Quotes of the Week

UPDATE “We’re going to run a fiscally responsible company. We have no plans on running less than four but we’ll do what we need to do to make good business sense." DEI President of Global Operations Max Siegel, on NASCAR still planning on fielding four cars in the Sprint Cup series next year

09/22/08
"All team bosses are gangsters, one after the other. Nevertheless I want to race there, because Formula 1 is the highest level of motorsport. Once you are in there, one won't notice it very much, but you must however protect yourself well." Giedo Van der Garde, current leader, World Series by Renault

"I'll tell you what. I wouldn't have wanted to be in his [Jack Roush] position. I'd have crapped my pants watching those three [team] cars running into each other. We were going at it. That was Friday, Saturday night short track racing, where we all came from — but there's so much on the line." Greg Biffle, NASCAR driver, Roush Fenway Racing, winner of the second race in a row for the Chase for the Sprint Cup, at Dover International Speedway

“The biggest thing I want to get across is to apologize to NASCAR and their officials, Ron Hornaday, [crew chief] Rick Ren, KHI, our sponsors, … [and] to all the fans, especially the families that have to try to explain to their children like I had to do on Sunday that it’s not OK to fight, it’s not OK to let your tempers flare and get into those kind of confrontations. Sometimes you get passionate about what you do and sometimes you do things out of passion and you have to serve the penalties and consequences." Mike Hillman Jr., Germain Racing, crew chief for Todd Bodine, Craftsman Truck Series

"We hoped to finish a little higher today, but we were turned around late in race, but we did what we had to do. After three straight seasons finishing second in this championship, it's great to be back on top. To accomplish what we have all season is just a testament to everyone involved – the entire Chip Ganassi Racing team, everyone at Lexus and TRD and we couldn't have done it without the support of a great partner in TELMEX. The record is great, but I'll look back on that more at the end of my career. Right now, it's all about winning this championship and all the guys that have worked so hard. Nobody puts together a better effort than Chip Ganassi." Scott Pruett, Grand-Am driver, winner of Daytona Prototype championship along with teammate Memo Rojas, TELMEX Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates

"The car was very strong at the end of the race and that's why I was able to pull a gap. I love this series and I love the cars. I love driving them. I had a great team. Mike Shank did an amazing job, and John Pew and Ian James did a great job. The crew had an amazing pit stop, and that's what put us in first position. This is a happy moment for everyone and a great way to finish the season. I was a little bit concerned about the car before the race, but the car had a great balance and the balanced improved throughout the race. That's why were able to win at the end." Raphael Matos, Grand-Am driver, Daytona Prototype, Michael Shank Racing, winner of Miller Motorsports Park race

"I would prefer if Massa wins [World Drivers Championship], because if he does not, Hamilton will," Alonso humorously commented. "The truth is that it is very difficult to predict, because they are virtually tied. If I had to bet money I would put it on Lewis, because throughout the year he was the most consistent." Fernando Alonso, F1 driver, Renault, 2 times World Drivers Champion

"The BMW management have missed what was the right time to have the right driver [Sebastian Vettel]. That he drives now for a different team, makes no sense to me. BMW surely had their reasons, but I would have probably done things differently." Hans-Joachim Stuck, a former German racing driver with long links to BMW, has questioned the Hinwil based team's decision last year to let Sebastian Vettel switch to Toro Rosso.

“KERS is key to the future of Formula One, and unless we take major steps to make the sport more environmentally sensitive, then there is no future. I think that the teams that are arguing against KERS have got their heads stuck in the sand because it is the future, and unless Formula One adapts we’re going to be in very serious difficulties. We've got to re-orientate our expenditure to things which are useful like KERS, but away from things which are less useful such as the more obscure aerodynamic components that we spend huge amounts of time and money on." Nick Fry, CEO, Honda Racing F1