FAST NEWS Photos by Dwight Drum
Web work by Larsen and Drum
Fast Picks
Select drivers and teams on the move
Tony Stewart (No. 14 Chevrolet)
Dwight Drum asked Tony Stewart:
What's toughest about driving at this level for drivers in general and what's toughest for you?
"I don't know, I mean, the hardest thing, I think, in the big picture, I'm not sure how detailed you're wanting, but it seems like at this level with the responsibilities we have and added responsibilities this year as an owner, it's budgeting your time is one of the biggest things. Once we get to the racetrack and we get in the race car, that's what we all love to do and what we're comfortable doing.
"It's just knowing that there's 24 hours in a day and only 365 of those days in a year to get everything that you need to get done. That's your practice, your racing, your photo shoots, commercial shoots, appearances. There's a lot that goes on in those days, press conferences.
"I told somebody the other day, they said, If there was one thing that you could change, what would it be. I'd said, We'd make 30 hour days and 400 day years to get everything that we want to get done. It's just finding the time with everybody's schedules as hectic as they are to be able to get everything that needs to be done. That seems to be the hardest part of what we do."
Ryan Newman (No. 39 Chevrolet)
You've been in (with) the Army now for about eight months. What were your expectations going into it what you thought you would have to do with that sponsor and what's been the most important revelation, I guess? What's surprised you most about the Army?
"I haven't exactly been in the Army, but biggest thing for me is just seeing what the troops and what all the Army soldiers do. At Fort Bragg it was neat to see the guns and some of the training missions that we went through. They were shooting live rounds in 30 by 30 rooms with rubber walls and they were soaking up the bullets, and I'm thinking to myself, wouldn't the bullet bounce off the rubber? Luckily it didn't.
"But just in general what the soldiers go through and all the different stories and things like this, it's really amazing. They're all great people and they all give us the opportunity to do what we love, whether it's sit and write a press release or drive a race car. It was pretty amazing just the Army celebrating its birthday in Michigan and then Independence Day and all the things we've been doing with the Army. It's a lot of fun, a lot of great people, and I really enjoy it."
Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Chevrolet)
Dwight Drum asked Jimmie Johnson:
About running out of gas on the final lap in Michigan, you shift emotional gears fast. Off camera do you ever want to throw a helmet or kick a tire? Do you and Chad practice moving on? Do you and you team work on the emotion part so you are able to go on to the next race?
“What’s tough is there are points in the year when I’m really good at it and there are other times that I’m not. So I feel like I’m coming into a stretch where I can tolerate these things. I don’t know why it comes and goes. A month or so ago I had some of my largest meltdowns on the racetrack that I’ve ever had. I guess I saw what that did to the team. All of the hard work that you put in to build the team up to get everybody pulling in the same direction, the confidence that you’ve built in everyone; you can tear it apart instantly with a bad stop. Or a bad race or a bad finish or whatever, you can just rip apart all the good that you have done. I noticed that and really started working on changing that and going back to the way I had the most success in my career.
“I can see Chad has changed our environment some. Chad is kind of going back down this road again. As a result we won at Dover, at Pocono. We should have won Michigan. There is something there, if the energy is right and everybody has a cool calm head you make better decisions throughout the course of the weekend. It leads to a better result. With that in mind after the race (Michigan) was over I had a minor meltdown in the car and didn’t push the radio button fortunately. Then I got out of the car and wanted to be mad and do all these things. I did some interviews and saw my crew guys and how bummed they were. You know why? Why make it any worse? Why say something stupid? Why say things that are going to tear the team down? It’s not going to do any good. So I went around and shook everybody’s hand and told them thank you and we’ll get’em next week.”
“It’s not good to tear the team down over that. There are times when I don’t do the right thing but in Michigan I was in the proper mind to do the right thing.”
Carl Edwards (No. 99 Ford)
Carl Edwards on racing at Chicagoland Speedway:
“We are coming off of solid race at Daytona where my guys did a great
job. I think we have the potential to do really well this weekend in
the Aflac Ford Fusion. Last year we were running away with the race and
we had a little trouble. The splitter broke and we ended up falling
back. We run really well at Chicago and I feel like there’s a good
chance for us to get our first win of the season there. If not a win,
our number one goal is to consistently be in the top five like we’ve
been running lately and gain some more points.”
Greg Biffle (No. 16 Ford)
Biffle to Return Home for Local Short-Track Race During Off-Weekend
During an upcoming off-weekend from his Sprint Cup duties driving the No. 16 3M Ford Fusion for Roush Fenway Racing, Greg Biffle will return home to the northwest for a 10-lap exhibition race at Sunset Speedway in Banks, Oregon. Sunset Speedway is a local dirt track just over 30 miles from Biffle’s hometown of Vancouver, Washington. The exhibition race will be part of the Saturday night racing events on July 18th and will also feature Biffle’s brother Jeff who is a regular at Sunset Speedway.
Biffle did not grow up dirt racing but made his debut at Sunset Speedway last year when he won the same 10-lap exhibition race.
“I am looking forward to going back to Sunset Speedway,” said Biffle. “It reminds me of the Saturday night races we used to go to when I was growing up. I never raced at Sunset when I started racing but a few of the guys I raced against back then will be racing next Saturday night. I’m definitely looking forward to racing some of them again.”
Tony Stewart (No. 14 Chevrolet)
Dwight Drum asked Tony Stewart:
Some might have doubted your move to ownership. Looking at your experience as a Sprint Cup team owner and your proven ability to adjust, that's erased some doubts. Did you have any doubts or were you eager to apply that ability to adjust then and use it going forward?
TONY STEWART:
"I was eager. I mean, I don't think if I didn't have the background of ownership with the USAC side, the World of Outlaw teams, I don't think I would have been as comfortable making the adjustment to the Cup side. But it's having a great owner like Joe Gibbs that I learned from for 12 years, being in his organization, having that experience at a smaller level.
"I think total between the USAC operation and the World of Outlaw teams, I don't think I have 15 people total there between those four teams. Down in Charlotte with the Cup team, we have 150 people. It's at a much larger level obviously.
"With that, I think I learned a little bit at the beginning with my open-wheel teams that have led to this. Having somebody like Joe Gibbs, to use his experience as a template for what to do, I used it building our open-wheel programs. Once we started having success there, that gave me the confidence that I might be able to make it work at this level, too."
Have there been any big surprises for you?
TONY STEWART:
"Not yet. I know there's going to be. It just hasn't happened in the first six weeks. I'm sure that something's gonna happen and the next time somebody asks me that question, I'm sure there's going to be something that has come up. So far it's been really nice and smooth, which has been the good part about it."
Kurt Busch (No. 2 Dodge )
Dwight Drum asked Kurt Busch:
Along the way to better results this year, I'm sure you weren't thinking that Kurt Busch has forgotten how to drive. What have been your thoughts as the good results happened? What were your thoughts as you went through the valley and finally see a peak at the end going into the rest of the year now?
"Well, it's been just a thought all along with the Car of Tomorrow, thinking that we couldn't get our front ends to turn right. They weren't reacting to our adjustments. We were struggling out on track. Knowing all along that, yeah, maybe sometimes you question yourself.
"But it's just think sitting in the seat, knowing that, man, the front ends just aren't turning. When that got back to the engineering department, the guys setting up the cars, when we could really sit down and think about it, we threw some ideas off the wall.
"When we didn't make the Chase, we were able to use those ideas, put them into race circumstances, and find out from there what we needed to do heading into 2009.
"So you got to bang your head up against the wall every now and then if you want to figure out what you need to do."
David Reutimann (No. 00 Toyota)
Dwight Drum asked David Reutimann:
David, you talked a lot about the happiness you've had this year. I'd like to add Tampa is happy with you. But do you attribute the happiness to the tough guy inside you overcoming the struggle, or has running better done it all for you?
David Reutimann:
"I think if you come out, and I think it's all in the way you look at things. I mean, we definitely struggled. So we know how bad it can be, how tough it is and how tough this business is.
"So that I think enables you to enjoy the good times when you're running well that much more, because you know how hard it is and you know how hard everybody had to work to get you to where you're running good because you've been on both ends of the deal.
"I think some guys who come into the sport and right away start in with an established team and off and running and have great stuff right from the beginning, they don't know-I don't think they appreciate it when they run as well as a team that's started from basically scratch and has run poorly in the past and now is running tremendously better than what we have and will continue to run better.
"I think it makes you as a driver and as a team appreciate the hard work and dedication everyone's put into this, lets you enjoy the good times that much more. That's what we have now. Although we appreciate that nothing's for certain and we have to keep working as hard as we have and making the big strides that we have to continue to run well, because it's fun to run well. And when you run well all you want to do is keep doing it. So the guys are working hard to enable us to do that."
Additionally, in general, do you think your confidence follows the good results, or does that confidence in a way cause the good results?
"I think-that's a tough question. I think the confident part is a lot of times results of how you're doing on the racetrack. Sometimes it's hard to be confident whenever you're not running well.
"You doubt yourself sometimes. You doubt what's been going on around you. I've been through all that. When it comes down to it, at the end of the day, if they give you a good piece to drive and everybody does their job, you can run well. Not only that, everything has to go well during the race, things have to fall your way no matter what team you're with.
"I feel like running well boosts your confidence and sometimes when you're not running well it's hard to be confident, at least for me."
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