Phoenix - Quotables
Phoenix, Az.
by Stan Creekmore

KYLE BUSCH, No. 5 KELLOGGS/CARQUEST CHEVROLET:

GROWING UP THE YOUNGER BROTHER, WAS KURT ALWAYS NICE TO YOU? "No, he wasn't always nice to me. We had some battles. I'm the younger brother who always wants to do what the older brother does. With him being six and a half, seven years older than I am, makes it difficult for me to go do the same things that he does. When he gets the drivers license at age 16 and I'm only 10, he doesn't want to hang out with his 10-year-old brother. He wants to go out and hang with his friends. I've always had that to battle with."

CLINT BOWYER, No. 07 SYLVANIA CHEVROLET:

KEVIN HARVICK AND JEFF BURTON HAVE THEIR OWN PERSONALITIES AT RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING.  WHERE DO YOU FIT IN?  “Probably straight up the middle [laughs].  Kevin Harvick, everybody knows his personality and Jeff Burton is pretty laid back, experienced and pretty polished.  I think I’m kind of in the middle and it’s a good group for me to bounce off of because you can learn bits and pieces from each of them.  Jeff Burton with all his years of experience and Kevin Harvick being a little bit closer to my age and been through this a little bit, sooner than Jeff has, it’s good teammates to have and pull off of.” 

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FEDEX Express Chevrolet

ON HIS SEASON THUS FAR - “It’s been a up and down season.  After Martinsville I’ve probably never been more depressed after one race probably in my whole career, knowing that we had a top-five car.  We qualified there in the back because of my own fault, getting up in the loose stuff in qualifying.  We finally got to the top 10 and had a cut tire and then backed it in.  Just that one race back, we’re right there top-10 in points.  On top of that, at Atlanta we were leading for half of the race and had two cut tires there.  It’s one of those deals where we know that we’re running well.  We’re running top-10 every single week.  We’re right there.  We just have to work on finishing it off and we’re slowing gaining it back.  We’ve got to get more consistent.”    

STEVE LANE, CREW CHIEF, No. 40 Coors Light Dodge

HOW DELICATE IS THE CHEMISTRY BETWEEN THE DRIVER AND CREW CHIEF?  “I think it’s definitely delicate.  One guy is not going to make or break a race team nowadays.  We’ve got a lot of really, really good people and I think it’s just a matter of putting all the parts and people in place and I supposed that’s my job from here on out.  It’s going to take a little time to get where we need to go.” 

KURT BUSCH, No. 2, Miller Lite Dodge Charger

ABOUT THE OBLIGATIONS OF BEING A CELEBRITY? - “When I came in to Nextel Cup racing I came in just after six months of racing late models at the short track and bull ring in Las Vegas. Six months after being taken out of what was just a hobby and now is a profession, my first approach was to absorb it as I just wanted to be a regular guy hanging out, a small fish in a big pond. I took that approach as just a regular American Dream kind of guy. As a plumber working on mane breaks, I made it big. Then I won a race. Then I won another race and things escalated, but I still wanted to be just a regular guy. I never really adapted to being a race winner or multiple race winner or a guy who could lead the points or a guy who could be in the top five all the time. I’ve now adjusted to that obviously with the (2004) championship. Kids recognize me when I’m out. If I could just have that one kid who says ‘that’s my guy.’ To be able to represent him going, ‘I’ve always wanted to race cars. I’ve always looked up to Kurt. He’s the guy I want to follow.’ If I could just have one kid root for me then that’s the motive to go out there and do these types of things.”

SCOTT RIGGS, No. 10 Valvoline/Stanley Tools Dodge Charger

ON RACING IN PHOENIX - “We haven’t had a real good car there since we were in the Busch Series, so the last couple of years have been tough for Phoenix. I had decent cars, but nothing we could really be competitive with. I know Evernham Motorsports as a whole has struggled a little bit at Phoenix. This weekend I get to drive the Busch car, which has always run well at Phoenix, and I think we learned a lot at the Richmond test last week as a company to help us with this new tire we have going to Phoenix and our setup as far as what we need to be competitive at Phoenix. I hope that having the test under our belt is going to put all three Cup teams to the forefront and be able to be competitive. I think we will. The Busch car will help not only with the racetrack but with the tire, and I think we can have a good race on Friday night and whatever we learn with the Busch car will help the three Cup teams on Saturday night. Phoenix is definitely a unique place. It’s a driver’s racetrack. There’s nothing symmetrical about it. Turns one and two are really tight. The dogleg on the backstretch is really unique to Phoenix. Three and four is really long and broad, almost like a Loudon, really flat, long corners. You really have to have the car to rotate well and roll and turn the center of the corners well while it’s rolling to turn fast laps there and be consistent there and make passes. I feel like we’ve got a good step on it, better than anything I’ve had the past couple of years for sure.”

DO RECENT WINS INSTILL CONFIDENCE IN CHARGER? - “Absolutely, it makes us feel confident in what we’re doing. It makes us feel confidence in our cars and confidence in our team. Confidence is something you cannot buy no matter how much money your sponsor gives you. There are two things you can’t buy. You can’t buy confidence and experience. Those are two things you have to earn and build on. When that confidence starts rising and you get on that roll, that momentum roll that Kasey and the 9 team are on right now, it makes it better for everyone around. When that confidence level is up you’re not second guessing your decisions, you’re not second guessing your thoughts. You’re not second guessing yourself. You’re being pure. You’re pulling out your pure ideas and your pure heart about what the car is doing and what you need to do to make it better. That’s usually when everybody is relaxed and your best ideas and work come forward. It’s definitely inspiring for me to have my teammate run well. I think Jeremy and Kasey both feel the same way, the better my teammate runs, the better I’m going to run the next week. That’s what we’ve built on here and that’s what we’ve built toward the future, to get like the 9 team is now.”

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