Dave: Hi John!
John: Hey Dave!
Dave: How are you doing my man?
John: I’m not doing too bad.
Dave: Good for you. Now we were busy with the 4th running of the US Grand Prix so I did not get a chance to watch the race from Talledega Sunday. Tell us what transpired.
John: Well Shumaker did not win our race. It was a pretty exciting race as always at Talledega. There was plenty of… it is sort of like racing at Martinsville at 200 MPH. People are just bumping and banging. There are some guys that… It is basically three lanes, but every once in awhile they feel like they need to be in the lane they are not in. So they just kind of move over. It gets pretty exciting at times. It also gets pretty frustrating at times. Sometimes you feel like your car should be up there further, but there is no place to go. The whole track is taken up, so you really cannot do a lot. I think that the whole Richard Childress Racing team did a great job. I had a lot of fun again working with them and AOL. Of course Richard supporting the charity Special Operations Warriors Foundation and all the people associated with that. We just went and had a good time. We made the race pretty solidly and just worked on race set ups. That was the first time that car had seen the track. We had done some testing with some other cars and that is the only time like I said that that car had hit the track. There was a bit of anxiety, but it worked out like they said it would.
Dave: Can you compare at all driving the DEI, the way DEI does things and the way that Childress does things?
John: Well restrictor plate racing is so different than regular racing that we do. The bodies and everything. You are pushing the rules so much further. Then they have rules about the angles of the springs with the rear spring rate and the rear shocks. Just so many things go into that. The motors of course and then you are running wide open. What you have is what you have. You can do different things and obviously that is where that comes into play. You have to rely on your team to really be on top of their game. Obviously RCR and DEI have been dominating forces. I think in a lot of ways the new restrictor plate really helped some programs and hurt others. I am sure when we get to Daytona if the rules are the same, it will get shook up again. I am sure again that DEI and Childress racing will be tough again. They have been at the fore front of all these races. Obviously DEI has won a huge amount of plate races.
Dave: So they will be able to respond to things faster than other teams?
John: I think that part of it is the plate deal came in so late with the rules and spoiler, if it complemented your deal it complemented your deal. If it didn’t it didn’t. You really did not have time to make any adjustments to help manufacturers and it enhanced some of the motors more than it did others.
Dave: This weekend you are back in the Pennzoil 1 Chevrolet with DEI?
John: That is right. I am heading to Kansas. Actually I will be heading down to Kentucky tomorrow to test, then off to Kansas from there, clicking our heels. Actually I wish I could do that. It would be a whole lot cheaper than flying. (laughing)
Dave: I saw the weather today and it was 44 and raining in Kansas. I remember we were there July Fourth weekend with the IRL series. It was just unbelievably hot. That is a really nice facility and track.
John: It is very much like Chicago. It is almost like they stamped them, the garages and everything. If you didn’t know which city you were in you would feel like you were in the same place. Although the characteristics of the track are just a little bit different. I forget which one has a curved back straight away. I think it is Chicago, so there is not really a straight part of the track. But, Kansas is a great place. We have had good times at Kansas and bad times. Come to think of it we have only been there four times, but we hope to go up one on the good side
Dave: How are negotiations for next year going?
John: (tape ran out for a few seconds) You have to have patience and wait for almost the season to end, because people do not really want to make a lot of moves. Because they are not sure where they are at. They are trying to either solidify sponsorship or just trying to settle down and see where they want to go. Who knows what is going to happen, but I am looking forward to the rest of the year and what ever 2004 brings.
Dave: John, I have got to tell you it does not look like Jaques Vellenuve will be back to his Formula One ride, that would be a good seat to you. Your cousin Mike did it, but he flew back and forth, maybe you should just move over there at BAR racing. They have Honda motors and see what happens. What do you think?
John: Well the funny thing about those guys is if you are 22, you need a walker, cane and retirement plan. They are getting them younger and younger and younger. I guess in a lot of ways Winston Cup is too. It is a really neat series, I enjoy watching their racing, but I want to keep my feet planted in the good ole US.
Dave: Yea, we have ice and women that shave! (laughing)
John: We have a lot more than that going for us.
Dave: There is a half dozen other things.
John: I tell you what you leave this country on April 14th and come back on April 15th you are happy to sign that check.
Dave: No kidding, that is true we should be more thankful for the things we do have. Well good deal man, your heading down to Kentucky tomorrow, is that with the 1 car?
John: Yea that will be with DEI. It will actually will be the first time we will get to go through a test and try some things and not have to try to work under a schedule other than 9 in the morning or whenever we can get on the track to 5 tomorrow night. It will be good for the both of us to see what we want to do in the future. Kansas should be good for us and I am looking forward to it.
Joe: You guys get to feel each other out and get to know each other too. What kind of recreational things will you get to do with the crew?
John: Well actually at 6 am we will be at the airport heading that way and then right after the test we will be flying back down here to get ready to fly to Kansas on Thursday.
Joe: On the plane to you play cards, do you talk about baseball playoffs or make bets on football? What types of things do you do on the plane?
John: We tell the guy next to us to quit snoring. (laughing)
Dave: They are on a private jet Joe it is completely different. When you are flying on the private jets like John and I fly…
John: We came back, we went to Talledega and we had to get up really early to head over there when we tested with Richard Childress Racing. Coming back, Bobby Hutchens which is really the right hand man for Richard. He is over there with all the nose plate out, but he is asleep and all the crew is just piled around. It is pretty brutal. Testing can take a lot more out of you than racing that is for sure.
Dave: Your old car the 43, the jackman was hit in the pits, did you find out anything about him?
John: I called Archie on Sunday night and his mailbox was full. I expected that because if anyone in racing gets hurt people just want to know what is going on. He drives the Kings motor home as well. I mean he is tattooed petty blue. I called him and he said he is pretty bruised up, but he was really happy he had a helmet on, because he it the ground so hard he could barely see. They said the thing that scared him the most is that he was laying on pit road. When you are driving a race car, if there is a tire in front of you, you cannot see and you would just hit it. So, imagine how much lower a person is. He was really happy to have someone come out and get him. It was an unfortunate accident, I felt bad for all of them. He said he would be back jacking this weekend. So, we’ll see. I said I am going to pit somewhere far away from you guys, so I don’t want to be involved in anything. He said if anything happened to him again this weekend he may think about hanging up his jack.
Dave: Maybe just driving the motor coach.
John: That seems to be a little bit safer.
Dave: All right John good luck this weekend in Kansas. Have some fun and be safe. Be fast and we will talk to you next Tuesday.
John: Warm up those plane engines. I am going to keep saying it.
Dave: It won’t be long.
John: All right man.
Dave: See ya John.
John: Thanks guys.
THE END