H
HardScrabble
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Whatever happened with that camera dude someone else can figure out and let me know.
What I'm trying to figure out is what happened to the 20 car in the last few laps of the race. I kinda figured that something broke when Tony waved Bill past and began to drop back through the field. Now I am not so sure.
Try as I might I can't find anything saying what happened to the car. I did find the following post race quotes and report.
What's bugging me here is that if something broke, why didn't Tony say something over the radio to his crew chief?? I've known lots of instances where the driver and CC might now know exactly what happened, but usually we hear it was either motor, or vibration, or tire going down, or sun was in my eyes or something.
The other issue here is the statement from Zippadelli regarding at that point frustration set in and it was all over...What the hell does that mean?? Tony has walked away from the last two IROC races because he didn't feel his car was competitive, Okay no big deal to me. But is Zip saying Tony gave it up yesterday in frustration??? Don't want to think that, so has anyone heard what happened to the dem car???
The quotes:
GREG ZIPADELLI, CREW CHIEF, NO. 20 HOME DEPOT PONTIAC GRAND PRIX:
(HOW GOOD WAS YOUR CAR TODAY?) "I don't know. Early on, it looked like it was a first or second place car. I don't know what happened. Our car just seemed to go away. It got tighter and tighter, frustration set in and it was all over from there. I don't know. We surely had at least a fourth place car all day. I don't know what happened at the end, other than - like I said - frustration set in. We've dealt with that enough to know our circumstances and instead of coming out of here fourth or fifth, we come out of here 12th. It's just too bad. Everybody on the Home Depot Pontiac worked hard. We had a good car. The motor department did a phenomenal job. That is, by far, the best motor we've ever had. They gave us something new this week and it lasted all day. I couldn't ask any more of them.
JOE GIBBS, TEAM OWNER, JOE GIBBS RACING:
(WHAT HAPPENED TO TONY'S CAR IN THE CLOSING LAPS OF THE RACE?) "To tell you truth, we haven't talked to Tony and really, I think he was so upset. We're not sure what happened. But, our car really just went away from us badly in the last 10 or 12 laps or so, and we fell a bunch of spots. It was a real disappointment for all of us."
A final caution for debris on lap 154 spelled more trouble for Stewart. His tires cooled, and those who had taken four tires over Stewart's two now had the upper hand. Four green flag laps remained, and in that time, Stewart dropped from fourth to 12th.
"The run up to then was great," said team owner Joe Gibbs. "I thought Tony fought his guts out. Our pit crew did. Hey, we gave it our best shot. I thought we had a chance to win and I know it's a bitter disappointment for everybody, including Tony. This is the number one place he wants to try and win a race, and I thought we had a chance today. But, hey, some other people were better today. That's all."
What I'm trying to figure out is what happened to the 20 car in the last few laps of the race. I kinda figured that something broke when Tony waved Bill past and began to drop back through the field. Now I am not so sure.
Try as I might I can't find anything saying what happened to the car. I did find the following post race quotes and report.
What's bugging me here is that if something broke, why didn't Tony say something over the radio to his crew chief?? I've known lots of instances where the driver and CC might now know exactly what happened, but usually we hear it was either motor, or vibration, or tire going down, or sun was in my eyes or something.
The other issue here is the statement from Zippadelli regarding at that point frustration set in and it was all over...What the hell does that mean?? Tony has walked away from the last two IROC races because he didn't feel his car was competitive, Okay no big deal to me. But is Zip saying Tony gave it up yesterday in frustration??? Don't want to think that, so has anyone heard what happened to the dem car???
The quotes:
GREG ZIPADELLI, CREW CHIEF, NO. 20 HOME DEPOT PONTIAC GRAND PRIX:
(HOW GOOD WAS YOUR CAR TODAY?) "I don't know. Early on, it looked like it was a first or second place car. I don't know what happened. Our car just seemed to go away. It got tighter and tighter, frustration set in and it was all over from there. I don't know. We surely had at least a fourth place car all day. I don't know what happened at the end, other than - like I said - frustration set in. We've dealt with that enough to know our circumstances and instead of coming out of here fourth or fifth, we come out of here 12th. It's just too bad. Everybody on the Home Depot Pontiac worked hard. We had a good car. The motor department did a phenomenal job. That is, by far, the best motor we've ever had. They gave us something new this week and it lasted all day. I couldn't ask any more of them.
JOE GIBBS, TEAM OWNER, JOE GIBBS RACING:
(WHAT HAPPENED TO TONY'S CAR IN THE CLOSING LAPS OF THE RACE?) "To tell you truth, we haven't talked to Tony and really, I think he was so upset. We're not sure what happened. But, our car really just went away from us badly in the last 10 or 12 laps or so, and we fell a bunch of spots. It was a real disappointment for all of us."
A final caution for debris on lap 154 spelled more trouble for Stewart. His tires cooled, and those who had taken four tires over Stewart's two now had the upper hand. Four green flag laps remained, and in that time, Stewart dropped from fourth to 12th.
"The run up to then was great," said team owner Joe Gibbs. "I thought Tony fought his guts out. Our pit crew did. Hey, we gave it our best shot. I thought we had a chance to win and I know it's a bitter disappointment for everybody, including Tony. This is the number one place he wants to try and win a race, and I thought we had a chance today. But, hey, some other people were better today. That's all."