Ryan Newman has scored two straight top-fives when he needed them most. Credit:
AutostockTranscript: Newman, Mayfield, McMurraySeptember 7, 2004
02:32 PM EDT (18:32 GMT)
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NOTE: Coming off back-to-back top-five finishes at Bristol and California,
Newman has moved from 13th to 8th in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Standings. He's 404
points out of first place and 20 points ahead of 10th.

Ryan Newman: "First of all for California I think we achieved our first goal and
that was to get a top-five finish.

I think a top-five finish in that position, or in our position as far as points
and everything, was going to keep us in the hunt. We were capable of doing that
and did that.

Obviously we went there to win the race, but looking at the big picture, the top
five was the ultimate situation.

Going into Richmond, it's the same old situation. We're going there to win the
race. If we win the race everything else will take care of itself.

We have to keep in mind, too, that we're 404 points out of the lead, so we have
a shot from that mathematical chance as well as the top 10.

If we can go there and do the same thing again, finish in the top five, we're
going to have a really good shot at being in the right position to be in the top
10 as well as being within 400 points of the leader.

We'll go there with the same racecar we had in the spring that sat on the
outside of the front row and finished ninth. We had a good test there a couple
of weeks ago, and we'll see how we can do."

TALK ABOUT WHAT THIS OPPORTUNITY MEANS TO COMPETE FOR THE TITLE:

"It's kind of a Catch-22 situation. We caught Matt Kenseth last year almost 300
points in two races. Now we're sitting 404 points out of the lead.

It's not like because of the chase for the championship we have a great
opportunity to win the championship.
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We'd have a great opportunity regardless. We're just right now fighting for the
top 10 situation. After Richmond we were 408 points out of the lead and still
had the mathematical opportunity to win the championship, I'd be real upset.

That's part of the reason I don't like the point system, but just to be in this
position three years in a row is a great thing for our team as well as me
personally, and we just keep working for that ultimate goal of winning the
championship."

HAS THE NEW POINT SYSTEM CHANGED THE WAY YOU DRIVE IN CERTAIN SITUATIONS?

"No, I don't think so at all. I think if we had the opportunity at California,
if we had a first-place car we would have tried to finish first with it.

We had a top-10 car for most of the race and turned it into a top-five car at
the end. We were able to make that happen and if we can win every race, which is
almost mathematically impossible for any team, then the points will take care of
themselves.

That's just how we approach it."

WHAT'S IN BEEN LIKE GOING FOR A TOP-10 SPOT AFTER THE 26TH RACE?

"It's been just like business as usual for me. You've got to keep track of
what's going on and who's around you and making sure there's nobody who tries to
nudge you when they shouldn't, but the bottom line is we're just out there
competing.

There has been some extra concern, but I don't put any extra pressure on myself
to try to perform. I just go out and try to do the best job I can with the
equipment I have and the people we have around us."

ANY CONCERN HAVING THE 26th RACE AT RICHMOND?

"Yes and no. If you look at it that way, it sounds pretty traumatic. There's
still 185 points available for every race up until this one.

We had just as much opportunity to gain in the past 25 races as we have here at
Richmond for this one, so mathematically it's just another race."

WAS BRISTOL A SAFER RACE BECAUSE OF THE NEW FORMAT?

"I think the Bristol deal was a freak situation. I said to someone earlier we
were close to having a full moon, and I think it was a bad moon that week.

It was a very good race, a very clean race and a lot of fun at Bristol and
physically a great workout. Potentially, I think there is equally as much a
chance to have a race like we had in the fall Bristol race at Richmond as well
as well as a beat and bang up 20-caution type race this coming weekend. It could
go either way I think, easily."

DO YOU TRY NOT TO THINK ABOUT DNF's?

"If we were in their position (24 team), we would be experimenting and being
locked in to the chase for the championship we'd be doing everything we could
think of to make our team that much stronger from an engine perspective as far
as other perspectives and performance.

That's their deal. I don't know what cards they have in their hand, and I don't
know what cards they're playing.

We're in a position where we fold when we have to and we sometimes have to end
up playing cards we don't want to, but in the end, hopefully, we'll be able to
make it in."

WAS THE TOP FIVE AT CALIFORNIA A SURPRISE?

"Our car was pretty decent, and I was pretty good on restarts passing some cars.
Then I'd get passed a little bit.

We were happy to have those four tires at the end and to be in the right
position at the right time to take advantage of guys who only had two tires or
no tires. Carl Edwards did a great job of racing me clean there at the end.

I had a couple of other guys that were chopping me off pretty good, but it was a
good run for us and the Sony Dodge to be in that position at the end of the race
and to be able to capitalize and get that top five for our points day."

DOES THIS RACE ALMOST FEEL LIKE THE SEASON?
Credit: Autostock
"In a way, yes, it could be very easily. We just have to stay focused on what
we're at Richmond to do.

We'll see how we feel afterwards depending on how everything comes out. We can
only try as hard as we've been trying.

Our guys at the shop and the guys on the team, they're all on the same team, and
we try just as hard no matter if it's this race or the Daytona 500 or Brickyard
400 or Martinsville. We'll have to see how everything turns out.

If we're on the edge of the waterfall, we'll have to figure out on the way down
to land and take off for the next 10 races."

IS THERE ANY TALK BETWEEN DRIVERS ABOUT THIS RACE?

"I haven't had any discussion with any other drivers.

Usually that happens before driver introductions. Usually, whatever is going to
happen is going to happen. If it's going to be a beat and bang up race or a long
green-flag run race, it just happens. It's not something we prepare for.

I don't know if NASCAR is going to give us a speech going into this deal or
we're going to have to give each other our own speeches."

DOES HAVING A CHANCE TO MAKE THE CHASE ENERGYZE YOUR TEAM?

"We're not where we want to be, and that's the bad side of that coin. Ultimately
we're still in a great hunt, and we've got our sights set on the target.
Basically all we have to do is stay focused and follow through, but yes, the
team is real excited about being where we're at.

Usually at Penske, one of the three cars has a shot at the championship. The
other team members are very excited as well, and that brings more excitement for
everybody in the team, so we'll just do the best job we can."

DOES YOUR RECORD AT RICHMOND GIVE YOU EXTRA CONFIDENCE?

"It just lets us know, No. 1, that we can get it done. The ultimate answer is
something so little can knock us out for the weekend, whether it's a piece of
debris or somebody else's misjudgment.

Our performances in the past are just that, history. We'll have to try to create
better history. It's a fun racetrack and it's a track you can race on. It's one
of the few short tracks we can race and pass and have some fun on.

That's the good part of it. The bad part is it still has the potential to be a
beat and bang up racetrack. If you can stay out of that function of it, you'll
have a good day."

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE TRACK GOING INTO THE FINAL 10?

"Darlington. I think that's going to be a pivotal race. At Darlington, guys
usually hit it or miss it. Being where it's at in the schedule, that's a very
pivotal weekend."

WHAT'S IT LIKE RACING AND NOT FEELING WELL?

"I've had a sinus type cold and headache. I think that's what everybody that's
been sick has had and it's going around. I was very, very weak.

I told the guys when I started the race I felt like 75 percent. I felt like 75
percent at the end of the race. It was pretty warm in the car because of the
temperature outside.

I got out of the car and I felt cold. I tried to get over it and get a lot of
sleep going into Richmond. It's tough, but if you're mentally sane you can
overcome a lot of those things."

Jeremy Mayfield

NOTE: Mayfield ranks 14th in the standings, 55 points out of 10th place with
three drivers to pass to get there. He finished 11th, 22nd and 16th in the past
three races and dropped from 10th to 14th.
Jeremy Mayfield has finished out of the top 10 for three straight weeks. Credit:
Autostock
Jeremy Mayfield: "California and Bristol were two pretty bad weeks. We just
didn't perform as we needed to and fell back in the points.

That's pretty much what happened to us. We're going to run harder and do
something different than we did at California and Bristol for sure.

We've just got to go in there and run hard and hope all the guys in front of us
make big mistakes and we don't. That's all we can do.

We've got to go in there and win the race. If we make it in, fine. If we don't,
I guess we just didn't make it."

MENTALLY, HOW DO YOU FEEL GOING INTO RICHMOND?

"Mentally, you've got to put it behind you, and it's not behind me yet. I'm
still (upset) about it. You've just got to go on and get over it and go to
Richmond open minded and do all you can.

We have no choice. We've got to go in there and win the race and have 13-second
stops all night. We can't go in there and run like we did last week or the week
before and you also can't put pressure on yourself and try to go in there and
make it all up in one week.

We should have done this two or three weeks ago and we would have been all
right. We've got to go in there now and try to make up everything we've lost in
the last couple of weeks and it's going to be hard to do. It's going to be hard
to do."

HOW IMPORTANT WILL IT BE TO UNLOAD FAST AT RICHMOND?

"We tested there and had a great test. We've got to go in there and roll off the
truck fast, be fast in practice and qualifying.

We've got to do a lot of good stuff to overcome this. All you can do is do the
best you can and at the end of the night know we did all we can do.

I can't say that about Saturday night (Sunday night at California Speedway). We
had several bad stops that kept putting us behind, and I can't say we did all we
can do.

I want to be able to leave Richmond saying we did all we could do and we had the
best of everything and that we had good stops all night and nobody made
mistakes. Maybe you'll know you did everything you could do that night anyway.
We had a great test there, and the car ran really good.

That's all you can do, try to lead every lap and do everything you can.
Hopefully at the end of the night you're in the top 10 in the points."

WHY DID THE BAD PIT STOPS HAPPEN?

"I have no idea. They do a great job every week, practicing and all that stuff.
Then you come in second and go out ninth, come in seventh and go out 18th.

I have no idea why it happened. It's just hard to swallow. It's the time we had
to step up and we didn't do it, and if you don't do it, then you don't deserve
to be in the top 10 anyway.

You've got to keep working hard and do the best you can and get prepared for
Richmond this week.

Hopefully they're on their game and I'll be on mine and the car will be on its
game and we'll do the best we can. We'll give it all we've got, and hopefully at
the end of the night we'll be in the top 10."

WILL YOU TALK TO PIT CREW?

"I'm not mad at them for what happened. I'm not sure what happened on the stops,
but I know it's not OK.

That's something I can't swallow when you get out of the car they say it'll be
all right, well, it's not all right.

We've got to fix something and figure out what happened to the guys, but you
know we've got to go on, put it behind us and race and go to win Richmond.
That's all we can do."

HOW WILL YOU REACT TO THIS NOW OR NEVER SITUATION?

"I pretty much feel like I'm in that situation all the time. I've never been in
a situation where everything is great and you don't have to run every lap as
hard as you can. I don't really know.

All I know is that I've got to go to Richmond and do all I can as a driver and
go for it. I've never been in that situation, but I've also never been in one
where everything is great, either.

There's always been a lot of pressure in every situation I've ever been in, so
there's nothing any different going into this week.

It's just not right. You can't come into this deal and expect to make it all up
in one week. I'm the first one to say you can't be conservative when you're in
that situation, and I feel like the last couple of weeks we haven't performed
like we needed to. Now all we can do is go to Richmond and get all the points
you can, but it's going to be tough."

IS QUALIFYING MORE IMPORTANT?
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"I don't know if it's any more important than it is any other week. It's
definitely going to be the most important thing for us this week. We've got to
sit on the pole and win the race and lead all the laps.

That means when we come in second we've got to go back out second. That means
when we come in 10th, we've got to go 7th.

We've got to execute this week like we never have before. If that means
qualifying on the pole, that's what we've got to do. We've got to be on our game
this week, and that starts with qualifying."

IF YOU DON'T MAKE THE FINAL 10, WHAT THEN?

"It would be a reality check and let you know you could have done this and this
and this. There are probably a lot of things I could have done different to help
the race team and things the race team could have done to help itself.

That's what you'll look back on. If we hadn't done this, we'd been a little
better here and made it in. That'll get us ready for next year, but if we don't
get in, I'm expecting to win races quick and fast. We've got to.

We're a better race team than we've been the past two weeks. If we don't get in,
we have no choice but winning every race from here on out. That's the way I look
at it."

WHAT'S THE STRESS LEVEL OF SEASON COMING DOWN TO ONE RACE?

"It's a shame to have the season come down to one race for us. I feel like we
should have been close enough to be in it a few weeks back and now we're not.
We've got further away.

It's really not one week. It's not one race that's going to turn around our
season. We've just got to do the best we can this one week just like we do every
week after that.

We're still here to win races and whatever, but it's not over yet, either. If
we're not in the top 10, we'll try to win every race from here on out. If we
are, we'll still do the same and get ready for next year."

WILL YOU WANT TO KNOW WHERE THE COMPETITION FOR THE TOP 10 IS ON THE TRACK
SATURDAY NIGHT?

"You'll pretty much know as the race goes on you'll know who's ahead of you and
all that stuff.

A lot of the guys we've been racing with have really picked the pace up. The 6
car is by far been the best the past couple of weeks. They've done a great job,
and the 88 has been good. The 42 has come on. The 9 has been good.

We all know pretty much who we're racing. This week we've got to race everybody
and win the race. There ain't no way around it."

HOW AGGRESSIVE WILL YOU BE AT RICHMOND?

"We've just got to go in there and race and do whatever it takes to win the race
and get all the points we can get.

Whatever the consequences are we'll have to deal with them later and race
aggressively and do whatever you've got to do to win. That's the way I look at
it. That's the way I'm going into it this week. I don't care about anybody
around me. We've got to win the race."

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY?

"It's not every day you get a chance to get in the top 10 in this kind of sport.
It's a tough season. It's tough all the way around.

We've got a lot of good competitors. We've got the opportunity and just let it
fly right by you. That's what (upsets) you. It's not over yet, but we've got to
perform this week. If it gets by, we've got to get prepared for next year.

Maybe it'll make us a better race team, but like you said, you don't get this
opportunity very often."

IS THERE ONE RACE BESIDES BRISTOL AND CALIFORNIA YOU CAN POINT TO?

"Oh yeah, we've been doing that. There's several races you look back if we had
done this or that better or if I hadn't spun out at Sears Point or if we'd have
better pit stops at Darlington and Charlotte or if we'd not run out of gas at
Texas.

There's going to be a lot of things we look back and know where we lost this
year. We definitely should be solid in the top 10 right now if we hadn't made
those mistakes.

We've had our eyes on that. It's something we'll look back on at the end of the
year and not let happen next year and go from there."

WILL IT BE TOUGH IF NO EVERNHAM CARS ARE IN THE TOP 10?
Credit: Autostock
"If they (9 team) fall out it'll be because they made mistakes and beat
themselves also.

Our goal was to get both cars in and if not both, then get one. That's what
we're trying to do and we're doing the best we can to do that. It certainly
wouldn't be a good situation, but we'll learn from it. It'll make us better and
we'll move on.

No matter what happens we're better than last year and ahead of our schedule
anyway. We still want to get in, if not both, then one car anyway. If not, we'll
go back to the drawing board and I'll guarantee you we'll be tough in that deal
next year.

We'll fix the problems we've had this year and not let it happen to us again."

DO YOU THINK DRIVERS ALREADY ELIMINATED FROM THE CHASE WILL CUT YOU ANY SLACK AT
RICHMOND?

"I doubt it. They usually don't anyway. I certainly wouldn't and wouldn't expect
them to. I doubt it.

It's tough racing and very competitive and we're all here to win. Normally these
guys don't cut anyone any breaks."

DO YOU STILL LIKE THE NEW POINTS FORMAT?

"Oh yeah, I think it's good. It's going to be great. There's a lot of talk about
it and fans are pumped up about it. The media is excited about it. I think it's
going to be good. Saturday night should be interesting.

It should be very interesting. Who knows what's going to happen after that?
That's what it's all about, putting on a good show and entertainment, and I
think that's what you're going to see."

HOW WOULD YOU DRIVE IF YOU ONLY NEEDED TO FINISH SECOND OR THIRD TO MAKE THE TOP
10?

"Coming down to the end of the night if you're running second or third or
whatever, and if you finish like that and the team lets you know you're in, you
don't do anything crazy.

As far as I'm concerned right now, we've got to go in and sit on the pole and
win the race and lead all the laps and everything else. That's my goal anyway
right now. Until I'm told otherwise, I'm not going to expect anything else.

I think it's going to be a great track for it, a short track, Saturday night,
I'm sure there will be a full moon out and tempers flaring at the end of it,
too. I'm sure it's going to be a spectacular event."

JAMIE McMURRAY

NOTE: McMurray ranks 11th in the standings, 25 points out of 10th place. He's
finished in the top 10 in four of the past five races and moved up from 15th to
11th after his fourth-place performance at California Speedway.

What is your outlook heading into this weekend's race in Richmond?

Jamie McMurray: "I feel pretty good about our chances of getting into the Top 10
and being part of the Chase for the Championship.

We're taking the same car we ran at Richmond back in the spring and had a strong
run going until we were caught up in a wreck with Joe Nemechek.
Jamie McMurray Credit: Autostock
That's the thing about Richmond, it's a short track and you can be caught up in
someone else's mess and have your night end early.

The points are so tight between eighth and 15th-place. It's going to be
interesting to see who makes the top 10 after Richmond is over. Hopefully the
Texaco/Havoline Dodge is one of those that make the cut. If we can avoid
trouble, I feel good about our chances."

You're only 25 points out of the top 10. You had 25 points taken away back at
Bristol in the spring when your car was impounded for an illegal rear window.
How much sleep have you lost the last few days over losing those points?

"There's nothing you can do about it now. I mean, if after Richmond we miss the
Top 10 and the Chase for the Championship by 25 points, yeah, of course,
everyone is going to start playing the 'What If?' game. But you have to look
back at our season as a whole.

We've given away numerous points this year with blown motors, so if we miss the
Top 10 by a small amount of points, it will not be for just one infraction."

Many drivers have been vocal about the new points system. As we approach the
final race before the cut-off, what are your thoughts?

"You know, I was one of the vocal drivers at the beginning of the season that
did not like the new points system.

But I must admit, it's been exciting to see all the coverage that those of us
trying to get into the top 10 have been receiving by the media over the last few
weeks. It's great for our sponsors, and I think it's created a lot of buzz for
NASCAR.

Usually this time in the season is when there are a handful of drivers that are
competing for the championship and there's not much media focus. I think overall
the new points system has been good for all involved."



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