Q: What’s the single most memorable race in all of your years as a team owner? The 1997 Daytona 500 is mine. I’m always going to support him in whatever he wants to do. It won’t be as a car owner, but I’ll help Jimmie however I can if he decides to pursue something over there. NASCAR is where my passion is, but I’m a fan of open-wheel. Jeff Andrews, our vice president of competition, came from that world. I know Chip (Ganassi) very well and have a ton of respect for what he’s accomplished. As I mentioned, Roger (Penske) is a great friend. RH: I keep an eye on Ind圜ar and have a huge amount of admiration for the team owners and drivers. Q: Jimmie Johnson has said he would like to try Ind圜ar. Any thoughts of becoming an Ind圜ar team owner, and asking Jimmie Johnson to be your driver? I know how hard our teams work and how much time and effort goes into each car. There’s almost nothing worse than going down to Daytona and watching a million dollars worth of cars get destroyed at one time. RH: I’d be a lot better off financially if that were the case. Q: I’d like to know if you are compensated for cars that are deliberately wrecked by the drivers of competing teams? Is there some kind of leveling that happens behind the scenes? He won three races that first year, and the rest is history. I was so impressed that I called Tim and told him we were going in another direction. I don’t know when Tim’s going to call.’ Bodine said it was OK and just sat down in the waiting room. Geoff looked at me and asked if he could wait. I told him that I already had an offer out to Tim Richmond but if Tim didn’t accept, the job was his. I met with him in my office at City Chevrolet in Charlotte. RH: When I think about Geoff, I always go back to when I hired him to drive our first car in 1984. Q: Please tell your best Geoff Bodine story! Let’s find ways for our individual series to be successful and for motor sports as a whole to be successful. When the Daytona 500 sells out, that’s great for NASCAR, but it’s also great for racing. When I see 200,000 people at the Indy 500, I think that’s terrific for racing. We can find ways to work together that are mutually beneficial and that get people excited about motorsports. Roger Penske is a great friend of mine, and he’s going to be a tremendous leader for that series. I don’t believe that Ind圜ar has to do poorly for NASCAR to do well. In the ’80s, we raced the Corvette GTP cars. Before I got into NASCAR, I was a drag racer. Q: How much do you think NASCAR benefited from the open-wheel split? And what do you think about the fact that the NASCAR/Ind圜ar relationship seems to be moving away from mutual hostility and more towards collaboration? It hasn’t always been a smooth road, but I consider myself very fortunate. I say this a lot, but I’m the luckiest guy in the world because I get to make a living doing the two things I love most outside of my family. The car business and racing have given me so many opportunities. In many ways, I owe everything to the automobile. It’s very personal for me and holds a lot of meaning. I built the Heritage Center as a tribute to my family and a home for my cars and guitars. I’m a bit of a pack rat and wanted one place where I could put everything. I’m also a huge music fan and collect a lot of memorabilia. Collecting cars is a big, big passion for me. Q: Will you ever do a video of your extensive car collection in the Heritage Center and elsewhere? I’m a big fan of sports car racing, but I don’t see us jumping back into it. RH: We had a lot of fun with the Corvette GTP program back in the ’80s and won some races. Q: Do you ever plan to return to sports car racing? Penske, Roush, Ganassi field or have fielded teams in recent years. I’ve enjoyed being around him a lot more often with Chase driving for us. And he’s a great person to boot, and was so good with fans and sponsors. He was an unbelievable driver and one of the best I’ve ever seen at breaking down a chassis. I always wanted to work with Bill Elliott. He won it, and I finally got to say that Tony Stewart drove for Hendrick Motorsports. Tony eventually did run one race for me, an Xfinity race at Daytona. At the time, he told me that he knew he wasn’t ready (for Cup) yet. I had a conversation with him very early on, before he signed with Coach Gibbs. Tony (Stewart) and I have become close friends. I joke that he would call me whenever he wanted a raise from Richard (Childress). You know, Richard Petty was supposed to drive for us when I started the team in 1984. I’ve been so fortunate to work with some of the best drivers – and best people – ever to do it. Q: What do you think your biggest missed opportunity was when it came to a driver in NASCAR? Who did you have the opportunity to sign, but didn’t, and saw them succeed on another team?
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |