Ryan Newman - Dodge Post Race Quotes Watkins Glen

RYAN NEWMAN (#12 KODAK/ALLTEL DODGE AVENGER) Finished 13th

HOW WAS YOUR DAY? “It helped in the points, but we could have capitalized more. The balance wasn’t good. I drove it off the racetrack, which got us behind and then we fought back with a good strategy. We just got beat around out there. If we wouldn’t have beat around, spun out and that type of stuff and lost four spots when the 15 flew. It’s amazing you got a car sideways in the middle of the racetrack there’s not a yellow but if you get a piece of debris then there is a yellow. I guess a car isn’t classified as a piece of debris anymore.

“We’re competitive, but I wasn’t happy with the car today. It didn’t drive the way it should have.”

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA (#42 WRIGLEY’S BIG RED/TEXACO DODGE AVENGER) Finished 39th

Note: Montoya was involved in an on-track incident which sent him to the garage for repairs. He returned to the track with a handful of laps to go, only to have his clutch freeze, ending his day early.

WHAT HAPPENED OUT THERE TODAY? “We had a very long first gear. Our restarts were always slow. It’s a little disappointing because we had a really fast car. I went for the inside to defend against the No. 1 car and he spun me. When he spun me I got backwards into the 29. He got out of the car, came out disrespectful, saying all kinds things, grabbed me and I don’t appreciate that. I race very clean. I give people space and if you are not going to respect me I am not going to respect them either. It’s pretty disappointing to see a guy like that do such a thing.

“I went to Kevin and said ‘It wasn’t my fault. I got hit from behind.’ He started shouting and grabbing me and I don’t appreciate that. If it was my fault I would have gone and said, ‘It was my fault.’ I have a little respect for the guy, well I use to have a little respect for the guy like that, because he helped me a lot to start with. I tried to tell him this.”

WERE YOUR CHANCES GOOD UP TO THAT POINT OF THE RACE? “I think so. Our car in the longer runs was really fast and I was really taking care of the car and the breaks. It was really disappointing.”

TALK ABOUT YOUR DAY: “We got spun by the No. 1 car and we collected the 29 and then the 31 collected us. It crushed our transmission, everything. We tried to fix it but we couldn’t.

HOW DISAPPOINTED ARE YOU? “It’s disappointing because we had a fast car. We thought we had a car that could win the race. We were conserving the car for the end of the race. We were in the top five. But that’s that.”

WHO WOULD HAVE WON THE FIGHT, IF THERE HAD BEEN A FIGHT? “I wouldn’t fight. I don’t fight.”

HOW TOUGH IS IT TO CONTROL YOUR TEMPER IN THAT SITUATION? “You’ve got to stand up for yourself but there’s a certain line you don’t want to cross – at least I don’t try to cross it.”

DONNIE WINGO (Crew Chief, No. 42 Wrigley’s Big Red/Texaco Dodge Avenger)

COULD YOU TELL WHAT CAUSED THE ACCIDENT? “Not really. We were having trouble getting started on the restarts. He kind of went to the bottom to defend his position and the No. 1 car got into him and spun him going down into one. Then he got him into those other cars.”

WHAT HAPPENED WITH HARVICK? “I don’t know what the deal was there. That’s just one of those deals where both of them are upset. No harm, no foul.”

DID THE TEAM HAVE A CHANCE TODAY? “It was one of those deals where we were going to have to wait and see. We had a really good car and we could run some fast lap times. It just took us a few laps to get going.”

DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE THE RIGHT PIT STRATEGY FOR THE END OF THE RACE? “I think our pit strategy was fine. We were up front where we needed to be at the end. We had a lot of cautions there toward the end. We just didn’t get any green flag runs and that’s something we needed.”

CHIP GANASSI, (OWNER, CHIP GANASSI RACING WITH FELIX SABATES)

DID YOU HAVE A CAR TO REPEAT SONOMA TODAY? “I don’t know if we had a car to win but we had a top-three car. I don’t know if we had enough for the very, very front. Mileage might have played into the last laps, but we certainly had a car that could finish top three.”

WHO WOULD YOU PICK IN THE FIGHT? “I’ve got to stick with my guy. You aren’t allowed to bet on your own team. I don’t want to end up like Pete Rose betting on my own team but I would have bet on my guy.”

BILLY WILBURN (Crew Chief #45 Marathon Oil Dodge Avenger)

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CAR? “Something happened up through the esses. We got into the back end of Dale Jarrett. I guess we got up under the back of him. It’s pushed the oil cooler back into the oil filters, pretty much lost the oil, kicked the bottom out of the motor and now we’re done.

“It wasn’t (Jarrett’s) fault. Everybody piled up and we just didn’t have anywhere to go.”

WHAT WERE THE PROBLEMS AT THE START WITH THE TRANSMISSION – “I have no idea. He went to second gear and when we tried to go to third gear and when he got to third gear he said, ‘something’s wrong with the transmission’ and when he tried to downshift to get through one it shucked all the teeth off second gear.”

KURT BUSCH, (Driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Avenger), Finished 11th

TALK ABOUT YOUR DAY: “It was a good day. We worked our way up all the way to second at one point. We tried to be conservative on fuel and that put us in the back of the pack. All those yellows at the end made it too tough to pass.”

HOW IMPORTANT WAS TODAY FOR THE POINTS? “It was good. That finish bumped us up just a little bit. Every little bit counts.”

ELLIOTT SADLER, (Driver of the No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Avenger), Finished 17th

TALK ABOUT YOUR DAY: “That was our best finish since the last road course race where we finished 14th at Infineon in the No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Avenger. We’ll take 17th and information that I think we will find helpful when we return next year. We pitted on lap 60 for fuel only, looking to go the rest of the way. Had the race played out without all the cautions at the end, I think we could have finished even better because there were some cars that would have had to make a stop for fuel. If the race had stayed green, we would have benefited. The crew did a good job on pit road. Now, we try to keep the momentum going at Michigan.”

KASEY KAHNE, (Driver of the No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Avenger), Finished 26th

WHAT HAPPENED WITH THAT LATE RACE WRECK? “When we made the pit stop on lap 60 we were set to go the rest of the way on fuel. Then the front end of the car was damaged when cars checked up for a wreck. I also had no brakes. That forced me to slow in the corners. I had to get off the throttle much earlier to get through the corner. I was even gearing down to slow the car at some points on the track. The caution gave us the opportunity to stop and repair the front end and the work on the brakes. But that’s not the strategy you want here. With the exception of being hit from behind and pushed into the accident, I kept the car on the racing surface.”

PATRICK CARPENTIER, (Driver of the No. 10 Stanley Tools/Valvoline Dodge Avenger), Finished 22nd

WAS YOUR FIRST CUP RACE EVERYTHING YOU EXPECTED? “I loved it. I had a good time. I finished the race – and that’s what I wanted. I got off the track a few times and got punted off by a couple of guys, then punted them back when we came back. It was exciting and it was fast. I really want to say thanks to the Valvoline team and Stanley Tools for giving me the opportunity. And to Scott Riggs, who stepped aside for the weekend and gave me that chance to do a Cup race. Plus we led some laps, so what a great day.”

WERE YOU SURPRISED BY HOW AGGRESSIVE THE CUP DRIVERS WERE? “No, I kind of had a taste last weekend in the Busch Series. It’s fun, the guys are really aggressive but I came back and gave them some of their medicine. It was fine. We passed them back at the end. I love it. What a great day, a great, great day.”

ARE YOU READY TO DO THIS AGAIN? “Of course. Any time, anywhere. It was great. I’d do an oval. I’ve done a lot of ovals before. Hopefully it will work out. I gave my best and I had a lot of fun.”

HOW DID IT FEEL TO BE IN FRONT OF THE FIELD IN YOUR FIRST CUP RACE? “I was pushing hard, I was really pushing like crazy trying to stay out front. When I was second the team wanted me to get to first place to get more points if we do it. When we came in the pits I found myself in the lead.”

DID IT SCARE YOU AT ALL TO SEE JEFF GORDON AND TONY STEWART IN YOUR MIRROR? “I’ll be honest. I can’t see behind me, just when they are at the side. The rear mirror, well the wing is too high and you sit so low in the car that you don’t see the cars behind you. It was just as well. It was good.”