SCR: Do you try to emulate any one person in motorsports, especially someone in the mechanical/technological end of it?Loomis: There are always people who influence your life. I think going to the Pettys at such a young age and being under the influence of Richard and Dale Inman, they mold or shape your life in a certain way, shape your personality in a certain way. There are things to be learned from everyone. I have a saying that a broken clock is right twice a day. I try to realize that there's good in all things and all people. You have to look at the heart of everyone in every different situation.
SCR: How does it feel to be on top of the sport right now?Loomis: I just feel very fortunate. Brooke and Jeff and I were talking recently about how there are a lot of people who work all their life, work every bit as hard as we do or our guys do, and they're never blessed with the results that we've been able to get. We're just very thankful and very fortunate to be in that situation.
SCR: How tough was last year when you replaced Ray Evernham and the team took somewhat of a downturn?Loomis: It was tough just because the expectations were as high as they were for this team last year. Coming into it, it was a hard adjustment for Jeff and a hard adjustment for me. I had been at a place 11 years and Jeff had been used to one guy telling him this and that for so long. Coming into a new environment, I think the one thing it showed me was how there are so many good people all around this earth and you never cross their path. When I took this opportunity to come down here at Hendrick Motorsports and saw all the people on the team, it really made an impact on my life. You say, "Hey, there's a lot of great people out here who can work on cars."
SCR: What does it mean to you when Jeff Gordon says he handpicked you to be his crew chief?Loomis: It gives me a great feeling inside. I've said all along that the best thing about Jeff Gordon is not only his driving ability, but he is really a special person as far as his personality and how he cares about people. That really meant more to me, knowing what type of person he is, that he saw something he liked.
SCR: Which situation have you found to be more demanding, working at Petty Enterprises or at Hendrick Motorsports?Loomis: They're probably equally demanding. It's just different areas are demanding. At Petty Enterprises, we were just starting to be a multi-car team so there were a lot of different facets and things I was worried about. Here at Hendrick Motorsports, getting to work with Brian Whitesell and having a lot of things in place already, it takes a lot of pressure off of you in certain areas, but then there are added pressures from other areas because of the team's expectations and the job that's been done in the past. It's kind of funny because there are pressures I felt at Petty's I don't feel here, but then there are a lot of pressures here I feel that I didn't feel at Petty's. So there's kind of a balance in the pressure department.