HS: There were only two choices. First, there was the possibility of getting involved in NASCAR with Roger Penske, who is a good friend of my dad's; he went to Culver Military Academy, just like my dad and I did. And that may still be a possibility. But, for me, there was only one choice, really, and that was NHRA. At that point, it came down to whether to start my own team, or whether to just hook up with the Gwynns, who already had everything in place - and who I know would be great partners. That was pretty much the only choice, at that point.

Darrell still has that look in his eyes-of a racer-the Prudhomme look. It's great that he can still be that way, and still get up to that line when the car is at the line, and be excited. Of course, Jerry has 44 years in the business and he's just as fired up about it as ever.

The Gwynns were really the only choice from the start, as far as to be partners with. I don't think there's any doubt about that. Then, it took a couple of years (to put together the sponsorship) and finally we got it done. They (Gwynns) lost Mopar, and we finally got it done - and I was ready to go into it, where I wasn't necessarily, a couple of years ago. So, it worked out great. They have the highest integrity. Their winning and work ethic. Then, so much the both of them have given the sport the last forty years. They live and breathe drag racing. They are families, which should always be number one - their kids. But aside from that, they live and breathe drag racing.

What do you see as the benefit for the Yankees being painted on the side of the Gwynn's dragster in NHRA drag racing?

GS: The Yankees - we don't look at it that way. But, anybody putting their name on our car is certainly going to get a big boost. We don't have that kind of business. If we have a good baseball team, like we think we do, we're going to draw. We're going to draw over 3-million people (in 2000) in the regular season. When I took them (Yankees) over, they were drawing 670,000. So, the growth, from a spectator standpoint, is a little different. But, I do say that the spectators can really get close to this action. There's nothing that having the Yankees on there can do for the New York Yankees. Really. But, for the people that are with us, and for the thrill of it, it will be fun.

HS: As far as the sponsorship is concerned, truthfully, the Yankees don't need to advertise, like a lot of sponsors do. It was really more a matter of getting into it as a sponsor and a co-owner, and also making the car what it should be. It should be the Yankee car. If we're going to be half-owner it should be the Yankee car, Yankees truck, and Yankee die-cast models that we're going to end up putting out. Hopefully, that's going to bring some more excitement to Winston Drag Racing. It was just a natural thing to do, once we bought half of the team. But, as far as advertising, it was not really for that.

We don't look at it that way. We don't want it that way. That's something that they frown on - billboarding in another team's city. You don't go into Chicago and put up big Yankees billboards. That's something that we don't do. It's not allowed. This is different, though. It's a racecar, and none of the others are going to have much of a problem with that. It's just a racecar and as far as advertising the Yankees, I don't think we'll convert many White Sox or Red Sox fans, or whatever. The bigger positive will be to get more Yankee fans, because there's Yankee fans nationwide. You don't have to steal them, they're already there - and hopefully to get them interested in drag racing.

Would you be surprised to see other major league baseball teams become involved in NHRA drag racing in the future?

GS: I understand that, at one point, the Chicago White Sox were involved in motorsports. I don't know the full details. But, we are going to present a car that will bring some attention to the sport, I hope. And I like the family relationship. This is a very family oriented thing. This is a wonderful family, they have been in it so long, and I am just proud that we are part of it. It came out of the blue, and they lost Mopar. I'm close to Chrysler, because Lee Iacocca was one of my best friends. I know a lot of Chrysler people. We do a lot of business with them. Why they didn't choose to continue here, I don't know. But, I'm very happy with this relationship, that the team stayed together, and that the father is here, and his son is here. I mean, that's a courageous story, right there.

Will you personally be in attendance at any NHRA drag races in the near future?

HS: Yes, I plan on going to Dallas. And, if I plan on going to Dallas, I might as well shoot over to Houston. And Pomona, possibly.

GS: Yes. Yes. Yes.