What drivers are saying at Sonoma
by FOXSports.com
Sunday at Sonoma: Kyle Busch | Marcos Ambrose | Greg Biffle | Matt Kenseth
Saturday at Milwaukee: Joey Logano | Carl Edwards
Saturday at Sonoma: Boris Said
Friday at Milwaukee: Rick Crawford
Friday at Infineon: Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Jeff Burton | Kevin Harvick | Clint Bowyer | AJ Allmendinger | Kasey Kahne | Carl Edwards | Kyle Busch
Sprint Cup Series at Infineon — June 22
Race winner Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota
Question: How was your car today?
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| Kyle Busch wouldn't have predicted a celebration at the beginning of the weekend. (Jonathan Ferrey / Getty Images) |
Busch: We unloaded here this weekend and we were absolutely horrible. We were so bad we didn't know what was going on. These guys worked their tails off and never gave up. We worked on it and worked on it — made changes to everything — and finally figured it out.
Question: If Joe Gibbs would have told you before the season started that you'd have five wins before going back to Daytona, what would you have said?
Busch: Yeah right! Thanks Coach, I appreciate it! You know what, this means a lot. I know J.D. (Gibbs) is here somewhere. This is something that is pretty cool. It's going a long ways and their talking about renegotiating, but I don't know. We've had a good enough year so far where we can just keep going with what we've got.
Matt Kenseth, driver of the No. 17 DeWalt Ford
Question: A top-10 finish on a road course must make you very happy
Kenseth: I feel like we won. This is the only track on the circuit that we never had a top-10 at, and we fixed that today. That's my best finish ever here — and Dale Jr., too, that was pretty fun racing him at the end. I think that's both of our first top-10s — I think it's the only track neither one of us had a top-10 at, so that's pretty cool that we drove hard and got a good finish.
Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 3M Ford
Question: You made a lot of spots up after dropping from the lead.
Biffle: Yeah. I mean, I feel stupid. I just had a bunch of rubber on the tires and just screwed up ... The thing is, it caught me off-guard. Here's what caught me off-guard — our tires don't shed rubber anymore, they put off powder or dust. Well, this was the first race track where there's marbles again — the old famous marbles. And I had it all over my tires, and when I made the first initial left, I just thought it was because the nose was up in the air because we were going so slow, and I kept in the gas a little bit. If I would've let off then, then I would've been okay. But, just gum on the tires, like bubblegum — all that stuff rolled up on the tires. And you had to peel it all off before the car would turn or stop — and I just ran off the race track.
Marcos Ambrose, driver of the No. 21 Little Debbie Honey Buns Ford
Ambrose: It's just very unfortunate. We were racing really good there. The Wood Brothers and the whole crew gave me a great car. We were fighting with Elliott (Sadler) pretty hard; he got into the back of us, spun us out, but that wasn't the problem — I was actually just selecting first gear on the downshift when he hit me. It's just unfortunate, one of those deals. But, we leave here with our heads held high. We raced hard and we raced well at the front there, and it was just a lot of fun.
Question: You must be satisfied with your debut?
Ambrose: I couldn't believe it, you know? Here I am passing Jeff Gordon and racing with Earnhardt — it's just fantastic. It's what I dreamed about, dreamed what it would be like, and it's certainly like that. It's just fantastic. It's just a shame we couldn't finish the race.
Nationwide Series at Milwaukee — June 21
Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 60 Save-a-Lot Ford
Question: Talk about your run?
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Can you dig it?
Edwards: First of all, a huge thanks to Erik Darnell. I'm sure Drew (Blickensderfer, crew chief) would say the same. He did a really good job and that was very much appreciated by me. I also have to thank PK (Pierre Kuettel, former crew chief). We made this crew chief swap this week and I think Drew would also agree with me that PK did almost all the work on this car and got it set up to come here. He's a huge part of this win. We're thinking about him. It just feels good to win a race for Save-a-Lot and for our team and for everybody at the shop and all the guys who've been working hard and sticking with this program even though we haven't won a race for a long time. It means a lot to have all that support. This win is a huge relief.
Question: Can you describe the battle with Clint Bowyer, how you set that up and what happened?
Edwards: What happened with Clint, I'm not real proud of. I like Clint a lot and I have a lot of respect for him and I just got into him. I dove for the bottom and there wasn't enough room and I hit him. That's what happened. When we restarted, he kind of left the bottom opened and I got in there a couple of times and I felt like my car was really good there. When he went into (Turn 1), I thought he was going to leave it open and I stuffed a nose down there and hit him. I'm just glad he didn't wreck.
Question: It's more that a year since you won. Was there a point where it was eating at you real bad?
Edwards: Yeah, that's what we do. I'm a competitor and I want to win more than anything in the world. So, yeah, it's very frustrating to do all this interviews and they put up the chart and say, 'Look how great your 2007 season started. Look how terrible it's been since then.' Those are terrible graphics that somebody made up that I have to talk about seems like all the time. It's very nice to get back into victory lane. It's very good. This is what Jack (Roush) pays me to do and that's what the sponsors are all counting on and that's what the whole team works for — to win."
Joey Logano, driver of the No. 20 GameStop Toyota
Question: Can you explain the incident you had with Brad Keselowski?
Logano: I'd say it was my fault, for sure. Obviously. We were racing hard for the lead and I felt my car was good enough to get up there. I was a little bit loose on the front side of a run. We were both driving it really hard. I just overdrove it into the corner, got loose, and had to chase it up the track."
Sprint Cup Series at Sonoma — June 21
Boris Said, driver of the No. 60 Slurpee/No Fear Energy Ford
Question: After qualifying yesterday, you mentioned that you had helped teach Kasey Kahne, who won the pole. You've helped the wood brothers and others, too, over the years. Just how many drivers out here have you helped at one time or another?
Said: Eighteen in this field — that I've worked with at point or another. TNT asked me to look on the list and cross them off, and there were 18 of them.
Question: When you help a driver with road-course racing, do you concentrate on something specific, or is it more of a general approach?
Said: You show them the difference between oval racing and road-course racing, it's a different braking technique, and, really, they're not used to going so slow into a corner. So, just show them some basic stuff. In my opinion, these guys are the best drivers in the world. They have a lot of car control, so if you show them a few things, it's like showing a duck water — they know how to swim.
Question: So, if you feel these are the best drivers in the world, for them to ask you for help seems like it would be quite flattering.
Said: Yeah, I guess it's flattering, for sure. It's a double-edged sword, because a lot of guys you've helped now beat you, But for me, I think long term — when I go to the ovals I've gotten so much help from guys like Dale Jr. and just a whole list of guys that help me, and that's shortened my learning curve.
Craftsman Truck Series at Milwaukee — June 20
Rick Crawford, driver of the 14 Power Stroke Diesel by International Ford
Question: What happened out there?
Crawford: I gave one away. That's my responsibility to drive pit road speed no matter what anybody else says on the radio. We got caught exiting pit road and if we just have left him alone down there and not try to race out of the pits, we had the truck to beat. Johnny [Benson] knows it; everybody here knows it. So I just gave it away. I hate it for the Ford Power Stroke people down there in the suite. It was a big attendance tonight for those guys. Everybody did a great job. The pit crew did a great job; everybody did a great job setting up the truck today. They worked really hard, but we just gave it away.
Sprint Cup Series at Sonoma — June 20
Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 National Guard/AMP Chevrolet
Question: Considering where you are in points and everything are you relaxed this weekend even though it's a road course, you know even if you screw up it's not going to matter?
Earnhardt: Oh, I'm going to screw up. Trust me I'll screw it up. Yeah, it's good to know you got a cushion. I think I can get through Watkins Glen okay I just don't run good here. Never liked coming here. Don't like the track, it's not a fun track to compete on. It's fun to go around and goof off and raise a little bit of hell. I don't like being in competition on it, it's difficult and these cars ain't built for it know what I mean.
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| Dale Earnhardt Jr. is probably not the best option to be a spokesperson for a road course. ( Rusty Jarrett / Getty Images) |
Question: Are they built to pass?
Earnhardt: Impossible to pass. Where do you pass? A couple of brake zones but that's about it. You just wait on people to screw up. We'll probably try to save as much gas as we can this week.
Question: Now after your win last week how would you rate your season so far?
Earnhardt: I'd give us a B+. We're doing good.
Question: Kyle Petty yesterday was saying if Tiger Woods went two years without winning, golf may not survive it, but he says this sport is strong enough that it could survive something like that. Can you comment on that?
Earnhardt: I think golf would survive it. All Tiger Woods has got to do is show up. He don't have to win every week. When he does win its great, it's great for his legacy and just adds more to him being the greatest that's ever played the game. Him just being there, hell you know what I mean. Just being able to see the man play is what people go for. If he wins, then they were there to see it.
Question: Some people feel the same way about you, the reason they come here is to see you win.
Earnhardt: I'm a lucky guy. Very fortunate.
Jeff Burton, driver of the No. 31 AT&T Chevrolet
Question: If the fact that his brother drove the Caterpillar car for so long has any significance at all.
Burton: It certainly is a factor. I think that Ward and CAT was a great relationship. Obviously they won the Daytona 500 together, won the Southern 500 and won some races together. That was a really neat relationship. I'm excited about continuing the Burton relationship with CAT. It's a really good fit for us, our family has been in the construction business forever and it's a really neat fit. It is a unique situation that a brother drove for the sponsor and now another one is but I think that's a positive thing. The family has really good thoughts about CAT and holds CAT in high regard. To be able to continue that I think is pretty special.
Question: You've got your boss (Richard Childress) with a winery, you've got Jeff Gordon with a winery, and apparently 25 percent of NASCAR fans are drinking more wine now.
Burton: I think wine is probably more popular period. Honestly if you think about it wine has become part of, you walk down any grocery store isle there's like whole isle's dedicated to it. I can tell you when I was a kid you had like some Mad Dog 20/20, you didn't have a whole isle of wines. It's become much more of a common thing. It used to be kind of the stuffy people were wine people. Today it's just everybody drinks wine.
Question: Have you ever drunk the boss's wine?
Burton: My wife drinks a lot of the boss's wine. I don't drink much of any wine or alcohol but my wife, she's a high consumer.
Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 29 Shell Chevrolet
Question: What are your thoughts on the road course ringers some teams bring into Sonoma?
Harvick: They are really fast, but the usually end up running into something before all is said and done.
Question: What is your opinion of NASCAR's discussion with the drivers about their "whining"?
Harvick: Last week is over.
Question: Do they want you to express your opinion or not want you to express your opinion?
Harvick: If they wanted you to know that, they would have invited you to the meeting. It is none of your business, how about that, is that better? (CHUCKLED)
Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 07 Jack Daniel's Chevrolet
Question: NASCAR had some heat and carbon monoxide monitors in some cars last week, did you have anything in your car?
Bowyer: I don't know. My air conditioner quit. It was fine with me. I was so mad after running bad you could have pumped as much Carbon Monoxide as you wanted in on me, I wouldn't have known.
Question: Have you and others drivers talked about that being an issue with the new car, apparently some drivers think it is.
Bowyer: I don't know same for everybody. You ain't gonna pass out. These cars are safe. Look at the cars back in the day, them guys they get out they looked like they were going to pass out. I don't think I've ever seen anybody get out of one of these and looking like they're gonna pass out.
Question: There has been a lot of attention from fans who believe Toyota is dominating the nationwide series because they have an advantage in horsepower, do you get that impression?
Bowyer: I don't know what they have. Obviously I wish I had it. Everybody that's been in that 20 car has won races. They've led for probably more than 60 percent of the laps. It's unbeatable right now, but what that is who knows. I mean we've had dominate cars over the last three or four years at RCR. It's hard to say, the shoe is on the other foot. We by no means feel like we have the best that we can possibly be right now. We got room to improve, room to grow and we need to step up our program before we can say they got something we don't have. They certainly have stepped up the program and are dominant. You can't take that away from them.
AJ Allmendinger, driver of the No. 84 Red Bull Toyota
Question: How does it feel to be back in Sonoma?
Allmendinger: I don't know. Last year is last year, but you still have a bad taste in your mouth. We weren't ready last year as a team to be here and compete, but we've done a lot of testing on the road course stuff and I feel good. We only had really three laps last year. The track is still somewhat new to me and I just want to get that first lap on the race track. I'll feel a lot better once I'm the first race car out there and get a lap in on it.
Question: Does it make you feel more comfortable being back on a road course?
Allmendinger: As weird as it may sound, I'm probably less comfortable coming here this weekend than I've been in the last five weeks because we're running a lot better and the cars have felt so good. I feel a lot more comfortable on the ovals. We haven't done a lot of road course stuff in the stock car. As much as you've been on a road course, it's still a lot different in an Indy car. It ultimately comes down to — I just need to get out on the race track for practice, see where we stand and see what we need to work.
Question: Do you feel like you really belong?
Allmendinger: It's starting to. It's one of those things — I don't know if I truly feel like I ever belong until I win, or am consistently top-five or top-10. But, the last few weeks have definitely helped. When you're passing Mark Martin and Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon and those guys, and doing it on the race track consistently, it makes myself as a driver feel a lot better, and the team feels a lot better.
Kasey Kahne, driver of the No. 9 Budweiser Dodge
Question: When did you realize that your team is back? Was it the All-Star Race?
Kahne: We've been decent all year. We've been pretty close at times and a little off at other times. Winning the All-Star Race — anytime you can win a race in this series — the competition is so tough and the drivers are so good at this level — once you can do that (win) we felt as a team that we can do it again the next week. The All-Star Race gave us that one boost we needed to realize that we're not that far off.
Question: We're getting near to the final 10 races to the 'race to the chase', what are your thoughts on the upcoming races?
Kahne: I'm not super comfortable with where we are at in the points (currently 7th). We definitely need to keep staying after it and keep gaining points and doing everything we can to stay in the top-12. We definitely have a lot of work to get in (the Chase) and there are a lot of good cars still on the outside and right behind us. We need to keep working. There are a lot of good tracks coming up for us. We've been fast at a lot of the upcoming tracks.
Question: Do you look at the cars directly behind you in the chase standings and feel like you have to race them in particular versus the entire field?
Kahne: All I look at is our performance in the Budweiser Dodge and what we need to do on each day. We have to focus on the best job that we can do and get the best finish that we can get. Whether that's a 30th, 20th or first-place, it doesn't matter to me. If it's 30th, it's not what we're looking for, but 30th is better than 35th. We just have to get our best finish — every single weekend at every single race. If we do that, I think that we'll have a really good shot at making the Chase.
Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Office Depot Ford
Question: Did you see the no. 28 California patrol car out there?
Edwards: Yeah, I saw the CHP car. That's pretty cool.
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| Carl Edwards has fond memories of the California Highway Patrol. (Rusty Jarrett / Getty Images) |
Question: How did it look?
Edwards: Listen, I've had couple of run-in — one in particular — with the CHP and they were very, very cool to me, so it's good to know that they're out here supporting racing, and bringing awareness to law enforcement, I think, is important. Showing their support for racing is good, and I think people need to remember they're out here protecting us.
Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota
Question: Can you talk about your intentions to run in other Nationwide or Craftsman Truck Series events this season?
Busch: Nationwide Series — no Milwaukee, no Memphis and no Canada. In the Truck Series, it's the same as it's been all year long, whenever there's a companion race or any other race that we can make.
Question: Was that a hard decision to not run more of those races?
Busch: No, it's just not working. We're not gaining any points. We just keep losing so it's not worth it.
Question: Was it fun while you were doing it?
Busch: It was alright. You know, winning races is always fun — that's always the best part. When you're struggling going for wins and you end up crashing, that's not very fun.
Question: Did running the triple influence your decision?
Busch: Not really, no. I've done the trip to Milwaukee twice and it's not that fun. You don't get back here until three o'clock or something like that in the morning. Then you don't get much sleep before the race. It's not bad — it doesn't hurt, it's just not worth it.
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