NASCAR MEDIA CONFERENCE

August 31, 2004

Jeff Gordon

JEFF GORDON: First, I'd like to say thanks. You know, you really never know exactly what it is that attracts you to a place or racetrack or what makes the car work so well other than the total team effort. But I think our success earlier this year at California is when we really started to find the horsepower underneath the hood. I'm really looking forward to going back there. I felt like we had a great run. But a lot of things have changed since then. We're going to be under the lights a little bit there towards the end of the race. But, you know, it's a good track for us. I think it's a great place for us to get another victory and continue some momentum going into those last 10.

JEFF GORDON: I think, you know, the guys are definitely -- you're going to start seeing the aggressive driving, you know, a little bit more risk-taking going on because everybody knows that if you're in the Top 10, that you've got a shot at the championship. It's not just getting into the Top 10 anymore; it's getting into the Top 10 to race for that championship. You know, I think that you're definitely going to see guys, and there are so many guys that are still capable of getting in there, that you're going to see them really, you know, pushing the limits of the car. I think the teams are going to be pushing the limits, you know, with setups, horsepower, gearing and everything. You know, California's a varied track, it's really wide, a lot of room to pass. You know, it's not like a Bristol where you've got to push and shove guys out of the way. I think you ought to really start to see this championship unfold, especially for those guys that are trying to get in that Top 10.

JEFF GORDON: I think, you know, there's any number of guys. I would say right now that the Evernham cars are the ones that I'm a bit surprised they're not in the Top 10, if you look at their earlier success in the season, and how strong they can be at times. I mean, Mark Martin has been coming on strong, as well. There are definitely some guys back there. I don't have the list in front of me to really go through it, but I think there's a lot of guys that I'm surprised they're not in the Top 10 and also if they get in the Top 10 can ultimately, you know, be a threat for the championship. I mean, the 10 guys that are in there now, there's probably another six or eight guys that aren't in it that I really think could get on a streak in those 10 races and be a threat. There's a bunch of them.

JEFF GORDON: You know, as a team owner, if you're looking at where you're positioned and how you're going to win a championship, I think, you know, if you've got teams out there that don't have a shot at it, and they can help you either get into that Top 10 or really be yourself in a position to win the championship, I think there absolutely could be some team orders. But team orders to what extent is the real question. I don't think you're going to have team orders for some guy to take one or another competitor out of the race or anything like that. I think it's just going to be maybe different type of testing schedules, if they hit on something that weekend, you know, how they can transfer that over to another team. If they're out there racing, how they can, you know, help the other one get more positions or earn more points, things like that. It's hard to say exactly how those team orders would be given.

JEFF GORDON: No, because to me, you know, I want to gain momentum going into those last 10. I mean, I want people to be focused on us and not on themselves. I mean, I was excited that we were on the pole at Bristol and took off there early. We were doing everything we could to win the race. You know, we got behind. We had a decent car. I mean, I was disappointed that we finished 14th. I felt like we had a top five car. The reason, you know, that we want to finish in the top five right now is just we're competitive and we race, you know, for the best position possible, and we also want to keep the momentum going. It's not about, you know, really just leading the points right now; it's about carrying momentum into those last 10 to build confidence in ourselves and kind of put a statement out there, as well.

JEFF GORDON: Well, it doesn't pay anything, and there's no trophy that I know of. It only means five points really basically. You know, I'll take every point that I can get. We would love to be leading, just to have every little bit of an advantage. But it really doesn't mean anything right now because I truly believe, you know, if you're 10th in points going into that 27th race, and you're 45 points behind the leader, you certainly aren't in a bad position, and certainly have a shot at winning.

JEFF GORDON: Yeah, if I have any comment on the points system, you know, versus what we've had in the past, I think it's exciting that we're going to have this 10-race shootout, and we've got 10 guys that can win. I think that's great. But I think it needs to be spread out a little bit more between all the positions. I think the leader needs, you know, to have some reward for what he's done all year long and not just the leader, but the guys that are second, third, fourth and fifth, as well. Those guys have earned the right all year long, you know, to be in that position and then you're going to, you know, take it all away from them and it's only going to be a five-point difference between them. I just wish that it was maybe a 10- or 15-point difference between everybody so that guy that earns the right to be in the chase for the Top 10, the guy that is 10th in points, 9th in points, he's got to work -- he's still got a shot at that championship when it's all over. He's got to work, you know, extremely hard and do everything right. Right now I think the way it is is the 10th-place guy, if the other guy is if the top two or three or four guys have problems, he's right in the thick of it. That's my only real concern or comment on it.

JEFF GORDON: Well, I mean, it's what we strive for. I mean, as a four-time champion, you know, our team only knows one thing, and that's to go for championships. Second, third, fourth, fifth is certainly not going to mean that we had a horrible season, but it's not what our goals are and what we feel like we're capable of. One interesting thing is that I've learned that Richard Petty and his seven championships, six of them were under different points systems. You know, I think things are going to change over time when you're in this sport, in this series for a long time. The points are going to change. All that really matters at the end of the day is whose name is on that trophy. We want to make sure our name and our team is the one on this trophy. I think it will be exciting. The sport is growing, it's changing. I love the fact that we won the championship when the networks took over the sport. I think it would be awesome to win the championship now that NEXTEL has taken over.

JEFF GORDON: Well, I think that those guys have been in the sport, have been a lot for this sport, and have been very successful. I think you're going to start seeing that. There's definitely a list of guys right now that are probably considering, if you look at how long they've been in the sport, what they've accomplished, where they're at in their lives. I think the way the sport is right now, as intense as it is, as competitive as it is, I think the age that you see guys hanging it up or retiring, it's certainly going to start to go down. It's just interesting that we've got a lot of guys in that group right now that are considering it, and a lot of young, new faces that are coming up.

JEFF GORDON: (Laughter). I mean, I laugh all the time when you hear people say, "This is the best driver, that's the best driver." I don't think there's really any way, you know, to compare or to really find out what makes one better than another. It's the whole combination. You know, I've always said I'm fine if I'm not considered the best or if I'm not the best driver. But as long as I'm getting the victory and the statistics at the end of the day, whether it's because my team is better, my engines are better, my car's better or I'm better, doesn't really matter to me. So I really never try to analyze that. What I work on and what we work on as a team is to have the best group of individuals, the best race cars, the best engines, the best combination of things that we possibly can get to go out there and be competitive and first, in position every single weekend. I mean, I would say that when you get to this level, you've got the skills and talent it takes to win. It's all about just positioning yourself with the team. I don't know. I'd say that, you know, there is certainly some talent that you have to have, but I don't know if there's any one thing that I can think of that separates one driver from the next. There might be some skills. For me, I think experience certainly is paying off right now. But I think, you know, you've got to build confidence in your team, you've got to have it in them, they've got to have it in you. When you have that, it certainly separates you from the rest.

JEFF GORDON: Well, I've been racing since I was six years old (laughter). I don't think that any of the rest of it came first. But, you know, my mom and my stepfather, who got me into racing, they deserve a lot of credit for a lot of things. I mean, obviously they put me in the race car. Along the way, for whatever reason, they had me in front of cameras. There were a couple of kids' TV shows that followed me at the racetrack when I was younger. I didn't say two words to them when they were there. Over time, as I got more comfortable with it, and my parents worked with me on it, you know, I started sort of speaking, and now I can't stop (laughter).

JEFF GORDON: Well, it's clear as to what the situation is. It's unclear as to the judgment call that was made. Basically when you get the lucky dog rule, you come in, make the pit stop, then you go tail the longest line. There's a gray area on the tail end of the longest line because there's some cars that may have damage or wrecked that don't want to pull up. There's some guys that may be several laps down. Who knows what their reasoning is for not wanting to be up at the front of the field. Plus Bristol is a half-mile racetrack, things are happening in a hurry. When they threw the one to go, I felt like I gave ample time, you know, and allowed the cars behind me to pull up and pass me so I could get to the tail end of the longest line. As we got to the back straightaway, there were a lot of cars behind me that were not pulling up, were not passing me. Then Kyle Petty waved me by him, Dale Jarrett waved my by him. The guy in the pit, the inspector in the pit said, somebody waves you by or there's cars that are damaged behind you, it's okay to go ahead of them. Now, that's the way I looked at it on the racetrack. I felt like I was in good shape. But NASCAR felt like there were an awful lot of cars behind me that I didn't give that opportunity to. That's where the dispute was. It's over with now. Next time I'll just stop out there on the front straightaway, make sure every single car goes by me, and hopefully I'm not in that position again in the future anyway.

JEFF GORDON: Well, yeah, I mean, I think there are some times where exceptions are made. You've got to make adjustments. I mean, I definitely know as we've made some changes with when we enter pit road, the whole lucky dog rule - they don't call it the lucky dog rule, but just that rule - I think my big thing was, let's just get it done before these last 10 races. Let's get it in effect, practice with it, so when we get in those last 10, we don't have any miscommunication. I'm glad this happened to me now and not those last 10, because those last 10 is when everything is going to be so intense and on the line and we can't have mistakes being made by our team or by NASCAR.

JEFF GORDON: It's spectacular, isn't it? I love it (laughter). But, you know, I see an awful lot of red shirts up there. I think that pretty much says it all. It just depends on the fan base that's there at the racetrack. Dale, Jr. has a tremendous fan base there. His father had a tremendous fan base there, a lot of tracks in the south. I think if there are people that are booing, they're booing because you're not their guy. If they are as avid about their driver as my fans are about me, then they're going to pull against you instead of pull for you. That's the only way I know how to describe it.

JEFF GORDON: Well, to me it's one of the biggest races of the season, so that was huge. I mean, that is a tough track to win on, it says a lot about your race team, where they're at at that point in the season, where your focus is, how good your race cars are. To me that win not only came at a good time, but an incredible place. I think that definitely is going back to the momentum that I talked about. That type of effort is something that really has put us in gear to really be up there for that championship.

JEFF GORDON: I've always just thought of it one at a time. I want to get number five. We've got a lot to run for the drive for five. I can't think about seven till I get to six. I can't think about six till I get to five. I can't really say it is right now. That's too farfetched for me to think about. I mean, we got three right away. You look at how fast we got through, you go, "Oh, man, on your way." But you don't realize how difficult it is to get each championship. You never know when the next one's going to come.

JEFF GORDON: I was in - where was I - Grand Cayman. I was on a vacation and the resort that I stayed at offered, you know, a course to do scuba diving. Plus Grand Cayman is well-known for their scuba diving. I went there, like a three-, four-hour course that they do. You go with a guide and go scuba diving. I thought it was cool to be underwater breathing. I did the dive and just saw how amazing it is 40, 50 feet below the surface of the water, the life that's down there, the beautiful colors. I think there was also a shipwreck that we were looking at, too. There's also in the Grand Cayman a place where you get to swim with a bunch of stingrays. It was an amazing first experience for me. I went and got certified shortly after that and have been hooked ever since.

JEFF GORDON: To me, swimming with the sharks is a lot safer than the racing (laughter). I think that was probably, I don't know, six or seven years ago I'm guessing. It probably was around -- it might have been longer, '94, '95, something like that. To me, it's just a relaxing, fun experience for me to do in my off time. I don't think it has much to do with what I do on the weekends.

JEFF GORDON: Well, I mean, the way I look at it is, you know, I think the whole points system has drawn a lot of attention and has kept things very exciting, which is good for the sport. You certainly have got to recognize that. You've got to recognize the fact right now there's probably more focus on the guys that are trying to get in the Top 10 than even the guys that are at the front of the points - unless they're battling for the win. I think that's going to be the case going into those last 10 races, and certainly at Richmond as well. There's going to be a lot of focus on trying to get in the Top 10, there's going to be a lot of focus on who is trying to win the race. If you look, in the past, we were in the same situation, most of the attention would be on the points leader who is racing for the championship, and basically who's in the Top 10 in points anyway. If you're outside the Top 10, it's not the points system's fault, and you don't blame the television coverage because you're not getting your exposure for your sponsor. You've got to look back on what you did all year long to put yourself in that position. If you're in that position, then you better do something spectacular towards the end of the season to try to get some exposure. You better be leading a lot of laps, winning races, doing things like that. I really don't see it being that much different other than it's going to be exciting and draw more attention for the sport in general.

JEFF GORDON: I think 10 is plenty (laughter). I mean, I think that we need to spread the points out more between even the Top 10. I definitely don't -- I mean, it doesn't matter to me how many people we have in it, but I think we certainly need to spread those points out. I think that five points in between those ten is not enough. Of course, that's because I'm, you know, up towards the front, not 10th. You know, I don't think so. I think some years 400 is going to work, other years 400 is going to seem too low. But, no, I think there should be 10, I really do.

JEFF GORDON: You mean the guys that are outside?

JEFF GORDON: You know, I don't think -- I really don't think that 400 number is realistic because even if something happens to me, it's probably not going to happen to Jimmie Johnson and Dale, Jr. I think those guys, all three of us together, especially me and Jimmie right now, are going to keep it probably tough to get that 400, to the 400 mark. I think it's really more just about getting to the 10th place.

JEFF GORDON: Well, track temperature is everything at a racetrack, especially at California. You know, it's a big track, the corners are big. You know, when you put -- you take the sundown, cool that track temperature off, have the track run under the lights, then the characteristics of the track are definitely going to change. I think it's a great way to do it. Wish it was on Saturday, not Sunday, but I think it should be a very exciting race, and I do think that things will change. We see that at Charlotte at the 600, we see it at other tracks that we go to, as well, that when the lights come on, it definitely changes the characteristics, and should make for an exciting race. I agree.

JEFF GORDON: Well, I think what Robbie is so good at is delegating out to make sure we put the best effort, best race car we possibly can out there. He's so good at working with the people. You know, I think the reason why Robbie came to work for us, that was a tough decision for him to leave Petty Enterprises, he thought the world of Richard, that family, he was part of their family, but he saw the resources that Hendrick Motorsports has, an opportunity to put a championship-caliber team and winning race cars out there week in and week out. I think he steadily has improved on, you know, each and every year, is just building the communication with myself and the rest of the team, building a relationship with him. It goes back to that confidence that we talked about. When you go to a racetrack and you feel like you can win, then you got a better shot at it. That confidence continues to carry momentum week in and week out. Based on our performance earlier in the year, we're definitely feeling good about going back there.

JEFF GORDON: It's always a factor at a racetrack that's the way California is or Michigan. What happens is when you have a track that has three, four different grooves that you can run on, there's a lot of ways to pass. There's not a lot of cautions because if you're faster than the guy in front of you, it's not like a short track or some of these one-groove racetracks where you go down in there, you have to loosen them up by taking the air off the spoiler, that's usually what can cause a caution. You have so much room to race on, there's a lot of give and take. Seems like there's a lot of ways to pass. Fuel mileage is always going to be an issue, no matter whether we're under the lights or not.

JEFF GORDON: I think, you know, we have an intense schedule, you know, the demands on the teams and the drivers is increasing. I think that, you know, being young is something that you're going to see more and more of in our sport. I think also you have to look at, you know, what those guys have accomplished, and they've accomplished a lot. You know, they maybe have reached a lot of their goals and are at a point in their lives where they're thinking about the next step. The schedule is very tough - not just what we do on the racetrack, but what we do off the racetrack for our sponsors, as well. It's asking a lot. I think you're definitely going to see guys, you know, that are stepping away now and also at a younger age.

JEFF GORDON: You know, when the race is all over and it's all said and done, you try to find the positive in everything. Certainly was a positive that Jimmie ran well. But I'm first and foremost a driver and a competitor. I was disappointed with our efforts. I was disappointed with what happened with the call that NASCAR made. So, you know, we are a race team that's going for a fifth championship. That's always the first thing that's on our mind. Anything less than that is going to be a disappointment. But, you know, Jimmie is there, Chad is there doing the job they're doing. I think it gives Hendrick Motorsports a great opportunity to win a championship between the two of us. You know, I hope if we can't do it that they certainly can.

JEFF GORDON: Thank you, I enjoyed it.