NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
TUMS FAST RELIEF 500
MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
October 22, 2010
TONY STEWART, NO. 14 OFFICE DEPOT/OLD SPICE CHEVROLET, met with members of the media at Martinsville Speedway and discussed his car for Martinsville, team ownership and other topics. Full transcript:
HOW IS YOUR CAR? “I think it is decent. We won there at the end of the session so I think we are ok right now.”
TALK ABOUT THE PRESSURE ON TEAMS TO STAY SOLID FINANCIALLY AND WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE IF RICHARD PETTY’S NAME IS NO LONGER ON A TEAM IN THE SPORT: “I’ll be honest, it is hard to think about because it is hard to imagine if there wasn’t a Petty. We’ve sat here and done interviews about this story before and Richard (Petty) always finds a way to stay here. He’s been here a long time. He is smart enough to know how to stay here. He’ll be ok.”
DOES IT CONCERN YOU AS AN OWNER THAT THERE ISN’T THAT FRANCHISE-TYPE VALUE IN THIS SPORT? “We are all independent contractors, that’s the way its always been and that’s the way it should be.”
EVERYBODY TALKS ABOUT TALLADEGA BEING A WILD-CARD, CAN MARTINSVILLE BE THAT? “I don’t think so. No different than anywhere else we go. You can get in trouble here, but it’s not normally 15-20 cars deep in getting in trouble. If you get in a problem, it is normally because you are a root of it or directly involved in it.”
DID YOU MAKE BIG GAINS IN THE LAST FEW MINUTES OF PRACTICE? “We always do that, that is what we do every week.”
IS THE STRATEGY OF THE SPRING WINNER TAKING FOUR TIRES NEAR THE END HERE, IS THAT NOW A WAY TO GO? “I think we’ll know more tomorrow in practice and seeing how they fall off and seeing how our cars handle. The crew chiefs will decide. They will know because they will look at the lap times every lap. They’ll know what the pace is and they will know when they start falling off.”
FAST-FORWARD TO TALLADEGA, WHERE DO YOU WANT TO BE WITH FIVE LAPS TO GO? “I don’t know. I’m not ready to fast-forward next week. I’m still at Martinsville. Next week ask me when we get to Talladega where I want to be with five laps to go. And you can only ask me that when I am about eight laps from the end. I won’t know until I get there. Everybody wants to fast-forward and look forward to everything. We’re still trying to work on what we are doing this weekend. We’re on Friday at Martinsville and next week is a better time to ask me about Talladega. I’m not worried about it right now, we’ll worry about it next week. I appreciate you asking but I am a single dimensional person, I want to work on today and worry about that only.”
About Chevrolet: Chevrolet is a global automotive brand, with annual sales of about 3.5 million vehicles in more than 130 countries. Chevrolet provides consumers with fuel-efficient, safe and reliable vehicles that deliver high quality, expressive design, spirited performance and value. In the U.S., the Chevrolet portfolio includes: iconic performance cars, such as Corvette and Camaro; dependable, long lasting pickups and SUVs, such as Silverado and Suburban; and award-winning passenger cars and crossovers, such as Malibu, Equinox and Traverse. Chevrolet also offers “gas-friendly to gas-free” solutions including the Cruze Eco and Volt, both arriving in late 2010. Cruze Eco will offer up to 40 mpg highway while the Chevrolet Volt will offer up to 40 miles of electric, gas-free driving and an additional 300 miles of extended range (based on GM testing; official EPA estimates not yet available). Most new Chevrolet models offer OnStar safety, security, and convenience technologies including OnStar Hands-Free Calling, Automatic Crash Response, and Stolen Vehicle Slowdown. More information regarding Chevrolet models, fuel solutions, and OnStar availability can be found at www.chevrolet.com.
