JB:
We can always be looking at things. If we ever get to the point that we don't think we can have room to grow, then we are in trouble. Continuing to absorb energy is obviously a huge thing as is continuing to work on every factor. There is nothing we can't continue to work on. The absorption of energy and helping a driver be able to withstand major impact, that is obviously number one. We have come a long way on that with soft walls, better head and neck technology, better belts and a lot of stuff. But if we ever think we have got to the point we have done it all, we are in trouble. Safety is a goal you can't reach. Something you are always trying to do, but you are never going to get to the point where you are as safe as you are ever going to be because technology allows you to continue to grow. If you are not willing to look at technology, if you are not willing to look at better things, you can get to a point to where that is as safe as you will ever be, but that is your own fault. It is not because there are not answers out there. I don't have one thing on my mind that NASCAR needs to be looking at, other than to say we have to continue an aggressive approach to find better things to do what we do.
Q:
Does the sport need a doctor at tests?
JB:
I think definitely having trained medical professionals at a test is very important, there is no question about it. We have a relationship with a doctor, but not to the point he goes to a test or to a race track to help the drivers in case they are in a wreck. I am not aware of it. Today, with the tests that we have, every team is there and they can fully staff all the medical people. But when we get to somewhere and test, certainly we are there with responders, rather than physicians and they do a great job. But there is another level of being a trauma surgeon or a trauma physician in some form or fashion, yes that is certainly something we could do a better job at.
I have yet to a race track and test in the last say ten years where there weren't medical personnel there in some form or fashion. I can also tell you I am not sure I have ever been to a private test where there was a physician there. There have always been emergency respond teams but I have never been to a private test where we have had a trauma surgeon or a trauma specialist of some kind. Certainly the more trained medical care we can have, the better there is no question about that. You can't argue that point.
Q:
How much confidence did the team take away from its result at Daytona?
JB:
We are smart enough to know that we ran well in the
Daytona 500 and were fortunate enough to come out of there with a car in one piece. Anyone that finished that race was fortunate, that is what I honestly believe. It was really wild that last 40 laps and we put ourselves in position to have a good finish and we got one. It is better than running terrible but we separate Daytona and Talladega from the rest of our year. We could have gone to Daytona and finished 35th and we wouldn't feel any different coming here. It is just such a departure from what we do every week, so other than adding or subtracting points from your tally, there is little that matters about how you do at those two tracks versus how you are going to do here.
Q:
How much do you and your team-mates talk about helping one another at Daytona?
JB:
The stories about team-mates talking about helping each other are so exaggerated. I know it makes a great story and I understand all that but at the end of the day, if Kevin Harvick helped me finish third and he finished eighth and could have finished fourth, he did the wrong thing. That is just how it is. Anybody who thinks team-mates go in to the race thinking we are going to work with each other all day long is crazy, you don't run with each other all day long. It doesn't happen that way. There is a time at some point late in the race, your team-mate does something and you can try to help him make sure it helps him. But that is a very situational thing and we have rule if you can help me without hurting yourself do it, but if you are going to hurt yourself don't do it, I don't want you to do it. That is not fair to you, your team, your sponsor and everybody involved. It is just not. We work together, but we don't go in to the race thinking that. If you do think that every time you do something your team-mate is going to go with you, you are destined to be mad, that is just how it is. Matt Kenseth helped Kevin Harvick because he thought he was going to get the best finish he could by doing that. He didn't think 'oh there is Kevin Harvick, I am going to help him win the Daytona 500', or do it to be a good guy 'because all the Harvick fans will like me and the Mark Martin fans will hate me'. He said my opportunity to get the best finish is to go right here. And that is why he went there. He didn't go there to help Kevin; he went there to help himself. That is what we do. We are selfish, self-centred, arrogant people that drive race cars. That is how we are supposed to be. It is not about helping other people; it is about doing what you need to do for yourself. That is what competition is. You can't live your life like that, but if you aren't willing to race like that, you won't be successful.
Q:
How is Jimmie Johnson representing the sport as champion?
JB:
Other than not being able to ride on a golf kart very well, he has done a great job. He has proven to not being a good golf kart passenger but, short of that, I think he has been terrific. Jimmie is a quality guy. It doesn't matter if he is champion or finished 50th in points, he is still a quality guy. Being a champion doesn't change who you are or aren't. Jimmie is the kind of guy people can look up to, people can respect, he is the kind of guy you expect to do the right thing and he will do that as our champion, there is no question in my mind. And, by the way, he would do it if he wasn't the reigning champion. But again, he isn't a good golf kart rider.
Q:
How impatient are you for the new Chevy engine?
![Jeff Burton. [Pic Credit IMS Media/Chris Jones]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/252491.jpg)
