NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
HOLLYWOOD CASINO 400
KANSAS SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
OCTOBER 7, 2011
TONY STEWART, NO. 14 OFFICE DEPOT/MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET, met with members of the media at Kansas Speedway and discussed Kansas Speedway, point standings, Phoenix test and other topics. Full transcript:
HOW DID PRACTICE GO? “We’re not as good as we’d like to be right now.”
YOU SAID PRIOR TO DOVER YOU HAD CONCERNS, IS IT EASIER TO MOVE ON FROM A WEEKEND LIKE DOVER WHEN YOU DIDN’T HAVE HIGH EXPECTATIONS GOING IN? “Not really. You need the result. Doesn’t matter what your expectations are, you still need the result at the end of the day and we didn’t get that so it still makes it hard.”
HOW MUCH DO YOU LOOK AT THE POINTS RIGHT NOW? “We don’t. We have seven races to go. You look at how much it changed in the first two weeks, you can stare at the point standing until you are blue in the face, there is a long way to go still. Everybody is worrying way too much about the points and where everybody is at right now.”
IS IT AN ILLUSION A LITTLE BIT WITH EVERYBODY SAYING IT IS JUST 19 POINTS SEPARATING THE TOP-NINE COMPARED TO WHERE IT WAS WITH THE OLD POINT SYSTEM? “Drivers, we’re all smart enough to go and do the math and figure out what it would have been. It’s just so much easier to know what it is. It’s not so much that it’s an illusion, it’s just easy to know where everybody is at and what that really means in the big picture.”
WHAT IS THE WIND DOING TO THE CAR ON THE TRACK TODAY? “Definitely it’s tough. It’s tough in three and four getting the cars to turn so you are definitely fighting the wind today but everybody is fighting it. It is the same for everybody.”
DO YOU LIKE THE SCHEDULE THAT HAS QUALIFYING ON FRIDAY BETTER? “It doesn’t matter to me. I kind of like the other way just because it frees our Saturday up a little bit. But, it doesn’t matter. We are here for three days anyway, so it doesn’t matter when you do the work, you are going to do it at some point.”
HOW ABOUT JOEY SALDANA COMING BACK (FROM INJURY) AND WINNING AT ELDORA? “That is definitely in the top-three coolest moments I have ever seen at Eldora. To see him lead almost every lap, I think he led every lap that he competed in from the heat race to the dash to the main. It was a pretty remarkable feat. It was pretty awesome to watch.”
HOW ABOUT THAT KID KYLE LARSEN? “He’s pretty tough. He’s going to be awesome.”
HOW WAS THE TEST AT PHOENIX KNOWING THAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE TRACKS? “It’s not the same Phoenix at all. It’s totally different. We’ll wait and see what happens when we go back.”
IS THE GROOVE GOING TO BE NARROW THERE ON THE BOTTOM? “I don’t know what is going to happen. It will definitely be on the bottomI just don’t know how wide it is going to be.”
WITH COOL TEMPERATURES EXPECTED AT CHARLOTTE NEXT WEEK, HOW DO YOU EXPECT THE RACE TO PLAY OUT? “The same as it always does when we go there and it is cool. No different this time.”
IS THERE A DIFFERENCE FOR YOU GUYS ONCE YOU ARE IN THE CHASE FOR THE NASCAR SPRINT CUP COMPARED TO THE FIRST 26 RACES IN TERMS OF MAKING CHANGES? “No, because you’re still, even at the beginning of the year, if you are struggling, you are trying to fight to get in the Chase. So, you are fighting just as hard, it’s just different. You’re fighting to get in it and then once you get in it, you’re fighting for the championship so it is a fight for 36 weeks.”
About Chevrolet
Founded in Detroit in 1911, Chevrolet celebrates its centennial as a global automotive brand with annual sales of about 4.25 million vehicles in more than 120 countries. Chevrolet provides consumers with fuel-efficient, safe and reliable vehicles that deliver high quality, expressive design, spirited performance and value. The Chevrolet portfolio includes iconic performance cars such as Corvette and Camaro; dependable, long-lasting pickups and SUVs such as Silverado and Suburban; and award-winning passenger cars and crossovers such as Spark, Cruze, Malibu, Equinox and Traverse. Chevrolet also offers “gas-friendly to gas-free” solutions including Cruze Eco and Volt. Cruze Eco offers 42 mpg highway while Volt offers 35 miles of electric, gasoline-free driving and an additional 344 miles of extended range. Most new Chevrolet models offer OnStar safety, security and convenience technologies including OnStar Hands-Free Calling, Automatic Crash Response and Stolen Vehicle Slowdown. More information regarding Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com .
