Story Tools:
Print	Email	Blog This

Staying the course

A: They stayed out as long as they could. The gamble worked for Montoya, but not for McMurray.

Earned right to be cocky

A: Gordon has won five times here; no one else has won at this track more than twice. He's earned the right to be a little cocky.

Gibbs gab

A: Here's what Gibbs what to say, unedited and in its entirety.

J.D. GIBBS, PRESIDENT OF JOE GIBBS RACING, MET WITH MEDIA TO DISCUSS THE BUSCH SERIES RACE AT THE MILWAUKEE MILE (6/23), WHERE ARIC ALMIROLA TOOK THE POLE AND THEN YIELDED TO DENNY HAMLIN WHO WON THE RACE IN THE NO. 20 ROCKWELL AUTOMATION CHEVROLET

ON IF HE WAS AT MILWAUKEE FOR THE NASCAR BUSCH RACE LAST NIGHT: "I didn't go, no, I didn't go."

ON HOW THE DRIVER CHANGE UNFOLDED AT MILWAUKEE WITH DENNY HAMLIN REPLACING ARIC ALMIROLA IN THE CAR DURING THE RACE: "What I want to say is all this stuff just happened so quick last night. I just want to give you a little bit of background as to how we got in to this position. We have to start by saying that no one wanted to see Aric Almirola succeed than we do. We started four years ago with Reggie White with this program. We picked him; hand picked him, to go invest in him, invested in his future. Ran late models, we did some Busch stuff, did some Truck stuff. And now he has a change to run some more Busch stuff and nothing would make us happier than to see him running Cup for us in years to come. So you have to kind of take that as background here.

"Then what you have also, a few years ago, is a great corporation, Rockwell, who is a perfect sponsor for the Busch Series. They don't want to do Cup racing; they love the Busch Series. So they got together with us a few years ago and we were running Mike Bliss at the time, and we said let's run this Denny Hamlin in a second car and just see how he does. If he runs real well, that is an option for next year, if not, we will keep moving.

"Well, he ran pretty well at Darlington race years ago. So Rockwell, looking back, they really gave Denny his chance. So they gave Denny is chance, we kind of moved forward, the only reason the Milwaukee race is such a big deal for them is because that is their hometown. The perfect Busch sponsor, a great group of guys, been with us through thick and thin, rolled the dice with us, so we want to make them stay in great spirits.

"So, Aric did it last year, he did it this year, Denny won't be there on time. We went and found the fastest plane we could get, purchased that ride for him to get out there. He got out there, hovered around, couldn't make it, couldn't make it, couldn't make it, had to go land somewhere else. Be that as it may, Aric starts the race. It was said to those guys as a group, look, if you think Denny can get in the car and win the race, let's go, let's do that. If you don't think he can do that, let Aric run it out.

"Our guys kind of thought about it as a group and decided as a group, ok we could do that. He could run well, we are fast enough to win the race. So, it was a huge discouragement obviously for Aric. You have to keep in mind, what this does is and what we are trying to do for him next year, Rockwell could very easily be the group that says ok, we had our run with Denny, let's go with Aric full time. Rockwell invested in, they took a chance, they wanted Denny to run a full season but we said we couldn't do that that is just too much. We have the guy for you and it is Aric. They said you know what, Arc's the guy. They looked at Aric and said Aric is very talented so they really like Aric.

"As a group, it wasn't even them making the decision, it was a group. We all kind of said, here is where we are, we love Aric, and we love Denny. Denny is here, put him in the car and go. It is Milwaukee; it is probably the last time he will be able to do that.

"For me, it kind of became a no-win situation on either side there. But I just want you to know that no one cares more for Aric and his future than we do. That is a huge deal for us. At the same time, Rockwell has been a great partner. They stepped up and filled the gap when no one was there to span that gap.

"So before we go, you guys might agree with it, might not agree with it, whatever the case may be, I just want you guys to hear where we are. I am watching it myself thinking, ok, Aric is going to run the race. Then we got a shot, those guys get together, Denny gets in the car and I am thinking to myself, OK, we better win this thing. You know what I mean. It obviously was a hard decision, but I think for us, it was on what the big picture was.

"Those guys (Rockwell) could have given Aric a chance to run for years to come and they have also given him the chance to run this year. So as a group, the only reason we flew Denny out was really in appreciation for all that Rockwell has done in their partnership. So it wasn't a sponsor thing, it wasn't a team thing, it was a combination thing that made the decision."

ON IF HE HAS SPOKEN WITH ARIC: "He is upset. I left him a message last night, I know he is upset and I understand that. I would be too if I were in his shoes.

"At the same time, I think he knows because we talked last week, to me he is kind of like a younger brother, he is like family. The hope for him is, we go through this, what you wind up with next year.

"What is really hard to sell in the Busch Series is a full sponsor for a young guy; it is just really hard to sell. So, that is our hope for him. If he can do that, that is an awesome fit, but it is very hard to do. But Rockwell is one of the companies that can do that. So for us it kind of made sense to let that play out. As frustrating as it was, I think we had a chance to win the race in their hometown. That is great; Aric was a part of it. It worked out as good as you could make it in a tough situation."

ON HOW MUCH INFLUENCE ROCKWELL HAD ON THE DECISION: "It was a group thing. It happened so fast. I mean, I am out here at this race. We just want our young guys out here. I am just going back to the hotel and they are getting started. My word was that Denny was there on time, no big deal, he lands, fine. Next thing I know is I flip it on and he is helicoptering, you can't land anywhere. At that point, what I told them before that was you all get together as a group and make a decision. Whatever you decide, I am with you and then we will go from there.

"A group of guys. All the guys and Rockwell all got together and said, Hey, what is the best decision. I told them, as long as you all are on the same page, I am good with it.

ON HIS PREFERENCE AS TO HOW ARIC WOULD HANDLE THE SITUATION: "If I put myself in his shoes, that is a lot to ask. I mean, I understand. I think for him he is just frustrated generally. What we tell our guys is if they are frustrated, take some time off, and don't jump right back up in the middle of everything. I will talk to him; we talked last week. I have known him for over four years, I know his family, I know how much this means to them. Really, for us, he is a huge part of our future. We have invested a lot in him both time wise and financially but more importantly, just getting to know him. No one wants him to succeed more than us. He is a perfect fit all the way around to race here for JGR and will be in this sport for years to come."

ON MESSAGE HE LEFT FOR ARIC LAST NIGHT: "Just - Call me. That is pretty much it. Hey, Proud of you. You did a great job, just give me a call. I haven't talked to him.

"Trust me, I know he is upset. Because I would be upset. I am not disappointed in him at all. Again, no, not disappointed at all. If I am put in his shoes, he didn't know if we were doing the right thing and we tell our guys, step back from the middle of everything for a little bit. I am sure if I had told him to stay around so if we win the race you can go grab Denny. Yes, he might have done that. But I didn't have a chance to get a hold of him. And hey, if I am him, I just want to get away by myself. He had a great car, he practiced it and qualified it and I know it is frustrating for him - so no, no problems there at all."

ON DIFFICULTY OF MAKING THAT DECISION IF MORE LAPS HAD BEEN RUN OR AT HALFWAY IN THE RACE: "If you go much farther than that, you aren't going to be able to make that decision. That has to be a hard one to make any later than that.

"After the race, we didn't talk about all that. But I would say you are pushing it pretty good if you pushed it much farther than that. "

ON ROCKWELL BEING SET FOR NEXT YEAR AND BEYOND: "Rockwell has been a great partner for many years. For us, they are kind of evaluating where they go next year. They sold off a partner company that was in Greenville, South Carolina that was a big supporter. I think this helps some of their guys that might not have been involved before, to go up and win in their back yard. You have got Aric there that did a great job for you. He did a great job at hospitality, you have Denny. I think for them going forward, the hope is, they will stick this out and do some more."

ON FROM TEAM PERSPECTIVE, HOW THE TEAM REACTED: "For was big value me, it is the guys on that team, they adapted so well. Busch racing is so difficult because you have to do what they do in the Cup Series with less people, less equipment. It is hard, less time. So for Dave Rogers and his guys, they are put in the middle. They had one driver who did a great job qualifying, great job practicing. Then they got another driver stuck in half way through, they did a great job making adjustments and won the race so I am very happy for those guys. For Rockwell, being their hometown that was exciting. Yes, it was obviously frustrating from Arc's standpoint and from our standpoint. We think he has all the talent in the world or else we wouldn't have been with this long as we have been."

ON WHO MADE THE CALL AND WHY WAS THE CALL MADE AND ON GROUP'S EVALUATION OF ARIC: "For us, I gave some background as to how to we got to where we are as a group. Again, last night I was leaving here after the young guys raced the West race going home and I'm talking to them. My word is Denny is here, he has landed; he is fine. We got a special plane for him, got him out there, he is fine. Went home, turned it on, he is helicoptering overhead. What I told those guys before hand, which, as a group, you guys get together and say Look, if you think Denny can win this race, put him in and go. If not, let's give Aric a chance and let him run the whole thing out.

"I think those guys got together at the track, our management there, Dave Rogers, and they said hey, we think Denny can do this and really for us, the whole reason we are brining Denny in is to thank you to Rockwell, how much they meant to us over the years.

"I think it was there evaluation that Denny is sitting here and we know how good he is and this is the last time he will probably be able to do it and we are going to give him a chance. No, we think Aric can run well too. He was running third at the time, put it on the pole and could have done a great job too."

ARE YOU GOING TO ADD ANY RACES FOR ARIC?
"Yeah, we talked about that last night. Maybe what we'll do is deduct one of Denny's races with Rockwell and stick Aric in and let him run the whole thing from start to finish. Keep in mind that Rockwell is the one that took a chance on Aric to begin with, and let him come in here and run - I guess he's got 12 or 14 races, the races we told Denny those are not for you to run - he's running them - and they could have said, hey we're not doing that. But they said hey, we're going to take a chance on a young guy. We did it with Denny and we'll do it with him."

SO PEOPLE ARE SAYING THAT DENNY THREW A FIT AND WANTED TO BE IN THE CAR?
"Definitely not Denny. No."

THEN DID ROCKWELL THROW A FIT AND WANT DENNY IN THE CAR?
"Nope. They weren't throwing a fit. No, I think our guys got together and said hey, here's where we are. I told them if you've got a shot at the win with Denny, and you've got time, then great. If not, then let Aric ride it; we're fine with that too. Either way. We probably could have communicated it better. But the reality of it was that we were there to encourage Rockwell and let them know that hey, you've got two great drivers here and hopefully next year, they'll say, yeah, Aric is awesome. He'll run another race for them here down the road this year and they'll line up and do a full deal with him next year. That's what I hope."

DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT RACE YET?
"Nope, I don't. We need to sit down and look at it and get with Denny and his schedule."

THE PERCEPTION FROM SOME PEOPLE WILL BE THAT THIS IS JUST ANOTHER SITUATION IN THE WHOLE PROBLEM OF THE BUSCH SERIES WHERE A CUP GUY COMES IN AND TAKES OVER - WHERE THE CUP GUYS COME IN AND DOMINATE THE SERIES?
"We've been through all stages of the Busch Series. It's a hard series to run. We've had veteran Busch drivers in there like Mike McLaughlin, Jeff Purvis, and Mike Bliss. It's hard to sell. What's the advantage to that? It's hard to sell. The advantage to it is that you know you've got good cars and you're running well. Okay. We've put young drivers in there like Denny Hamlin, J.J. Yeley, and Tony Stewart. You bring them along. What's the advantage to that? It's very hard to sell. Hard to sell. So those guys took a chance at the time on J.J. and Denny and now you come full circle.

"Now, what works and what most of the guys do, is you've got to be able to sell the Cup guy and get more money and that helps the young guys run. So it's a combination. In most of these Busch programs, the owners spend money out of their own pocket to make it work. You can't do it just on sponsorship. So we've got to say that it's partly an investment in our future. And if we get enough from a sponsor and get them to step up and they want to go with a young guy and let's go for the full year. If they invest a chunk in that and we invest a chunk in that, we can make it happen. But in order to do that, you've got to show people that you can win and you've got to show them you're on top of your game. That's what Aric showed and Denny showed and it adds up."

OBVIOUSLY THERE WERE DIFFERENT OPINIONS ON THIS. WHO MADE THE ULTIMATE CALL? WAS THAT DAVE?
"I talked to those guys last night and what I told them as a group that if they were all on the same page, then do it. If you're not, don't do it. To be honest, I can't say who said let's do it right now. I haven't talked to them about that. I just told them I would support them as long as they all agreed on it."

Stop under caution OK

A: He got out in plenty of time. A caution flag lap here takes about two minutes so he had time to pit and get out well ahead of going a lap down.

Metric man

A: Yes, we are talking kilometers here.

Does downforce matter here?

A: Drivers are downforce junkies. They want all they can to get through the fast corners. That's where they'll pick up the speed.

Waiting on Schrader?

A: Unfortunately, most teams want guys at the start of their Cup careers, not toward the end, and that could hurt Schrader's chances at getting any Cup ride, let alone a good one.

'Happy' in home state?

A: Thanks for joining us. Road courses are wild cards. Harvick has won at Watkins Glen and if he wins today, it would hardly be a shocker. That said, in six prior starts here at Infineon Raceway, Harvick has finished better than 12th just once, a third place in 2003. There are a lot of great road racers here, but like I said, this race is a real wild card, especially with Jeff Gordon starting 41st and Juan Pablo Montoya 32nd.

100 percent templates?

A: Good question. NASCAR's templates don't touch every spot on the car but NASCAR submitted detailed technical specs to each team prior to the introduction of the Car of Tomorrow and they told the teams that absolutely no body modifications of any kind would be tolerated. A NASCAR official told me this morning that they intend to police the COT much more closely and. Had Gordon and Johnson been caught with tweaked fenders on the old-style car, they would have been allowed to fix them without penalty before practice, the NASCAR official told me today, but tweaks to the COT will not be tolerated.

Down on dominance?

A: Welcome! I think my answer to Wesley's question covers yours, too, but I'll add that NASCAR is policing the COT much tighter than it did the old car and it will police it even closer in the future. So far, in the first seven COT races, NASCAR has let teams have a little wiggle room with how they fit the templates. The teams have been told that starting next week at New Hampshire, there will be zero tolerance on template fits. The cars have to fit every section of the templates perfectly before they will be cleared to race. They can't be off by 1/4-inch here or 1/8-inch there anymore.

Playing with points?

A: You are correct. A 100-point penalty means nothing today. Now if NASCAR imposes a 100-point fine at the start of the Chase, well, that would be huge. Again, a lot will depend on what NASCAR decides to do Monday or Tuesday when it will issue additional penalties.

Tampering in between templates

Car of Tomorrow top of the car template (Tom Jensen/SPEEDTV.com)

Ordinal out of range A: Welcome to FOX. Here's the situation — There are two main templates, one that covers the top of the car and one that covers the nose. There is about a 10-12 inch area between the two templates over the front wheelwell that isn't touched by either template. Basically, as one NASCAR official explained it to me, the Hendrick crews bent the fenders in that area to add downforce. They shouldn't have done that, and they should have known better. It was pretty flagrant and obvious to the naked eye, according to NASCAR.

Parking cars delivers message

A: Thanks for the observation. NASCAR wanted to send a message to the teams — don't mess with the Car of Tomorrow's body. They delivered that message very aggressively to the entire garage. Was it necessary to keep the cars from practice and qualifying? Not necessarily, but it sure delivered the message with force and clarity.

Black eye but not as bad as No. 55

A: How many chances do Hendrick and Chad Knaus get? I think we'll be able to pass judgment about this once NASCAR announces its penalties next week. And, yes, it is a black eye for NASCAR, although it was far less flagrant than, say, the tainted fuel Michael Waltrip was caught with at Daytona.

41st to 1st? Not likely

A: You don't make the questions easy, do you? LOL. Thanks to the wonderful PR staff here at Infineon, I found the answer. The best finish by someone who qualified 41st here came in 2005, when Greg Biffle finished 14th. The second-best came in 1993, when Bobby Labonte finished 16th in a Bill Davis Racing Ford.

Milwaukee mess

A: Aric Almirola has every right to be furious. For the record, though, I'm told that it was sponsor Rockwell who insisted that Hamlin be put in the car. Also, Almirola declined to be interviewed after the race because he was so mad. To add insult to injury, Hamlin overslept yesterday morning and missed most of the first Nextel Cup practice here at Infineon, completing just five laps. I'm going to try to find J.D. Gibbs and talk about this whole fiasco later this morning.

Eight-week suspensions?

A: Happy weekend! NASCAR made it absolutely clear yesterday that the penalties will be, in their words, "severe." The question is, how severe? At the minimum, I think they have to match the $100,000/100-point/six-week suspension that they levied on the No. 8 at Darlington. There are two mitigating factors that remain to be seen. 1. Will NASCAR ratchet up the penalties, as they have threatened to do in the past? 2. Will they go harder on Chad Knaus because of his past transgressions, most notably the Daytona 500 suspension from 2006? My guess - and we won't know until late Monday or more likely Tuesday - is that they suspend Knaus and Steve Letarte for eight weeks, which will not go all the way to the Chase but will be pretty close.

Can't blame templates at the shop...

A: Welcome to FOX. The reason the Nos. 24 and 48 failed inspection is because those two teams, which are housed in the same building, chose to modify the front fenders in an area in between two templates NASCAR uses to measure the bodies. It was not accidental. It was not because of faulty templates or improper measurements. It was because the team thought they could modify the body in an area not covered by a template. Doug Duchardt, Hendrick's vice president of competition admitted it yesterday, when he said, "We felt like we could work in between those templates. It was our understanding. Obviously we didn't understand that correctly and we found out the hard way. And that's as simple as that. We worked in between the templates and that wasn't okay."

...or at the track

A: Glad you could join us. I'm not sure I totally understand the question, but NASCAR carries the templates to each race. The templates aren't certified before each race. If you're implying that somehow this was an issue where some templates were of an improper dimension, I can assure you that isn't the case. This was a case of Hendrick trying to push the rules and getting caught, period.

Drivers are part of the team

A: Thanks for the question. As NASCAR demonstrated yesterday, they are very, very determined to keep cheating to a minimum with the COT. This is a team sport — if someone on the team breaks the rules and gets caught, the whole team suffers.

No to neutral

A: Welcome. No, the drivers do not typically put their cars in neutral to save gas.

No. 36 would get No. 23 points

A: Great question. I just went to the Nextel Cup garage here and spoke with Mike Brown, general manager of Bill Davis Racing. He said that the owner points the No. 23 gets this weekend will be credited to the No. 36. It's the same team, but sponsor Caterpillar wanted both cars with consecutive numbers this weekend, so BDR asked NASCAR if it was OK to change numbers but still have the points go to the No. 36 and NASCAR approved it.

Road-course strategy

A: Another top-notch question. The single-biggest difference with pit strategy for road races is that a driver can make a green-flag pit stop and not go down a lap. That encourages some guys to short pit — or pit prior to the usual pit window — in hopes of gaining track position later in the race, when the cars ahead of them have to stop for fuel and tires. Sometimes short pitting, or pitting off sequence, can help you out. Last year, Terry Labonte pitted early and used that to take the lead here and eventually finish third in the No. 96 Chevy.

No extra points to win in Chase

A: Welcome to FOX. The 10 bonus points in NASCAR's regular season are strictly to determine seeding for the Chase for the Nextel Cup. Right now, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon (four victories each) will get 40 bonus points and the remaining drivers who each have won a race will get 10 bonus points. There will be no bonus points awarded during the Chase, but the winner still gets a minimum of 190 points (185 for finishing first, 5 for leading a lap) and the guy who finishes second is only guaranteed 170 so there is still a huge incentive to win in the Chase.

Dale Jr.'s replacement?

A: Thanks for joining us. Nothing new on the DEI front yet, but the weekend is still young. If I learn anything new, I'll post it.

All-star race

A: Thanks for dropping in. Yes, I think it's going to be a great race. In addition to the usual NASCAR Nextel Cup road-racing aces Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart, you've got Juan Pablo Montoya, Ron Fellows, Boris Said and a bunch of other great drivers in the field. I'm very much looking forward to this weekend's race.

Little to no chance for No. 8

A: I salute you and everyone serving in Iraq! THANK YOU! As far as Earnhardt's real chances of keeping the No. 8, I don't think anyone but Teresa Earnhardt knows the answer. I still think she won't allow it. If she wouldn't let Michael Waltrip take the No. 15 with him, why would anyone think she'd help Dale Earnhardt, Jr., with whom she has little contact and a contentious relationship?

Expensive name change

A: Welcome. I have said all along that I think it's ridiculous for Nextel to be talking about changing its name while at the same time working with NASCAR to try and prevent Cingular from changing its name to AT&T. From a common sense point of view, it's dumb. Period. But this isn't about common sense, it's about what rights the companies were or weren't granted in legal agreements signed between Nextel and NASCAR, and Cingular and NASCAR. That's why it's going to court.

Making their points

A: I'm happy to help. Edwards got 185 points for winning the race, 5 bonus points for leading a lap and 5 additional bonus points for leading the most laps. 185 + 5 +5 = 195, which is the most points a driver can earn in a race.

Dave's decals

A: Thanks for the comment. The vast majority of the decals are optional and what are called "contingency" decals. Cars carrying decals for certain companies can earn bonuses from the sponsors based on where they finish in the race or sometimes qualifying. For example, if a car wins a pole and has a Budweiser decal, it becomes eligible for next year's Budweiser Shootout. But without the decal, winning a pole alone does not make the car Shootout eligible.