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Sunday, June 09, 2002

By Chris Dolack

John Andretti is a fierce competitor, which makes his struggles at Petty Enterprises difficult to take. To his credit he announced last week he won't leave the organization:

Q: At 32nd in points with no top-10 finishes, how tough has this season been on you?

A: It's nowhere near what we expect to be doing. We've got some work ahead of us. Obviously, some teams out there are surprising. I think some people are surprised to see where we're at. I've got too good of an organization I work with to be where we're at. I don't want to use the word embarrassing, but that's not what we're capable of doing. That's not what we're going to continue to do.

Q: What has contributed to the team's struggles this season?

A: You have to look at each piece individually and take it apart, but you can't put it under a microscope. If you look at the end result and it's not what you expect, but if you look at some of the races, whether it be Daytona, Martinsville or Bristol or whatever, we've had really strong cars. We just weren't able to complete what we were heading to do. Our qualifying hasn't been where it needs to be. If we can get that, then we can get the other things much easier.

Q: Are you surprised by the quick success of Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman?

A: I'm really happy for the success they are having. Their success now is not always going to be there. Whether it's short-lived or long-lived that's kind of the thing we all face, but I'm excited for them. The drivers that are coming to Winston Cup today are 100 percent focused on Winston Cup.