Jeff Gordon Time Quotations

They've got to do what they've got to do. I've always done it that way. We led the most laps, but when it came time to get the win, they did everything they could.

There was a lot of stuff going on. We avoided most of it, and then unfortunately there toward the end I couldn't avoid Mike Bliss . We had to fix the right front fender. We had a great car. We really did. We never really got to show it. We got it really good the second half of the race, and the whole time we were playing catch-up.

Only time will tell as to what we're really going to be capable of this year. But right now I feel like we're as good as anybody out there.

I am real happy with a top-10. We were way off. I just can't say enough for the DuPont Chevrolet team. If it weren't for the effort of the team and never giving up, we would have been way way back. We got lucky that one time racing Jeff Burton so Mark Martin wasn't able to lap us. We stayed on the lead lap and fought for everything we could and got a top-10. I don't know how we didn't because we certainly didn't have the car to do it tonight.

Honestly, I've been going up in that trailer for 10 years now . . . and I feel like very little of it ever really makes an impact. I sat there many times with Dale, and I heard him make his points, and I knew he had a special relationship with Bill (France) Jr., and NASCAR and I felt like, sometimes he definitely made a difference, sometimes he got credit for it when I think they were already going to do something and half the time they didn't do anything.

He was making a few holes for me, but he was also holding me up. It's fun racing, but at the same time it was costing us a lot of time and positions.

I am going to take part blame for that, (and) I think Tony should take part of it, as well. We went into turns one and two and had been real tight. We slid up the race track, left the middle wide open. I thought that I could clear him and just about the time he got to my right rear, my car just took off pushing. It was an unfortunate incident that hurt us both a lot.

You know, sometimes guys work with other guys because they're buddies off the track, not necessarily because they're buddies on the track. Sometimes you've got that going against you or for you.

I wish they would have fixed the race track at the same time they fixed the curb. There are some things in the race track, some really big bumps and roughness, that would have been nice to have gotten through that area a little better.

When I first came in the sport, it was sort of like his time to be the top guy. I don't think he was expecting a young guy ... to come out as strong as we did and become as popular as we did. He and I kind of had a rivalry starting in 1994 and it carried on for a number of years.

It has always been a tough place to pass on. It's still going to be tough, but every time we come here it seems...it gets a little bit easier.

The first thing I did was go to Rick Hendrick and tell him what I'd been approached with, what I would like to do and what my hopes were. We worked it all out, and first thing I know I'm signing a lifetime contract.

I'm sad to see Robbie leave. For him, it was time for a change and I'm happy he's found the right fit.