2010 Season In Review: A Look Back At The Quotes Of The Year

2010 Season In Review: A Look Back At The Quotes Of The Year

December 13, 2010

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Dec. 13, 2010) – There were some outstanding and colorful quotes madeduring the recently completed 2010 NASCAR season. The following is a look back at some of those words – with audio and video – in chronological order as selected by NASCAR PR managers.

1/21/10 NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton at NASCAR’s Research and Development Center in Concord, N.C., setting the tone for the season.
“As it relates to the Sprint Cup Series, there's been a lot of debate and talk over the winter time, as everyone knows. The bump drafting as we’ve known it at Daytona and Talladega over the past few years will be totally eliminated. We’re gonna put it back in the hands of the drivers and ‘Boys, have at it and have a good time,’ that's all I can say.”

1/31/10 Hurley Haywood, five-time GRAND-AM Rolex 24 winner, on his final lap as a pro racer in the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla.
“The guys at Brumos are all big stock car fans and one of them said, 'If you get close to Jimmie Johnson, I want you to run with him and see if you can pass him,' so I got on his tail and we were having a pretty good time and that's where the (1:42.2) lap came from so it was fun and Jimmie's a class act. He's not only a great stock car driver, but he's also a very good sports car driver so it was a pleasure to be able to race with him on my final lap (as a professional sports car driver.)”

2/14/10 Jamie McMurray after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla.
"It's unbelievable. I can't really put it into words the way it feels. I talked to Christy my wife this morning. She was like: 'You know, what would it mean to you if you won this race today?' I told her it would be like a dream come true. I'm trying to be genuine and as sincere as I can and not sound cliché. As a kid growing up, this is what you dream of, of being able to win the Daytona 500."

2/21/10 Kevin Harvick on the No. 48 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team after losing to Jimmie Johnson in the Auto Club 500 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif.
“They're really good, but they're really, really lucky, too. I mean, Jimmie is a good friend of mine, but there's no way of getting around how lucky they are. You don't win four championships and do all the things they've done. They did a good job today in winning the race, but they have a golden horseshoe stuck up their ass. I mean, there's no way to get around that.”

3/21/10 Kurt Busch after losing to Jimmie Johnson, who claimed his 50th career victory and first at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tenn. in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Food City 500.
"I'd rather lose to any of the (42) cars out there than this No. 48 car. I thought we had them beat. I gave it my heart, but to come up short ... it's a shame we didn't bring it home for a victory.”

4/25/10 Jeff Gordon after Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson made contact with the No. 24, for the second consecutive week at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Ala.
“The ‘48’ (Jimmie Johnson) is testing my patience. I’m hard to get mad, and I’m pissed off.”

5/8/10 Denny Hamlin as he crossed the finish line first in the Showtime Southern 500, one of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season-best eight wins, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, S.C.
“All we do is win!”

5/11/10 NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France at the opening of the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, N.C.
“I see a lot of our fans are out here, right in this corner in particular. They're the big benefactor from all over the country and all over the world to come into Charlotte, stay in the community, go to the events in May and October and, most importantly, walk through and take in the history of this sport. Get to know it. Get to know their drivers a little bit better through the things you’re going to see. And so for that, I want to tell our fans, you have the best Hall of Fame in the world right here in Charlotte.”

5/14/10 Jeff Gordon on NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing in 2010 at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Del.
The think right now the sport’s selling itself because the racing has been phenomenal. We’ve seen some of the closest finishes, most action, not only at the end of the race, but throughout the race everywhere we’ve been. The double-file restarts, the green-white-checkers, the spoiler – there’s just a lot of reasons right now why I think we’re putting the best show in sports out there each and every weekend.”Audio:

5/14/10 Former NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Carl Edwards on the new NASCAR Nationwide Series car that made its debut with four races in 2010
“Those Mustangs look great. I think that’s one of the neatest things that NASCAR’s done for a while, for us to run those cars. That’ll be cool. I’d love to be the first guy to win in a Mustang in a NASCAR race. That’d be really neat.”

5/23/10 Richard Petty inducted into NASCAR Hall of Fame’s inaugural class in Charlotte, N.C.
“The fans then is what it's all about, guys. We wouldn't be here without the fans. There wouldn't be a Richard Petty. There wouldn't be a NASCAR. But the press was telling the fans about NASCAR. The fans came. So the fans developed a love, a real love, for it...”

6/6/10 Joey Logano after an on-track incident with Kevin Harvick in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500 presented by Target at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa.
“Racing the 29, and he let me go in the middle of the straightaway and decided to dump me in the next turn. I don't know what his deal is with me. It's probably not his fault. His wife wears the firesuit in the family and tells him what to do, so it's probably not his fault.”

7/3/10 Dale Earnhardt Jr. after winning the first NASCAR Nationwide Series new car race in his final run in a No. 3 car at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach. Fla.
“I'm really happy with what NASCAR did the first time out with this car. They will work on it, improve it, learn a lot from it. But the first go-round I think was a great success.”

9/9/10 Carl Edwards about the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Va.
“I can’t pick a favorite as a fan looking at it and I can’t say who’s gonna be the favorite and I don’t think you can say what rivalries are going to build. I think this is going to be the best Chase we’ve ever had.”

10/24/10 Denny Hamlin after starting the second half of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup with a win in the TUMS Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Va.
“Who said it was over? Told you it wasn't over.”

10/31/10 Kevin Harvick on Jimmie Johnson after the AMP Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Ala.
“No offense to him, but somebody else needs to win. Everybody but them wants somebody else to win. I like Jimmie as good as anybody. But for the sake of the sport, one of the two of us needs to make something happen.”

11/7/10 Mike Ford on the No. 48 team after the No. 11 team’s eighth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win of the season at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas.
“You've watched them play mind games with people in the past, and I'm completely immune to that. I could care less. I'll be right in their face saying, ‘It doesn't matter.’ I think our race team is better than their race team, and I'm not going to tiptoe around them because of where they're at. I'm going to do what it's going to require for us to win a championship and beat them. Not that I'm playing dirty by any means, but take what's ours, and I'm not afraid to go toe-to-toe with them.”

11/21/10 Jimmie Johnson after winning a fifth consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla.
“People tell me they hate me, but they respect me, and that's always cool. A guy that had an "I hate 48" t-shirt on when I was on the SPEED stage, but was giving me a thumbs-up and said congratulations. So in the moment, it's tough I think for fans to maybe look at what we have accomplished, because they want their guy to win and I understand that. But I know what we’ve done today is respected sports-wide, not just in our little bubble we live in, but sports-wide…”