Quotes
No one was shy about sharing their views in '05
By Josh Pate, NASCAR.COM
It was Abraham Lincoln who said, "It is better to remain silent and be thought of as a fool than to speak and remove all doubt."
Lincoln might have been correct, but he obviously wasn't around long enough to become a NASCAR fan.
Looking back at the 2005 season, words are hardly the quality that will put the year in context in regards to the sport's history. But that doesn't mean we didn't compile a laundry list of phrases that made us hit the TiVo rewind button, turn up the volume and ask ourselves, "Say what?"
The beauty of up-close-and-personal interviews in this sport is that sometimes they can be more entertaining than informative. So with that, here is our top-10 list for 2005 ... just don't quote us on it.
10. "I'm like a mule. I can take it. The safety devices are incredible today. We used to take those kind of whoopings without all that stuff, and it was a lot worse. This one is over with, and we'll pick up and go on."
-- Mark Martin, after being caught in a six-car wreck at Talladega on Lap 20.
Jimmie Johnson had a run on pole-sitter Elliott Sadler heading into Turn 1, but his bump-draft in the corner sent Sadler sideways, collecting four other cars. Among those was Martin, who was visibly upset about restrictor-place racing when he climbed out of his mangled metal. The early wreck with seven races left in the season proved to be the anchor that kept Martin out of the title hunt.
9. "The NHL has its work cut out for it. Let's face it -- television, advertising, marketing, licensing ... all of that stuff comes back to the fans; if they are mad, they won't be buying -- whether it's tickets or souvenirs. ... It's like walking out on your wife for a week. You can't walk back in the door, give her a wave, tell her you missed her and expect her to start cooking dinner."
-- Truck Series driver Brandon Whitt, weighing in on the NHL returning after its strike.
Whitt scored his first-career Truck Series victory at Memphis in July, when he motored past a spinning Ron Hornaday Jr. on the final turn to take the checkered flag. Whitt started from the pole and led the race's first 46 laps. As the Tennessee sky darkened, he positioned his truck in second for the final restart. Hornaday slowed because of smoke from a Jimmy Spencer spin, then got turned as he neared the wreck. Whitt slipped past, and celebrated into the night. No word on whether he got a home-cooked meal or not.
8. "I feel like I got a pile of cattle chasing my ass, and I'm peddling as hard as I can to stay in front of 'em. I'm looking behind me driving like hell."
-- Rusty Wallace, prior to the July race at Pocono on being in the top 10 in points.
Wallace clearly found the best analogy on trying to make the Chase for the Championship.
After a second-place finish at Pocono, Wallace sat fourth in the standings and cruised into the top 10 for one final round before his last call. And for a while, it looked like he might outrun the herd. He drove his Blue Deuce to as high as second in the standings with eight races remaining. He wound up eighth in the final points.
7. "Everyone thinks Michael is a good guy. He is not the good guy like he acts like he is. Caution was out, and he wrecked me."
-- Robby Gordon, after hurling his helmet at Michael Waltrip's door at New Hampshire, the Chase's first race.
Waltrip and Gordon, despite not making the Chase, started their own battle when they touched on Lap 191. Caution was on the speedway for a separate incident, but the contact with Waltrip sent Gordon's machine hard into the fence. By the time Waltrip made it back around under caution, Gordon thanked him for the nudge by heaving his helmet at Waltrip's No. 15. In response, Waltrip "waved" to return the gesture.
The altercation turned into a finger-pointing match, with Gordon blaming Waltrip for spinning him out under caution and Waltrip claiming Gordon wasn't giving him enough room on the bottom groove. All is well, though, as Gordon auctioned the helmet on eBay for charity.
6. "You've started a lot of engines."
-- Chris Myers, television host for FOX and FX NASCAR broadcasts, to All-Star Challange grand marshall Pamela Anderson.
Talking about NASCAR is Myers' job, and just because a high-profile actress/model comes along to give the command to start engines, it doesn't mean he's going to just stop what he's doing and abandon his job of informing the fans on racing, in racing terms, about racing topics ... yada yada yada.
5. "I got pounded in the butt and someone spunned me out."
-- NBA star Lebron James, on his video-game experience with Bobby Labonte at Bristol.
James graced the hood of Labonte's No. 18 Chevrolet for the Sharpie 500, but he wasn't so graceful when he took the former Cup champion one-on-one in a NASCAR simulator before the race. James, however, seemed to have some insight on the events that unfolded at Bristol, as several cars got "spunned" out, including Dale Jarrett -- three times, which brings us to No. 5 ...
4. "Mine was unintentional and his was intentional, and that's all I'm saying. NASCAR can do what they want with it."
-- Ryan Newman, after being taken out of the race at Bristol by Dale Jarrett.
On Lap 301 of the Sharpie 500, Newman bumped Jarrett, sending the No. 88 Ford spinnng into the outside wall. Jarrett pitted, had some damage slightly repaired and 17 laps later -- in "Days of Thunder" fashion, made a right-hand turn into Newman as the two came off of Turn 4. Both cars were damaged, and they collected onlooker Kevin Harvick along the way. Jarrett was penalized two laps for rough driving, and his 31st-place finish dropped him from 11th in the points to 14th just two races before the start of the Chase.
3. "They name streets after guys like that -- One Way and Dead End ... He's just an idiot."
-- Tony Stewart, on Greg Biffle, who was racing hard with the leaders despite being one lap down at Martinsville in the fall.
Biffle was fighting to stay on the lead lap and was the first car in line on a restart with 52 laps remaining in the Subway 500. Trailing him were Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Stewart. Gordon and Johnson got by, but it took some work. Stewart's pass took even more work, as he and Biffle raced side-by-side around the .526-mile paperclip. After some beating and banging, Stewart finally put his No. 20 around the lapped Biffle with 27 to go. He also got by Johnson but didn't have enough steam to catch race-winner Gordon.
2. "It's the last straw for Roush Racing. We're officially retiring as Kurt Busch's apologists effective [Sunday]."
-- Roush Racing president Geoff Smith, after the team suspended Kurt Busch for the season's final two races.
Two days before the Phoenix race, Busch was cited for reckless driving in Avondale, Ariz., resulting in Roush Racing suspending the former Cup champion for the final two races and parting ways for good. The suspension sealed the fate of two 2006 Cup rides, as Busch will take over the No. 2 Penske Racing Dodge and Jamie McMurray moves into Busch's old car -- both deals that were originally scheduled for 2007. That allows Casey Mears to drive the No. 42 Ganassi entry, which allows Reed Sorenson to move into the No. 41. Get it? If not, we're not apologizing.
1. "I'm too damn fat to be climbing fences. I had to do it once, though."
-- Tony Stewart, after climbing the chain fence following his Daytona win in July.
Turns out, he did it a few times.
Stewart's Spiderman impression became a late-summer tradition, as he earned all five of his victories during a seven-race span, including the mother of all victories for Stewart, a win at Indy. The hot streak vaulted him from sixth in the standings on June 19 -- 311 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson -- to first with a 105-point lead over Johnson following a win at Watkins Glen on Aug. 14.
By the season finale at Homestead, the crowd was calling his name, begging for the champion to scale the fence and salute them face-to-face. He obliged.
No one was shy about sharing their views in '05
By Josh Pate, NASCAR.COM
It was Abraham Lincoln who said, "It is better to remain silent and be thought of as a fool than to speak and remove all doubt."
Lincoln might have been correct, but he obviously wasn't around long enough to become a NASCAR fan.
Looking back at the 2005 season, words are hardly the quality that will put the year in context in regards to the sport's history. But that doesn't mean we didn't compile a laundry list of phrases that made us hit the TiVo rewind button, turn up the volume and ask ourselves, "Say what?"
The beauty of up-close-and-personal interviews in this sport is that sometimes they can be more entertaining than informative. So with that, here is our top-10 list for 2005 ... just don't quote us on it.
10. "I'm like a mule. I can take it. The safety devices are incredible today. We used to take those kind of whoopings without all that stuff, and it was a lot worse. This one is over with, and we'll pick up and go on."
-- Mark Martin, after being caught in a six-car wreck at Talladega on Lap 20.
Jimmie Johnson had a run on pole-sitter Elliott Sadler heading into Turn 1, but his bump-draft in the corner sent Sadler sideways, collecting four other cars. Among those was Martin, who was visibly upset about restrictor-place racing when he climbed out of his mangled metal. The early wreck with seven races left in the season proved to be the anchor that kept Martin out of the title hunt.
9. "The NHL has its work cut out for it. Let's face it -- television, advertising, marketing, licensing ... all of that stuff comes back to the fans; if they are mad, they won't be buying -- whether it's tickets or souvenirs. ... It's like walking out on your wife for a week. You can't walk back in the door, give her a wave, tell her you missed her and expect her to start cooking dinner."
-- Truck Series driver Brandon Whitt, weighing in on the NHL returning after its strike.
Whitt scored his first-career Truck Series victory at Memphis in July, when he motored past a spinning Ron Hornaday Jr. on the final turn to take the checkered flag. Whitt started from the pole and led the race's first 46 laps. As the Tennessee sky darkened, he positioned his truck in second for the final restart. Hornaday slowed because of smoke from a Jimmy Spencer spin, then got turned as he neared the wreck. Whitt slipped past, and celebrated into the night. No word on whether he got a home-cooked meal or not.
8. "I feel like I got a pile of cattle chasing my ass, and I'm peddling as hard as I can to stay in front of 'em. I'm looking behind me driving like hell."
-- Rusty Wallace, prior to the July race at Pocono on being in the top 10 in points.
Wallace clearly found the best analogy on trying to make the Chase for the Championship.
After a second-place finish at Pocono, Wallace sat fourth in the standings and cruised into the top 10 for one final round before his last call. And for a while, it looked like he might outrun the herd. He drove his Blue Deuce to as high as second in the standings with eight races remaining. He wound up eighth in the final points.
7. "Everyone thinks Michael is a good guy. He is not the good guy like he acts like he is. Caution was out, and he wrecked me."
-- Robby Gordon, after hurling his helmet at Michael Waltrip's door at New Hampshire, the Chase's first race.
Waltrip and Gordon, despite not making the Chase, started their own battle when they touched on Lap 191. Caution was on the speedway for a separate incident, but the contact with Waltrip sent Gordon's machine hard into the fence. By the time Waltrip made it back around under caution, Gordon thanked him for the nudge by heaving his helmet at Waltrip's No. 15. In response, Waltrip "waved" to return the gesture.
The altercation turned into a finger-pointing match, with Gordon blaming Waltrip for spinning him out under caution and Waltrip claiming Gordon wasn't giving him enough room on the bottom groove. All is well, though, as Gordon auctioned the helmet on eBay for charity.
6. "You've started a lot of engines."
-- Chris Myers, television host for FOX and FX NASCAR broadcasts, to All-Star Challange grand marshall Pamela Anderson.
Talking about NASCAR is Myers' job, and just because a high-profile actress/model comes along to give the command to start engines, it doesn't mean he's going to just stop what he's doing and abandon his job of informing the fans on racing, in racing terms, about racing topics ... yada yada yada.
5. "I got pounded in the butt and someone spunned me out."
-- NBA star Lebron James, on his video-game experience with Bobby Labonte at Bristol.
James graced the hood of Labonte's No. 18 Chevrolet for the Sharpie 500, but he wasn't so graceful when he took the former Cup champion one-on-one in a NASCAR simulator before the race. James, however, seemed to have some insight on the events that unfolded at Bristol, as several cars got "spunned" out, including Dale Jarrett -- three times, which brings us to No. 5 ...
4. "Mine was unintentional and his was intentional, and that's all I'm saying. NASCAR can do what they want with it."
-- Ryan Newman, after being taken out of the race at Bristol by Dale Jarrett.
On Lap 301 of the Sharpie 500, Newman bumped Jarrett, sending the No. 88 Ford spinnng into the outside wall. Jarrett pitted, had some damage slightly repaired and 17 laps later -- in "Days of Thunder" fashion, made a right-hand turn into Newman as the two came off of Turn 4. Both cars were damaged, and they collected onlooker Kevin Harvick along the way. Jarrett was penalized two laps for rough driving, and his 31st-place finish dropped him from 11th in the points to 14th just two races before the start of the Chase.
3. "They name streets after guys like that -- One Way and Dead End ... He's just an idiot."
-- Tony Stewart, on Greg Biffle, who was racing hard with the leaders despite being one lap down at Martinsville in the fall.
Biffle was fighting to stay on the lead lap and was the first car in line on a restart with 52 laps remaining in the Subway 500. Trailing him were Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Stewart. Gordon and Johnson got by, but it took some work. Stewart's pass took even more work, as he and Biffle raced side-by-side around the .526-mile paperclip. After some beating and banging, Stewart finally put his No. 20 around the lapped Biffle with 27 to go. He also got by Johnson but didn't have enough steam to catch race-winner Gordon.
2. "It's the last straw for Roush Racing. We're officially retiring as Kurt Busch's apologists effective [Sunday]."
-- Roush Racing president Geoff Smith, after the team suspended Kurt Busch for the season's final two races.
Two days before the Phoenix race, Busch was cited for reckless driving in Avondale, Ariz., resulting in Roush Racing suspending the former Cup champion for the final two races and parting ways for good. The suspension sealed the fate of two 2006 Cup rides, as Busch will take over the No. 2 Penske Racing Dodge and Jamie McMurray moves into Busch's old car -- both deals that were originally scheduled for 2007. That allows Casey Mears to drive the No. 42 Ganassi entry, which allows Reed Sorenson to move into the No. 41. Get it? If not, we're not apologizing.
1. "I'm too damn fat to be climbing fences. I had to do it once, though."
-- Tony Stewart, after climbing the chain fence following his Daytona win in July.
Turns out, he did it a few times.
Stewart's Spiderman impression became a late-summer tradition, as he earned all five of his victories during a seven-race span, including the mother of all victories for Stewart, a win at Indy. The hot streak vaulted him from sixth in the standings on June 19 -- 311 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson -- to first with a 105-point lead over Johnson following a win at Watkins Glen on Aug. 14.
By the season finale at Homestead, the crowd was calling his name, begging for the champion to scale the fence and salute them face-to-face. He obliged.