TOYOTA NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS)
Matt Kenseth — Notes & Quotes
Charlotte Motor Speedway – May 16, 2014
MATT KENSETH, No. 20 Home Depot-Husky Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
What is your outlook for this weekend?
“Everybody looks forward to the All-Star race for a variety of reasons. It’s always an honor to be in it because it means you had a good season last year. I always enjoy running it because we don’t get any night practice for the 600 and I always feel like the 600 is one of the biggest races of the year so you kind of get an idea when the All-Star race gets over what the track will more than likely be like when the race is getting over at the 600. I always think it’s important to get a feel for that and get an idea of where the track and the car and the tires are going to go. Things like that and it’s a short race — race hard for whatever the format is every lap and see how it turns out.”
Can you see this race as a jumpstart for other races coming up?
“I’ve never been in a race I didn’t want to win so you go out every week kind of with the same goal to try to win — it’s just a different format and a shorter race. You know when the cautions are coming or at least the scheduled ones so you setup your car a little bit different and you race a little bit different than you would race for a four-and-a-half or five-hour race like you have next weekend. Other than that, I don’t really change the approach much. You go out and run hard and if you can get a win then maybe in a way you feel a little better about the rest of the season, but it’s still just one night and you still have to perform each and every week and you still have to actually get that win. Winning a qualifying race at Daytona this year was great, but it didn’t give us credit for a win and we didn’t win the 500 so you never know what’s going to happen every weekend, every event, every race is a little different and has its own challenges.”
How would you feel about having Carl Edwards back as a teammate?
“Man, that’s not really my department. I haven’t really put any thought into that. I’ve been more trying to figure out how we can get back to victory lane like my other teammates so we’re qualified for the Chase or have a better chance of getting qualified for the Chase and just get back to form and running like we were last year. I try to stay pretty hard away from all the rumors.”
Should people still view Jimmie Johnson as a threat to win every weekend?
“He’s (Jimmie Johnson) probably washed up — I think he’s done (laughing). I don’t know it’s hard to win races. Everything has to go right. He’s had some dominant cars this year a few times and hasn’t won. Until you get the win and bust through and win some races you always have that little feeling in your stomach like, ‘Man, we need to win.’ I’m more worried about us winning right now than him. I don’t think anybody has much to worry about him not being the guy to beat when it gets down to it at the end of the year again like they usually are every year. Like I say, it’s hard to win races. You have to get things lined up — everything has to go right besides just having a fast car. Obviously, they have one of the better cars each and every week so I’m pretty confident they will probably win some races.”
Do you race this any different than another race?
“Not really. A little bit, but not when it comes down to the end and to the win. Every segment — if it’s in the 600 and there’s three hours to go and there’s somebody faster than you, you’re going to give them some room and probably let them go on their way and get racing them back where in this race everybody races each other as hard as they can for every spot the whole race so that’s a little different. When you get down to the end or like our typical races, when you get down and get ready for that last pit stop you never give anybody a spot. Usually everybody is racing — even if you’re holding somebody up real bad. That part might change a little bit, but other than that it’s about the same. A lot of times the leader gets out there and on that short 10 lap run and it’s hard for anybody to get to them. Just this type of racing. I think there’s other tracks where it wouldn’t’ be that way. If you get to some shorter tracks — the last Richmond race or even Bristol as different speed the lanes are now or Martinsville and some of those tracks I think certainly you would have a lot more potential for contact and conflicts and conflicts after the races and those type of things. At a track where you’re doing 190 or 200 and the aerodynamics and everything going on it’s less likely for that type of thing to happen.”
Is there a clear favorite to win the race tomorrow night?
“I could probably answer that better after practice. Kind of see how everybody is running — it’s kind of hard right now. We all did that test in December, but without any testing and only an hour-and-a-half of practice and nobody has been on the track yet so it’s hard for me to pick out a favorite besides the obvious guys you can pick out before practice. I think guys who have been running good at all the mile-and-a-halves this year are probably the ones to look at.”
Did earning your first points win at Charlotte make it a favorite track?
“I made my first Nationwide start here as well so I probably have more miles and laps here than probably any other track on the circuit. I’ve always really enjoyed it, especially before the repave — it always had a lot of character and its real slick, a lot of bumps. It’s getting back to starting to be like that again right now. I’ve always really enjoyed the track, it’s a fun track and we’ve had some good races here. Had some bad ones as well, but it’s one of my favorites and I like it.”
Has Joey Logano become a championship contender this year?
“Obviously, he’s (Joey Logano) really, really competitive — it’s pretty tough for me to sit here in May and pick out a contender for who’s going to be the contenders in September and October and November. Certainly, I think since the whole shuffle happened I think all three of us have run better. You don’t see that happen very often and I’m really happy for Joey, he’s had a lot of success and I’m sure it was hard going through what he did for those couple months and wondering if he was going to be there or not be there and he certainly handled it like he’s much older than he is — handled it better than almost anybody in the garage could have handled it and went over there and has been winning races and running better than he’s ever run. I’ve been real happy to see that and happy for him and certainly I think he’s been a contender more weeks than not for sure.”
Why do drivers seem to perform so well in the first season with a new team?
“I don’t think it’s as simple as just moving to another team, there’s a lot of moving parts there and a lot of factors. Certainly for me I felt good about it and I felt like it was the right thing at the right time, the right place, the right crew chief — just everything was right. I think Kevin (Harvick) is in that same spot. Rodney (Childers, Harvick crew chief) is a really talented crew chief. He’s got good equipment over there and everything seems to be clicking for them really good. I know they’ve had some mechanical issues and such, but they’ve been one of the fastest cars every single week they’ve been to the race track. That’s fun while it lasts for sure and you want to keep that going as long as you can for sure. I don’t think it’s as simple as just switching teams, but I do think certainly when you do that — he (Harvick) was in a situation that was very similar to mine really where we had both been with the same organization our whole career and for a long time and I think when you make that switch it’s not like you try harder or are more excited or anything like that, but it’s different. You’re putting in more time and learning everybody, learning the system. I don’t know if you’re more excited, but it’s certainly different and you’re putting a lot of work into it because you are trying to get used to that system and getting to know everybody and that type of thing so it’s exciting.”
Is it difficult to be patient not having a win yet this season?
“A couple things, I don’t think things are going bad. I think we need to be running a little bit better. Last week was a struggle, but before that I felt like we were making some progress on it — certainly not where we were last year leading all the laps and kind of running like the 4 (Kevin Harvick) is running right now. For some reason it seems like most of my wins have come early in the season for some reason, although last year they were spread out pretty good. I don’t know — you can’t force it. You do the best you can every week and try to get the best result you can get every week and you hope that’s good enough to get a win. If it’s not you finish as high as you can and move on to the next week. It’s something you can’t really force. I think when you start thinking about it too much and worrying about it too much and changing what you’re doing then that’s usually when you have more troubles.”
Does Joe Gibbs Racing have the structure to support a fourth team?
“I’m the wrong guy to ask almost all of those questions. I don’t know. I can’t really speak to the – first of all I didn’t know they were doing a fourth team. I don’t know if they are ready for that or not. They were one of the last ones to go to three. I’ve been on both sides of it so certainly I think if you get the right people in place and a cohesive group and stuff then I’m sure there’s advantages to it as far as the business and advantages or disadvantages, I don’t really know. I don’t really run the business. At Roush for a while after the Gillette car was moved over and all that stuff, we had eight for a long time and I can tell you for sure that was too many to be competitive. Eight is definitely too many. I don’t know where it gets to be too much or not enough. I think there’s different theories on it. Certainly, Hendrick all their cars run really good and the Stewart Haas stuff is aligned pretty closely and all them are running really good right now as well.”
Are teams getting around the rules of having only four cars?
“I don’t know. I think when they made the rule for four cars the environment for the car owners and sponsors in the garage and stuff was much different than it is today. I don’t really feel like, I wouldn’t think NASCAR is quite as concerned about it today as they were then. Certainly, there’s only four or five owners that control the whole sport. Whether it’s engines, cars, technology or whatever it may be. Is that good or bad? I don’t know.”
Would you be in favor or moving the All-Star race to another track?
“Here’s what my idea for the All-Star race has always been — this might not be popular, but I thought of this a couple year ago. I think the All-Star race should move every year and I think it should go to a track that we don’t currently race at, but is equipped to have a NASCAR race. I think it should go to Iowa and Milwaukee and St. Louis and Pikes Peak and maybe even Memphis — you have to have enough grandstands. I think it should move around and go to tracks like that — I think that would be great for all those markets that don’t have a NASCAR race. I think you would sell them out whether that’s 30,000 or 40,000 people, whatever that is. I think the racing would be good and it’s not a points race. I think that would expose a lot of fans to our product live that don’t get to see it now and I think it would be fun.”
How far are you willing to go to win the All-Star race?
“I think it’s about the same as every other week. I think if you have a chance to win that race and you’re right down there to the end you’re going to do everything you can to win that race. If you wreck you’re not going to win. I think you do whatever you can to try to win I think like we do every weekend. Just every week has different circumstances. Some of the races end real close and some don’t — that’s just the way racing is. Somebody might have a dominant car and get away no matter what track we’re at and other tracks like Richmond where we had the last restart and I didn’t have the best car and I was holding on as much as I could to try to stay in front of everybody for the win and the guys behind me are trying to move you out of the way and do everything they can to win. I don’t think it really changes that much every week. Everybody is going for it.”
How do you prepare with Jason Ratcliff for the All-Star race?
“We talk about it a little bit, but basically I let him do all the hard work just like always. I just drive — I’ve got the good job.”
