Sunday, August 3, 2003

Q: (Inaudible)

MATT KENSETH: We're out here to try to win races. We did everything we could to try to win the race, and we came up a little bit short. If it would have went green, I think Robby definitely had the strategy to win, and I think we would have been in good shape. When we put tires on our car, it was really, really fast in traffic, and we worked on that really hard yesterday. I thought we had a good car; it just seemed like we had to come from behind an awful lot today, but coming out of here finishing second, is a great effort. I would have loved to have a little more time to catch Kevin, because I know we had a little better tires than he did, but he got away to such a big lead when we were jockeying around with the 31 car trying to get around.

Q: (Inaudible)

KENSETH: Well, he (Robby Gordon) blocked Jamie really bad, but I don't think it had anything to do with his teammate being in the lead, I think he would have done the same thing no matter who was leading to try to finish second at Indy. So I think he was doing everything he could to protect his position, and we were doing everything we could to try to take it. So he didn't do anything dirty or overstepping his bounds or anything like that. You just knew it was going to be tough to get around him with 10 to go as it would be with anybody.

Q: At the restart where you and Jamie fell back, what happened there?

KENSETH: You have to be more specific. I don't know, where we fell back?

Q: (Inaudible).

KENSETH: Yeah, we didn't really fall back. I think the second-to-the-last start, they restarted -- you know, everybody had old tires, there was a whole bunch of cars on the tail end of the lead lap because we stayed out and they pitted. So they lined up four on the inside, four on the outside. And 77 got a bad start, he went into Turn 1, and his car wouldn't turn and got real high. We all kind of checked up to give everybody a little breathing room, and 31 come blasting through there three wide. We thought there was going to be a wreck, so I had to get out of it and him and the 41 slammed together about three or four times and the 31 just kind of muscled his way in there. So it was a tense moment because everybody was restarting on old tires, and I was trying to take it a little bit easy through there, and the 31 just pounced on it wide open to get whatever he could.

MODERATOR: I've been handed a piece of paper here. We do have with us Matt Kenseth, who came in second. He is the current Winston Cup points leader. Matt's previous best Brickyard 400 finish was third in 2002. You have seven Winston Cup wins with your most recent being Las Vegas in March of 2003.

Q: Matt, Jamie caught lightning in the bottle last year, he was very much in the hunt today in the lead. He was, I think, in the top five yesterday in both practice sessions. What's your impressions of him?

KENSETH: Who are you talking about?

Q: Jamie McMurray.

KENSETH: Yesterday after all the practices, I knew last night going to bed in the motor home that he was the guy to beat today unless something happened. So looking at everybody's time and looking over the time sheets that the computers keep for all of us, he was by far the fastest car in the final practice yesterday. So he had a great car all day. I was surprised we could even run with him. At the end we had a little better tire to get around him. But he had a great car today, Tony had a great car today, I thought pretty equal to ours. The 42 on even ground with no pit strategy, go out and see who can go the fastest, he definitely, my thought, today had the best car.

Q: Matt, you talked about playing catch-up all day, was there a reason you were behind early on in the day?

KENSETH: Yeah, what really happened, the first run we made, a lot of people pitted early under green and the fuel thing and all the pit strategy things have been so whacky lately that we wanted to make sure we could run to at least Lap 37. If we could do that, we could make it on three stops, the race on three stops in case it went green the whole race. So we were trying really hard to do that. We were still out there when whatever happened on pit road happened. And we ran under caution for a long time running second and thought we were going to run out of gas. So we had to pit when the pits were closed; and because we did that we had to start on the tail end of the lead lap, and that got a lot of us quite a ways behind early.

MODERATOR: Also joining us in the Trackside Press Conference Room is the third-place finisher, he's also the highest finishing rookie in the race, Jamie McMurray. This is Jamie's first Brickyard 400 start. Won his first Winston Cup race at Charlotte in October of 2002. We'll continue with questions.

Q: Matt, you gained a few points on two and three again today, and Jeff Gordon and Dale Jr. keep waiting for you to have a bad day and they keep having worse days than you. Are you beginning to feel sort of in a zone yourself at this point?

KENSETH: I don't really feel in a zone, but I do feel fortunate we made it to the end of all these places. I feel really great coming out of here today second. A lot of people -- I shouldn't say a lot of people, but some people have been saying the last few weeks our finishes haven't been as good as maybe they have been in previous. And we have been finishing 12th and 13th and ninth and seventh and stuff like that. So I was happy to be a front-runner today. I think Jamie had the car to beat all day long. But I felt like we had at least a third-place car all day and ran competitively and called the race in a competitive manner, and I think we drove it as hard as we could drive it. That's how we've been approaching it all year. Just go out and do the best we can. You know, real thankful for the finishes we had, but we've still do have a lot of racing to do, and we've got to keep it up.

Q: Continuing on that a little bit, Matt, in a sport where victory seems to be the end-all, you don't seem to -- the fact that you're not winning, is that a frustration at all or do you get a measure of comfort from the fact that even though you're not winning, you're still padding that lead and you're going down to that million-dollar deal at the end of the year?

KENSETH: Yeah, I mean there's somewhat of a frustration of not winning. I feel like today we did everything we can. Even though we got ahead of Jamie at the end, I don't think we had the car to win today. There's been a few times this year where I felt we had the car to beat, and we didn't get it done and we didn't win the race. So that's part of it. I really want to get back to Victory Lane soon; but on the other hand, I'm very thankful for how we've been running. Only two years ago we couldn't run in the top 20 hardly to save our life in 2001. I'm real thankful for the year we had last year and the year we've been having this year. I've been sitting in competitive equipment each and every week. If we do all the right things with it, we're going to have our opportunities to win races.

Q: Matt, we kind of listened in on your radio a little bit, and it sounded like you were trying to go through all the strategy that was going through, with so many cars it seemed like everybody was on a different strategy of some kind. Could you talk about how difficult that was today maybe more so than other races?

KENSETH: I don't know, I just need to shut up and drive the car probably. (Laughter) The last few weeks have been so frustrating, actually about the last month and a half because the racing has just been so different than what it used to be. It used to be you would come in and run until you need gas, you come and get four tires and go race. Now it's people are stopping under green, and you can't figure out why they're doing it, getting gas to go to the end in case there's a caution. I didn't understand the strategy at all at the end of the race. I was trying to figure out after Jamie pitted, we were leading and like the 12 and all them guys came in and got gas and go to get track position but they're a lap down. So I didn't figure it out, if the caution came out, they were a lap down. But after Jamie pitted, then I was nervous because I knew if the caution came out, he was going to be on the lead lap, I was going to have to pit and he was going to be in front of me. So just trying to figure out all the scenarios, and this track is big enough where you can kind of think about that. So I've been driving Robbie (Reiser) crazy the last month because I've been second-guessing everything he's been doing and making sure we're doing the right thing. It didn't seem like things have been working out the last few weeks, but he had it under control even if it worked out. Even if we got the caution, we still had decent track position. If we didn't get the caution, I think we were in really good shape because we were just going to try to get gas at the end, and we actually were running about the same times as what Jamie was running after he pitted and got the two tires just because we were in front of the whole field. So Robbie knew what he was doing, and he did a great job calling the race.

MODERATOR: Matt, sit tight. Let's get a few words from Jamie here. Jamie, your first Brickyard 400 and finished third place, just talk about your impressions from this first Brickyard 400 from your seat.

JAMIE McMURRAY: We felt like after happy hour last night that we were going to have a good car today. But we struggled with -- this year we've had good cars but not at the right time in the race to maybe keep up with the adjustments. But today we didn't really have to adjust a lot, and I really felt like we had the best car until about the last 20 laps. The two tires just, I don't know, didn't really -- they made me a little bit tight, but more than anything, it just took grip away it felt like. Like Matt said, I felt like we were better than him, a tenth a lap until we put the two tires on. Then when he pitted and came out, he was about the same as us. So I felt like if the caution didn't come out, we were being in good shape but I was a little bit worried if it did.

Q: Can you just talk about how it seems like pit strategy has almost taken over the last month of racing. Can you just talk about the different calls and what you've seen, how you've seen it evolve?

KENSETH: Talking to me?

Q: Yes, sir.

KENSETH: Just wanted to make sure. I didn't want to answer his question. There's a few reasons for it, and to me, it's a little frustrating as a driver when you're running good and have a good-handling car. It's not frustrating for the guys who get to take chances and get out front and maybe win a race when they don't have the best car. The way it is, a lot of times the best car won't necessarily win, there's several reasons for it. NASCAR has these cars so incredibly close. The 43 cars are just so close to the same speed, and that makes it difficult to pass. It makes it, you know, better if you're out front. It's not like we got the aero rules all screwed up and you can't pass, that's not the reason. The reason is because competition is so tight. Another reason for that is Goodyear does such a great job on the tires that the times hardly drop off. Today it maybe dropped off a second at the most. If you had a tire that dropped off three seconds or two seconds, everybody would get four tires every single time and if somebody didn't, they would be a sitting duck. You would drive by them like they were tied to a tree. The rules are so close and the cars are running real close to the same speed and the tires are such a good tire that getting four isn't as big an advantage as it has been three years ago. Three years ago, if you didn't get four tires, you were going to get killed. Those are the reasons for it. If you're out front, it's just the place to be at the end.

Q: Jamie, can you talk about the restart where you got pinned up behind Blaney's car? Do you know what happened to the 77 and just the traffic and all that stuff -- I mean, the 400-mile race comes down to going into one turn basically on that restart, right?

McMURRAY: Yeah, I don't know what happened. The outside groove was really slick, and you wanted to get down to the bottom, but the 77 had run well pretty much all day, so I was kind of committed to staying in that line. It was all a pretty good group of cars, at least the outside line looked better than the inside. I don't know, when we got down there, he didn't go and then I think Robby picked me up off the ground, and I couldn't turn. I was stuck there, I couldn't go down; I couldn't go up. I was hoping he didn't spin me out. I think it was Robby. Pretty sure it was. Just judging off his past, I'm pretty sure it was Robby. (Laughter) Don't print that because he'll wreck me or something in a week.

KENSETH: Just glad it was your quote.

McMURRAY: Then the 29 and those guys got by. The restart was -- I was out of control. I couldn't go; I couldn't do anything. I was just kind of stuck behind him.

MODERATOR: We've had Matt for a while. Any more questions for Matt before we cut him loose? Any more questions for Matt? Matt, congratulations. Good run. We'll continue with Jamie. More questions?

Q: Another question. At New Hampshire on Sunday morning of the race, Len Wood told me and another reporter that the fastest car they saw here at the test was the 42 car. And I'll admit, we didn't believe him.

McMURRAY: That's my friend.

Q: Was it that test, did you guys find something that you knew coming here that you thought it was going to be pretty good? Can you talk about that test?

McMURRAY: We had one car, the car I ran so well at California, Chicago, always ran well with it. We brought it here to test with this car. It's a brand-new car. This car was a little bit better than the car we had always run well with. I don't know, I mean this car -- it's a really good race car is what I am trying to get at. Our first day of testing we didn't run very well. In the last three hours of the second day, I won't tell you what we did, but we found something that I mean not just at this racetrack, it worked at Pocono last week, too, and just hit on something. At the test we were not really good on a get-go, but we didn't fall off at all. And so I felt, yeah, I felt really good coming back here. It's going to be hard to believe but we haven't changed -- I mean we changed two front shocks from the time that we've unloaded. Even throughout the whole race, I don't think we -- we didn't change anything through the whole race. So yeah, I would say that test is a lot of good. This is an intimidating racetrack; it's so much different than anything else we run on. Testing here for a rookie is crucial.

Q: Jamie, in light of what you did last year in just your second start, there you were today in great contention, did you allow your mind to think about -- what were your thoughts possibly winning this race?

McMURRAY: Honestly, once I got to the lead, I knew we had a really good car the whole race. I felt like we had the best car for most of the race just judging off Donnie reading my lap times. I knew if I could get out front, you're always faster when you can get out front. So I thought if I can get there, we're going to be in really good shape. I got to give kudos to my pit crew, too, because I had the best pit crew, I felt, today. We beat the 17 car out twice, and they have one the best pit crews in Winston Cup. So my guys helped me a lot. Really, once I got out to the lead, I struggled staying focused just trying to take in where we're at and what was happening and the fact that I was getting further away from him. It was really hard to take all that in and stay focused. At one point I kind of got grumpy at Donnie because he talked to me. I was like, "Don't talk to me." And then next moment, "Talk to me now." I was going crazy, guys. I was really struggling to stay focused and do what I need to do. This is a huge race, and I mean, I can't imagine being able to win it my first time here.

Q: You said this is an intimidating track, you mean physically intimidating or hard to figure out or just what do you mean?

McMURRAY: Well, it's Indianapolis.

Q: You didn't look very intimidated today.

McMURRAY: There's so much history behind this racetrack and especially for our race team with Chip having such a big background in open wheel. He obviously wants to win here. There are just a lot of factors that lead into this. It's not like anywhere else we race. Somewhat like Pocono, I think that's an intimidating racetrack because it's not like anywhere that we go to race at. It's a different shape. Everybody -- a lot of guys test here and they really want to do well at this race. So to me to run well at a race like this, I mean, it just shows you've got a really good team and everything went your way because a lot of guys try to run well here. When we got to Watkins Glen next week, some guys will go test there, but people just don't focus on those races as much as what they're going to focus on Daytona and the Brickyard.

Q: Can you talk about how your relationship has evolved with Donnie Wingo?

McMURRAY: Well, I mean I really feel like he's probably the most underrated crew chief in Winston Cup. The guy always seems to make the right call. And he's really good, I mean a crew chief is a leader, and my whole race team really respects him in that Donnie is not the kind of guy that just stands on top of the trailer and yells down do this. He'll just come down and do it. Not because he doesn't trust them, because he likes working on race cars. My whole team respects him for that and I do. It's weird, because with Donnie, there's such an age difference -- my dad is back there, I have to be careful how I word this -- but it's almost like a father figure to me. I don't joke around about girls with Donnie, and I don't joke around about girls with my dad, you just don't. I look at Donnie as more like a father. He's just really excited. We have meetings every week at Ganassi and that's not an issue. I feel really blessed to have him.

MODERATOR: Jamie, congratulations in your inaugural run here. Congratulations.

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