CHEVY NSCS AT LAS VEGAS — Jimmie Johnson Press Conf. Transcript
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[/media-credit]NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
KOBALT TOOLS 400
LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 9, 2012
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S/KOBALT TOOLS CHEVROLET met with members of the media at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and discussed racing at Las Vegas, Tuesday’s appeal and other topics. Full transcript:
WHAT IS YOUR OUTLOOK FOR THIS WEEKEND?: “My outlook’s good. Very competitive at Phoenix last week and I think the stuff we learned over the off-season that we had a chance to run at Phoenix will cross over here to Las Vegas. First mile-and-a-half of the year and we all know how many are on the schedule so our team along with all the others are very focused on this weekend. Eager to get on track and hopeful to have good speed in the car and a comfortable race car. I’ve always enjoyed this race track. I’ve been able to win here a bunch of times. The cool thing for this track in my mind is how hard you can drive each and every lap. The progressive banking gives us some options to move around the race track and find other lanes to run on. You have to pull the belts tight and man-up to run around here. It’s a lot of fun.”
AFTER DAYTONA, HOW IMPORTANT WAS IT TO GET A FULL RACE RUN AT PHOENIX TO GET POINTS FOR YOU AND YOUR TEAM?: “It was important, but you have DNFs through the course of the year and Daytona, unfortunately, was one of those for myself. On the other side, I’m not paying attention to it. Next Tuesday, hopefully our side will be heard and hopefully things come in our direction. That’s what I’m hoping for, but there’s really nothing I can do for that issue or for that situation. At the end of the day, I have to get maximum points each and every week and at a minimum, to secure a wild card spot. Winning at least one race, maybe two races would do that. That’s my mindset is to go out and win races and then the points will take care of itself. Right now, we’re in a position that I don’t want to be in, but we’ll climb the ladder slowly.”
WHEN YOU ARE BACK IN THE DESERT, DO YOU FEEL YOU ARE BACK AMONGST YOUR PEOPLE?: “Yes, out in the dirt. It’s not a bad thing.”
DOES THE TRACK FEEL MORE TREACHEROUS SINCE THEY ADDED THE PROGRESSIVE BANKING?: “I’m trying to think of a good answer for you. This track has always been a tough one, especially turns three and four. The sun sits on that end of the race track all weekend long, especially during the race on Sunday. It’s real slick. One and two is a bit more forgiving, the way the billboards line the outside of the race track, it puts a lot of shade on the track. I can’t — to me it’s been challenging and was challenging with the old configuration and now, now I think you can drive a little harder so maybe when you step over the line, you lose control of the car because the speeds are up a bit more it seems like. This track has always been a tricky one in my opinion. That is I think why I’ve had good success here is that it’s kind of a difficult track and slicker tracks are better for myself and for my driving style.”
WHAT DO YOU THINK IT IS LIKE FOR DANICA PATRICK TO BE AT LAS VEGAS AS SHE WAS HERE WHEN DAN WHELDON LOST HIS LIFE LAST YEAR?:
“Wow, I guess I hadn’t put much thought into that. Especially from Danica’s (Patrick) perspective of coming back. In my mind, she’s been a stock car driver for a while now. She certainly was here in October when the tragedy happened. It’s definitely a tough thing to overcome and I’ve been through it before with other friends that I’ve lost in motorsports. You try to push it out of your mind. You try not to think about it. It’s easier for us as stock car drivers to come to this track and certainly we know what has happened and some of us were close with Dan (Wheldon) and it tugs on us emotionally.
It’s easier for us as drivers to say, ‘Well, that was in a different car. That was in a different style of racing.’ We just go out and do our jobs. It was a very, very tough situation for motorsports and especially for the IndyCar drivers. I’m sure it’s hard on Danica coming back.”
DO YOU FEEL ANY CERTAIN DISTANCES OF RACES ON MILE-AND-A-HALF TRACKS MAKE FOR BETTER RACES?: “I think the racing is somewhat similar regardless of the distance. From my perspective, a 600-mile race versus a 400-mile race — I’m still driving as hard as I can each segment to make my car right and to be competitive for the win. I think it’s more for the viewing audience and their attention span. If it’s on television and what people are watching at home or in the grandstands that are here. That’s where it really lies and we need to be smart and keep our fan base engaged and have it be the right distance for them so that we have them tuned in like we need to. The longer the race, the better the 48 has always been. I don’t know where that endurance part comes from. I felt in the past that it gives us more opportunities to work on our car and either make it competitive or hopefully separate ourselves and make it stronger than others. We’ve always had some good race savvy and been able to adjust well to change in track conditions. I’m not opposed to the long races, but need to make sure our viewing audience is getting what they want.”
DO YOU THINK SOME DRIVERS THINK THE STOCK CARS ARE SO SAFE THAT THEY ARE BULLETPROOF?: “Man, I don’t know. I certainly — there’s moments on track that still get my attention. Sliding down the middle of the race track at Daytona and knowing I was going to get plowed in the door, there was a lot of fear running through my veins at that point. We have raised the threshold for the cars and made them so much safer through a variety of things that we all know. We do climb in and take a lot of risk because we know the cars are safe and there’s no doubt about it. I think one area for us to visit in the future and we’re down to real small areas is the area above the driver’s head. That’s something from an intrusion standpoint and we see it more at the plate tracks where cars go tumbling and if there’s contact from another vehicle — you know it’s a big, open area that is really just sheet metal up there. A bumper or something could come through there and make contact with the driver’s head. I was fearful of the driver’s door area and then I lived it at Daytona and firsthand know the work that NASCAR put into the door pad, that foam that’s in there and that structural changes in that area — how strong it’s made the driver’s side of the car. At times, especially when we go to plate tracks, we have to climb in and feel that we’re indestructible because you know there’s going to be a big wreck and the chances are that you’re going to be in it. The other tracks you feel like you’re in a bit more control and you know you’re going fast and things can go wrong, but I think we’re wired to forget those things, to be honest with you.”
DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE A GOOD CASE FOR THE APPEAL ON TUESDAY WITH NASCAR?: “We’re prepared and ready and it’s outside of my realm of knowledge. It’s through upper management at Hendrick — Rick (Hendrick, team owner) himself personally and Chad (Knaus, crew chief). I’ll be waiting eagerly Tuesday to hear what happens and I know that there’s one step after this appeal process if things don’t turn out favorable for us, we’re ready to go to the next level too because the strength we have in our case and our opinion of the situation. Tuesday we’ll all know a lot more.”
HOW MUCH DIFFERENCE DO YOU HAVE IN RACE PREPARATION WITH THE TYPE OF TIRES THAT GOODYEAR HAS BEEN BRINGING TO TRACKS LIKE LAS VEGAS?: “The tires really do make a big difference and that’s why when teams are elected to go tire testing, there’s such an advantage in it to get data. On a tire they can talk about minor construction changes and also compound changes, but those are the only four contact patches the car has to the race track and the springs, shocks, aero balance, structural integrity — all that stuff has to be fed through those tires and how they interface with the track is everything. All the teams have an open line of communication with Goodyear and with NASCAR and understand the direction the changes are going so that we come to the track as prepared as possible. It’s still different. There’s some weeks that you show up and you think you’ve covered all your bases and you’re prepared and that tires won’t be an issue and you’re out to lunch. Other weeks you show up and you nail it and you have a little advantage. It is a variable that none of us can control, but it is equal because it’s the same for everyone. It’s a variable that we deal with week in and week out and not surprised when we come to the race track and hear we’re on a new construction or a new left, new compound, new rights — whatever it is, we know that there’s always some changes going on.”
DOES WHAT HAPPENED TO THE 14 CAR LAST WEEK GIVE YOU PAUSE IN CUTTING THE CAR OFF TO SAVE FUEL?: “When I saw that it was a Hendrick engine that was off, it did concern me. I tried to just forget about it and I didn’t see any of my teammates having issues and then my car didn’t have any issues. When I was made aware of the situation, looked back on it and thought, ‘Man, I’m glad it didn’t happen to our car.’ It just seemed like a random situation and unfortunately one for the 14 (Tony Stewart). At least we now understand what went on and we can make some changes to the system.”
ARE YOU SURPRISED WITH THE 20 YEARS OF THE SPONSOR FOR JEFF GORDON?: “It’s amazing. Jeff (Gordon) has had an amazing career and to have that consistent look and representation from Chevrolet to DuPont, Hendrick Motorsports — he’s had a long term relationship with Pepsi. You go down through the list and it’s neat to see that over such a long stretch of time. I think it says a lot about everyone involved and the type of people that they are to stay together that long and have such a run. It’s crazy — 20 years. I guess I’m already up to 10 or 11 now myself. Time goes by so fast and after 20 years I know Jeff is extremely hungry for another championship and race wins.”
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.
Frank Kimmel Looks For First Trip Success at Mobile Int’l Speedway
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[/media-credit]For the first time in the 60 year history of the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, the series will be running on the half-mile oval located in Mobile, Alabama.
One of the tracks that Mobile International Speedway has been compared to is Toledo Speedway, as both have a low degree of banking.
Series veteran Frank Kimmel is hoping the comparison is true in hopes of scoring career win no. 75. Kimmel currently sits second on the all-time ARCA Series win list with 74 victories behind Iggy Katona. Kimmel scored the first victory of his career at Toledo Speedway, Mobile’s sister track, and says he feels real comfortable at Toledo.
“It makes me feel more confident that I can get up on the wheel from the get go,” Kimmel says. “I mean, face it, at the end of the day, a short track is a short track – if you can’t get up on the wheel, it’s going to be a rough day for your team.
Kimmel has also been doing his homework as he enlisted help from short track legend Bubba Pollard.
“Bubba is a legend down here on the Panhandle of Florida and Alabama,” Kimmel explains. “His results speak for themselves in late models and super late models at both Mobile and Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, so I knew who to call when it was time to pick someone’s brain on track facts and logistics. He gave me a lot of great pointers going into this weekend. I’m also looking forward to chatting with our own Grant Enfinger – since this is his home track, he knows the ins and outs too. It’s a little different, I usually have guys coming to me to find out about tracks as the veteran!”
Practice is set to happen on Friday March 9th from 1:30-5pm CT with Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell that night at 7pm CT. The race will take place on Saturday March 10th with pre-race coverage beginning at 1:30 CT. Speed will not share this race live, but ARCARacing.com will have live timing and scoring.
Andy Hillenburg: The Man behind Bringing NASCAR Back to Rockingham Speedway
Wednesday afternoon I headed out to Rockingham Speedway to meet with track President, Andy Hillenburg. I wanted to find out a little more about the man who made it his mission to bring NASCAR racing back to Rockingham Speedway.
I arrived for my appointment a little early and sat in my car for a few minutes before going inside. As I sat waiting, I noticed someone out front trimming the hedges while another man stood nearby checking periodically to make sure everything looked just right. I suddenly realized that the other man was Andy Hillenburg. This was my first clue about the type of man I was about to interview.
He calls himself a ‘blue collar man’ and he is willing to do whatever it takes to make one of his dreams come true. If something needs to be painted, you’ll likely find him with a paint brush in hand. He’s quick to point out that the track doesn’t have a huge budget so he often has to get creative in order to get things accomplished.
One of his latest endeavors is a car he calls the “Rockmobile.” It’s a 1975 Dodge Coronet with a paint scheme designed to resemble a police car. On one side it reads, “To Serve and Promote,” and the phone number for ticket sales is prominently displayed. It’s a rolling advertisement that Hillenburg often drives around town.
Another thing that stood out as we talked is his passion for racing. It’s a passion he has carried with him his entire life.
Hillenburg was born and raised in Indianapolis, Ind. He worked in the family construction business but every spare moment was spent going to races.
“I’ve wanted to race for as long as I can remember,” he told me. “I never really wanted to do anything else.”
He built his first race car when he was 16 years old and began racing sprint cars. Over the next 10 years, he raced in open wheel cars whenever he had a chance. He competed in the USAC (United States Auto Club) series, the World of Outlaws series and anything else that was available. It didn’t really matter to him, as long as he was racing.
His goal was to one day race in the Indy 500.
He came close a couple of times. The first time he was actually entered to run but the team abruptly folded just prior to the race. The following year he thought he had a deal put together but a couple of weeks before the race, he realized it wasn’t going to happen.
He was becoming increasingly frustrated when a good friend suggested that he move to North Carolina and try his hand at stock car racing.
“I hadn’t really given it much thought,” he said. “In Indianapolis, there’s so much racing. It’s everywhere you go. You just drive two miles down the road and there’s another race shop. I didn’t think any place could match that. I was perfectly content to stay in Indianapolis.”
But then his friend took him to a Busch (now Nationwide Series) race in Hickory, N.C. in the spring of 1990.
Hillenburg was so impressed that he made a drastic decision. With only a duffle bag full of clothes, his helmet, and a hundred dollars he borrowed from another friend, he got in his truck and drove to Charlotte, N.C. Hillenburg spent the first four nights sleeping in that truck across from Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Then he ran into Kenny Schrader. He’d raced against Schrader so they knew each other slightly, but they weren’t what you’d call good friends. They stood around talking for a while and Schrader asked Hillenburg what he was doing in town.
“I moved here,” Hillenburg told him.
Schrader said, “That’s great. Do you have a deal?” “No,” Hillenburg replied.
Schrader then asked, “Where are you living?” “Right there in my truck,” Hillenburg responded.
At this point, Schrader began laughing. But he ended up taking Hillenburg out to his shop and gave him a place to stay for about 6 months.
During the day, Hillenburg visited all the race shops, looking for any kind of job just to get his foot in the door. In the evenings, he helped out at the shop by mowing the grass, taking out the trash, washing cars and anything else that needed doing.
He finally got a job at Fast Track High Performance Driving School. It wasn’t long before he was running the entire shop. The owner of the shop even fielded a couple of cars for Hillenburg to run two Cup races. It wasn’t much but it was enough to keep the dream alive.
About this time Hillenburg had the opportunity to buy the school. It was a decision that would require him to put his driving career on hold for 3 years. He found that he loved the driving school business and worked hard to make it a success.
But he hadn’t given up on his racing career.
He finally had a chance to run a full season in 1995 in the ARCA series. He made the most of it by winning the championship.
As he reflected on his life, he paused and said, “I’m a person that has a lot of dreams and I’ve been fortunate to accomplish several of them.”
Then he leaned in, as if to tell me a secret. “But not all of them; because I have lots.”
In the 1990s, most of Hillenburg’s time on the track was spent as a test driver. He test drove for over 20 Cup teams, Ford Motor Company and Dodge Engineering. He was also an IROC test driver for about 10 years.
He never really had the opportunity to race full time but he has no regrets and feels like he accomplished what he set out to do.
One of the highlights of his racing career came at Daytona Speedway in 1998. He had to qualify on time to enter the race and he remembers it as “the best race I ever drove in my life.”
Then, in 2000, at 37 years of age, he went to Indianapolis and competed in the Indy 500, accomplishing yet another lifelong dream.
Hillenburg has also tried his hand as a team owner, most recently in the Camping World Truck series and the ARCA series.
Did I mention that he has a lot of dreams?
In his spare time, he also works as a stuntman and acts in commercials and movies.
In the back of his mind, he knew that there was one piece missing to complete his business circle; owning a racetrack.
It would give his driving school a home base and would come in handy for the stunt work and acting gigs that he likes to do as well.
He had looked at a few tracks but nothing seemed like a good fit until Rockingham Speedway came up for auction in 2007.
One of his goals from the very beginning was to bring NASCAR racing back to the track but he’s a little surprised at how quickly it happened.
He’s also extremely proud of what he’s been able to accomplish and excited for the future. But he doesn’t take all the credit. It’s been a team effort from everyone at the track and the support of the community has been invaluable.
But there’s no doubt in my mind that without Andy Hillenburg, it would not have happened.
It is his blue collar work ethic, his willingness to take risks and his vision that have made it all possible.
Rockingham Speedway seats approximately 30,000 and ticket sales are progressing well. But Hillenburg says they aren’t going to stop until one of two things happens.
“We’re either sold out or we give the command to start your engines.”
My last question for him was this. Why should fans come to Rockingham?
“I feel like we’re unique. I want to be the facility that’s an old comfortable pair of shoes; a nice evening on the porch. We’re that race track. All those old memories that you can relive as well as build new ones, that’s what I’m after.”
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series returns to “The Rock” on April 15th. For more information and to purchase tickets please visit online at rockinghamspeedway.com.
Kvapil’s future is still in doubt
Getting a job in the Sprint Cup Series is tough as it is. The economy doesn’t help either.
Travis Kvapil is a former Camping World Truck Series champion. One would believe teams would be throwing themselves at him after his departure from Penske Racing several years back at the completion of the 2005 season.
For the past few seasons, Kvapil drove for the underfunded Front Row Motorsports team. FRM is owned by Bob Jenkins, who owns a series of restaurants such as Taco Bell, Long John Silver, and other multi-million dollar businesses.
At the end of 2011, rumors swirled around the garage about David Ragan signing with FRM once he was released from his former team Roush Racing. Eventually, Ragan signed with FRM. The team also resigned David Gilliland and Josh Wise in the team’s second and third cars, leaving Kvapil without a job heading into 2012.
“That was tough, last year we didn’t have the results we hoped and by the end of the season we put some good runs together. But speaking for them, they were looking at different sponsorship opportunities and eventually landed with David Ragan and they had more sponsorship for things like that and it was a decision they made and they had to look at all opportunities and they’re definitely looking better,” said Kvapil on what made him leave FRM.
Lucky for Kvapil, a new team was forming out of the defunct Red Bull Racing shop.
Kvapil reached out to one of the new owners, sparking talks across the board as both sides were interested in working with one another.
“It all happened pretty quick, but it was a bit of a process for them,” said Kvapil. “It took longer than they expected to get everything together and we didn’t get everything going and the green light until February first, but we have great equipment and some really good people with guys that work really hard.”
It was announced that Kvapil will drive the car after the Daytona 500 where David Reutimann drove the No. 93 Toyota Camry to a 26th place finish in the team’s debut. But, it remains unclear if he will step behind the wheel for every race, or he will be replaced by Reutimann in the select races where he does not drive for Tommy Baldwin Racing.
“It’s not a done deal from what I’ve been told. They’ve talked to me about David Reutimann running for the team, but I think that’s still to be determined as time gets closer to those races. Hopefully, I can go out there and run competitively and have a chance of staying in the car,” said Kvapil.
But, if Kvapil is replaced by Reutimann, it could mean the partnership may last only one year, if that.
“They’ve been straight up with me from day one. They might do something with David in those races, they might not, they didn’t promise me anything that they can’t do. I knew the deal going into it so either its 26 races or the rest of the races,” Kvapil said. I’m thankful for the opportunity. They didn’t promise me more than 26 races, but there’s a possibility of running 35.”
The last time Kvapil qualified for all 36 races was back in 2008, the year he drove for Yates Racing, finishing 23rd in the standings. After the first six races in 2009, Kvapil was released from Yates as the team eventually shut down, due to sponsorship woes.
This time around, Kvapil’s situation is different, much different.
With a possibility of being replaced in several races, Kvapil has to focus on himself more than ever.
“I think it’s harder for the team to work with multiple drivers as the relationship between the driver and the team takes some time to build and you’re changing drivers then you kind of mess up the chemistry,” said Kvapil on whether or not it’s a good idea for BK Racing to split the No. 93 Burger King Toyota throughout the 2012 season.
Expectations for the new team are rather high, well at least according to Kvapil. He believes the team is capable on finishing in the top 25 on a weekly basis and eventually, making it to the top 20.
Fortunately enough, Kvapil took a car which qualified 41st and turned a bad run into an exceptional one as he drove up to 19th place by the time the checkered flag flew this past Sunday at the Phoenix International Raceway. The team proved they’re at the track to run competitive and not just ‘start and park’ like many expected.
Kvapil will head into the Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend with a renewed outlook on what it takes to run upfront. He and teammate Landon Cassill are ‘dark horses,’ but the two have much to prove.
For the entire BK Racing organization, the plan is to run the entire season with Cassill in the No. 83 with Kvapil and possibly Reutimann in the No. 93 with cars from the former Red Bull Racing team. How will they fare remains to be seen. They are off to a strong start, continuing this will easily look themselves in the top 35 in owner points by Bristol.
As a pure racer, Kvapil is determined to revamp his career once again. He is off to a strong start in 2012. His season may progress in a positive or negative way. But, it’s the chance he needed to prove he didn’t forget how to drive considering he outran both FRM drivers, Ragan and Gilliland on Sunday at Phoenix.
