NASCAR Nextel Cup Teleconference Moments
Drivers Speak Out
Early Season

Dale Jarrett and Matt Borland

Dow Automotive has been producing safety features in passenger cars for decades when they developed a safety impact foam called IMPAXX™ less than a year ago for a passenger vehicles. It's on millions of passenger vehicles today. IMPAXX™ energy absorbing foam will make its race debut in the Car of Tomorrow at Bristol Motor Speedway. The same light weight foam has been applied with thicker applications in the COT to improve driver side impact and general safety. Dale Jarrett and Matt Borland commented on safety and change.

Dwight asked Dale Jarrett and Matt Borland:
NASCAR drivers and crew chiefs are accustomed to handling changes in the safety in the cars, changes from track to track, sometimes team to team. In your situation, do you have any special method or strategy to handle changes?

Dale Jarrett:
"No. We are a group that has been accustomed to dealing with changes and, I think the best thing is you, just work hard.

"That's about the only way that you can handle changes and keep yourself immersed in what you're doing and that get you through that time of change. And, as far as safety issues go, I think we're all willing to do whatever we need to and whatever it takes in those areas.

"And, as we talked about these IMPAXX energy absorbing foams it's almost crew chiefs best friend because it's something that not only enhances safety but it's extremely light.

"And if you know crew chiefs today, they're all for anything safe but they really don't want to put anything that's going to add a lot of weight to the cars because that makes their job more difficult. And the drivers complain more if the cars don't drive well. So, you know, this is a win-win situation that Dow Automotive has brought IMPAXX to the cars."

Matt Borland:
"As long we have the jobs we have - … with NASCAR things change all the time, things are constantly in change and what we can do this week, they'll tell you next week, we can't do that.

"So, it's just something to get accustomed to and you just work through and it's something we're used to dealing with. Like what Dale said, we like their new product. They're light and they're safe.

"It's definitely a pretty awesome product that they brought to the table that hopefully will keep these drivers safe."

Driver No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet

Dwight asked Jimmie Johnson:
When you have bad moments on the track, do you ever have doubts and wonder how are we going to get out of this one?

"Well, I think that's pretty common and fortunately, most times the team might have doubt and I can help them, or if I have doubt, they can help me over the radio. I felt really bad about the mistake I made in brushing the wall in Turn 4 (at Las Vegas). I thought we were going to be a fifth place car after that. And I knew we had a race-winning car and I thought I'd messed it up I apologized to the guys on the radio and had some doubt and Chad just told me not to go through that now and that we needed to keep going so we can fix it and make it right. That's an example of how the team can help the driver when he's feeling down and out about things."

Jimmie Johnson and Team 48 started the season well behind last year's Daytona 500 win, but that may not affect the business-as-usual mindset that garnered the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup championship. If a secret to championships exists for the long Nextel Cup season the first mystery ingredient is consistency. Johnson spoke freely about success, past and future in a recent teleconference.

Debbie Speicher asked Jimmie Johnson:
What's the best advice you've had so far about repeating your success?

"I'm not sure I've had any. But it really boils down to doing the things we know how to do and not changing our systems around too much. We'll look at '07 the same way we did in '06 and hopefully improve on it.

"I think I just always look forward. I really don't look back on what we've accomplished. I guess through my whole career I've always been in a position to prove myself and earn my keep and fight for my job and it's great motivation to keep that. So I really don't pay attention to the things I've accomplished. I'm always looking forward about what I want to do next."

Would you compare competing in NASCAR to getting to NASCAR?

"Well, you're always fighting to keep your job. You're trying to get in and get the job and get a chance, and then you really don't start breathing easy or feeling comfortable once you're there an established. Its aways about success and there are new guys coming along all the time who are doing an awesome job. You've got to keep the pressure on and keep success up front on your mind."

Dwight asked Kurt Busch:
Change is a lot about NASCAR Racing. Do you think the COT is the biggest change you've experienced?

"That's a great question. There's been plenty of change in the few years I've been around, the point system obviously, going from softer tires to harder tires and now back to softer tires. The car of tomorrow is definitely one of the largest changes I've seen in my few years. You can almost give it the same equation as changing a tire back and forth from a hard compound to a soft compound. Do we think that it's right? I believe so. I think the car will provide for a safer situation as a driver is concerned and it's supposed to create a more side by side racing atmosphere for the fans to enjoy. The time is now. We have to go and do it and apply it to the race track and see what happens."

Do you think that tough wins in NASCAR create some of the popularity of the sport with the fans?

"Absolutely. To win at this level is one of the toughest in all of motorsports, and that's why fans are intrigued by this racing action. There are 20-25 drivers that legitimately have a shot each weekend to win a race. There's probably more than that, but you don't see that in many other series where you have that many guys competitive to win a race."

Dwight asked Ricky Carmichael:
Ricky, what supercross skills do you think will transfer best to the stock car track?

"I think the racing mentality, the racing instincts and supercross, you have to be much more on your game. Everything is coming up to you so fast that there is a bit more focus in supercross than you need in the outdoor motocross. So I think that's what will transfer. I think that will help me when there's more cars on the track with me I think that I could carry some of that over. But it's hard for me to really tell you what, because I haven't raced and I will be able to answer that more precisely next week for you."

Dwight asked Regan Smith:
Regan, can you comment on having Mark Martin as a mentor and coach in your NASCAR quest?

"It's a huge opportunity for me to have Mark there to be able to talk to him and get knowledge from him. For instance, at the Bristol test, if I thought the car was good and he hopped into it and said, no, you'll have to be a little bit freer for this for the long runs and for the race, that's stuff I would have had to go through a race to learn to start with and instead now I've got that knowledge up front.

"And just little things like that. There's so many other things. I've watched Mark. I've tried to kind of have the same respect for the sport and other drivers that he's had throughout my career. And it's a legend and that's all I can say about him. He's awesome."

Dwight asked Eliott Sadler:
Is there any science to maintaining confidence in yourself and your team?

"I just think you've got to like who you're around. I think you've got to believe in your race team. Like right now, Evernham Motorsports has not gotten off to a start it would have liked to gotten off to compared to last year, but I believe in my guys and that's why we're not panicking. We believe we've got some guys who can fix it. We've just got to get in the right areas and find what we're missing and work on it. I could be sitting here today and panicking because we don't know what to do. It's a difference between struggling and not knowing how to fix it and struggling and got an idea on which direction you need to go to fix it. I feel like at Evernham's we've got a direction to go to make our teams better, not only on the COTs, but also on the intermediate stuff. I think driver confidence has a lot to do with do you believe in your guys or not? Some guys don't believe in the guys they have and some do. That's the difference in the confidence level. I believe in my race team. I'm not panicking right now. I know we haven't gotten off to a great start, but I believe we can make a run for The Chase.

Winning is tough. Is there any method to consistency?

You want to win together. I really want to win with this race team. All drivers want to win with their race teams so they can say they can do it. You can pat each other on the back every day and say 'we think we can win together," but until you actually do it together, not that you don't believe in them, you want to have that known fact that 'hey guys, we can win together. We can beat 42 of the best race teams in the world." That's a good confidence booster, not only for me but for them. If you can make that day come and make that day happen, but it's hard to come by. There are so many great teams out there and if you're not perfect and have a great, perfect day for four hours, you're not going to be a winner of that race."

Dwight asked Bobby Hamilton Jr.
You've moved up in the standings and you're confident about the future. Is there any secret to getting and carrying momentum race to race?

"Yeah, it's real big. I mean, your mental attitude - my dad was a big, firm believer in that. He would watch - what I went through when I drove the 32 car and had a horrible year, I mean, I just kind of had that. I was almost frustrated to even go to the racetrack because I knew I was going to run bad, kind of lost that burn in your eyes, that fire in your eyes and that burning in your gut, kind of lost it for a little bit.

"And my dad just told me, all that stuff is mental. You walk on that racetrack with your chest stuck out like you used to, that's going to be two or three tenths, and it is. When you leave that racetrack and you really perform well, your guys perform well, you moved up in points or you really closed the gap up on a bunch of people, your guys get pumped up, your driver is pumped up, your team owner is pumped up, your sponsors are excited, whenever they see the TV running and you're in the Top 10 and they get to see that.

"So there's all kinds of benefits to them to being in that Top 10, and that's why it's so important to be there. Once you get in there and kind of space it out from 10th to 11th where it's going to take a little bit for those guys to get you if you have a bad week then you can start chipping away on that Top 5, and that's how you get to the point of being where you're contending for a championship.

"Every week if you're racing as hard as you can and you cannot - it's not your day today, you've got to figure out how to get a Top 5 or a Top 10. If you're not that good you've got to figure out how to be a Top 15 car, whether it's just surviving or whatever.

"And when those guys see that, when they see the rhythm you're getting into, they get excited, they get comfortable with it you wouldn't believe how easy it is to roll through tech. They're at the shop, they're prepared more, they roll through tech, there's not a single thing wrong with the car, running good on the racetrack. It's just a snowball effect, and if you can get that snowball running down the hill pretty fast, you're going to be hard to beat."

Dwight asked Eddie Wood and Jon Wood:
What's the toughest part of maintaining good team performance?

Eddie Wood responded -"The teams always start with people and the better the teamwork among the people - you take a group of guys and keep moving things around until you get the right combination because everything about racing so far as the cars, right down to the guy that cleans them up is all about teamwork. That's the key to the whole thing is putting the right group of people around the right driver and the right crew chief. The word chemistry, I used to think was an overused word in racing."

Jon Wood interjects - "And it's something I got an F in high school."

Eddie Wood continued - "That's probably true, but the chemistry word means a lot more than I ever gave credit to because this year, for instance, we've changed a lot of things here at our race shop with the different teams we have here and I can see the chemistry getting better. It wasn't about getting new people, it was just like putting a certain person in a different role and I think that's the key to it is just getting the people lined up to do the teamwork."

Jon Wood continued - "I can tell you this, I've checked every library in the Harrisburg (N.C.) area, and Charlotte for that matter, and I have yet to find a book that says, 'How to Properly and Perfectly Merge Two Race Teams and Everybody be Happy.' It's not something that's done every day and it's really not something that's done at all, and usually it's a last-ditch effort to keep a team alive. Well, rather than this be a last-ditch effort and a sinking ship, the team is growing. Our cars are getting better. We're having more cars now. We're up to, I guess you could say, 1.2 Cup cars. The 21, and 47 will be running a couple of times. Two Busch cars, two trucks, a couple of Busch East cars, I think I saw a legends car in the back and then Fatback's hot-rod, so we've got every kind of car you could imagine here, but the thing is there have been a lot of feelings hurt and a lot of times that were tough, but I think that both Tad Geschickter at ST Motorsports and my family have done a very nice job at merging these two teams and keeping them semi-competitive in the process during the building stage."

What will be the toughest part of the learning curve at the Nextel Cup level?
"I can name 42 of them. I think the toughest part is I don't know. That's another thing. That's one of the unknowns. I've tested the Cup car and I know the difference in the way they drive. They're a little tougher to drive, but I think the biggest thing is handling all the pressure. It's just been overwhelming over the winter at what extra emphasis I've had and what extra responsibility I've had in both the shop with the 47 Busch car and the 21 Air Force car. Going to the Cup level, before now the only thing I thought was different was a few extra full-time Cup guys, about $10 million more in purse each race, and maybe 100 extra laps - that's it. But I can tell you now, there's a lot more to it than that and it's just as much off track as it is on track. It's just as much mental as it is physical."

Dwight asked David Stremme:
Can you identify the common hurdles you must overcome routinely as a driver at the Nextel Cup level?

What surprised you most on the Nextel Cup level?
"There are a lot of things I enjoy. As far as getting to travel around, I don't even look at it like a job. It's something I love to do, but probably one of the biggest things that's surprised me is how people see us on TV and they want to put you in a different category or make you out to be a different person. We're all the same. Race fans get to watch what we do for a living and we put on a show and we're entertainers. Bottom line is everybody has worked hard to get to this level and it's a lot of fun, but we're no different than anybody else."

Debbie Speicher asked Adrian Fernandez:
Focus is everything to winning at high speeds. Do you know why you can focus in high-speed traffic when so many on public highways have no clue about focus and safety?

ADRIAN FERNANDEZ:
"Well, you know, in a race car, if you don't focus, if you lose concentration for a 10th of a second, you're on the wall, you're going so fast. I remember people used to say, Isn't it boring on an oval because it's just two corners? It's not boring, believe me. You're on needles and pins trying to hold on. You're going so tight and so close, you can't get distracted.

"What happens on freeways is everybody gets in a pace, and the freeways are so wide and so long, they become a little bit - you become bored there. There is nothing to keep your attention because you're not going fast, there is no distraction. Obviously, in Mexico it's another thing. If you get distracted, you're on the wall. That's why we came good drivers here (laughter).

"No, but freeways, obviously you have to pay attention. But a race car driver, he's always on the limit of the car. You get distracted, you crash. Freeways here, you're not at that level. Obviously that's why they're always trying to implement safety so there is no issues. We get distracted. I get distracted. It's so easy to get distracted."

Debbie Speicher asked Michel Jourdain Jr.:
Can you talk about the language barrier between Spanish and English in stock car racing?

MICHEL JOURDAIN, JR.:
"Especially for me and a guy like Adrian, Juan Pablo, the language barrier between Spanish and English, especially in stock cars, there is a lot - most all the mechanics and crew chiefs come from the South. It's a very weird or different English than what we are used to. That definitely is a little bit of a barrier, especially on day-to-day working. You know, when you are in the shop, talking to the engineers and the mechanics, sometimes it's hard to understand some of their words.

"Also for us, that we come from the open-wheel racing, like something that A.J. must be struggling with, the way they describe things about how the car is doing, what the engine is doing, it's very, very different. It takes a while. Now for me when I go to the 24 Hours of Daytona, I feel like I'm having to learn the language again because it's difficult to get used to it so quickly. When you're racing stock cars, you're doing it every weekend."

Debbie Speicher asked Boris SaidMichel Jourdain Jr.:
What do you like best about racing beyond the borders of traditional U.S. stock car racetracks?

BORIS SAID:
I've liked the fact that you experience a lot of new things. When I've gone to Europe or Japan or China, it's just things that you see on TV, but until you experience them yourselves, you just don't know. For me it's just experiencing new things, new cultures, meeting all the people. I'm a big eater, so I like trying all the different kinds of food in the different countries.