Welcome to Gaia! ::

My heart goes out to Rick Hendrick and his family and friends. This is a terrible time for NASCAR.

Wow, look at this...Felix Sabates almost got on that plane too...

http://www.nascar.com/2004/news/headlines/cup/10/25/bc.car.nascar.sabates.plane.ap/index.html

At 12:00 PM EST, Mike Joy announced from the Press Conference podium, that he has been asked to moderate today's press conference. Here's roughly what he's said so far.

A number of Hendrick's Motorsports crew and staff are being available to answer questions about the crash, as this is the only time the press is being given a set chance to ask them. Hendrick's Motorsports asked the media NOT to ask questions pertaining to the accident or the remembrance of the victims of the plane crash after this press conference is over, and this is an indefinite request, which means they won't be answering any questions about it in the future.

Speed Channel, Speed Channel Canada have started showing the webcast feed, as well as using Speed Channel cameras to show who were asking which questions.

Tony Stewart joined the team in his Busch gear, wearing Home Depot/McDonalds logos. (SPOILED IT FOR THE RACE, DIDN'T I?! It was a shock to the entire press room.)

Team members involved in the interview:

Front Row: Jeff Gordon, Terry Labonte, Brian Vickers, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart (confirmed by NASCAR.com chat room mods)

Rear Row: Crew chiefs and/or Representatives for Jeff Gordon, Terry Labonte, Brian Vickers, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch

Quotes:

"I've never been more inspired in my life." - Jeff Gordon, when asked how much more this Chase for the Cup means to him and the team.

"Everyone on the panel is wearing blue slap bracelets, which represent a donation for the Hendrick Morrow Foundation." - NASCAR_Julie in the chatroom.

"This whole sport, when something tragic happens, we all come together..." - Jeff Gordon, discussing the blue bands for HMF that they're wearing.

"Dale Sr. has one heckuva engine builder up there in the clouds with him." - Anonymous chatroom post.

More quotes once everything comes together on Nascar.com

Interesting notes:

Brian Vickers made an opening statement, and asked to be not asked directly any questions in the press conference. He was wearing his team hat, and had obviously broken down during the conference. Poor guy, it's a tough time for him. Ricky picked him for Hendrick Motorsports, they were practically brothers.

Rick Hendrick was not at this press conference, and will not be in Atlanta for this weekend's race. He's sent his deepest sympathies to the other families involved in this terrible turn of events.

Ponza's Special Thanks/RocketSports (my NASCAR.com Chat name) Special Thanks:

To NASCAR_Julie and NASCAR_Sunny, for being excellent mods over the entire press conference.
To Marty Smith, for asking the best and most proper questions than any of the media.
To Mike Joy, for being the most fitting moderator of the press conference, and to keep questions as serious as humanly possible without hurting the feelings of anyone in the room.
To Brian Vickers, for leaving his hat on, I know it might sound bad to say this, but it's a good thing sometimes not to let your peers see you cry, but they know you did. That's all that really matters, brother.
To Rick Hendrick and NASCAR.com, for making this a webcast event, as they know that their online support is as much as their Speed Channel support.
To Speed Channel, and Speed Channel Canada, for sending the feed in the middle of a HOOTERS PRO CUP RACE! (We can't all deal with bad timing, but we can keep Hooters Pro Cup off TV by not watching it. Kudos to Speed for overlapping it with the interview, I thought they might pull some Fox Channel thing like that.)
To all of the Canadian fans who sent their love with me on this day of remembrance and thanks.
And to anyone who happened to come across the press conference and watch, whether shedding tears or not, your support is always welcome with open arms. Because they would have wanted it that way.

Peace out, race fans, it's Qualifying Day after all.

I got to hear about the crash only a couple of hours after the race in Martinsville. I did like what they did for the Hendrick cars for the Atlanta Race.