NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
STP 400
KANSAS SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
APRIL 19, 2013
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 FARMERS INSURANCE 85TH ANNIVERSARY CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Kansas Speedway and discussed the connection between the Boston tragedy and Hendrick Motorsports, the speed of the Gen-6 car at Kansas compared to last season and other topics. Full Transcript:
HOW ARE THINGS GOING FOR YOU THUS FAR THIS WEEKEND IN KANSAS?
“So far pretty good it’s a little different with this car. I think the track has aged a touch too and so it’s a little grayer than what I expected. The car has a lot of speed like it has at every track that we have been to. I don’t know. I’m interested to see how qualifying goes. I think we have been fairly close so far.”
WE ALL LEARNED OF THE CONNECTION BETWEEN HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AND THE TRAGEDY IN BOSTON TODAY WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT?
“I think all week for myself it’s been sad to pay attention to and to watch. You try to think about what those people, the people that have been involved, the people that are working to fix it, just so much going on up there. It’s hard to imagine what everybody is going through as an outsider, but I’ve paid really close attention to it and it’s sad. I just want it to get over with. Definitely thoughts and prayers are with everybody involved and Andrew (Collier) from Hendrick Motorsports his brother was the police officer last night that got shot. It’s sad and hopefully they get it taken care of and figured out soon.”
DO YOU KNOW HIM (ANDREW COLLIER)?
“I know I have met him because I have met everybody there. I can’t picture him so I don’t know him well, but I definitely have met him.”
WHAT’S IT LIKE WHEN THE BIGGEST STORY IN THE WORLD HITS THIS CLOSE TO HOME?
“I feel like regardless of where everything is at I mean you sit here and we are trying to race, but last night I was up until 2 something in the morning just watching the news seeing how things were going. Watching Twitter following what was going on. It’s been really crazy. It’s sad that it has come to this. I just pray that it gets over with soon.”
YOU MENTIONED THE SPEEDS IN PRACTICE JUST COMPARATIVELY HOW FAST IS THE CAR HERE AT KANSAS TO HOW IT WAS LAST YEAR?
“I think speed wise it’s probably pretty close to last year because I think the track got a little more grip in it than what it does this year. The car itself is a little faster so maybe it’s a wash or maybe we will go a touch quicker in qualifying today. I think race pace will be very similar to what it was last year just with the Gen-6 car being a little faster.”
WHAT IS THE KEY TO GETTING AROUND KANSAS?
“I think just making the right pit calls, staying up front, trying to keep that track position and making sure your car keeps turning. Last year there I fought turn three a little bit with some things and then I think you can get tighter as a run goes. So, just making sure you have speed built into your car for the long runs I think we will see long green flag runs and some green flag pit stops Sunday. Just trying to be prepared for all that.”
YOUR TEAMMATE DALE EARNHARDT, JR. DIDN’T HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO RACE ON THE PAVEMENT LAST FALL. HOW MUCH HAS HE LEANED ON YOU AND THE OTHER TEAMMATES AT HENDRICK MAYBE TO KIND OF GET UP TO SPEED ON WHAT IS GOING ON HERE THIS WEEKEND?
“Well, we have talked a little bit during practice and he was just surprised how fast the track was, how smooth it was and basically how well his car drove around for just his first few laps. I think qualifying is a different story. The cars react a little different so you have to figure that out. I think he was happy with it. I think he will be really good on Sunday.”
FAIR TO SAY HE (DALE EARNHARDT, JR.) LEANED ON YOU GUYS?
“He didn’t really lean on me. We just talked kind of about what he felt and what I felt and where our cars were which is similar to every race weekend I would say.”
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