have to outsmart you because I know you’re not lifting.  That’s kind of it.
 
Q.        Did the whole friendship and everything start with you seeking his advice about racecar setups and everything?
DANICA PATRICK:  I mean, we first got to know each other in rookie meetings.  He was Rookie of the Year in ’10, was that right?  So I did race.  That w
as my first year, was ’10.  So I saw him in rookie meetings. But it’s funny, basically it will be us in rookie meetings again this year.  Since we’re running for Rookie of the Year we have to go to every single track for the rookie meeting.  That’s funny.
 
Q.        Does that change the dynamic, both of you vying for the Rookie of the Year?
DANICA PATRICK:  Does it change the dynamic of what?
 
Q.        Your interaction on the track when you’re both racing for something.
DANICA PATRICK:  You know, I don’t think it does.  I think both of us are just going to race really hard and do what we’ve always done.  Running for Rookie of the Year is something that’s happening, but it’s not going to make you try any harder.  I mean, we both try as hard as we can every time.  Kind of where it ends up panning out at the end it does.
 
I mean, usually at the end of the year, no matter what’s going on, whether it’s Rookie of the Year, whether it’s for a championship position, you kind of put a little emphasis on certain things or start to understand where you’re going to end up just based on points.  I mean, that’s 38 races away, or 30.  How many races is the season?
 
Q.        36.
DANICA PATRICK:  36 away.
 
Q.        Do you feel like a rookie at this point?
DANICA PATRICK:  I definitely feel like a rookie because I know there’s a lot I have yet to experience in Cup, and especially the competition level of that every weekend, and the length of the weekends, adding an extra day on every weekend.
But, honestly, I mean, in my heart I don’t feel like a rookie.  I feel like somebody who has a lot of experience but needs to kind of train different.  It’s a different car, it’s a different experience.  But I feel seasoned and kind of everything else that goes on around it.  I guess that’s the reason why I feel pretty comfortable right now.
That’s probably a good thing.  Whether I have a situation going on now that y’all are asking about or being in Sprint Cup for the first time this year, it’s nice to have had the experience, media and work-wise and everything outside the car, that helps me be able to focus on my job better because this is less stressful to me.
 
Q.        When you were in IndyCar, you used to express some dismay at the very notion of running 36 races.
DANICA PATRICK:  I did.  You’re right.
 
Q.        Now that you’re at the brink of this, how does it feel?
DANICA PATRICK:  I feel like I had a nice little transition into the length of the season.  This will be a whole ‘nother level because we’re adding 30 odd days onto my racing work schedule because of the extra day for Sprint Cup.
But, you know, with doing those two years of part-time Nationwide, it really helps kind of transition into about 30 races a year.  Then last year was 34 or something.  Now this is going to be 36 or so.  So it’s been a nice transition and it doesn’t scare me anymore.
I think more than anything I found something that I really, really enjoy doing.  I’ve said it before to people.  Driving stock cars, it’s really fun to me.  The racing is really fun to me.  While I get nervous, it’s something I really care about, I want to do really well.  For some reason I have more excitement than I do so much nerves.  Like in IndyCar I was always really nervous.  I always felt like there was a lot of pressure and I felt like every lap was on the edge.  The racing was getting really dicey at the end.  People were just all over the place and I felt nervous going into that.  Now I just feel excited.  I feel a little nervous but definitely more excited.
 
Q.        Mark Martin said he advised you that not only can you slide these cars around, you’ve got to.  You felt like you were sort of the Jeff Gordon school of loose and necessarily fast.  Ricky is known for sliding these cars around.  Do you think talking with him over a period of time you might be more comfortable in a looser car, sliding cars around?
DANICA PATRICK:  I think that for me, my driving style is smooth and not heavy braking, so I feel like I’m learning mostly from Tony Gibson, from Tony, from Ryan, just being able to put my driving style compared to them, and then having that translated to words by Tony Gibson as to what that means in a racecar.
I drive a little bit more in the Tony Stewart way.  I have a style like him at this point in time.  I’m kind of slow in, not heavy braking, and smooth.  It allows me to run a freer car because I’m not so hard on the brake and pitching the car so much.
I’m just kind of learning more about my style than anything.  There’s no changing that really.  I think that’s one of the great things that Tony Gibson understands and knows.  The driver’s style is the driver’s style and you do the best job you can as a crew chief to adapt to it.
So I don’t feel like I’m going to change my style based on anything else.  I think for me it’s going to be how to get a racecar so I can be fast.
 
Q.        How do you like the new car compared to last year’s car?
DANICA PATRICK:  I like the new car’s looks, number one, for sure.  Another thing is they do drive maybe a little bit tighter, so that’s kind of nice for me.
I also like the more grip.  I mean, I’m used to having so much grip coming from IndyCar that I felt like the tracks I had more grip and was able to carry more load through the corner because of that felt to me most comfortable.  I feel like I was able to feel the edge of the car better.  I think there’s a lot of things about this car that are good for me.
We have yet to see how it’s going to perform in all aspects yet, especially when all of us get out there on the track, especially at a place like Daytona, or when we get out on a mile-and-a-half.  But so far, so good.
 
Q.        What about the laws of unintended consequences with this car that nobody will know what happens between now and the checkered flag?
DANICA PATRICK:  As in like what?
 
Q.        A lot can happen with this car that a lot of people are not prepared for.
DANICA PATRICK:  I don’t know.  Well, I don’t know.  If I knew what was unexpected, we would just have the answer then.  So I don’t know.  I suppose we’ll just all have to see.
But I think one of the things that piques my curiosity and I’m sure a lot of other people’s curiosity is how it went in practice, when all the cars get in pack, how easy it was for people to get turned around.  So that could make for some pretty exciting racing for the fans.
 
Q.        You’re running in the Nationwide race here.
DANICA PATRICK:  Yeah.
 
Q.        Is that a good warmup for Sunday?
DANICA PATRICK:  Yeah, so today it’s official that I’m going to run the Nationwide race for Turner Scott Motorsports.  Go Daddy stepped up in a big way to make that happen.  So it will be the GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, Camaro.  How should I say it?
 
Q.        Chevy Camaro.
DANICA PATRICK:  How about that?  Damn good thing I included Chevrolet in there.  I’m getting used to it.  It’s a mouthful.  Please tell me if I lose my spark.  That would be sad (laughter).
I’m glad to be running it because I think it’s really good practice for the race.  The rac
ing is very similar from the Nationwide to the Cup car, especially at a place like Talladega or Daytona.  I feel like we have a chance to win and that’s exciting.
I appreciate that everyone made it happen and put it together.  I don’t even know when the first practice is, but I’m excited about it.
 
Q.        That’s the only race announced?
DANICA PATRICK:  At this point in time that’s the only race that’s for sure.  Originally we were looking at 10.  So anywhere up to 10 would be great.  It serves as the ability to go out there and do well, gain confidence, keep confidence up, to be able to get some experience on tracks that just need laps.  So more challenging tracks.  Also just have a chance to have good races.
 
Q.        What’s the likelihood of 10?
DANICA PATRICK:  I think the likelihood of 10 is probably low, but maybe five.  That would be good.  Probably in the middle of the season, if we only do five, probably good we only did five because it will be very busy.
But as busy as those weekends were that I did both series, I really felt like it ultimately helped each other a lot.  So practice in the Cup car helped practice in the Nationwide car and racing the Nationwide car helped racing the Cup car.  I feel like they really help each other.  It’s a great swimsuit diet in the summer, too.
 
Q.        Your old IndyCar profile under musical tastes used to say, Anything but classical or country.
DANICA PATRICK:  You’re right.
 
Q.        I assume rodeo becomes country.  So how does that come along?
DANICA PATRICK:  Because I went to a rodeo?
 
Q.        I would assume with Ricky’s taste, along with rodeo…
 
DANICA PATRICK:  He definitely loves country.  He loves country.  He likes a lot of different country.  I’m more of the modern kind of country girl.  I like more modern country.  He likes a lot of the older stuff.
He probably tolerates some of my music that’s a little bit more ’90s.  For some reason he doesn’t like ’90s music.  He likes ’80s before ’90s.  What?  Barely just a baby then.
I don’t mind country now, I really don’t.  I actually really like it.  I think it’s some fun music.  It’s great to put on.  It’s like you can understand all the words, tell a little story (laughter).  But there’s a lot of great artists in country.
 
Q.        You’ve been reluctant to talk about your private life.  What makes this different?
DANICA PATRICK:  I mean, I’m sure there’s definitely going to be a line.  I mean, I’m not going to go into details about my private life all the time.  I understand there’s a curiosity for it.  To be honest, it’s my life.  I have always done everything to my comfort zone level.  Once it starts to go beyond that, I just stop.
Whether it’s a photo shoot, whether it’s talking about my life, these are things that I draw the line by instinct.  So I don’t think there’s anything too serious talked about today.  But I’m sure there will come a day where you ask a question that I don’t want to answer and I’ll tell you I’m not going to answer it.
I mean, I’m just relaxed.  Like I feel happy.  I feel like I’m just enjoying my life.  It makes me smile to talk about him.
 
Q.        I know y’all became friends first, but what attracted you to him?
DANICA PATRICK:  I feel like I’m on The Bachelorette.  I just had a connection (laughter).
I mean, I think there was just something there.  I think you end up finding some kind of a chemistry with someone and you can’t always put it into words what exactly it is.  We’ve just always kind of enjoyed being around each other.  I think he’s really funny.  His jokes are really funny. 
Yeah, I just like being around him.
 
Q.        Can you talk about qualifying with the way they’re doing it this year, even though you have points.  Have you looked at it?
DANICA PATRICK:  I have absolutely no idea how qualifying works.  Does anyone?  I think I was actually sent like a long email with the way that qualifying works.  I didn’t read it.  ‘Cause you’re just going to drive as hard as you can, right?  What else am I going to do?  I got to qualify in the top two or top six, whatever it is.  You’re going to go as fast as you can possible can and deal with it afterwards.
I know that with buying the points, what that does for us, it allows us the opportunity to make sure we compete even if there’s a rain situation.
That can happen.  It’s that time of year where that can happen.  Hopefully everything goes well for the Nationwide race.  I remember my first year it rained out qualifying and I had points so it would be fine.  It would be a different story now.  Hopefully we don’t run into that situation.  But it’s very important that it doesn’t happen in Cup.
 
Q.        Within reason and cleanliness —
DANICA PATRICK:  Cleanliness?  Of people?  Yeah, like I said, I thought the bump-drafting jokes were hilarious.  It’s going to be like when I’m out there on the track, it would be like me and Dale Jr. bump-drafting, like teammates, and Dale Jr. at Daytona.  It’s going to be like that.  I feel like that’s kind of the excitement level if we were out there bump-drafting with each other.
I’m not sure I want to be bump-drafting with this car very much.  It would be unfortunate if he was pushing me and I was turned around.  Clearly it won’t be intentional, but it seems as though that might be a real likelihood in this car with the new changes.
But, anyway, go ahead.
 
Q.        Nationwide garage is full of young, single male drivers.
DANICA PATRICK:  I’m too old.  I’m too old.
 
Q.        Did anybody else ask you out or hit on you among all those young, single drivers?
DANICA PATRICK:  Uhm, no.
 
Q.        I don’t want you to name names.
DANICA PATRICK:  There was some curiosity maybe.  But I think I scare people, so not a lot.  Do I scare people?  Maybe I should ask that question.
 
Q.        Did you ever maybe second guess dating Ricky because he is a competitor.
DANICA PATRICK:  Sure.  I think initially it was a little bit of a mental hurdle of like, We compete against each other.  I said it’s like the Capulets and Montagues with Chevy and Ford.  This just doesn’t work.
You can’t tell your heart who to like or not like.  In the end it ended up being something that I just didn’t think was a big deal at all.
 
Q.        You’re about to start your full Sprint Cup season.  Are you anxious, nervous, excited?
DANICA PATRICK:  I’m excited.  I think of all the years I’ve competed at a top level, I feel like I’m most excited for this season.  I really am.  I think it’s going to be a fun season.  I think it’s going to be a great season.
 
Q.        Do you have a points finish range or set of results you’d like to hit this year to make this a success in your mind?
DANICA PATRICK:  I mean, you know, I think it would be great, if I looked at the points from this past year, looked at the people I was competing against last year in those 10 races that I did, if I
could be somewhere up a little bit ahead of where that kind of area is, I mean, that’s probably a first blush good spot to hope to be.
But secretly do I hope for more?  Of course, I do.  I feel like these long races are going to play into my strength of focus, improving on the car, getting more confident and stronger as the race goes on.
There’s too many changes going into this year with the new car, new full-time schedule, all kinds of stuff that it’s going to be really difficult to pin it down.  Ask me again when we get a little bit into the season and I think I’ll be a better judge as to where I’m falling into the line.
Thanks.  I’m sure everybody enjoyed that.
 
 
 

 
Wayne Taylor Racing Finishes Second in 51st Running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona; Gives Corvette Daytona Prototype First-Ever Daytona Podium
 
Daytona Beach, FL (January 27, 2013) – The Wayne Taylor Racing trio of Max Angelelli, Jordan Taylor and Ryan Hunter-Reay battled from the drop of the green flag, to the waving of the checkered flag during the 51st running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Their focused effort yielded a second-place finish for the No. 10 Velocity Worldwide Corvette Daytona Prototype (DP) and delivered the first-ever podium position for the Corvette DP at Daytona International Speedway.
 
Starting 12th on the grid, Angelelli ran the first two and a half hours of the historic race to set the pace and the tone for the remainder of the longest endurance race for the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series.
 
“Just representing Team Chevy it’s such a big deal for me,” said Wayne Taylor, team owner. “I wanted to win so bad for Team Chevy just so much for Velocity Worldwide and everybody.  I’m really happy.  I’m relieved I guess you know.  I was not prepared to not be the face of Team Chevy with my team.  I know there are a lot of teams, but I wanted to be the one.”
 
Today’s finish is the first podium at Daytona for a Taylor-owned team since a third-place finish in 2007 where he and Angelelli shared the driving duties. Taylor and Angelelli also have the 2005 race win on their resumes.
 
“Congratulations to Wayne Taylor Racing for giving the Corvette Daytona Prototype its first podium finish in the iconic Rolex 24 At Daytona,” said Jim Campbell, U.S. Vice President Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “I am very proud of the tremendous effort put forth by all of our Chevrolet teams and applaud the “never give up” attitude of our Corvette Daytona Prototype and Camaro drivers and crews as they battled for their finishing positions this weekend. We are looking forward to an exciting 2013 GRAND-AM season.”
 
Giving the Corvette DP three of the top-five finishers in the race were the No. 9 Action Express Racing Corvette DP driven by Joao Barbosa, Burt Frisselle and Mike Rockenfeller who finished fourth; and the No. 90 Spirit of Daytona Corvette DP with drivers Richard Westbrook, Ricky Taylor, Oliver Gavin and Antonio Garcia who crossed the finish line in fifth place.
 
Jon Fogarty, Alex Gurney, Memo Gidley and Darren Law drivers of the No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Corvette DP finished seventh, with the No. 5 Action Express Racing Corvette DP driven by Christian Fittipaldi, Brain Frisselle, Nelson Piquet, Jr. and Felipe Nasr eighth in the final order.  The No. 3 8 Star Motorsports Corvette DP drivers Enzo Potolicchio, Anthony Davidson, Pedro Lamy, Nicolas Minassian and Stephane Sarrazin finished 10th in-class and 34th overall after early-race mechanical issues.
 
The No. 57 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro GT.R team with drivers Robin Liddell, John Edwards, Jon Magnussen and Tommy Milner finished 23rd in-class and 36th overall after mechanical issues spoiled what started as a very promising race. The No. 31 Marsh Racing Corvette GT, driven by Boris Said, Eric Curran, Brandon Davis and Lawson Aschenbach, finished 32nd in-class and 52nd overall following mechanical issues early in the race.
 
 
 
“All of our Chevrolet Daytona Prototype and GT teams fought a great battle during this grueling race,” said Mark Kent, Director of Chevrolet Racing. “There is no other race in North America as demanding as the 24 Hours of Daytona and just finishing is an accomplishment. It was great to see the #10 Corvette Daytona Prototype finish in 2nd place and on the lead lap in a race that tests the limits of endurance for man and machine. We now turn our focus to the balance of the 2012 Grand Am season as we work to defend Chevrolet’s Daytona Prototype Engine Manufacturers Championship.”
 
The next event for both the Rolex Sports Car Series and the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge GRAND-AM Road Racing is March 1-2, 2013 at Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas.

 
GRAND-AM ROLEX SPORTS CAR SERIES
ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY POST RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
JANUARY 27, 2013
 
WAYNE TAYLOR, OWNER, NO. 10 VELOCITY WORLDWIDE/WAYNE TAYLOR RACING CORVETTE DP – FINISHED SECOND
TELL ME WHAT THIS FINISH MEANS TO YOU TODAY:
“Just representing Team Chevy it’s such a big deal for me.  When I think I have been in America for 22 years and when I first came here I drove for Jim Miller who is now Pratt and Miller.  My program manager when I was driving at that time was Mark Kent (Director of Chevrolet Racing).  In 1991, when Jordan (Taylor, son) was born we were racing at Lime Rock (Park) and Jim Miller said to me ‘I’ll have a plane for you because Shelly (Taylor, wife) was pregnant with Jordan and now all this time later he is in this car, with this team, with Mark Kent and everybody.  I’m happy.  I wanted to win so bad for Team Chevy just so much and Velocity Worldwide and everybody.  I’m really happy.  I’m relieved I guess you know.  I was not prepared to not be the face of Team Chevy with my team.  I know there are a lot of teams but I wanted to be the one.”
 
WE’VE GOTTEN SO USED TO SEEING THE EMOTIONS ON YOUR FACE. ONCE AGAIN TODAY, WE JUST SAW YOU FILLED WITH EMOTIONS. IS IT TOUGH TO SEE THIS TEAM AND WHAT HAPPENS? OR ARE YOU AT LEAST KIND OF HAPPY AFTER LAST YEAR GETTING OUT IN THE FIRST 30 MINUTES OF THE RACE? AT LEAST YOU’RE STARTING OUT THE SEASON STRONG.
“I’m really happy. Coming into the season we’ve all been excited with this new car partnership and Team Chevy and I think Ryan Hunter-Reay, winning the championship last year and driving with me back in 2006, coming with us. Max (Angelelli) of course is my family and part of everything, and then Jordan (Taylor) coming on board this year, there was so much expectation. And there was so much drama coming into this race with horsepower and this and that. In the end, I felt that this team did more than anybody else. I don’t remember one pit stop that we didn’t beat everybody. And everybody just executed perfectly and we were just about there.”
 
MAX ANGELELLI, NO. 10 VELOCITY WORLDWIDE/WAYNE TAYLOR RACING CORVETTE DP – FINISHED SECOND
WHEN JUAN PABLO MONTOYA WENT BY YOU, YOU STILL DIDN’T GIVE-UP THE FIGHT?
“No, never, never; I told everybody on that team I would never give up, and they know me. But look, this is the Velocity Worldwide team. They made an effort, not me. They made an effort with pit stops and strategy, just absolutely perfect. So, it’s their win.”
 
JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 10 VELOCITY WORLDWIDE/WAYNE TAYLOR RACING CORVETTE DP – FINISHED SECOND
TALK ABOUT THE FINISH TODAY AND THE RACE:
“I guess we were the best of the rest you could say.  Ganassi was somewhat in a class of their own.  The team did a great job.  We didn’t have one mechanical problem the entire race.  We never had to do anything in the garage it was just fuel, tires, driver changes and that was it.  Everyone executed the race; it was just unfortunate the way the cars were going that is where we ended up.  You’ve got to be proud of everyone.  Looking at the long run we are in a championship here so second-place points is not a bad place to start.”
 
RUNNING YOUR FIRST RACE THIS SUCCESSFULLY WITH YOUR DAD WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TO YOU?
“Of course it’s special, it’s cool to have him on the stand and hearing him give feedback.  It was special.  It would have been great to win it with him, but hopefully we can do that another day.”
 
RYAN HUNTER-REAY, NO. 10 VELOCITY WORLDWIDE/WAYNE TAYLOR RACING CORVETTE DP– FINISHED SECOND
ON THE RACE:
“Excellent job, excellent team effort by everybody involved.  Team Chevy, Wayne Taylor Racing, the preparation was second to none.  We had a phenomenal race really when you look at how it all went.  No mistakes, never went to the garage, never a hiccup, had great pace.  We were struggling a little bit on some of the regulations with power.  We had a little bit of a disadvantage there that we had to work against.”

JOAO BARBOSA, NO. 9 ACTION EXPRESS RACING CORVETTE DP – FINISHED FOURTH
YOU HAD A DISAPPOINTING END TO A REALLY SOLID DAY WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE RACE?
“It’s very frustrating.  We did the race we had to do.  We drove clean, we had no problems and the car was getting better every time.  Unfortunately, it was a terrible call in my view.  Deciding a race like this is a shame.  Obviously, I have to congratulate Scott (Pruett) he did a good job in the Ganassi car.  They had the edge on everybody for sure this year. I think for sure we could be on the podium, an easy podium.  I think we were very able to do that and we deserve that.  Unfortunately, it was just the call.  I think they are trying to make it like Ganassi and Allmendinger show, but everybody is there to fight for position.  You have to know when you can go and when you can’t.  I mean he was obviously outside the track, not in a position to take the corner.  He could have just lifted and try again, but GRAND-AM did the call that they did. We are learning and next race we will try again.”
 
BURT FRISSELLE, NO. 9 ACTION EXPRESS RACING CORVETTE DP – FINISHED FOURTH
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE RACE AS A WHOLE AND HOW DID YOUR 24 HOURS GO?
“I never thought I would say a top-five finish at Daytona would be as disappointing as it feels right now.  It is a bit disappointing.  With that being said my first race as a full-time driver for Action Express was just so exciting.  I’ve got two of the best drivers in the world as my teammates this weekend.  It was so great to work with them and to push hard every stint to keep the car running. I’m so excited to be a part of this organization and be representing the Bowtie.  I even had a chance to give one of the Corvette engineers a ride around before the race.  That was really exciting to meet a guy who is designing the street product and give him a ride and give him a little insight into what we do here at the track.  Overall, it’s a great start to the season.  It’s great points, it’s a top five, but man that penalty hurt.  I have to say tonight it’s a little bitter sweet, but I’m also thrilled to be a part of this team.”
 
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 90 SPIRIT OF DAYTONA CORVETTE DP – FINISHED FIFTH
TELL ME ABOUT YOUR RACE:
“It was a long one, not just because it was a 24 hours.  Just initially a few minor issues like some electronics we ran into. At one point I ran blind in one of my stints.  I had no radio, no telemetry, no shift lights, even with that the car was good.  Overnight we fixed all of that got back on the lead lap.  At some point we were actually, probably not fighting for the win, because I think there were two cars here like they have us covered.  A bit too much I have to say.  I mean we just kept it there all race long until two hours to go. I was placed fifth at that time.  I was feeling great, starting to put some pressure on the No. 60 car and I think by then I think we had the pace to fight for second-place.  All of a sudden the exhaust just gave up.  We lost all the headers, the exhaust, so we lost power, torque, everything.  So from that point on we were on the lead lap, but we couldn’t fight.  We just stayed around, kept running laps. It is good run for the Spirit of Daytona team for the championship.”
 
CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI, NO. 5 ACTION EXPRESS RACING CORVETTE DP – FINISHED EIGHTH
TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR RACE:
“We were on target after about 2:30-3:00 o’clock in the morning.  Exactly where we had planned for, unfortunately, Nelson (Piquet Jr.) had a small off coming out of the pits.  That broke our rear suspension and
we lost 20, 22 laps with that.  That was the end of the race for us.  But, things happen I guess.  He did it, (Jamie) McMurray did it and Jeff Gordon did it, so at least he is in good company (laughs). When you are running with this caliber of guys like in the car and you are pushing wide open all the time.  Our main goal here was to try and beat the Ganassi (cars) so we were doing like qualifying laps one after the other and it happened.  It’s a shame now I guess from that point on I was already on a 364 day countdown for next year.”     
 
NELSON PIQUET JR., NO. 5 ACTION EXPRESS RACING CORVETTE DP – FINISHED EIGHTH
TALK ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE AT THE ROLEX 24 HOURS AT DAYTONA THIS WEEKEND:
“It was a fantastic race.  Obviously, I did a silly mistake leaving the pits. It was obviously 5:00 am in the morning, new tires, one of those things.  I touched the wall barely at the exit and it was enough to bend our rear suspension.  We had to come in and change it.  It took a bit longer than we expected.  It is a shame.  First, I need to say sorry to all my teammates Christian (Fittapaldi), Felipe Nasr and Brian Frisselle.  Thanks to the team for the invitation it was a great experience.  Obviously, I’m going to be back over here in a couple of weeks with NASCAR, but it was a good start of the year for sure.”

 
Max Angelelli, Jordan Taylor and Ryan Hunter-Reay drove the No. 10 Velocity Worldwide/Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette DP to a second-place finish in the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
 
POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:
 
 
QUESTION: Chip was just in and admitted that, yeah, you want to leave a little bit in your pocket when you’re testing, but where they found speed was with the rear wing.  That’s where they picked up all their speed.
 
MAX ANGELELLI:  We are not rookies.  I mean, what else can I do?  It’s so obvious, so unfair.  What else?
 
QUESTION: Max, to play off that a little bit, talk us through a little bit at the end of the race there, did you think there was anyway that you could stick with Montoya or even get by him for the lead?
 
MAX ANGELELLI:  We were hoping with a strategy to make it to the end and beat them in the fuel, with the fuel.  So we didn’t change tires at the kind of    I had many, many laps on my tires, and we were hoping just to make it like that with the strategy and get the win.
           
But Montoya and the 01 car is another league, is an A class.  We are B class.  Anyway, we are very happy, our Velocity Worldwide car Corvette performed very well.
 
QUESTION:  Do you still have a good explanation as to why your engines were restricted?
 
MAX ANGELELLI:  Well, I wanted to ask you that.  I need an answer because there is no explanation.  There’s no point.  Everybody could see it yesterday, the day before yesterday, today.  I don’t understand.  It makes no sense.  This is not competition.  I am competing against myself, and there’s no chance.
 
QUESTION:  After last year the difficulty with the engine failure, is there any redemption in coming back at all?  Are you able to get any celebration or joy?
 
MAX ANGELELLI:  We celebrated after the 22nd minute when we made it after the 22nd minute.  We were very happy.  It’s been a great day for us, thanks to Ryan and Jordan, a perfect job.  They did a perfect job, and our team, our crew, they made it happen.  It’s thanks for them, for their strategy, their pit stop.  They never made a mistake?
 
QUESTION:  When you said about Juan, he’s A class, we are B class, were you talking about the cars or were you talking about Juan?
 
MAX ANGELELLI:  We have something restricted, okay, just like driving with handcuffs; you can’t do it, can’t drive?
 
QUESTION:  So we’re talking about the cars?
 
MAX ANGELELLI:  Yes, the car.
 
JORDAN TAYLOR:  I think a comparison could be when Brumos won the 24 hour and Ganassi finished second.  They had the same complaints.
 
QUESTION: Jordan, can you talk about your first outing with this team and what it meant to you to finish so well?
           
JORDAN TAYLOR:  Yeah, it was good.  It was cool being with Ryan and Max, of course, just to have drivers like that to learn from and compare to.  As for the race, it was definitely a learning experience, it was my first time really being thrown in with all the GT cars trying to hold you off, but every stint felt better and better and I was feeling more comfortable.
           
I think the team said that it was the first time they’d ever run this race and not had to go to the garage, so I think that says some good things about us for not putting a wheel wrong, but it goes to the team for preparing the car to not have one little issue for 24 hours.
           

 
Daytona Beach, FLA (January 27, 2013) – At the half-way point of the Rolex 24 At Daytona, four Chevrolet Corvette Daytona Prototype (DP) teams maintain strong top-10 positions in the running order. In near perfect racing conditions with blue skies and temperatures in the 70s at the 3:30 p.m. ET start, the temperature at the half-way point is 54 degrees.
 
Team-by-team recap:
 
No. 10 Velocity WorldWide/Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette DP – Driven by: Max Angelelli, Jordan Taylor and Ryan Hunter-Reay:  Started 12th; Running 2nd on lead lap
 
No. 9 Action Express Racing Corvette DP – Driven by Burt Frisselle, Joao Barbosa, Christian Fittipaldi and Mike Rockenfeller: Started 13th; Running 4th on lead lap
 
No. 5 Action Express Racing Corvette DP – Driven by Brian Frisselle, Nelson Piquet, Jr., and Felipe Nasr: Started 11th; Running 5th   on the lead lap
 
No. 90 Spirit of Daytona Corvette DP – Driven by Richard Westbrook, Ricky Taylor, Oliver Gavin and Antonio Garcia: Started 5th; Running 6th on the lead lap
 
No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Corvette DP – Driven by Alex Gurney, Jon Fogarty, Memo Gidley and Darren Law: Started 8th, Running 11th 16 laps down to the leader  NOTE: At the 7.5-hour mark, after changing a right front flat tire, an electrical problem sent the team to the garage for several laps to diagnose and repair the issue
 
No. 3 8 Star Motorsports Corvette DP – Driven by Enzo Potolicchio, Stephane Sarrazin, Danthony Davidson, Pedro Lamy and Nicolas Minassian: Started 9th, Running 37th 46 laps down to the leader. NOTE: In the first hour, a bearing failed in the transmission sending the team to the garage to diagnose and repair the issue
 
No. 57 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro GT.R – Driven by Robin Liddell, John Edwards, Tommy Milner and Jon Magnussen: Started 7th in class, running 30th overall, 19th in class, 32 laps down to overall leader.  NOTE: Suffered a broken front brake line sending the team to the garage to diagnose and repair issue.
 
No. 31 Marsh Racing Corvette GT – Driven by  Boris Said, Brandon Davis, Lawson Aschenbach and Eric Curran; Started 22nd in class, retired from competition 91 laps into the race

ALEX GURNEY, NO. 99 GAINSCO/BOB STALLINGS RACING CORVETTE DAYTONA PROTOTYPE (DP), met with members of the media at Daytona International Speedway following his first driving stint in the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
 
TELL US ABOUT THE FIRST STINT AND MAYBE A QUICK LOOK AHEAD TO THE REST OF THE 24 HOURS:
“I think it started off reasonably well. I made up a position on the start got around (Ryan) Dieziel on the outside of the first horseshoe and just tried to settle into a pace.  I think we were going along well.  I was behind (Richard) Westbrook for a while and finally got by him.  He got caught up in traffic and got by him, so as far as the Corvettes concerned we were thinking we were looking pretty good.  A little farther into the stint (AJ) Allmendinger I think went off in front of me, I think that was him; it was one of the (Michael) Shank cars, in the kink all the way through the grass.  When I was coming around the second horseshoe I thought he was maybe come into me, but that worked out okay.  After the first pit stop I got caught for speeding.  I just went a little early; I know they extended the pit lane speed limit area.  That was a shame because I didn’t get to try it in practice, just went too early.  That didn’t help our cause fell back to tenth.  It looks like the guys did a really good pit stop. After the pit stop we got up to sixth.”
 
AFTER 23 LAPS THE BMW’S WERE 23 SECONDS AHEAD.  IF THEY DON’T BREAK DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY SPEED FOR THEM?
“Well, it’s hard to say.  That is a pretty good stat there.  We saw from qualifying there is an awfully big gap.  We are at minimum wing angle so we can’t do much as far as going down the straight any quicker than we are.  We would like to think that we can get the car working well enough to challenge them at the end, but we will after to wait another 22 hours or so.”
 
HURLEY (HAYWOOD) WAS IN HERE EARLIER AND WAS TALKING ABOUT THE BUTTERFLIES YOU GET BEFORE THIS RACE AND HOW HE WAS MISSING NOT HAVING THEM. COULD YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE BUTTERFLIES STARTING THIS RACE AND MAYBE ABOUT HURLEY (HAYWOOD) MISSING THIS EVENT?
“I understand the sentiment there.  I think every driver gets it.  I certainly get it especially at a race so important and with so many fans all around.  I don’t know.  So many great drivers on the grid there I got (AJ) Allmendinger in front of me and (Ryan) Dieziel next to me and I think (Max) Angelelli behind me and (Stephane) Sarrazin I guess so a lot of big dogs.  You want to be nice and clean, don’t make mistakes and try and hang in there.  As far as Hurley (Haywood) missing it, I mean I definitely understand that.  I have been on the sidelines.  If you feel like you can do it you want to be out there racing.”
 
IT WAS MENTIONED EARLIER DID THEY ADD SOME RESTRICTION TO YOU SINCE QUALIFYING TO THE CHEVYS AND WHAT WAS THAT AND HOW MUCH DID IT COST YOU?
“Well actually added it before the start of the weekend.  It costs us dramatically.  I don’t understand why they did it.  I think they felt that a lot of guys were sandbagging and it turned out they weren’t.  In my view they put a penalty on the slowest car on the straight.  I don’t get that.  They halved that difference after qualifying.  So, we are a little closer.”
 
 
 
MEMO GIDLEY, NO. 99 GAINSCO/BOB STALLINGS RACING CORVETTE DAYTONA PROTOTYPE (DP), met with members of the media at Daytona International Speedway following his first driving stint in the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
 
TELL US ABOUT THIS EARLY STINT FOR YOU? WHAT IS YOUR OUTLOOK FOR THE REST OF THE RUN?
“Well I think the car felt pretty good.  Honestly, the first half of the first stint I probably did more laps than I have done in all the preseason testing.  For me it was just getting back used to the car again and then also with all the cars out there it’s a lot of traffic.  It’s great to have the field that we have this year.  It makes it super challenging.  You come up on two or three or four GT cars battling, going three and four wide.  You just have to be really patient.  I think my whole mindset going in is just to keep doing laps.  If I have to lose a position I will lose a position and keep it safe so we have a fast car at the end.”
 
I’M SURE YOU KNOW HOW MUCH IT WOULD MEAN TO THE TEAM STARTING WITH ALEX (GURNEY) TO WIN THIS EVENT.  HIS FATHER WON THE VERY FIRST INCARNATION OF THIS RACE BACK IN 1962:
“That was a pretty special victory for Dan (Gurney) for sure.  Then just Bob Stallings has put a lot into the series and a lot into this team.  Not to mention it’s truly an all American team.  He doesn’t hold it against us if we’ve got an American accent which is totally cool.  He has just invested a lot in this series.  He is also as far as a team owner and I’ve been with a lot of teams Champ Car, Atlantics, all the way up through the ranks. He is probably one of the best, most supportive and fun to be around and gives you the tools to win races.  I think his team shows why they have won so many times except for this race.”
 
IS THERE A NOTICEABLE DROP IN THE TEMPERATURE OUT THERE ON THE STINT YOU JUST DID?
“Inside the car you don’t feel a whole lot different when the temperature drops because the DP’s are pretty warm inside.  It makes a big difference in the amount of grip and I noticed in the first stint the car was sliding around a fair amount, wasn’t too hooked up.  I had to work a little bit harder.  As the sun went down the track cooled off and it’s almost like the rubber that is on the surface gets a little bit more stable and the car hooks up, rolls around the corner better, puts the power down.  Other than the visibility being a little tougher, I really enjoy driving in the night when it’s cool just because the car seems to just hook up a little bit more.”
 
HOW IS THE TRAFFIC NOW WITH THE SMALLER SERIES IN THE TRACK?  ARE THEY CREATING PROBLEMS FOR THE TOP DRIVERS?
“It’s very challenging.  It’s part of what makes this race so interesting.  Actually the slowest cars, the GX cars they are actually a lot easier to get around because down the straightaway we are considerably faster.  But, when you look at the GT’s and how fast they are going looking at the times they are doing 47 (second laps) or something in qualifying. That is not a whole lot slower than what we are doing.  This is really a horsepower track, so I can see one coming out of the bus stop that is 100 yards ahead of me and I’m lucky to get around him by start/finish.  That makes it really challenging to get around these guys.  Just makes it a little bit harder everywhere.”
 
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE TOP CARS HOW THEY ARE DEVELOPING THE RACE?  ARE THEY ON A VERY FAST PACE?
“I thought the pace was pretty fast.  It really comes down to II think there are some cars that are a little bit faster than us ultimately, at least right now.  We will tweak on it a little as the night goes on.  I think that it’s a pretty fast pace for sure.  I think there are a lot of cars that are really close within a second.  As the night goes on and as the cars change a little bit, some hook up, some start loosening up, changing handling wise.  You never know who is going to be in contention, but there are just a lot of good teams out there.”

MAX ANGELELLI, NO. 10 VELOCITY WORLDWIDE CORVETTE DAYTONA PROTOTYPE (DP), met with members of the media at Daytona International Speedway following his first three driving stints in the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
 
TELL US ABOUT THE FIRST STINT AND OBVIOUSLY YOU GUYS WANT TO GET OFF TO A GOOD START THIS YEAR AFTER LAST YEARS EARLY DISAPPOINTMENTS IN THIS RACE:
“As everybody could see I did three s
tints. At the beginning of my first stint I really took my time, very patient, just stayed behind to look around at what happened.  I felt the car was pretty balanced, good fast and it was too risky to take those people and they were already racing like the final hour.  When I got the opportunity I went by.  Our guys, the Velocity Worldwide team had an excellent, exceptional pit stop both times.  That really helped because we overtook so many cars in the pit.  The final stint, my third stint, I could stay with the No. 01 for half of a stint, but it was too quick in the straight.  As soon as I loose contact there was no chance.  Our car Corvette is really good, very well balanced and we’ll see.”
 
THEY MADE A CHANGE TO THE RESTRICTOR THAT YOU ARE USING COULD YOU TELL THE DIFFERENCE AT ALL?
“No, I didn’t know.  Did they change?  No feeling at all.  I mean if change is 0.000001 millimeter is not a change.  They need to be released, just look at the top speed it is very simple.”
 
THIS IS REALLY SOME TEAM.  YOU ARE HERE WITH JORDAN TAYLOR WHO IS ONE OF OUR VERY BEST GRAND-AM DRIVERS FOR A FEW SEASONS IN GT AND NOW IN DP AS WELL AS THE INDYCAR CHAMPION RYAN HUNTER-REAY.  WHAT KIND OF TEAM IS THIS AND WHAT IS THE POTENTIAL?
“I’m very proud to share the car with Jordan (Taylor) and Ryan Hunter-Reay the champion in IndyCar.  We have two great drivers it’s just fantastic.  In talking to Jordan he says if he cannot make it in racing he is going to Hollywood (laughs).  He has an option open.”
 
WE HEARD THIS IS ACTUALLY THE FIRST TIME THAT YOUR FAMILY HAS BEEN ABLE TO SEE YOU RACE OVER HERE IN THE 24 HOUR.  CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE EMOTIONS THAT YOU HAVE KNOWING THAT THEY ARE HERE WATCHING YOU TONIGHT?
“It was strange for me it was the first time ever.  My kids, who are 9 and 5 they only, discover I was a race car driver last year.  So, 8 years, 4 years for the other one, they didn’t know.  They thought I was a mechanic and I was working on Wayne Taylor car.  My wife it’s her first time here ever all three of them.  I’m looking forward to seeing them and asking them how they are feeling.”
 

 
JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 10 VELOCITY WORLDWIDE CORVETTE DAYTONA PROTOTYPE (DP), met with members of the media at Daytona International Speedway following his first driving stint in the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
 
TELL US ABOUT THE EARLY STINT AND THE OUTLOOK FOR THE REST OF THE 24 HOURS:
“Well I think I got caught for speeding on pit lane.  They extended the line and I think I just got caught out, which I was surprised about.  But, the car is good I think it is pretty quick.  I don’t know if we have enough for Ganassi if we really wanted to push hard.  We are definitely in cruise mode right now saving fuel.  I got stuck behind the No. 99 for a while.  I think if we were able to get around them we would have been quite a bit quicker.  But, I don’t see a point in really racing anybody at this point in the race.  We saved enough fuel to go a lap longer than them and were able to pass them in the pits and then pull away on the next stint.  I think the car is quick enough if we really want to start going, but at this point in the race I don’t see any reason to start pushing it so far.”
 
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR YOU TUBE VIDEO AND HOW IT CAME ABOUT?
“Well I was just informed that it might be taken off You Tube so I’m a little upset right now.  My friend Mark Jensen we were at dinner one night at a little Mexican place and a Mariachi band came around and serenaded us.  I think they thought we were together.  From that point we kind of thought of a funny idea of maybe doing a Mariachi dance for a video and then it kind of escalated from there.  I said on TV just now that everyone at the track sees all of us as very serious people and I don’t really think they see our personalities away from the track.  We all thought it would be fun to kind of just do a weird, goofy video like that.  If you have a sense of humor you will enjoy it.  Some people took it a little too seriously I think and were making some weird remarks.  I think if you are just open to laugh at people we were just laughing at ourselves the whole time.  It was just a fun video.”
 
YOUR BROTHER SPENT A NUMBER OF YEARS IN THE SAME ROLE LEARNING IN THE PROTOTYPE WHAT HAS IT BEEN LIKE FOR YOU THE FIRST WEEKEND WITH MAX (ANGELELLI) AND RYAN HUNTER-REAY?  HAS IT BEEN A BIG EDUCATIONAL ASPECT FOR YOU YET?  ARE YOU STILL SOAKING IT ALL IN?
“We had the November test just Max (Angelelli) and myself and then January it was all three of us.  I’ve been able to get used to everything, get used to the car and the team. It’s definitely been a learning experience as you saw in that first stint that was basically my first time in race conditions when GT cars are actually trying to hold you off.  It took a little time to get used to it and following guys like (Allan) McNish and (Scott) Pruett and them.  You pick it up pretty quickly just learning from the best guys.  I think when you are thrown in at the deep end with these guys that is the best way to learn.”
 
AFTER YEARS OF BEING THAT GUY IN THE GT CAR WHAT IS THE EXPERIENCE LIKE NOW?
“I realize why so many DP guys dislike GT cars.  You are in your own race in GT and you try your best to not lose any time.  You do block a lot of DP cars.  I didn’t really realize how irritating that is until tonight.  You are always on the radio asking who is in this car, who is in that car, because you want to understand which drivers are like what.  When you get back in the car later on the team is kind of aware of what drivers drive in what style and you know what to expect so you don’t get caught out.”
 
THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF TALK HERE OF THE CHEVROLET’S MAYBE BEING DOWN ON POWER A LITTLE BIT, BUT AT ONE POINT MAX (ANGELELLI) WAS ALMOST MATCHING SCOTT PRUETT’S LAP TIMES, BUT HIS QUOTES SAY THAT HE JUST COULDN’T KEEP UP WITH THEM ON THE STRAIGHTS.  WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU GUYS ARE AT A DISADVANTAGE IF YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE AT A DISADVANTAGE TO THE BMW’S?
“I would definitely put it to straight line speed.  We were around the cars in practice and it was difficult to even stay close to them out of the bus stop even if you got a run on them.  Even if it there was not a great driver in the car, but our car in years past the No. 10 car has traditionally been very strong here at Daytona under braking and on the infield.  It is not surprising that Max was able to match lap times I would say if you look at sector times we are gaining in the infield maybe two or three tenths on them and then they are gaining it back on the oval section.  I think if we get to the end of the race.  It will be definitely a very tough battle for us because the best place to pass is obviously on the straight.”
 
DARREN LAW, NO. 99 GAINSCO/BOB STALLINGS RACING CORVETTE DAYTONA PROTOTYPE (DP), met with members of the media at Daytona International Speedway following his first driving stint in the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
 
TELL US ABOUT YOUR STINT OUT THERE IN THE RED DRAGON:
“The car is good.  It is running well.  We are doing like we should just basically protecting the car, staying out of trouble.  I have got to say, I have been running this race for over a decade and it is pretty crazy out there right now.  I mean stupid stuff where I literally have to stop and go to first gear in the chicane sometimes.  It’s nuts.”
 
OBVIOUSLY RUNNING IN THE TOP-FIVE RIGHT NOW IN FOURTH-PLACE CAN YOU TALK ABOUT MAYBE HOW YOU FEEL YOUR PROSPECTS ARE AT THIS POINT?
“I would say as far as the Chevy powered cars, I feel confident we are among the best there.  I feel fairly confident with
the Fords.  I still think the BMW’s really have the legs on us on the straight.  If you don’t you have to really run through the corners hard and get a heck of a run out to be able to even try and run with them.  It’s going to be tough, but we have seen a ton of cars go out already.  You never know we have a long way to go.  Not even half way.”
 
TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT IT HAS BEEN LIKE TO DRIVE WITH A NEW TEAM HERE THIS YEAR:
“Well I drove for Brumos for a long time and Action Express for the last couple of years.  The GAINSCO car has always been fast.  It has always a desirable car to be in and the guys have been very welcoming.  A great group of guys, I’ve known them all for several years now and raced against them.  I was happy to be asked to come to it.  For me power wise the Chevy, aero wise the Corvette body I was used to that from last year.  The thing that is different is I’m back in a Riley which is what I ran for many years prior to the Coyote last year.  It’s very nice to be in a Riley, great handling car.  I actually feel that it is easier to drive at a competitive pace for a long period.  I think it is better for the long races for sure.”
 
 

No. 01 CKS Camaro GS.R Leads Team Chevy in Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Season Opening Race at Daytona
 
Daytona Beach, FL (January 25, 2013) – Eric Curran and Lawson Aschenbach rallied the No. 01 CKS Autosport Camaro GS.R from the 23rd starting position to capture a fifth-place finish in today’s BMW Performance 200 for the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge at Daytona International Speedway.
 
Curran started the race, and with steady precision worked his way through the field to run solidly in the top-10 before turning the car over to Aschenbach. As he exited the pit box and headed down pit lane, Aschenbach was issued a speeding penalty that dropped the Camaro GS.R down in the running order. As the minutes clicked down on the 2.5-hour race, Aschenbach charged back.
 
In the final laps of the race, an exciting battle for position developed between Aschenbach and John Edwards in the No. 9 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro GS.R that saw the pair of Chevy drivers swapping positions back and forth.  On the last lap, Aschenbach made his final move to get by Edwards to claim fifth and sixth respectively in the final running order.
 
Edwards took over the No. 9 Camaro GS.R from co-driver Matt Bell who started the race from the seventh position on the grid. Bell maintained a consistent presence in the top-five until turning the car over to Edwards.
 
Ashley McCalmont and Bob Michaelian finished 17th in the No. 00 CKS Autosport Camaro GS.R, and Lawrence Davey and Mike Skeen were 23rd in the final running order.
 
Today’s race was the prelude to the 51st running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona for the GRAND-AM Rolex Series.  The race will start at 3:30 p.m. E.T. on Saturday, January 26, 2013.
 
Next on the schedule for Team Chevy in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge will be the March 2, 2013 inaugural event at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.

Richard Westbrook led the Corvette Daytona Prototype (DP) entries in qualifying for the 51st running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The Englishman, who won the first-ever race for the Corvette DP, put the No. 90 Spirit of Daytona Corvette DP in the fifth starting position for the legendary race that begins Saturday at 3:30 p.m. E.T.
Additionally, Alex Gurney qualified the No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing “Red Dragon” Corvette DP in the eighth starting position, and Stephane Sarrazin was ninth in the final order behind the wheel of the No. 3 8 Star Motorsports Corvette DP.
 
The remaining Corvette DPs qualified as follows:  Christian Fittipaldi, No. 5 Action Express Racing Corvette DP – 11th; Max Angelelli, No. 10 Velocity Worldwide Corvette DP – 12th and Joao Barbosa, No. 9 Action Express Racing Corvette DP – 13th.
 
In the Grand Touring (GT) class for the GRAND-AM Rolex 24, Robin Liddell qualified the No. 57 Stevenson Camaro GT.R in eighth position in-class.  The No. 31 Marsh Racing Corvette, qualified by Eric Curran, will start 23rd in-class.
 
Matt Bell, No. 9 Stevenson Camaro GS.R, led the Team Chevy contingent in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge with an eighth-place qualifying effort.
 
Other Camaro GS.R qualifying results for the BMW Performance 200 2.5-hour race on Friday afternoon beginning at 1:45 p.m. E.T. were: Bob Michaelian, No. 00 CKS Autosport Camaro GS.R – 22nd; Lawrence Davey, No. 6 Mitchum Motorsports Camaro GS.R – 23rd and Eric Curran, No. 01 CKS Autosport Camaro GS.R – 24th.
 
Scott Pruett (BMW) won the pole for the Rolex 24. Nick Tandy (Porsche) was the fastest GT qualifier, and Jade Buford (Aston Martin) won the pole for the BMW Performance 200.
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TEAM CHEVY DRIVER POST QUALIFYING QUOTES:
RICHARD WESTBROOK, NO. 90 SPIRIT OF DAYTONA CORVETTE DP – QUALIFIED FIFTH
HOW WAS YOUR QUALIFYING RUN?
“It’s a 24 hour race so qualifying is not as important as it normally is. The car felt really good. We are no match for the BMW’s at the moment, but I think we will be a lot closer in the race. It’s nice to be the first Corvette and it’s just good to start a 24 hour race at the right end. We didn’t really know where we were going to be after practice, but really happy. Really happy for our new sponsor Visitflorida.com and to be the first Chevy is good.”
HOW HARD IS IT TO GET YOUR CAR SET-UP FOR A 12-TURN ROAD COURSE LIKE THIS?
“The main problem is getting it set up for a 24 hour race because you need a car that is good over a distance not just for one lap. That is why qualifying you shouldn’t really take too much notice of the positions because it doesn’t necessarily mean that is the race is going to pan out. We are pretty confident.”
ROBIN LIDDELL, NO. 57 STEVENSON AUTO GROUP GT.R – QUALIFIED EIGHTH
TALK ABOUT QUALIFYING OUT THERE TODAY:
“Well it’s never easy qualifying here at Daytona in this car. At the end of the day we kind of set the car up very heavily towards the race. When we put new tires on we typically struggle with a lot of understeer in the infield. We are quite a long wheel based car, so we struggle with getting the car rotated and powered down. But then the car is very good in the fast section through the bus stop and through the kink on the infield, so we made some time up there and braking into (turn) one. Overall the car felt pretty good. It was pretty much what we expected. Not the fastest car for a qualifying situation, but over the race distance it’s pretty much what we are looking for. I was quite fortunate to get a good tow, a good draft, so I was able to pick up a few spots. I think without the tow we probably wouldn’t have been where we are. I think we are happy because at the end of the day there are a few cars behind us that probably on our right pace should be ahead of us. Right now we are happy, but obviously going into the race the car I think we are in good shape for the 24 Hours we have a good reliable car, a good crew, good teammates, nobody is slow to put in the car. I think in the end that will all play to us over the course of the race.”
MATT BELL, NO. 9 STEVENSON AUTO GROUP GS.R – QUALIFIED EIGHTH
HOW WAS QUALIFYING OUT THERE?
“Well…short (laughs). I think considering our car is pretty much new from the driver’s seat forward, the car was really close to what we need. Maybe not for qualifying, but for the race, we are probably not going to do a lot of changes to it. It was a little bit pushy in certain places. I never really got loose so it’s stable and that is kind of what you want in a race car for an endurance race. I think we are in a pretty good position. We would have liked to have used this session a little bit more for some tuning and tweaking because we haven’t had too many laps in the car. Again, considering what the car has been through and what the team has been through, they really nailed it on set up. Kind of a shot in the dark, but they got it right.”
IS THIS A REALLY TOUGH TRACK TO GET THE CAR WHERE YOU WANT IT ALL THE WAY AROUND IT?
“It is a pretty difficult track. It’s a complex place. There is an oval, not a lot of people tune for the oval here, but there are still a lot of high speed sections. The high speed bus stops, high speed braking, high speed into turn one that goes down to a very slow corner. There are the two horseshoes that are very low minimum speed so it can be tricky. Our Camaro is usually very good in the infield. We are a little bit off there we are going to nail it tomorrow I’m sure. That is our cars kind of high point is braking for the infield and pretty much the whole infield. The problem is these newer cars; especially the European imports are just so fast in a straight line that we really have a hard time. It’s a lot easier to make passes with your foot pinned to the floor than it is to try to dive bomb into the bus stop or into turn one. It’s complicated to set up the car, but I think we are pretty close.”
 

Chevrolet Roars into Daytona for Kickoff to 2013 GRAND-AM Road Racing Season; New Team Chevy Racing Display to Highlight Fan Activities for the Weekend
 
For release:
January 23, 2013
 
DETROIT – Chevrolet is ready to get back to racing and kick off the 2013 GRAND-AM Road Racing season. The year will begin with the 51st running of the Rolex 24-Hour at Daytona, a legendary endurance race that tests both man and machine.
 
Following a successful campaign in 2012 which saw the Chevrolet Corvette Daytona Prototype make its competition debut, Team Chevy looks to build on the strength of last season’s eight Daytona Prototype victories that netted the 2012 GRAND-AM Rolex Series Engine Manufacturers’ Championship.
 
This season Team Chevy’s Rolex Sports Car Series roster is comprised of six Corvette DP teams, including the newly established 8Star Motorsports, which will field the No. 3 Corvette DP.  8Star will join Action Express Racing, which fields two entries:  the No. 5 and No. 9 Corvette DPs.  Long-time Team Chevy partner Wayne Taylor Racing will field the No. 10 Velocity Worldwide Corvette DP. Filling out the Team Chevy Rolex DP roster are the No. 90 Spirit of Daytona Corvette DP and the No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Corvette DP.
 
Also competing in the Rolex 24-Hour under the Team Chevy banner will be No. 57 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro GT.R and the No. 31 Marsh Racing Corvette GT.R.
 
“The Chevrolet teams in GRAND-AM are well-prepared and excited to kick-off the 2013 race season at Daytona International Speedway,” said Jim Lutz, GRAND-AM Road Racing Program Manager, Chevrolet Racing.  “We will have a strong team and driver line-up in both the Rolex 24 Hour Daytona Prototype and Grand Touring, as well as in the Grand Sport class in Friday’s Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge.
 
“We were very pleased with the results of testing in the ‘Roar Before the 24’ early in January. Our teams have been working ’round the clock to be prepared for the season-opener and biggest race of the year.
 
“Success in the Rolex 24 Hour takes a dedicated engineering effort from all of our teams, technical partners and the Chevrolet Racing engineering group to produce cars that are reliable and fast, and to achieve the goal of a trip to Victory Lane.”
 
Race fans at Daytona International Speedway for the Rolex 24 will also have the opportunity to experience the Team Chevy Racing Display, which was filled with show cars, production vehicles, Chevrolet Performance Parts crate engines, and parts and accessories. They are invited to participate in question-and-answer sessions with Team Chevy drivers.
“We’re excited to offer fans of the Rolex 24 a Chevy destination in the DIS infield,” said Maria Stenbom, Chevy Racing Motorsports Marketing Digital & Social/Manager, GRAND-AM. “The Team Chevy Racing Display will have something for everyone. Fans will have the opportunity to ask questions of drivers Lawson Ashenbach, Eric Curran, Ricky Taylor, Jordan Taylor and Richard Westbrook, Darren Law and Jon Fogarty, and spend time with one of our friendly product specialists and learn more about Chevy’s great vehicle lineup.
 
“I’m especially proud to be able to show the new 2014 Silverado and ZL1 Convertible to our fans!  Also on display are Chevrolet Performance Parts crate engines and an assortment of accessories and performance parts for fans to purchase from their local Chevy dealer. We hope to see you there.”
Ashenbach and Curran will be at the display at 11:45 a.m. on Friday, and Ricky and Jordan Taylor and Westbrook, Law and Fogarty will visit the display at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
Fans who sign up with Team Chevy will receive a special commemorative t-shirt.
 
The display opens at 9 a.m. on Friday, January 25.
 
The 51st running of the Rolex 24-Hour will start at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 26 and conclude 24 hours later Sunday afternoon.
 
The opening race of the weekend, the GRAND-AM 200 for the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, will also feature Team Chevy entries.  Mitchum Motorsports will field the No. 6 Camaro GS.R joined by the No. 9 Stevenson Motorsports GS.R as well as the No. 00 and No. 01 of CKS Autosport.  The two and one-half hour race will start Friday, January 25 at 1:45 p.m. ET.
 
CHEVY RACING CAR AND DRIVER LINEUP FOR THE 51st RUNNING OF THE ROLEX 24 HOUR AT DAYTONA
 
ROLEX SPORTS CAR SERIES DAYTONA PROTOTYPE (DP):
 
No. 3 8 Star Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette DP
·         Drivers
o   Stephane Sarrazin
o   Nicolas Minassian
o   Pedro Lamy
o   Enzo Potolicchio
o   Anthony Davidson
 
No. 5 Action Express Racing Chevrolet Corvette DP
·       Drivers
o   Christian Fittipaldi
o   Felipe Nasr
o   Nelson Piquet Jr.
 
No. 9 Action Express Racing Chevrolet Corvette DP
·       Drivers
O   Joao Barbosa
o   Brian Frisselle
o   Burt Frisselle
 
No. 10 Velocity Worldwide Chevrolet Corvette DP
·       Drivers
O   Max Angelelli
o   Jordan Taylor
o   Ryan Hunter-Reay
 
No. 90 Spirit of Daytona Chevrolet Corvette DP
·       Drivers
O   Richard Westbrook
o   Ricky Taylor
o   Antonio Garcia
o   Oliver Gavin
 
No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Chevrolet Corvette DP
·       Drivers
O    Alex Gurney
o   Jon Fogarty
o   Memo Gidley
·         Darren Law
 
TEAM CHEVY IN ROLEX SPORTS CAR SERIES GRAND TOURING (GT):
 
No. 31 Whelen Chevrolet Corvette GT.R
·         Drivers
o   Eric Curran
o   Boris Said
o   Lawson Aschenbach
o   Brandon Davis
 
No. 57 Stevenson Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro GT.R
·       Drivers
O   Robin Liddell
o   John Edwards
o   Jan Magnussen
o   Tom Milner
 
CHEVY RACING CAR AND DRIVER LINEUP FOR GRAND-AM 200 FOR THE CONTINENTAL TIRE SPORTS CAR CHALLENGE
 
TEAM CHEVY IN CONTINENTAL TIRE SPORTS CAR CHALLENGE GRAND SPORT (GS):
 
No. 00 CKS Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro GS.R
·       Drivers
O   Ashley McCalmont
o   Bob Michaelian
 
No. 01 CKS Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro GS.R
·       Drivers
O   Lawson Aschenbach
o   Eric Curran
 
No. 6 Mitchum Motorsports Track Pro Advisor Chevrolet Camaro GS.R
·       Drivers
O   Lawrence Davey
o   Mike Skeen
 
No. 9 Stevenson Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro GS.R
·       Drivers
O   Matt Bell
o   John Edwards
 

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
PRESEASON TESTING
CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JANUARY 18, 2013
 
JEFF BURTON, NO. 31 CATERPILLAR CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Charlotte Motor Speedway and discussed the new Gen-6 race car, testing today at Charlotte Motor Speedway and other topics.  Full Transcript:
 
TALK ABOUT THE NEW CAR AND HEADING INTO THE 2013 SEASON HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT YOUR TEAM:
“Obviously we had some work to do based on our performance last year and the year before for that matter.  We certainly made a lot of changes from the very top of the company to a lot of positions within individual teams.  I feel good about what we have done. I think our preparation, what we have done to be ready before we start building cars is at a different level today than it was last year and even the year before.  I’m excited about what we have going on.  I feel like we have something to prove and looking forward for the opportunity to be able to do that.  As it relates to the new car I think everybody is kind of in the same boat.  It’s an exciting time.  The car is a really good looking car.  It has a lot of potential, as I’ve said before; I think that there has been more work that has gone into this car in the sense of just not the aesthetics but the opportunity to have better races.  As we have evolved the sport into much more of a mile and a half oriented sport it has become harder to have the good close racing that people want to see.  I think the racing is really similar to what it has always been, but I think the fans want more than that today.  A lot of effort has gone into making these cars so that we will have better races.  I’m really excited about that because I think at the end of the day that is the corner stone of this sport.  Is an exciting day at the race track whether you are watching it on TV or watching it at the track, without that the sport is in trouble.”
 
SOME TEAM IS PROBABLY GOING TO CONNECT WITH THIS CAR EARLY.  WHAT DO YOU THINK IS GOING TO BE THE MAGIC BULLET?  IS IT GOING TO BE SOMEBODY WITH A REAR SUSPENSION DEAL, IS IT GOING TO BE AERO?  WHAT IS GOING TO STAND OUT EARLY ON?
“I wish I knew that because then we would be that guy.  Honestly, we talk a lot about trick, but I will tell you that I’m not a trick guy.  I believe that you have to have an entire package.  When you have that entire package you may kind find a trick that makes that package better, but that doesn’t necessarily transfer to the team next to you in the garage.  The teams that will do the best have done a good job of understanding the aerodynamics of this car.  Understanding the chassis stuff, we don’t have rear bars now.  It’s a combination of all those things.  I don’t think it’s going to be just that a team just said ‘wow we found this trick little piece and put on the car.’  It’s more about understanding the entire package and maximizing the package, then having a grasp on what maximizing the package means from one track to the next.  What you do here isn’t going to work when you go to Phoenix.  It is understanding the car, understanding your driver, understanding the things you are dealing with, understanding the tires, understanding all that stuff and putting a package together that works with all that.  I don’t think it’s one thing.”
 
YOU HAVE TALKED ABOUT YOUR STRUGGLES THE PAST YEAR OR TWO AND TRYING TO GET THINGS STRAIGHTENED OUT AND BACK ON TRACK.  IS IT A GOOD THING THAT YOU GUYS HAVE A NEW CAR OR IF THAT GOING TO BE ANOTHER ISSUE THAT YOU GUYS ARE GOING TO HAVE TO DEAL WITH?
“I think the timing of the car is good for us as a company.  I think that by anybody’s measurements we didn’t have a good year through the company last year.  We went almost the whole year without winning a race.  Kevin (Harvick) won really late in the year.  So for us, I think it’s easier when there is a whole new car with a lot of new rules, a new rear rule package.  I think it is easier to start over than it is taking an existing vehicle and starting over.  It gives us a chance to stop and say ‘okay what is the best way to develop a car’ and through that build a program that works for that.  I think the timing of that is good for RCR (Richard Childress Racing) in general.  Whether that will yield results or not we will see.  I think the timing of it is good for us.”
 
HOW MUCH TIME HAVE YOU HAD IN THE GEN-6 CAR ON AN INTERMEDIATE TRACK LIKE THIS AND IS IT WORRISOME WITH EVERY MINUTE THAT PASSES OF THE TESTING TIME YOU ARE NOT GETTING?
“This will be my fifth time in the Gen-6 car.  Testing is valuable, there is no question about it, but if we got two hours today, everybody got two hours.  So, we have had a fair amount of test time with the cars.  This test is a bonus.  The last time I remember doing testing like this was when the Taurus was first introduced.  We came over and we were working on the Taurus.  I view this as a bonus test.  We wouldn’t normally get this.  Again, if we get two hours then the whole field gets two hours.  Again, it’s about the teams that are most prepared.”
 
A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE SKEPTICAL, BASED ON THE PERFORMANCE THE LAST TWO YEARS, IF RCR CAN REBOUND.  WHAT HAS YOU EXCITED THAT THERE CAN BE A TURN AROUND?
“The direction of the company, the mindset of the company in regard to ‘what do we have to do to be better’, the commitment to that, the commitment to, I’m going to call it, a new philosophy.  Those things are there and those things are real.  I won’t sit here today and guarantee you that is going to give results.  I believe it will.  You are right we have to show it.  For me to sit here today and tell all you guys we are going to do this and we are going to do that, I think is ridiculous.  I can tell you that the commitment to improve is there.  The philosophy to improve is there.  It is a different philosophy; it’s a different way of doing business than we have done it before.  It’s what I have believed in and that is why I’m optimistic.  We will see.  I believe in my heart things will be a lot better.  Every team in that garage works hard too.  It will be a challenge.  I truly believe it’s going to be a lot better.”
 
ARE YOU TREATING THE FIRST FEW RACES AS A TEST SESSION TO UNDERSTAND THE CAR BETTER?  AS A REFERENCE POINT CAN YOU GET THE PACKAGE FROM THE OLD CAR MODIFIED TO THE NEW CAR JUST TO HAVE AN IDEA OF WHAT YOU CAN DO?
“I think that racing is a set of building blocks.  Every testing event, every race, every year you keep putting blocks on top of the next block.  You are building more and more information.  We are certainly going to use the information that we have from last year.  We use information that we have from 10 years ago.  You learn and you apply what you learned.  I think that it is a continuing evolution of your thought process.  As far as using the first few races for a test I mean honestly, no different than any other year.  We are going to go to the Daytona 500 with the best stuff we know how to win with.  We are going to go do everything we can to be successful.  When we got to the Fourth of July race in Daytona those things will be different because we will be smarter, we will have learned more.  It’s no more test session than every other week is a test session.  You are always hoping to be good.  You are always hoping to be able to learn something from one week to apply to the next week.  I don’t view this car being any different in that regard.  I think the learning curve could be quicker.  When you have the same basic car for three years you are going to learn a whole
lot less in that last year than you did in the first year.  I think that the learning curve could be steep.”
 
DO YOU SEE ANYTHING IN THESE CHANGES THAT FOR YOU PERSONALLY SEEM LIKE A PRESENT, A CHRISTMAS PRESENT IN A SENSE?
“It’s an interesting question because I had a conversation with another member of the media at Daytona and there was conversation about this car is going to have more downforce and you won’t have to drive the car as loose.  I said on the outside that makes sense, but on the inside typically I like cars set-up looser than my teammates.  So, you never know.  There is nothing that I look at that I just look at this car and say ‘wow that is really going to benefit me’.  Honestly, what I pay attention to is what we need to do with the No. 31 to benefit me.  The thing that has been hard the last two years and it’s something I haven’t dealt with much in my career is that the things that Kevin (Harvick) has liked haven’t worked for me.  That hasn’t been a good thing.  That hasn’t always been like that at RCR.  It just kind of popped up for some reason.  We really felt a lot of the same things before.  Although we wouldn’t run the same set up’s we would have a lot of the same comments and over the last couple of years we haven’t.  That has been a difficult thing.  It hasn’t been just me either.  It’s kind of been throughout the company.  One driver likes this, the other driver likes that we are not in the same area.  That has been very confusing.  I’m answering you question in a really long way because I don’t really know how to answer it other than to say that I’ll tell you in a few weeks.  I will tell you in a few months.  At the end of the day, us doing a good job with whatever the rule package is that is what it’s about.  We’ve got to give me what I need to be successful.  If we do that then we will be doing the right things we need to do.”
 
YOU’VE BEEN THROUGH THESE SITUATIONS BEFORE WHERE YOU’VE STRUGGLED, AND PEOPLE WONDER HOW MUCH LONGER ARE YOU GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO IT AND HOW MUCH LONGER WILL YOU KEEP YOUR RIDE. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT GOING INTO THIS YEAR? DO TESTS LIKE THIS CREATE MORE URGENCY BECAUSE OF ALL THE TALK?
“Well, you know, I want to be respected by my peers. And that does matter to me. I think anybody who says it doesn’t is a pretty shallow individual and I think you always want to be respected by the things around you. I don’t want to be in the conversation about is he going to have a ride or whatever; I don’t want to be in there because honestly, the reason I don’t want to be there is because that means things aren’t going well. I understood 20 years ago, more than that; I understood 25 years ago, when somebody started paying me to drive a race car, that it was different than driving for your dad. And I don’t drive for my dad. I drive for my boss. And he has bosses. He has sponsors that require and demand, as they should, success. And so, I’m tough enough to handle the pressure. If I wasn’t, I would have never accepted a position 25 years ago to get paid by somebody. I don’t want to be involved in those conversations because I enjoy coming in and talking to you guys (media). I enjoy it. And to talk about those things isn’t fun. We’re not moving the ball. We’re not making the sport better. It’s just a conversation about bad things. So, I don’t like to be involved in that because of that. And it really has nothing to do with the perception or any of that. It’s just that I want to talk about the good things and the fun things. I understand not everything is fun about racing. You are going to have some tough days. But generally, it needs to work well. And I have no interest in just being here. I have no interest in getting a paycheck just to show up and drive. I want to bring energy. I want to bring excitement. I want to have enthusiasm. I want to be part of a fight. I want to leave the track disappointed when we do badly. And that’s what you have when you’re doing well. So, that’s the reason I don’t want to be involved in those conversations. I can tell you this as the God’s honest truth: I’ve been paid to drive race cars for a long time. But I’ve never driven race cars to get paid. Does that make sense? I drove race cars because it was my passion. And I do it today because it’s my passion. I’ve been fortunate enough to get paid; I’m one of the few people, I live a blessed life. I get paid to do my hobby. But that doesn’t mean it’s still not; just because I get paid, I still don’t have a passion for it. So I want to be successful. I want to race Jimmie Johnson for the championship. I want to have the pressure going to Homestead (that) if you don’t get it done, Burton, you’re going to finish second. I want that pressure. That’s why I do it. The other pressure sucks. It’s not fun. So that’s the reason why. I just really don’t want to be in those conversations because it’s just no damn fun.”
 
WHO DO YOU FEEL WILL ADAPT THE QUICKEST?
“That is a tough question. It is not a mistake that you have a group of drivers that consistently run well, Matt (Kenseth) being one of them. The people that have benefited by this the most are the people that have found a way to know more about it than their competitors. That is who is going to benefit by it. As good as Matt Kenseth is, if his team has looked things wrong over the last three months and they go to Phoenix with the wrong philosophy, he isn’t going to be successful. I don’t have a way to answer that question other than to say that the teams that are the most prepared and understand it the most, individual teams and companies are going to have the most success.”
 
WHAT IS UP WITH HARRISON (BURTON-JEFF’S SON) THIS COMING YEAR? ARE YOU FEELING HEAT FROM HIM KIND OF COMING UP BEHIND YOU AND ARE YOU SPENDING A LOT OF MONEY ON HIM? “I hope so, and yes. (Laughs) He does drive for his Father, I need to get him a boss! We are moving into the late model thing full time, so we actually go Sunday and Monday to test. It that goes well, we’re going to race him in Georgia next weekend. Then the plan is to run him down in New Smyrna for eight races in nine nights. Then from there, we don’t really have a hard schedule because we’re waiting to see how he evolves and where he is. We want to put him in a position where it is hard for him, but not too hard. Until we really get a chance to evaluate him, it’s hard to know. So, we are remaining flexible.  We haven’t put a hard schedule around him. We’ll see where his talent is at this point, and then we’ll make the decision about what we need to do with him.”
 
ISN’T IT TRUE THAT WE REALLY DON’T KNOW WHO MIGHT BE GOOD DESPITE WHO HAS BEEN IN NATIONWIDE CARS, OR WHO HAS BEEN IN THE OLD CAR, OR WHO HAS BEEN OR WHO HASN’T BEEN?
“Y’all don’t take this the wrong way, but we don’t know in the garage, and that means y’all don’t know either. (LAUGHS WITH MEDIA AUDIENCE). No disrespect intended, but it’s fun, I’m a sports fan too, and it’s fun to sit down before the year and say ‘This is the team that’s going to win the Super Bowl.’, but how many of us are wrong? By far the majority of us are wrong. It’s fun to try and analyze it and say ‘Well this guy did this in 1932, and this guy did that. And this team did this.’  All that is fun. Every year is a new year. Again, it’s not a coincidence that certain drivers have success no matter what their situation is. That’s not a coincidence. I think none of us know. We’ve all been surprised before how teams we expected were going to be really good weren’t, and how teams we didn’t think were going to be very good, were much better than we thought. Then we also fall into the trap of there is always the team early in the year, like eight or nine races in ‘WOW, where did they come from.’ Then the year is over and they aren’t there anymore. We always fall into that trap too. You just never know, and I d
on’t think any of us know right now.”
 
YOU SAID EARLIER YOU THINK THIS CAR CAN LEAD TO BETTER RACING, FROM THE SEAT, WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT YOU FEEL THAT MAKE YOU BELIEVE THAT?
“My theory is based on years of experience, and watching what is going on with this sport; how it’s evolved.  We’ve gone through this thing-a lot of downforce; little downforce; a lot of grip; low grip; all these different tire combinations. At the end of the day, the better the cars are stuck in the race track, the closer the cars run to each other. A lot of us remember years ago that we went to the five in five rule when we took downforce off, and the racing suffered from that.  When the COT first came out, Goodyear was still using the tires it had used the year before.  The cars didn’t drive very well at all, and the quality of racing suffered. Especially on big tracks, the better the grip is, the closer the action can be. NASCAR, Goodyear, everybody…has gone into this process saying ‘Okay, can we take downforce off and put a lot of mechanical grip in it?’ ‘Will that make better racing?’ They’ve looked at a lot of different things, and what’s come out of it is it appears that more downforce; more grip; those things are going to make the racing better. I believe we are going to make more grip this year than we have ever made.
 
“Now that’s not to say every race is going to be the greatest race in NASCAR’s history. We have to have realistic expectations.  Some races are going to be boring. Some football games are boring. Some basketball games are boring. But, the average race has got to be a fun race to watch. I believe that more grip gives the drivers more opportunity to put their car in a position that they wouldn’t be able to put it if they didn’t have that grip. That’s why I think the racing is going to be better. I may be wrong, we’ll see. I think we have to change our mind set too because you track where the sport has gone-we don’t at North Wilksboro anymore, so we lost two short track races. We used to run two races at Darlington, we now run one. We used to run two races at Rockingham-we don’t run any. We replaced them with either flat one-mile race tracks, or with mile-and-a-half tracks. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that if you put 43 cars on a half-mile race track, you’re going to have more action than if you put 43 cars on a mile-and-a-half race track.  So we have got to find a way to get the cars closer together on a mile-and-a-half tracks. How do we do that? The only way to do that is to make them drive better. Slow them down a little bit; make them drive better, and try to get them closer together so you have more action.
 
“I’m of the belief, and I may be wrong about this as I am of everything, but I’m of the belief that our fans expect more today than they did 10 years ago. I watch a lot of racing as you guys do, I just don’t think the racing is different last year as it was 10 years ago, but a lot of fans do. I think the expectation level is raised with the advent of the X-Games. With the advent of people jumping motorcycles on top of the thing in Las Vegas three years ago on New Year’s. I think the expectation level has got raised. We have to match that. We have got to find a way to get there. The only way to do that is create more action. People don’t want to go to the race track and watch a car get eight seconds out in front of the second place car. They don’t want to watch that. They want to see a race. The only way to do that is put the cars in closer proximity to each other I think.”
 
YOU SEND MORE DOWNFORCE, MORE MECHANICAL GRIP. IS IT NOT LESS DOWNFORCE ON THESE CARS?
“It is a ton more downforce on these cars. So, to be clear, the speedway cars have a lot less downforce. So there is a lot less downforce on the Daytona/Talladega cars assuming they don’t change the spoiler between now and then, and there is quite a bit more downforce on every other car. So the Daytona/Talladega packages are completely different. That spoiler is (makes hand gesture). These spoilers are tall enough that you almost can’t see over the top of them. Matters of fact, some drivers have complained they can’t see over them. It is just two completely different packages.”
 
THERE IS A TOTALLY DIFFERENT INSPECTION PROCESS FOR THE NEW CARS WITH THE USE OF LASER. IS THAT GOING TO MAKE THE COMPETITION EVEN MORE EVEN?
“I think one of the things we suffer from too is that our sport is a lot different than every other sport. In every other sport, they play on a field; they’re 100 yards. Baseball fields I know are a little different. The bases are the same distance apart. Major League Baseball provides a baseball. NFL provides a football. So we have a sport in which we all race each other every week. It’s not Duke vs. Carolina, it’s all of us every week. We race at completely different facilities every week, and we bring the ball with us. So, there are a lot of moving targets. And so one of the things that our sport has always suffered from, whether it’s true or not, is that when Jimmie Johnson wins five championships, oh, it’s because his car is different than everybody else’s. They’re cheating, they’re doing this, and they’re doing that. I think anything we can do to expose the fans to all of the rules, so that when NASCAR makes a call during the race, they understand that they weren’t trying to favor Earnhardt Jr. because they made a call on pit road, or that the rule was enforced, they didn’t make it up as they go, the better we are. And that goes for the inspection process as well. The better we have an opportunity to show the fans, look, every car rolls across this thing, here’s all the numbers, it prints out for everybody, unless there’s somebody up there with, you know, the man behind the curtain well here comes this car so let’s push this button, you know, I think it takes away some of that crap where people think oh well, they made this rule for this, you know? So I think it’s a good thing. It’s an extremely expensive proposition for NASCAR, but I think keeping us in a box is a good idea and I think letting the fans know that everybody gets to bring their own ball, okay? That’s part of the sport. That’s one of the coolest parts of the sport, but there are limitations to what they can do to that. And the more we can show them how we police those limitations, the better off we are, I think.”
 
IF THESE CARS HAVE MORE DOWNFORCE, DOES THAT MEAN THEY’RE GOING TO BE SOMEWHAT EASIER TO DRIVE FOR YOUNG DRIVERS COMING UP OR FOR SOMEBODY LIKE DANICA PATRICK, WHERE THE TRANSITION INTO SPRINT CUP IS GOING TO BE EASIER?
“Well, they’re going to make more grip. Whether that’s easier or not, I don’t know because the more grip they make, the harder you drive them. And you still have to find that edge. You still have to find that limit. So if no one else was here, and you went out in a car that made more grip, then yes, it’s easier. But, when you bring 45 or 48 other cars, and everybody’s trying to go faster than the next guy, then all of a sudden it’s hard again. So yeah, just driving it all by yourself and not watching a stopwatch, without a doubt it’s going to be a little easier in some sense, but whenever we start running today, everybody in that garage is going to start looking at how are we? Are we fast enough? How much do we need to pick-up? And that’s when it’s going to get hard. And even if it makes high grip, you’re still going to have to drive it really, really hard. The higher grip they make, the harder you have to drive it. And it requires less finesse. It requires more right foot and less brain. And so I wouldn’t say it’s going to be easier in the sense that everybody’s got the same thing. But just getting in the car, fundamentally they should drive a little better.”