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By Dave Rodman, NASCAR.COM
March 9, 2005
1. What's your dream vehicle that you don't already own? I don't know -- I think an airplane would be something I'd dream to have. I don't know if that's a vehicle or not, so I don't know. Vehicle-wise, I have a Dodge Durango and that's an all-right car, but I wouldn't mind getting something a little fancier than that. But I don't know what. Q: The Ford guys, almost to a man, craved a Ford GT -- Ford's new sports car. I would think you might want something like a Dodge Viper, since it is a DaimlerChrysler product and a pretty sporty vehicle? It's a good vehicle and I've driven one a lot and done a lot of things in 'em so they're fun to drive, for sure. Ray Evernham's got a real nice Dodge Viper and I wouldn't mind having that. 2. If time on the road weren't an issue, what would be your ideal pet? It would probably be some type of a dog. I'm not really big into animals so I don't know a lot about 'em -- but if I had a dog it'd probably be pretty cool. Q: Any kind of breed you prefer? Maybe a Boxer. Greg Biffle's got Boxers and he really does love them. 3. Speaking of pets -- what's your biggest pet peeve driving on the road? Somebody just riding along in the fast lane is annoying. If you're just riding along, you should get in the slow lane and let everyone else go in the fast lane. 4. Nextel Cup racing means travel, so what is your worst hotel experience? My worst experience was my first year in Busch and I had to stay at this hotel in Darlington, S.C. I decided to sleep in my clothes -- my socks and my shoes. I didn't even take a shower in the morning -- I just got up and left. It wasn't much of a motel, so we got out of there as quick as possible. Q: It begs the follow-up -- did they give you a break on the room rate?
They probably did, actually. I was paying for my rooms then so I probably did get a break. I hope I did, for sure. 5. What's your favorite food? My mom's homemade mashed potatoes and gravy and baked chicken. Q: It's funny. You don't look like you put a lot of weight on for eating all that good stuff. Yeah, I can eat it, though. I can eat plenty. 6. If you had to choose, would it be being honest or being nice? I'd say being honest. It's easy to be nice and sometimes it's tougher to be honest. I feel a lot better being honest, for sure. 7. You and your brother, Kale are a pretty famous pair around Nextel Cup racing, but what's your fondest childhood memory? I don't know -- I've got some pretty good ones of him and me fighting, probably. We had some good times doing that. But probably racing four-wheelers would be it. I had cousins and friends and my brother and we all just raced so much. We'd build our own tracks or my dad would build us tracks. Whatever we did -- we had a lot of land so we had a lot of fun on four-wheelers, just racing around. Q: Is the most outrageous memory a great race, or a great wreck? Well, the wrecks stand out probably a little more than the races. At that time we had so many races they were all just fun. The wrecks probably stand out more than anything else Q: No injuries, though -- right? None to my brother or myself. But my friend Aram would always hurt himself -- break a wrist or something. 8. What would be your dream date: Where and with whom? I'd say Jennifer Aniston and where? I don't care -- anywhere. Q: Holy smokes, is it a coincidence that she's available now? No, it's been Jennifer Aniston well before she was available (laughing). 9. Racing and pranks -- particularly among those USAC guys -- seem to go hand in hand. What's the worst prank that you either perpetrated or was played on you? Man, I really don't know. I can't think of anything, though I know there's been plenty. I can't think of even seeing anything done to anyone else. I don't know. 10. And finally, what would you consider your "Welcome to NASCAR moment?" Probably in last year's Twin 125s at Daytona, coming down pit road when Jeff Gordon spun me out on pit road. I was going the opposite way and everybody was doing their pit stops and taking off, and I was still sitting there pointed the wrong way down pit road. So that was probably my welcome to NASCAR, right there. Q: When that occurred, what was going through your head? I was just wondering how I was going the wrong way. It wasn't a good spot to be in and I felt pretty stupid being backwards on pit road in my first race.
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