Multiple NASCAR Winston Cup Champion Jeff Gordon is turning his attentions to the Daytona 24 Hours this year, teaming up with 2005 race-winners Max Angelelli and Wayne Taylor and former grand prix ace Jan Magnussen behind the wheel of the pace-setting SunTrust Racing Pontiac Riley.
In what is irrefutably one of the event’s hottest driver line-ups, Gordon has a lot to learn and little time in which to do so. Here he gives his thoughts on a race that, should he triumph, would be another impressive achievement on an already glittering CV…
Q:
How is it going so far?
Jeff Gordon:
It’s going really well. The first day of testing was the first time I had ever had a chance to be in the car here. After the Homestead test I had a better idea of what the car was capable of doing, but learning the track was definitely a challenge. We went through a lot of that on Thursday. I felt like I was just starting to get the hang of everything right at the end of the day. I felt pretty comfortable and I was happy. I felt like I was starting to get up to speed.
Q:
A big development since your last test at Homestead is that you have probably one of the fastest sportscar drivers out there with Jan Magnussen. Talk about another great addition to the SunTrust car!
JG:
I was really happy to hear that. Doug Duchart, with Hendrick Motorsports, was with GM Racing for many years. I heard him talk about Jan for a number of years, how quick he was, what a good driver he is. When Wayne called me and told me that news, I was definitely very happy – not necessarily surprised, but happy to hear the news.
I think we’ve got a great line-up. Now I’m just trying to live up to my end of the deal! We’ve got three fast guys out there, a great race team. I feel like we really have the making of what it takes to win this race. I just want to do my part to make sure I contribute enough to get us a victory.
Q:
Obviously, the chemistry between Max and Wayne is very good. How is the chemistry for the whole team coming along right now?
JG:
I’m new to this team and this type of racing. From what I can tell, it’s excellent. Max is obviously very fast. He’s been extremely helpful going over telemetry and anything I’ve asked him, he’s been right there. He’s hilarious when you hear him in these meetings, debriefings and things. You can tell the chemistry between him and Wayne. They’ve welcomed me in and made me feel very comfortable. Jan has seemed like a perfect mix for our group in the short time he’s been here. The chemistry is great right now.
Q:
You found out something about the rigours of driving a Daytona prototype at a road course in Homestead. You had a bandage on your hand. What did you experience there? How does Daytona compare?
JG:
Yeah, I got blisters! No wrist injuries or anything like that. I haven’t been to the golf course lately though! I’m a lot more intense and not as relaxed as I need to be. Each time I get more laps in the car I get more relaxed, so you can relax your hand a little bit.
In Homestead, I tore my hand up pretty good. This time I wanted to make sure I prevented any of that. I think really by the time we get back here for the race, I might not need to do much to my hand because I’ll be a little more relaxed.
Q:
Jimmie Johnson is familiar with this race. How much have you talked with him about running the 24 Hours?
JG:
I’ve talked to him quite a bit. I think he played a role in my decision to come here and run this race. After he ran, he told me how much fun he had, how fun the cars were to drive. That definitely played a big role in my decision to be here. Even after Homestead, we talked a little bit about the cars, the race, rain, night-time, different things like that.
I think I’m getting a lot from my team-mates, especially Max. I’ve been tapping into him a lot. Prior to all that, Jimmie and Casey Mears were the only guys I knew that had experience.
Q:
Hendrick Motorsports tried to put together a deal here two years ago. That didn’t work out. Could you give some background on how it came together for you to be here this year? Did you try in 2006?
JG:
I’ve been not necessarily trying but thinking about it for a number of years. Back when I was running midgets and Sprint cars, racing at Volusia County, I remember this race being here and being interested in it.
The thing that’s kept me from doing it is just scheduling. It’s not a last-minute decision for me. I’m so busy through January. I told myself, ‘I’m never going to do this race unless I have the proper amount of time to do the testing, get the laps that it takes’.
A guy named Ron McMahon, who works for Riley, used to work for Lee Osborne, who built my Sprint cars years ago in Indiana. He and my step-father stayed friends for a number of years. The conversations just came about. ‘Hey, if Jeff is ever interested in doing the 24 Hours, we’ll help him’.
I tell you, the biggest change for me was the new Grand-Am Series. These types of cars allow drivers from other series who don’t have a lot of experience to be able to come in. The cars are technical, they’re a lot different to what I run, but they’re not so technical as to mean I need a year of seat time.
It’s an endurance race. I don’t expect to come in here and be as fast as the guys that run this series all the time. I want to be a contributor to the team.
All those factors weigh in to be able to allow me to do this, but most of it’s just time. I planned a year in advance of putting this race on the schedule, and here I am.
Q:
If you had to pinpoint one specific thing, what would you say is the biggest thing that you had to adapt to and get used to?
JG:
I wish it was that easy – there’s never just one thing. It’s always a combination. Max Papis is a friend of ours’ at Hendrick Motorsports. He has come round, hung out with us, even done some testing for us on the road courses. When I talked to him about these cars, he said to me you really have to attack the braking zones, get in the corners deep.
That’s true in our cars (NASCAR). But you just can’t drive in there as deep as you can with these cars. It’s so easy in our cars to overdrive the corner, where it’s a lot more difficult to do that in these cars. They stop so well.
The biggest thing is just pushing the brake pedal that hard. I’m not used to putting that much pressure on the brake pedal. It’s nice to have that braking force. But in our cars, if I put that much pressure on the pedal, it would lock up the tyres.
Q:
How much of the Rolex 24 is fun and how much is road course seat time for you?
JG:
Well, all I know is I’m having a lot of fun right now. I know there are going to be a tremendous amount of cars out there on the track.
I think it’s well-known that I like the road courses in the NASCAR series. I think it’s sort of a natural for me to come and do this because I do like road racing. These cars adapt so much – really, they’re more suited for road racing than our cars are.
I’m having a lot of fun. I’m with the right team and that really makes a big difference because I like to be competitive.
I really don’t know a lot of what to expect once the race starts other than what other guys have told me. I think I’m going to have to go out there and experience that for myself. I’ll have to let you know after my first stint how much fun I’m having. If it goes anything like it’s gone so far, I’m sure I’m going to be smiling.
Q:
How challenging is it to adapt to this course and to have to do driver changes?
JG:
Well, the driver changes are still a work in progress. Every time I get in the car, we do a driver change. I’m slowly working into that. The nice thing is all four drivers are about the same size. I had to put one little insert behind my shoulders to fit into Max’s insert. I think Wayne puts an insert into his.
I tried to do my best to just come in here and not change things too much. I wanted to adapt to the driving style that Max and Wayne have, to the seat position, steering wheel position, pedal position, all those things, so we don’t have to take that extra time. We found a solution in Homestead, so that worked out really well.
The track was definitely a challenge for me on the first day. I wasn’t sure what this track would be like versus Homestead. I went to Homestead, felt like I got up to speed fairly quickly the first day, then started fine-tuning.
I told the guys right away I just came off vacation. I told them I’m not off vacation yet because my brain wasn’t in road racing mode on the first run out there. I was missing a few braking zones, things like that. By the end of the day though, I had really started to pick it up.
This track definitely had some challenges that I felt were even more challenging than Homestead for me. The chicane on the back straight for example, you’re carrying a lot of speed in there. You have to really get through there well to do a good lap. It took me a little while to figure that out.
