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NASCAR MEDIA CONFERENCENovember 19, 2015Rick HendrickRICK HENDRICK: I've known Jeff for 23 years, and I've never seen him rattled, never seen him super nervous when a race starts, and always has control of what he thinks is happening in the race, and he's just gotten better and better with that as the years have gone on. So he knows what's on the line here for this one last shot, and I'm just really happy for him that we're in this position for him and for the team, Alan, and everyone. You know, you'd think sometimes along the way you'd see some remorse that he has because this is going to be it, but I haven't seen that. He's been enjoying the ride. He likes being with the fans, what the tracks have done for him, and it could have been a lot more, and he asked them not to do it, just let's get through the year. But he's had a‑‑ he's really enjoyed himself, and that's part that's kept all of us loose because he hadn't been emotional, he hadn't been emotional at a track. This is the last time I'll be here, whether at Daytona, Talladega, Martinsville. I think you saw how he acted when he got out of the car at Martinsville. He's having a really good time, and that race meant a lot to him because he knew that would put him in this situation at Homestead. He's always blown me away how he handles things, good, bad, anything that comes along. He seems to be able to take it in stride. He's done a good job this year because I never thought it would be this smooth. Q. He said earlier that he looked at you like a father figure. How would you describe him? RICK HENDRICK: You know, I don't know whether he's like a younger brother or a son, but it's both the same. He's family to me. I love him like he was my brother or my son. He has been there for me, and I've been there for him. When you can deal with a professional athlete and you can go 23 years and you don't need a lawyer, you can take a handshake, and we've never had a disagreement, I think that's tremendous respect for each other. He's a rare commodity. I mean, he will do anything‑‑ I've never asked him to do anything. Sometimes I'll walk up at the most awkward moment and say, I need you to sign this or I need you to let this person take a picture, and he'll always accommodate it, and he spoils you because he's so easy. I'm just thankful that we're going to still be together and still do things together, hopefully do more together, and he'll have time and maybe I can slow down, he can help me take a load off of me, but he's just special, and I couldn't care for anybody any more than I do for Jeff Gordon. I'm just so thankful, as much as I love racing, that I got to race with him, that I didn't have to race against him. But more than the wins, the friendship means the most to me, and so he's a unique guy. I mean, never anything about money, just‑‑ he's just special. Q. He wanted to leave earlier. If he wins this championship, do you get to take any credit for talking him into staying an extra year or two? RICK HENDRICK: I take all the credit. What do you mean some of the credit? Yeah, he wanted to go probably a year ago, before last year even, and last year was such a good year for him. It was such a disappointment for us because he led the points, and had they not had that caution in Texas, he'd have been first seed in this race, and he was leading the race, and we would have gambled differently on tires, and should have, could have, would have, but he had a real shot to win the championship last year. I'm glad he came back. I'm glad he‑‑ I talked him into it. But you know, he was kind of borderline before, but last year he said, now look, this is it. I know it's time. It's what I want to do, taking his family into consideration, and when he told me that, I mean‑‑ before it was kind of a would you take, and this time it was like, look, I've got my kids, I'm missing soccer games, I'm missing being with them on the weekends, and it's time. So at that point‑‑ I did kid him coming home Sunday night on Phoenix week. He flew home with me, and I said, how about doing just one more year, and he said, no. But it's been special. Q. When you look back, when you think about what motorsports was and what NASCAR was when he first arrived to what they both are now, can you try to quantify for us the value that this man has brought into this sport and how he has changed the sport over his era? RICK HENDRICK: Yeah, I think when you look at the cover of Fortune or Regis & Kelly and the fans that he brings to the track, the people that didn't know NASCAR but they saw him on TV and they read about him, he opened up a whole new world of fan base to us, to the sport of NASCAR. But he connects with everybody. He connects with young, old, male, female. You know, he's been‑‑ he never did anything to alienate anyone. The only reason they didn't like him is because he won too much. But he's never been disrespectful to anyone or any driver. He created such a role model or a total package, it's hard to think you can replace him, you know, because he was so smart, and he could do things that‑‑ I've seen him go to the World Auto Show and walk out and have a script and read it one time and put it in his pocket and walk out and nail it. He's just got all that talent. But I think more than anything, he opened the door for young drivers that weren't from the Southeast, they were open‑wheel guys from California that wanted to get into our sport, because once he started having success, everybody was looking for the next Jeff Gordon, if you remember all the folks that came in behind him. So a lot of these drivers owe him a lot, the fact that he was the young guy that we took a shot at and took a chance on and what he did for the sport. Q. Speaking of scripts, have you allowed yourself to even think of what it might be like for him to end his career winning this race and this championship? RICK HENDRICK: You know, that's going to be an emotion that'll happen‑‑ I think we'll all go bananas. It'll be just like what you saw at Martinsville on steroids, because everybody will be so proud and happy for him and the fact that he can ‑‑ and some of you guys are the ones that said it to me early; it's a walk‑off home run, and I don't know how it could get any sweeter than to see a guy, especially for me, that meant so much to me personally, to our organization, could end his career that way. It would just be a fairy‑tale story. I think it would be probably the biggest championship won in the last I don't know how many years. I don't ever remember an athlete doing that. I don't remember him‑‑ kind of a single‑handedly, whether a tennis champion or someone like that, a golf champion, to win it all and just walk away. Q. Would it be the biggest for him? RICK HENDRICK: Well, I think it would have to rank up there as‑‑ when you start thinking about your first, Jimmie winning five in a row, all that is important, but if you think about what one individual has meant to so many, and for him to go out, I would say it would be the most important one we've ever won. Q. You've got three other teammates, as well. How much can they do Sunday to help him? RICK HENDRICK: You know, there's really not a lot that they‑‑ the way they can help him, the crew chiefs and all the teams helped him work and share information leading up to this race, because once they get into the race he's got to beat four cars, and these four cars are probably the cars that are going to‑‑ the three cars are going to be cars that are going to be going for the win. So our guys can't really help him other than I would think they don't race him as hard as they would race anybody else, but our guys don't race‑‑ they race pretty clean anyway. There's not a lot they can do on the track to help him. All the help that we can give him will happen before the car rolls out on the grid Sunday. Q. How different is this modern version of Kyle Busch in terms of maturity and development than the one that worked for you? RICK HENDRICK: Kyle is‑‑ I still think an awful lot of Kyle. We talk, and he has matured so much. He's matured a ton after his accident, and he's a very smart driver. He's always been a very fast driver. He was always a guy that could drive it over the edge and hang on to it, and now what you see is a driver that is a very smart driver, and if he's got a fifth‑place car, he'll run fifth, and I'll tell you, Kyle Busch will probably win a lot of championships because he's‑‑ basically what I'm talking about is learning how to race and race for points, and he's done a really good job because he had to this year to get himself in this position. But Kyle is‑‑ I've watched him‑‑ if a car comes up on him and it's faster, he lets them go. He doesn't race them. And then he'll come back and run them back down. And people will give him breaks because he gives them breaks. Kyle has developed into a very smart driver, and he's going to be very dangerous in the years to come because of his‑‑ the way he races these days. Q. Is that just an element of time, overcoming things, learning? RICK HENDRICK: Yeah, I think some people figure it out quicker than others, and some people never figure it out. But he's done a great job. To come from where he's come from this year, pretty remarkable to have the streak that he put together with the pressure under him to‑‑ what he had to do to get in this thing. Q. It seems like it's been a while since you guys announced Chase is going to be Jeff's successor. How ready do you feel he is, especially after getting another year of seasoning in the XFINITY Series? RICK HENDRICK: Yeah, Chase is ready. He's mentally tougher than any kid I've seen his age, and I don't‑‑ at his age, all the drivers I've seen before, Jeff included, made more mistakes than Chase makes. I think he's ready. His dad has done a good job with him. We've raced with him now for three or four years. What he did a year ago in the XFINITY Series was phenomenal, and he's had another good year this year with some bad luck. But still, he's learning, but he's a sponge for getting better and asking questions and learning from experience. So I'm super‑excited about Chase. Q. When you look back, from vetting Jeff until now, what's been the most important critical decision you've made along that period of time? RICK HENDRICK: Signing him up with no sponsor. You know, it's really hard when you see somebody that's young and you know you're not going to be able to sell them to someone because they don't have a track record, but I just had that much confidence in Jeff. And thankfully NAPA had the same‑‑ we talked NAPA into doing Chase in the Nationwide Series, so if we hadn't done that, it would have been hard to move him into the Cup Series. But I'd have to go back and say that being so impressed with Jeff Gordon as a talent that you're willing to go out on a limb with no sponsor and sign him up and guarantee him a full season, that was the biggest chance I ever took with him, but it's also the best reward I've ever gotten is being able to race with Jeff Gordon and be able to see him win his 93 races and all the poles and all the championships and kind of bring Jimmie Johnson along, bring him out of his shop, give him his cars and get him started. I've been very, very fortunate to have Jeff Gordon in our system. Q. What similarities do you see between Jeff and Tim Richmond? They were both really unique personalities that came into the sport and you were there for both of them. RICK HENDRICK: Tim Richmond had unbelievable talent. I mean, he had as much raw talent as anyone I've ever seen get in a car. I saw the same thing with Jeff when I watched him in Atlanta that day. Tim was a happy‑go‑lucky, fun‑loving, just live life to the fullest kind of guy. Jeff is more focused, and he was career‑minded, and he knew where he wanted to go. Both of them had tremendous talent. If Tim had lived, I think we'd be celebrating more championships than we are today. Q. Do you have any best advice for Jeff and the team as far as winning the championship? RICK HENDRICK: You know, just go out and do what you know how to do. Jeff Gordon has been there so many times in these kind of situations. Nothing like this situation, but he's not the kind of guy you've got to try to calm down or get his nerves put together. He's actually working on the team, keeping them calm to go through this stretch here. But just enjoy it. I mean, he deserves to really enjoy it, and I think he's planning‑‑ he's got a ton of people coming to the race, and you know, some folks would‑‑ in that situation would say, I don't want anybody around here. I want to be by myself, don't get close to me, and he's wanting all of his friends to enjoy it with him. So he's just taking it in stride. I think that's a sign of his confidence, that he can do that and still do what he needs to do in the car. Q. So who's more nervous, you or him? RICK HENDRICK: Well, I'm not nervous right now, so ask me Sunday when they crank the engines up. It'll probably be‑‑ I'll probably be more nervous than he will be, because he's Cool Hand Luke when it comes to getting in that car, and I've watched him over all the years with everything on the line, and look at him in the car, and he seems to be relaxed. So we'll see. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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