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[/media-credit]NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
GOODY’S FAST RELIEF 500
MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 30, 2012
TONY STEWART, NO. 14 OFFICE DEPOT/MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET, met with members of the media at Martinsville Speedway and discussed the first practice session, how the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet team is performing and other topics. Full Transcript:
WELL, YOU ARE COMING OFF YOUR SECOND WIN LAST WEEK AND YOU ARE SEVENTH IN PRACTICE TODAY. TELL US ABOUT YOUR PRACTICE:
“So far so good, you know it feels pretty stable and solid and it’s just a matter of tweaking right now to get ready for qualifying tomorrow. I think we will have a little bit better idea about where we are at in race trim in the second session.”
HOW WOULD YOU RATE THIS RUN FROM LAST SEPTEMBER UNTIL NOW COMPARED TO SOME OF THE BIGGER MOMENTUM SWINGS IN YOUR CAREER?
“This is definitely the biggest one so far. Especially to go through an offseason and pick it back up and to have some pretty big personnel changes in the middle of all that so, it’s pretty big right now. You know the hard part is that you just don’t want it to end, you want it to stay like this.”
IS THIS THE BEST YOU HAVE RUN IN YOUR CAREER?
“I don’t know that it is the best I have run in my career but it is pretty close. I mean when we were running the year we won the Triple Crown in ’95 I feel like that is the best that I had ever run in my career and I don’t feel like we are far off that right now.”
BEST IN NASCAR MAYBE?
“This is the best I have run in NASCAR I think as far as just a long, consistent run like this.”
HOW DO YOU THINK YOU WILL RUN HERE (AT MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY) WITHOUT DARIAN (GRUBB) THIS YEAR?
“Well, we don’t know. We won’t know till Sunday. But you know, this was the place where it seemed like it all turned around for us and solidified us as a contender to win that championship.”
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE TRADITION OF GETTING TO SHOOT THE GUNS IN VICTORY LANE AT TEXAS AND ARE YOU HOPING TO GET TO DO THAT AGAIN?
“Absolutely. It’s a unique trophy that you get to keep, so there are some cool and unique trophies around the country and Martinsville is one with the clock. You go to Texas and you get the guns, and that is two places that you appreciate it when you get those because you don’t get anything like that anywhere else.”
WITH MARTINSVILLE BEING A SHORT TRACK AND COMING FROM FONTANA HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR A TRACK LIKE THIS AFTER COMING FROM THERE?
“The same as we always have. It’s not a big deal. I mean we have all been doing this long enough that you learn to unload the equipment from last week, and you put the equipment in for this week and you go out for practice and it takes you a lap to remember what you do here so you just get right back in that swing of things.”
BACK TO THE MOMENTUM THING, IS THERE ANYTHING OTHER THAN WINNING THAT YOU SPECIFICALLY FEEL?
“I don’t know. I just feel like I have been racing a lot and I feel like that has helped so I think our group here has done a great job and I just feel like I am always in that race mode. I mean I am always running something but it makes it good when you come on a weekend and the cars are driving good and that’s been that way since Chicago of last year all the way through now.”
WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS IN THE OFF WEEKEND? “(Laughs) I have never told you guys what I am doing on my off weekend and I am not going to do that now.”
About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 140 countries and selling more than 4 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature spirited performance, expressive design and high quality. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.
