California: Jeff Gordon NASCAR Nextel Cup Race Recap - Points Leader - P22
Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont Monte Carlo SS – Finished 22nd:
ON THE RACE
“It wasn’t a great night. We ran pretty good. There were times when we drove to the front. And we were working on the set-up and making it better and I was pretty happy with that. We made a call to come down pit road and got us in the back and they were two and three wide ahead of me and I tried to make a move to go underneath them and there just wasn’t enough room and I actually was trying to squeeze out of it, but I don’t know, I’ve got to watch the video. Somebody was underneath me, pushing me up into I think Jeremy (McGrath) and he got into the No. 00 (Reutimann).”
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT HOW YOU GUYS ARE RUNNING RIGHT NOW? ARE YOU DISAPPOINTED?
“It’s like this. None of these races really mean a whole lot. And so we’d like to be running better and be out there getting bonus points but this team is going to come with a whole different focus and attitude when we get to New Hampshire. I’ll be honest. It’s kind of hard to be in this position because you’re in a position where it really doesn’t matter; and yet you’re a competitor and you go out there and you run hard and try to lead laps and win races. But you know in the back of your mind that it really doesn’t mean anything. So I’m a little disappointed in some of the things we’ve had happen to us. But at the same time, I’d rather have them happen to us now than in those final 10 races.”
DO YOU ACTUALLY PERFORM BETTER WHEN IT’S GAME TIME?
“Yeah, probably. It’s just like running better when you’re in the heat of the moment for a win or something like that. I think this whole team does. I am really not concerned once we start the Chase.”
DO YOU STILL FEEL THAT YOU AND YOUR TEAM ARE THE ONES TO BEAT COME THE CHASE?
“Yes.”
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE YOUR FUTURE TEAMMATE, DALE EARNHARDT JR., FOR THE FINAL 10 RACES SINCE HE WON’T BE IN THE CHASE LIKE YOU WEREN’T IN 2005?
“I don’t have to give him any advice. He’s been in that position right along with me. We’ve both not made the Chase before. All you can do is run as hard as you can every race, no matter whether you’re in it or not.”
HOW SIGNIFICANT IS 10 POINTS FOR THE CHASE? JIMMIE JOHNSON NOW HAS 10 EXTRA BONUS POINTS.
”He’s definitely going to be one of the guys to beat in the championship. You don’t want to give him one point. We’ve still gone one race left, Richmond, and maybe we can get something going there. But we’ll all find out when we get down to that final race what 10 points means. We’ve gone on some streaks before when 10 points won’t mean anything. But everybody is going to step up for those final 10 and you want every point you can get.”
HOW DO YOU LOOK AT RICHMOND?
“It’s a good track for us. We ran well there last time. We sat on the pole. We’re going to go back and try to do the same and try to finish up front and get us 10 bonus points.”
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