"We had a good run in the Busch Clash. We've got a different car for the 500. It's the same car we won the 500 with here last year. We won a qualifying race, and we won Talladega with it, too. We're going to have the same engine we won with here last year. We've been saving it on the truck. The car worked well this morning in traffic, and we're more or less going to fine-tune the car and get it ready for the 500.
"They just keep rebuilding and refining the engine. They changed the compression rules. We changed some pistons and stuff in it and probably changed the camshaft. We changed intakes from last year. We probably tried 10 engines on the dyno and it showed the best, so that's the one we expect to run in the Daytona 500. It's not tired. Runt's engines don't get going until after 250 or 300 miles.
"Daytona has always been a favorite track of mine. I remember coming here in 1964 with my dad. It's like a second home to me. We've got a lot of fans down here. Daytona has been awful good to me. It's been good to my dad. I got my first career pole here and my first career win. I've run second here (seven times). I ran second in the Busch Clash. I wish we could race here 31 times a year.
"It takes a lot off your shoulders (having won here before). When I got with the Morgan-McClure team the first year, it put more pressure on me then to win. Ernie had won in that car here, and I ran second to him that year. I knew the car was good and to win the Daytona 500 in `94 in my first start with the team took a lot of weight off my shoulders. Now I can relax and go race hard. It's a great race team. The guys work hard and prepare the car good. Last year was a good year for us. We're hoping for better things this year."
FIRST RACE AT DAYTONA WAS 1979 IN GOODY'S 300. YOU STARTED NINTH AND FINISHED SECOND. DID IT TAKE LONG TO COME UP TO SPEED?
"No it didn't. That was the first year they had repaved the track. The cars were really fast. I took one of my dad's old cars, stuck an engine in it and came down here. We had a good time."
WILL YOU DRIVE DIFFERENT THAN LAST YEAR WITH NEW RULES? "The Busch Clash looked like it was real competitive. There was a lot of passing. The throttle response of the car is about the same as it was last year. You're about 100 or 200 rpm's shy of what the motors were turning last year. We lost about 50 horsepower in the engine, but we've gained some back now. I guess we're about 35 mph off what we were last year. We won the race here in 1994 with 428 horsepower. I hear some of the Fords have got that now. The engine man just keeps working and next year they'll probably be back up to 440 or 450 with what we've got now."
WILL YOU BE RACING THE SAME GUYS ON SUNDAY?
"It's too early to say yet. It was the same guys in the Clash, but you've got the 98 car and you don't know how strong he is yet. You don't know about the new Pontiacs. The 22 looked like he was pretty good this morning. There might be some surprises. If it's 85 degrees, handling will really come into play. If it's a cool day, 60 degrees, you're going to have a lot of cars hooked up in a train. Usually here at Daytona, the best handling car is going to win the race if it's a long green-flag run. If the deal comes where it's a 10-lap shootout, it's all up for grabs. Everybody had new tires in the Clash. You hadn't got time to mess around back there. If you can go three deep and pass, go ahead. You've got to go. The 500 is a long race. You might see a three-deep deal. To win it, you've got to finish it. It looked like everybody's cars worked real good in the Clash. Nobody was real loose or real tight. Everybody's cars drove real good, and we had a good time."
HOW HAS WINNING THE DAYTONA 500 CHANGED YOUR LIFE?
"It's helped my bank account a little bit. It meant a lot to come here and win the 500. I always dreamed about winning it, and the race team has had some success here. When I got in the car, I felt like I had a real good chance to win here. As far as changing a lot, I see the same friends and do the same things and go on down the highway. I've been around Winston Cup racing a long time. I guess before I won, the guys respected me as a driver. They treated me the same way two or three years ago as they do now. Once you leave here and the race is over, you go on to Rockingham and Richmond. You try to be competitive and try to win races and do your own thing. If we do win three straight (Daytona 500's) it'll be real pleasing for me and real pleasing for the team, but it'll be a tough deal because a lot of cars are running real good. We'll have to be right on the top of our game to compete for it."
HAS ANY TEAM SAID YOU CAN'T WIN IT AGAIN?
"We haven't heard that. We were one of the favorites to win the pole, and we more or less shot ourselves in the foot for that. We just had to put it behind us and concentrate on the 125 coming up and concentrate on the 500."
ANY DIFFERENT PLANS FOR THE `96 SEASON?
"We've got a test planned for Watkins Glen for three days. I don't know if it'll do me much good or not. Once road course races get started, it's pretty good. I've got someone to judge off of. I never qualify good on road courses. I drive in too deep, slide through stuff or let off too early. Once the race gets going, I'm pretty good, but I need to work on some qualifying. We're going to try some new chassis stuff at Watkins Glen.
"On road courses, you've really got to slow down and get stopped in the corners. I like to put her in high gear and let her eat. I always thought Riverside was a fun road course. It was wider, but to be in contention for a championship, we've got to treat the road courses like we do the Daytona 500. They pay the same points. We've got to get better on them and the short tracks."
ARE YOU BETTER PREPARED TO RUN FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP THIS YEAR?
"I think so. The team has really worked hard. They've been practicing pit stops the last month and a half. We've got race cars sitting everywhere up there at the shop. We've got race cars on top of race cars. The guys are really fired up this year. That's the best they've ever done in the points last year. That's the best I've ever done. We're looking forward to bigger and better things this year."
DID YOU SEE THE HENDRICK THREE-CAR DRAFT IN THE CLASH?
"I felt it because we had a shot for the lead and they hung me out to dry. It looks like me and the 3 might have to talk to each other and become teammates for the 500. You've got the three Hendrick cars, you've got the Roush cars and you've got the Yates cars. Us and the 3 are really by ourselves and our cars run good together. We might have to team up for the 500 and see what happens. There are some guys who will go with you and not hang you out to dry. Some other guys you think will go with you and will pull back in line and hang you out. That deal Sunday, the 10-lap dash for cash, it's every man for himself. Everybody is trying to get to the front and do what you've got to do. Sometimes you find a couple of cars that really work good together. Myself and Michael Waltrip have always drafted good together. I really haven't run that much with the 3 until yesterday, but it looks like our cars are pretty equal. If it's hot, handling is going to be a key, you can break 'em off and get away from some guys. There could be a three or four-car breakaway. But if it's cloudy and cool and everybody's car drives good, it'll probably be one of the most competitive 500's we've had. Everybody becomes a enemy then (last 10 laps)."
ANY THOUGHTS ABOUT EARNHARDT'S DAYTONA 500 DROUGHT?
"It's probably the same as everybody asking me if I can threepeat. I know when Dale comes down here, he's sure going to try to win the 500. He's been awful close. He should have won it three or four times. Things just haven't gone his way. He's running awful good this year. This year may be his year, who knows. The Fords are going to be tough. They were tough this morning in practice. They've cried wolf all winter and got things like they wanted 'em, so they're going to be tough on Sunday."
