NASCAR Q&A: Ford personnel on Dodge's return.

Drivers Jeff Burton and Ricky Rudd, together with Ford personnel, answered questions on the return of Dodge as a full-time competitor in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series.

Even though the Intrepid has been on a number of tracks for test sessions, this year will mark its official Winston Cup debut. Many members of the Ford camp can relate to what Dodge teams are feeling because it was only three years ago that they were in the same position with the all-new Ford Taurus.

Ford personnel recalled what their feelings were in 1998 and what some of their Dodge counterparts might be thinking with the Daytona 500 only a couple of weeks away.

Q: What were your thoughts going into Speedweeks in 1998 with a new car?

Greg Specht, Director of North American Operations for Ford Racing
Technology: "I was just wondering if there was bridge high enough in the Daytona area that I could jump off of that wasn't over water (joking). I'm basically an optimistic person and you always have hope and we were hopeful that we would do well, although the reality of the numbers was a cause for great concern. There were a lot of mixed feelings rolling into Daytona 500 qualifying with that Taurus the first go round."

Q: What do you think the Dodge guys are feeling right now?

Greg Specht: "I think they've got a different problem than we did in that we had a good motor and a draggy car, so our hope was that the motor could overcome the incremental drag we had on the car compared to the competition. I think the Dodge guys are in the opposite situation because they've got a pretty good car, but I think their concern is the motor. That's where I think their anxiety probably is right now."

Q: If you were a Dodge driver what would you be thinking having been in a similar position with a new car just three years ago?

Jeff Burton #99 Citgo Supergard Ford Taurus: "They have a new engine program which is something I wouldn't want to be involved in. I'm not saying that they won't have success with it, but it's different than what we had to do. We just had to do the car, whereas they've had to do all of it."

"They have benefited a great deal because NASCAR's position on what they did with the car is that Dodge ended up receiving a lot of work that we did. We spent a tremendous amount of time developing that Taurus and they didn't really have to do that. They were pretty much given what we had and then they got to build their own nose and own hood, but all the stuff that really works and really matters, we've already done for them because the templates are the same."

"So, I don't have a whole lot of sympathy for them. They certainly have a huge hurdle to cross with the engine and if they can pull that off successfully, then they've done a wonderful job. That, to me, if I were a Dodge driver, would be my biggest concern because knowing what my templates are, I know that car can win. I've seen Rusty Wallace, Mark Martin, Dale Jarrett, Jeremy Mayfield and the 99 car all run in the front so I know it's a good car, but will the engine be good enough and have enough reliability?"

Q: Do you feel the anxiety you faced with the new Taurus is similar to what the Dodge teams might be feeling with the engine?

Jeff Burton:"There was a tremendous amount of anxiety, but that anxiety was generated because two of the teams believed in totally different concepts. The Yates teams and Roush teams were in heated battle over what was the best way to build the car, so a lot of the anxiety was created because of that."

"We were real, real happy with what we had. We thought the car we had was great, but the Yates camp didn't, so the fact they were so convinced we had a problem, that made us think there might be something wrong that we didn't understand. But when we went to Charlotte and tested in December, I knew we were in good shape."

"I was very concerned about Superspeedway racing. As much as I was happy at Charlotte, I knew we had a major problem at Daytona and Talladega. I wasn't that anxious about going to Rockingham and Vegas, but I was nervous about going to Daytona."

Q: You're friends with John Andretti, but you're probably glad not to be in his shoes right now?

Jeff Burton: "I wouldn't want to trade teams, no. I am very comfortable with our Ford package, if NASCAR doesn't step in and allow the Chevrolets the best of both worlds by making rules for them, then I believe we have a good car."

"NASCAR can determine if our car is good or not and with what they did at the last race at Talledega, they made our car not so good anymore - not because they did anything to our car but because they didn't do as much to the Chevrolet. If they keep things fair, then we have a good car. If they decide the Chevrolet isn't as good as the Ford, or the Pontiac isn't as good as the Ford or something, then they can make our
car not so good."

"I know we've got a good car, but I don't know how they're gonna react to how people run during the year. I guess that's something we can't control. I don't blame them for wanting to make racing close, but we have two different objectives. Our objective is for it not to be close and their objective is for it to be very close, so it's just two different things."

Q: Can you compare or contrast where Dodge is going into Speedweeks versus what it was like three years ago with the Taurus?

Ricky Rudd #28 Texaco Havoline Ford Taurus: "There's a big difference. They've had a long time to get prepared. We didn't get the new Taurus sheet metal or didn't even know what the Taurus was gonna be until the middle of December and that's the difference."

"They were speedway testing at least six months ago, so I think they're coming in with a lot more development time in that car than we had with the Taurus because we didn't get the final templates until right around Christmas."

Q: If you were a Dodge driver right now what would be your concerns?

Ricky Rudd:"The problems we hear they're having seem to be reliability problems. I know that's something they can work through and with the financial resources at their disposal, I think it's something they will have worked out before the 500. If not, I'm sure they'll be a little nervous going into the Daytona 500, but I think they've come a long way."

"Supposedly the blocks would only last about 30 miles when they first started running, but now I guess they've gotten them in a lot better shape. So I guess the biggest problem they need to be concerned with is the reliability and dependability on the motor."

Q: What do you think about the Intrepid and its ability to compete?

Ricky Rudd: "The car they've got is basically a Taurus with a different nose fascia and bumper cover, so it's not like they're starting with a clean sheet of paper. At one time I believe they were using Taurus roofs, decklids and hoods on those things, but when the Taurus came out it was a completely unproven car than what they've got."

"The Ford Racing Taurus has been very good, so they started with what they perceived to be the best car and just tweaked on it from there. As far as being competitive, I don't think that's even a question - they're going to be competitive and they're going to run well."

Q: If you could put yourself in a Dodge Crew Chief's position right now, are they feeling some of the same thing you felt three years ago with the Taurus?

Robin Pemberton, Crew Chief #2 Miller Lite Ford Taurus: "I think they're feeling more because they've got other issues. When we were doing Taurus, we were mainly worried about aero balance and sheet metal stuff because our chassis were the same. Their chassis are the same coming from Pontiac or Ford, but they've got an engine thing hanging over their head."

"They've got a completely new design and everything, so the anxiety over that part of it, plus the fact that it's Daytona, really multiplies. I'm glad I'm not in their position because I probably wouldn't be getting much sleep these days."

Q: Can that anxiety over their engine compare to the anxiety you had with the Taurus?

Robin Pemberton:"Maybe, but here at Penske Racing we had more of a comfort level because we did a lot of aero work in helping develop the Taurus, so we had a pretty good idea of what the car was going to be like once it got out on the race track."

"I think if I had been one of the other Ford teams that wasn't involved in that development process it would have been more stressful, but fortunately for us we had done a lot of work on the car and probably weren't as nervous about it as some others."