CARL EDWARDS Preseason Thunder Interview

CARL EDWARDS
Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images

He was last year's NASCAR Sprint Cup series runner up who will be driving the No. 99 Aflac Ford. He feels that coming into the Daytona 500, they'll pick up right where they left off. Realistically though, no one really knows where they stack up with out any in-depth testing.

LADIES, you may want to sit down for this, but Carl got married over the break. Sorry. On the bright side, he thinks that being married will help ground him and having Kate in his life with that grounding affect will make him a "better race car driver or able to do my job better, focus more."

He was asked to toss out some odds on how everyone stacks up, but like myself, he echoed that it takes up to ten races to see how everyone stacks up over the different tracks.

To be more competitive, some things have to improve, or get changed up. With that in mind, Carl says that one of the ingredients for getting a stronger teams was adding Pierre Kuettel as the car chief on the 99, replacing Jason Myers. Myers hasn't left the team and is applying his own skill sets elsewhere within the No 99 team. Carl thinks it's going to as head mechanic. (Don't quote him though) Carl feels that they are back in the same form the team was in during the 2005 season but with the added talent of Keuttel.

One person he seems worried about this year is Mark Martin. Carl feels that if Martin makes it to the chase, in the equipment he'll be in, "... it's going to be tough. You're going to have to beat Mark Martin to win the championship."

Having come so close to winning the Cup last year, his team is hungry for another shot at it. As he put it, "It's no fun to watch somebody celebrate the championship when you're second, but it was a little easier from victory lane."

Regardless of how well anyone can plan, unknowns still come at that team. As a driver, Carl can plan out how to approach the season, but team wide planning also has to be responsive to so many things throughout the year. It's great to have a plan, but from what he said, it comes down to having a great "plan B", as I put it.

When asked about contending for another Nationwide Series championship and if his rivalry with Kyle Busch will spill over into the Cup side, Carl said, "Yeah, I think it's going to be fun."

He clarified it by defining rivalry as akin to the points battle like Clint and he did at the end of the year. Me, I was thinking more of a fender, paint exchange kind of rivalry!

~

For me, I think one of the biggest things Carl has to work on is his patience in restrictor plate racing. It was his level of patience that took him out of the contention for the Cup at Talladega. If he truly is more grounded, it might just add one more complex layer of patience to his entire set of driving tactics. If that's true, then Johnson will definitely have his hands full this year trying to take back the Cup.

source: nascar media

ARIC AMIROLA Preseason Thunder Interview

ARIC ALMIROLA enjoys coming to Daytona since he grew up Tampa. Like everyone else, Aric says Daytona holds a special place in his heart and many a Daytona 500s and Firecracker 400.

He's excited about coming back and running the 8 car and he has hopes to "run full time in the 8 car and stuff like that. We're working through all that stuff. It's definitely interesting to say the least." Basically, he's a bit confused on the 8 car and his status for the year, as it's made him a "basket case of emotions" as things are sorted out.

As far as he knows, EGR is looking to run 4 cars in '09, but the finances will be the final determination on that issue.

Aric works out throughout the year, so getting back into driving form isn't a big change of conditioning for him. (Yes, it takes some serious muscle to turn left all day folks. I can personally attest to that!!!!)

Now that the test ban is in place, he is looking at chatting up some buddies and possibly looking at a few nights maybe at New Smyrna during Speedweeks. He says he's always up for getting in a late model, modified, sprint car, whatever it is. If it's got four wheels and engine, count me in.

When Aric was asked if EGR promised him the ride for Daytona, you can tell that he's not totally in the loop in the issue of the car that was to be his ride... His reply was "Yeah. I mean gosh, I don't know. I mean, I think so, yes." and further added to his response that "But as far as I know, yes, I'm going to race in the Daytona 500 in the No. 8 car. Now, whether that changes or not, that's beyond my control."

On an enlightening side, when someone asked him about his status, for the umpteenth time, Aric's response was rather to the point with "You are beating a dead horse."

From his side of things, he says it's been brutal trying to find a sponsor and said that in regards to cost effectiveness and a sponsor putting their logos on cars, that "... sponsors are not , stupid; they know how bad the economic times are, and they know that they're going to be able to buy more for their dollar right now. So they're shopping around."

As it stands, in regards to drivers' salaries, and specifically his in particular Aric said that right now "It's not a time anymore to where you can just say, oh, the hell with it and I'm going to go get a job somewhere else." and quoted that he knows of at least a thousand people in the North Carolina that don't have the NASCAR jobs they are qualified for.

This, to me said a lot. If that's on his mind, my take is maybe he's thought about the short straw he's gotten and pondered the idea of moving teams... it seems he's the king of short straws these last few years, but the economy has pretty much tied him to EGR. At least he has a job for the moment and can probably count on a few rides this year!

source: nascar media,
image: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images.

Press Conference with NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France

Brian France started out by pointing out that we're deciding 3 titles this weekend. Wanting to focus on how this 2008 season is going, his first point to make was how important the manufacturers in NASCAR are to the sport and NASCAR has every intention to keep them in the sport and help them stay in the sport, though he didn't go into specifics on that plan at this time.

Looking back at '08, they've implemented the COT (The new car), looking to the benefits from the new car and how the competition has improved as the teams have figured out the new car through the year. As they've stated in the past, the cost of the COT will deliver cost savings in the long, and in some spots, the short run and emphasized that NASCAR is looking to remove cost from the system to help all the teams across the board.

As far as the Chase, it emphasizes a balance in NASCAR of running well, and running to win. After NASCAR added more points to a win and changed the seeding process they want to make it clear that teams have to win more to have a chance to win the championship. (duh?)

Despite trying to focus the meeting on the 2008 NASCAR racing season, the questions hit on some expected topics: ABC's handling of the Phoenix race, the economy and costs.


ABC's Punting of NASCAR for AFV:
We didn't like it and did not anticipate it. After that event, they talked with the networks over the last couple of days. He didn't agree with the issues that ABC presented to him as to what they had to deal with and France said that NASCAR got the short end of the stick in that situation and are working on eliminating that in the future.

As far as how to prevent something like this from happening in the future, Brian said that "they want to do what's in the best interest of the NASCAR fan.". he added that ESPN did not like what they had to do last Sunday and touched on how the red flags took the race outside of ABC / ESPN's planned broadcast window. he indicated that NASCAR and the networks "interests are aligned in the same direction."


The Economy: Teams, Fans & Tracks
No decision yet as been made on the premise of eliminating testing for '09 but that they would have to act quickly if they are going to make that kind of decision. Whatever they decide, it will be a comprehensive plan that's enacted, being as aggressive as they can to remove cost from the system.

Yet on the idea of reducing the length of some races or the schedule, Brian said that the reduction of events is not practical or possible due to contracts in place and didn't look to the idea of shortening events either. There are other areas where they can cut costs.

As far as helping fans afford the races, and drawing fans to the tracks in 2009, he said that issue is in the hands of the individual track owners and they are hard at work on this issue. They're familiar with their individual markets, some, more so than others and are sensitive to the costs to the fans. They're trying to do everything they can.

When asked how healthy is NASCAR, financially, Brian replied that te will come out of this and weather storm. In regards to future growth after times pick back up, he said that NASCAR has lots of areas that could be cut, but they won't because once the economy turns around, they'll be in pursuit of enlarging their fan base and want these other mechanisms in place for when that happens.


The Chase
It doesn't look like the Chase this year is going to be as exciting as hoped for. Each year the points lead headed into Homestead seems to be growing with each subsequent season. Brian's take is that he's love for all 12 drivers (He actually said 11 and I'm wondering if that was a slip.) to be within 25 points of each other, but it's just the nature of sports.

It wouldn't be right to try and modify the system within the Chase to keep points close and that the Chase and the system as it is, is designed to promote improved performance to win the Championship.

As far as one team dominating the series (Ahem, No 48 team) he referenced the historically nature of the beast saying that there are those who have had their year to year runs of dominance and then another team will come along and have their dominate performances and it's the nature of sports.

There is concern that the Chase system is hurting teams as the focus of the media is pretty much on the contenders for the Cup, both before and after the cut-off date to make the Chase, but Brian re-emphasized that teams are getting better at grabbing sponsors, and the incentive is to perform better.


Their New Series: Will it be integrated Into the Weekends?
With NASCAR recently acquiring the Grand Am Series, they would love to see the series integrated into weekend events but that potential is limited due to race track obligations and established weekend outlines. The Grand Am Series is a different demographic, and they've encouraged Cup teams to look into starting Grand Am teams.


In Summary
There were plenty of expected questions today, and we didn't hear anything out of the norm. NASCAR is not happy with the handling of their telecast and I hope they resolve that issue down the road with all the networks they deal with, but that will remain to be seen. Rain is one thing. Red flags: It should be a prepared for eventuality.

Despite ESPN indicating they didn't like what they had to do, when it did happen, I wasn't surprised one bit. Their past and present track record of handling NASCAR programming has developed a very thick skin with me and I've taken to heading to the TV remote with a pre-wince, waiting to see what if anything, is where it's supposed to be on the tube. A sad, yet realistic perspective.

The economy is hovering over everyone and the answers were fairly pat and the future-focus of NASCAR is there. Whether they make in whole or part through these times will remain to be seen. They recognize everyone's plights, from fans to team owners, and are looking at different ways to help everyone get through the storm. But if they insist on maintaining profit margins, I don't see the race attendee benefiting yet.

Numerous times, Brian was asked in different ways, how NASCAR is doing financially and the answer kept going back to the future of the sport and cutting costs for the teams. So either NASCAR is rolling in the dough and doesn't really want to fess, or they're hurting and don't want to let on. What's your guess?

Despite the statements about the economic beast, he still encourages cup teams to look at starting Grand Am teams? I'm not sure the details or left and right half sides of his brain are connecting with that hope, but I see where he's coming from. He didn't say it, so let me: if Cup teams start GA teams, I bet they hope to see NASCAR fans migrate towards the new series, helping it grow. That's just my thought on the matter.

Though he emphasized early on in the conference that they are looking to help manufacturers stay in the sport, he did not expound on that, and I did not get a chance to ask him about that statement. I was too far back in the question line to be heard before the conference ended. I'd like to know more about that angle.

And of course, they feel the the COT is doing exactly what it needs to do, level costs in different areas of the sport and the racing is getting more competitive as teams learn the nuances of the car. Albeit, via a few heavy fines here and there. Yet at the moment, the competition is still just between the big teams. I think there's still a little way to go before they get the parity they are hoping for... if it ever does happen.


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Gibbs Racing Announcement Date and Time

Joe Gibbs Racing has scheduled an 11 a.m. EDT news conference for Wednesday for a "major announcement," according to the team.

It is expected that JGR will announce its move from Chevrolet to Toyota at that time.

... scenedaily.com

Jr's Press Conference Transcript

If you want to read every word, I found a transcript at catchfence.com

Earnhardt Jr. Press Conference 6-13-07

Read it here first, as it's posted while Dale Jr. speaks!!

8:03 am, pacific: I'm watching the web cast from Speed. They're talking about everything rumored, .. still waiting.
8:05 am - Jr is chatting. Jr thanked the fans and the media for their patience.
He also thanked all the team owners for their time.
He introduced his "new boss for 2008, Rick Hendrick".

Rick Hendrick notes that he and Kyle had been in negotiations since the end of last year, and they both realized that Kyle will have better opportunities else where.

So Dale Earnhardt Jr will be taking the slot that Kyle Busch has held and the contract is a 5 year contract.

Sponsorships have not been worked out yet. (IE: Is Budweiser coming along with Jr?)

Jr said he wants to keep the number 8, and that they would have to present that to Teresa (Earnhardt) and see how that pans out. The audience erupted into some entertaining laughter with that statement.

The next couple of months will be worked out as to who will be on his crew, including whether Jr's present crew will come over or not.

When asked about the reports of Jr going to Gibbs or Childress, Jr noted that info came out of thin air.

Hendrick Motorsports have several multi-year contracts with sponsors and they need to look at how these are going to pan out and where they get placed.


-Bruce

Earnhardt Jr. PRESS CONFERENCE Announced

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has scheduled a news conference for 11 a.m. Wednesday at the JR Motorsports headquarters in Mooresville, perhaps to announce his Nextel Cup plans for 2008 and beyond. ..............

thatsracin.com

So block out some time, and get ready for the news, whatever it may be cause if this is what we all expect it to be, the time to straighten out the rumors is coming at us!!