NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
DAYTONA 500 QUALIFYING
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
POST QUALIFYING PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
February 8, 2009
Martin Truex, Jr. and Mark Martin Make All Chevy Front Row for the Daytona 500
Eight of Top-10 Qualifiers are Team Chevy Impala SS Drivers
Daytona Beach, FL - Martin Truex, Jr., No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Impala SS will lead the 43-car field of the 51st running of the Daytona 500. This is Truex's first pole for the 500 and the second of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career.
By winning the pole today, Truex won the first Daytona 500 pole for the newly formed Earnhardt Ganassi Racing (EGR) and both team owners, Teresa Earnhardt, Chip Ganassi and Felix Sabates. It is also the first Great American Race pole for Earnhardt Childress Racing who builds the engines for both EGR and Richard Childress Racing.
Truex turned a lap of 47.872 seconds, 188.001 M.P.H. to best the 56 cars vying for a solid starting spot for Thursday's Gatorade Duel at Daytona International Speedway to finalize the field for Sunday's race.
Mark Martin powered his No. 5 Kellogg's/CARQUEST Impala SS to the outside of the front row, to become the second driver locked into the Daytona 500.
Martin, who joined Hendrick Motorsports to compete the full-season for the championship, turned a lap of 47.919 seconds, 187.817 M.P.H.
Ryan Newman, No. 39 U.S. Army Impala SS qualified third with Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 42 Target Impala SS landing the fourth quickest spot.
Three time and defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) champion Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's Impala SS qualified sixth and Aric Almirola, No. 8 Guitar Hero Impala SS scored the seventh fastest time.
Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont Impala SS and four-time NSCS champion, laid down the ninth quickest time and two-time NSCS champion Tony Stewart qualified in the 10th position.
The Gatorade Duels at Daytona, twin 150-mile races to set starters 3-43, are scheduled to start at 2:00 p.m Eastern on Thursday, February 12, 2009 with live coverage on SPEED, MRN Radio and Sirius Satelitte Radio.
MARTIN TRUEX JR., KEVIN “BONO” MANION, NO. 1 BASS PRO SHOPS IMPALA SS, OWNERS CHIP GANASSI AND FELIX SABATES – POLE WINNER
MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 KELLOGG’S / CARQUEST IMPALA SS – Qualified 2nd
MODERATOR: We are joined by Martin Truex Jr., his crew chief, Kevin Manion, team owners Chip Ganassi and Felix Sebates. Congratulations. Martin, this is your second career pole. How does it feel to be sitting on the pole for the Daytona 500?
TRUEX JR: “It feels great. I’ve just got to thank everybody back at the shop; Bono and all the guys, for their efforts over the winter. I think since July last year when our car had to stay down here and we didn’t get to run it, this has been circled on our calendar. Qualifying day we felt like we had a shot at it then and they guys have worked hard and felt good about this all winter. They’ve felt like they’ve had a shot at coming down here and sitting on the front row for the 500. I’m just the lucky guy who gets to sit in that seat and drive that thing. It’s pretty awesome.”
KEVIN, TALK ABOUT THE LAP HE TURNED TODAY
MANION: “You know the car has had great speed all weekend. Not being able to test down here in Daytona, we took advantage of testing at DPG with Chevrolet and pretty much every Chevrolet team was there. We had good speed so the set up is just something that we’ve dreamed up and it’s good for two laps and it feels really good after unfortunate happenings in July ’08 to come down here and sit on the pole. It means everything.”
CHIP AND FELIX, CONGRATULATIONS. YOU’VE GOT TO FEEL GOOD. YOUR THOUGHTS?
GANASSI: “As you know, it was an interesting winter for most of us in the community and it’s just rewarding to come here with a lot of hard work put in by a lot of people, bringing two companies together is a difficult task and was a painful thing for a lot of people on all sides of it. My hat’s off to these guys because there was a core group of people that never wavered, never lost focus on what they wanted to do and today, putting three cars in the top seven spots is quite a reward for that. My hat’s off to all the people back in the shop and in the trenches doing the work and the guys wheeling these things around here.”
SABATES: “A quitter never wins and a winner never quits. And I think that’s the motto for our race team. We never give up. We had a tough year last year and when we got together with DEI it was a blessing for everybody because the core group of people that came from DEI are true racers.”
BONO, CAN YOU TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU GUYS DID TO TEST SINCE THERE WAS NO TESTING; TALK ABOUT THE SIMULATION PACKAGES THAT HELPED YOU GET THE CAR DIALED IN FOR THIS
MANION: “One thing with joining another organization or merging, we were able to see how Chip and his folks have done it and they were able to see how we did it as far as things we can do. Chip has a great group of engineers. They are different from DEI. I think Chip’s racing background with his other teams, it’s very engineered driven. I think through simulation, maybe not so much for Daytona, but for California and the open tracks to come up, I think it’ll help.”
WITHOUT THE TESTING, USUALLY YOU COME IN HERE TO KNOCK OFF THE RUST FROM THE OFF-SEASON. WAS THERE MORE RUST? LESS RUST?
MANION: “No, I think that a little bit more time off gets you prepared better. We came down here with a better race car than we’ve ever come down here with, without even testing. It gave the guys time. With all that went on this winter with us, with our team, with moving shops and combining our efforts, I think testing would have hurt us more than helped us. I think it was to our advantage that nobody could test because I think we would have been a little behind if we had to. I think that it would have taken away from our efforts at the shop and getting everything prepared just right. As far as coming down here and testing, I think it hurts not going to the downforce tracks a little bit as a driver, but I think I did enough racing online to keep the rust off.”
KNOWING YOU ARE LOCKED INTO THE FRONT ROW, HOW DOES THIS AFFECT THE WAY YOU APPROACH THE GATORADE DUELS?
MANION: “It’s just one step. Next step is to win the Duel and then next step is to win the 500. This is the time. We’ve got a great car and great motors with the ECR. It’s time to actually attack and strike and hit the ball and it’s time. It’s our time and today was our first step.”
YOU ARE VERY EVEN-KEELED. SEEING OTHER DRIVERS LEAVE THE TEAM, HOW DID YOU MANAGE YOUR CONCERN?
TRUEX JR: “Well anytime there are changes coming about or things that I’m uncertain about, I just look to the guys on my team. Bono has helped me a lot. I look to the guys up in the front office, the people that have led DEI, to Chip when we merged our programs, and tried just to be a part of everything I could. I tried to give my input and make sure I knew what was going on. If you sit back and just listen to what everybody has to say and believe that you’ll be in a lot worse shape that you will be if you just ask the questions. And so I just try to be a part of it as much as I could. But one thing that’s never changed is having Bono and the guys on my team on my side. That’s a comfortable feeling for me. I know how good they are. I know that we can get through a lot together and I just put a lot on their shoulders and they’ve helped carry me through all of it.”
HAVE YOU EVER ENVISIONED SITTING ON THE DAYTONA 500 POLE?
TRUEX JR: “Well, I’ve thought about it. The last few years, with the way we’ve qualified down here, I probably never though there would be a chance. But we came down here in 2004 the first time I ever came into this race track to race and sat on the pole with Bono in the Busch car, and I thought that was the coolest things I’d ever done. To be back here a few years later and sit on the pole for the Cup race, has just been amazing. I’ve been very fortunate to be involved and be a part of great race teams and great people and it’s always a lot of fun to come to Daytona. But to sit on the pole and be the fastest guy here for a whole week is a pretty cool feeling.”
THIS IS A PRETTY STRONG STATEMENT FOR YOU GUYS.
TRUEX JR: “I think it feels good. It shows how hard the guys have worked. They never wavered in their commitment and at the same time, it’s just one step along the way. It’s just qualifying and we still have Wednesday practice to get ready for the Duels; we have to get our car prepared and handling good. As we saw last night, it’s going to be wild and the cars are going to be a handful and they’re going to need to handle good to race well. This is just the first step. But we’ve never had a car this fast down here. That gives me a lot of confidence that if we can get it handling good that we can run up front and I’m more excited about this week than I have been coming down here in a long time.”
HAVE YOU HEARD FROM TERESA EARNHARDT TODAY? HAS SHE CALLED YOU?
TRUEX JR: “I don’t know. I haven’t had my phone with me. I’ll let you know when I get back to the coach and get it.”
GANASSI: “Well, that was her calling when we came in to sit down (for the press conference). I put a return call into her right away and she was just calling back.”
WHAT ARE YOU DOING DIFFERENTLY THAN WHAT RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING IS DOING. YOU AND YOUR ECR ENGINES HAVE THREE OF THE TOP-10, BUT RCR IS FARTHER DOWN IN THE ORDER?
MANION: "I don't know. I don't know the Childress side of the department is doing. If you look past a past history, when we have all had same equal motors on equal ground, we've always kind of out-qualified them. There is a lot that goes in to it. It makes me proud and the big motor is a very big part of it, but also the preparation, the car, the driveline, the wax used on it. The simple things. Just the finish of the car is the other half of it. It does make you proud knowing that the Childress guys have the same power or maybe more than you have got is a good feeling."
CAN YOU TALK MORE ABOUT THE PAIN THAT EVERYONE FELT DURING THE MERGING OF THE OPERATIONS. HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE THE INDY 500 WINNER, INDY 500 POLE WINNER AND NOW THE DAYTONA 500 POLE WINNER?
GANASSI: "In answering your second question first, I didn't really think about that until it just came out of your mouth. It is obviously pretty exciting.
"In terms of putting the companies together, I have some people around Pittsburgh in the business community, they read about the merger. They asked how long did I think it would take to merge our companies together. I said the first race is in February and they said geez, if you merge two companies that are, two $50 million companies or something, it usually takes six or eight months. I am really proud of the people. It is still a work in progress putting the two together. But the important thing is that, I think, is everyone has the right frame of mind and they are keeping it open. It is open book, it is keeping an open mind, it is listening a little more than talking, maybe. So far, it has gone better than anyone could have imagined.
"Things like today will, again, make it that much more easier."
IS THIS CAR AN OLD DEI CAR?
MANION: "This is an old DEI car. It is actually the car that Aric (Almirola) ran at Talladega last fall this will be its second race. Last fall we had to throw ours away after the race literally. We cut it up and put it in the dumpster. Brian (Pattie) has a full Ganassi car and the No. 8 car is a full DEI car. Coming in to the merger, we said Daytona is the first race, let's do our own deal, go down our own path and California and so on and so forth we are going to start to merge. Working under the same roof, we tested together. We used, I would have to just say 50/50. We used as simple as used the top of our airbox, we used Chip and Felix bottom of the airbox, that was the best combination. When you take two great companies and we all know that Brian Pattie is a great speedway racer, he has great ideas, and we had great ideas. We put them together and I owe as much credit to Brian and Chip and them guys. This is one pole for the one company for sure."
MODERATOR: WE ARE JOINED BY MARK MARTIN, DRIVER OF THE NO. 5 KELLOGG’S / CARQUEST IMPALA, WHO QUALIFIED SECOND TODAY.
WHAT’S IT FEEL LIKE TO BE ON THE FRONT ROW?
“It’s an amazing feeling -- I feel so grateful to Rick Hendrick because that’s where it all starts. What an incredible person that he is for giving me this opportunity. Alan Gustafson and this entire Car Quest team because everybody works hard in this business. They just worked a little smarter think with the time that they had. They put me in a really fast race car and it’s all about them. It’s so much fun to go to work everyday with a group that is so fired up and excited as these guys. I actually wish that we were starting in about five minutes. It would just give me enough time to get strapped in and start the 500.”
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF MARTIN TRUEX JR.’S TEAM TO GET THE POLE?
“I want to say that working closely with the 1 and the 8 last year, they are racers. When I was saying about how much fun it was to go to the race track and work with the group with such a great attitude, we had that last year as well. I think that shows so much because the 8 is right up there as well. That 1 team, they just buckled down and kept the blinders on and worked on their program, worked on their cars and kept everything together. That’s impressive, but those guys are impressive. That was really a group of die hard racers over there that I worked with and I obviously admire that.”
HOW DID YOU FEEL ABOUT MARTIN TRUEX JR. BEATING YOU FOR THE POLE?
“I’m just Mr. Outside Pole -- if I’m not mistaken I sat on the outside pole six times last year and didn’t get one so I’ll take that because I have sat on the back pole a few times in my career and I don’t like that at all. I’ll take second. This is my first time -- I don’t know how many Daytona 500s I’ve done, but I think its 25, that’s a good, close number anyway or in the ball park. I’ve never been on the front row. It seems like, my memory may serve me different, but it seems like it time trials it was a very rare occasion when I had a top-10 in time trials car. My guys always told me after time trials were over with that I would race good and ‘don’t worry about it.’ I always said I would race better if that thing was fast. We’ve got a fast race car -- I’m really excited.”
WHAT HAS CHANGED TO MAKE YOU ENJOY RACING AT DAYTONA NOW?
“To be real honest with you, its trying to get my arms around the crown jewel and I didn’t let that eat at me a lot, but when it started dwindling down to where you could count on one hand your shots at the Daytona 500 and then it started going down -- four, three, we don’t know anymore. In ’07, really what I wanted to do was win the Daytona 500 and-or the Brickyard. We got close here and we went to the Brickyard and ran sixth with a broken transmission. Mission was almost accomplished and those are crown jewels. I put the focus on that rather than worrying about points or anything else. To answer your question, this is the crown jewel of stock car racing and I’ve had a little bit of success in it. Everything else that I’ve done in my career would fit around this. I’m a one-step-at-a-time guy, but this is definitely the best stuff that I’ve had -- the best group of people and the best stuff that I’ve had. I’m grateful for that and as you remember in 2007, I was thankful for the opportunity. I wasn’t mad because I didn’t win -- I was glad that I had a chance. If things go our way then maybe we’ll have a chance again here Sunday.”
DOES THIS CHANGE YOUR WEEK FROM WHAT IT HAS BEEN IN THE PAST?
“Absolutely, but its even more than that because things have changed so much without testing. Feeling like the odd-man out with the Shootout and I haven’t driven Alan’s (Gustafson) cars at a place like this -- we’ve done limited testing a few times in a race car at a few places, but nothing like this. Missing Friday and Saturday’s practices in race trim I feel is spotting our competition and boy, I don’t like doing that. It probably won’t make a hill-of-beans difference after 15 minutes on the race track we’ll probably be read to go. But I still, right now, we are behind. After 15 minutes or 30 minutes or an hour or whatever, we may not be behind anymore, but right now we are and it takes a lot of pressure off of Thursday. We can go out there and I feel a lot more comfortable about going for the win. Meaning fuel mileage or tires or no tires -- heck, if we’re running fifth we would have to stay out maybe at the end on a deal where now maybe we can come in and get tires and it doesn’t matter. It just takes the pressure off because of the pit selection and the starting position we would have to race for and be more conservative if we had to start where we finished up there. Even bigger than that, I can’t even remember all the really cool things that Rick Hendrick has done in his career in racing, but to give me this opportunity is as huge to me as when he gave Tim Richmond an opportunity to win a race again after he got sick -- that was a big deal. He’s done some other very big deals in his career like winning the Daytona 500 with Darrell Waltrip and putting Benny Parsons in the 25 car years ago. For me, this is just the start. This is just the first competition that we’ve had -- just the first one of the year and already it’s turned out really sweet. I hope that we can continue to have some really bright days together.”
IS IT GOOD THAT FORMER DEI CARS DID WELL TODAY?
“I’m really happy for Aric (Almirola), he qualified great and he will do a great job here Sunday I’m sure. I’m happy for all those guys. That is a group of hardcore racers and today you see less of that. You see more career guys and career racers rather than just the hardcore racers. It’s special to me just to see them do well and I know they’re going to be fun to watch this year -- all of them. I’m happy for them. Still would have liked to have been on the pole, but I’m not going to complain. It’s a big deal to be on the front row for me because I’ve been down here so many times and went home after qualifying mad. Someone’s always up there and I’m in the back end and I have to race my way in on Thursday. This is just the other side of that coin.”
IS YOUR MOTTO ‘IT’S NIFTY TO BE 50?’
“I’ve seen that and it beats the alternative. I’m loving it. I think everybody goes through all sorts of experiences in life, but it is really, really critical to be really happy with what you’re doing. In the way you see thing and the way you perceive things and the way you feel about life. It’s the best it’s ever been for me. I wish that for everyone.”
WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM HARD TIMES IN THE PAST?
“I think that whatever your life experiences are shape you. My failing and going broke in 1982 was important. I was on track to be one of the young guns in the sport at 23-years old or 22-years old and already sat on a couple poles. I’m glad I didn’t succeed the first time, I’m glad that I had the hard times because that’s what humbled me and that’s what made me. That had an impact on who I am today. We have seen a lot of different things. We’ve seen the sport grow so much for so long that with a minor contraction or even a good size contraction that we’re seeing right now, it’s still not bad. There’s still 10-times as many great sponsors out here as there were in the 1980s. There’s still nearly 10-times as many great opportunities to drive for great teams as there was in the 1980s. In the 80s, it happened all the time -- third-place was five laps down or three laps down or whatever. In Martinsville in 1981, I ran third one-lap down. Darrell (Waltrip) and Harry (Gant) were first and second and I was a lap down in third. The racing is way better than it was in the 80s; I don’t care what anybody says. It’s way more competitive, it’s way better, we have a lot more sponsors, and we have a lot more jobs. There’s a lot of things positive in this thing even though we maybe have lost some sponsors and have lost some jobs. We’re not experiencing anything different than the whole world -- everybody is feeling the pain, every person, I don’t care what they do feels the pain of the economy right now to some degree. To be real honest with you, I think NASCAR is feeling less of it than the average.”
DID YOU LEARN ANYTHING IN 2007 IN THE CLOSING LAPS WITH KEVIN HARVICK GOING FOR THE 500 WIN? "Well, I hesitate to really comment on that, because if I did, I don't want to advertise it. I wouldn't want the competition to know that I did and I might do something different next time. I think keeping everyone guessing is the best thing that you can do on those things. The thing about it is, and I have always had a problem with so and so made a brilliant move at Daytona and Talladega. That move would not be brilliant if the guys out there did something different. You can't control what everybody else does. And that is what makes what you do right or wrong is what they do. I am going to tell you right now that I am thrilled to have a fast race car, but I will take luck come Sunday. If I could be lucky, you watch the finish of that race last night, it was similar to '07 and sometimes there is not anything you can do. But, I look forward to the challenge and if I did learn anything, I really wouldn't share the details with you."
WHAT MAKES THIS A HAPPIER TIME THAN YOU WERE FIVE OR TEN YEARS AGO? IS IT ACCURATE TO SAY YOU REALLY SENSE THIS IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY? "That is probably what makes me happy. I had to have a break. I was tired, burned out and frustrated. I'd put every ounce that I had in to my career from the time from the time I graduated high school until the last day at Homestead in '06 in the No. 6 car. I had to step back and catch my breath and let myself out from under that gun and do some things that I really wanted to do that I felt like racing was standing in the way of. And I did those. And I caught my breath. And it took a year or a year and a half for me to get caught up and get in the right frame of mind. But mentally right now, I am in so much better frame then I was then. I have experienced some disappointment, I don't know how much but your expectations are pretty high when you have as much success as I had. I worked as hard as I could possibly work. It seemed like it was just time. I had to have a break; I had to get out from under it because I wasn't having fun. I was tired, I was burned out, I was wanting to go racing with my son and help him do that. I wanted to spend time with my family and I needed a break.
"After I got that and I looked around and I figured out that really racing is my life and I am in deep trouble when I can't do it any more, I have no idea what I want to do when I can't wheel one of these things any more. The No. 8 car gave me a shot to win about three times last year. I could taste the blood, I wanted it so bad. When I realized that I might have a chance to win some races in the No. 5 car. I am all over it. That is what I really want to do. I took the time to do the things I wanted to do and now, once again, I am doing what I really want to do and that is I want to go to the race track. Drive these race cars, work with this race team and be around these people. That is what I have done since I was 15 years old and I don't know what I will do when I can't do it.
"I try not to get too far ahead of myself right now. We have drafting practice on Wednesday. We will see how it goes on Thursday then we have got a few more practices. If you put me in a position that I was in with 20 to go in 2007, I was willing that race, I could taste it, and I was willing to wreck to win. I felt like I was very close there a few times. I did everything there I could possibly do. I am very motivated. Probably more motivated than I was in 2000 or 2005 because I know that there is only, it started five, four, I don't know, I don't know. So every time I get a chance to do this, the Daytona 500 for example, I don't know how many more I will get.
"In 2000 I thought, I didn't know, I thought I was going to get to do this stuff forever. You don't think about it. You know? You are in the middle of a haze of just racing and digging and racing and doing everything you can do. Now I can see as clear as a bell I don't know how many more chances I will have like this. So I am going to try really hard to make the most of it."
HAVE YOU HAD A CHANCE TO TALK TO BRETT FARVE OR ANY OTHER ATHLETES WHO HAVE GONE THROUGH WHAT YOU HAVE GONE THROUGH? "I haven't. But I am not a football fan or any other sports unless it is racing. But, I have watched Brett deal from afar, because I identified with him. I was really happy when he got released so he could go do what he really wanted to do because I could identify with that. It is one thing to try and keep doing something when you are really in a steep decline let's say, but when you can perform like he can perform. Or when you can drive a race car like I was able to get the kind of results I got in 2008 in the No. 8 car, there is absolutely....it is all I have done since I was 15 years old. Why in the world would I want to go sit at home?"
From Nancy Wager & Judy Kouba Dominick (GM)
