John Hayes, winner at Pocono talks to us after the race

Here we are again John! First of all let me say Congrats on your great win at Pocono last Wednesday! Did you think when you started this season that you could have 2 wins already and a solid run for the Championship?

Thanks, Billy. No, I had no idea that I would have the success that I have had so far. I hope I can keep the momentum up. It's been alot of fun so far, and I look forward to the rest of the year.

Just between you and I, you may want to be careful for a little while. With 5 poles and 2 wins, word has it that the NASCAR officials are going to start looking your car over very carefully!! What kind of goals did you set for yourself this season?

Well, since this is my first season in a league, I really didn't know what to expect. I did hear at the beginning of the year that the East was the toughest league, so I really didn't set any goals at first, except to learn alot. Once the season started and I ran a couple races, I set my goal at finishing in the top 10 in points. And now, with the recent success, I would like to finish in the top 5.

Pocono is a tough track to set up for. What do you think was the key to your win Wednesday night?

There were alot of fast guys out there, and I had a really good car, but if I had to pinpoint one thing that got me the victory it would be patience. I was in alot of traffic after the first pitstop and I just took my time and before long, I was up front again.

Steven Flinn was really on your bumper the last 10 laps or so. You were both on slightly older tires than the cars behind you… were you worried that the cars with newer tires would get by both of you?

Yes, Steven was really fast all night and I was really worried about him at the end. I'd like to say to Steven's credit that he ran a really clean race and had a car that could have won. The only difference was I had the jump on him after the last caution, but he was all over me. I was also concerned about the other cars as well. I pitted on lap 69, so I was real concerned about how my tires would hold up there at the end, but my tires held up great so I got to say a big thank you to Goodyear for providing a great tire.

Well… heading into Michigan with a win is great momentum, can you keep the #87 Snap-On Monte Carlo up front there?

I think that Michigan is gonna be a track that everybody will be able to run fast. The keys to success for me there are: staying out of trouble and not over-driving the car and burning up my tires. If I can do those things, I should be able to have a good finish.

Again, great run John! Would you like to add any last comments?

Yeah, I'd like to thank Snap-On for being a great sponsor, my TFR teammates, my East affilliate teammates Bob and Doc and last but not least, the East affilliate for being the best affilliate in SORS.