Ford Racing NSCS Notes & Quotes:
Bank of America 500 Advance – Charlotte Motor Speedway
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Fusion, is coming off a win in last week’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway. Logano held a Q&A session with members of the media at Charlotte Motor Speedway to discuss advancing to the Eliminator Road and other issues.
JOEY LOGANO – No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Fusion – WHAT IS YOUR MINDSET KNOWING YOU’RE ALREADY IN THE NEXT ROUND? “It’s nice to know you’re in because everyone was nervous about this round, knowing that it’s not the round that’s gonna win the championship, but it’s definitely the round that can keep you from winning it. When you think of Kansas and Talladega both being in this round and Charlotte was your one somewhat normal race track that you go to that you feel like you can really make a difference. At Kansas we had a very fast Shell/Pennzoil Ford that once you figured out the top lane was able to go really fast and get that win, so that’s nice. Our mindset now is basically the same thing as what we had – to keep going at these race tracks, keep attacking and keep that momentum going. I feel like we can have a good showing here again at Charlotte and then we don’t have to worry about Talladega as much anymore, so that’s nice. When we get to the next round, we’ll try to win Martinsville and hopefully be in the same shoes again. For now, our mindset is to go out there and win just like we’ve been doing.”
IS THERE ANY EMPHASIS ON MAKING SURE BRAD HAS A GOOD RUN SATURDAY NIGHT? “We’re gonna do what we normally do. We normally go out there and try to help each other. That’s our goal as a two-car team. We’ve got to work very tight together to make sure both of our cars are fast and I feel like that’s something we applied to Team Penske a long time ago. I feel like it’s a main reason why I’m here today working with Brad is because we work together and I think that’s something very important to have. If you’re already doing it, it’s hard to do it more. We’ll pretty much do the same things we’ve been doing, working together throughout practice here and qualifying and sharing out notes, talking about our race cars as much as we can and then race each other as smart as we know how to on the race track. Talladega is a whole separate deal. That’s a different way of working with each other to get to the front, but when you come to a place like Charlotte there is only so much you can do on the race track to help your teammate. My goal is still to win. I might be greedy, but I want to win.”
WHAT’S HARDER, REACHING THAT POINT WHERE YOU GET ON A ROLL OR STAYING ON A ROLL? “I can’t say I’ve ever been here before, so I’ll let you know. This has been a dream season so far. When you get into the Chase you expect it to get harder and you work harder and you try to find more. When you think you’re at 100 percent there’s always that extra little bit in there you have to dig down deep to find. I feel like my whole team has done that and I think that’s why you’ve seen the finishes that we’ve had throughout the first four races so far with a fourth, a first, a fourth and a first. If we keep doing that throughout the rest of the season we’ll be pretty happy with it. I think we haven’t had a ton of speed at every single race track we’ve gone to. You look at Dover and we were OK. We got a top four. Even Loudon we won the race, but we were 16th with a few to go and we had tires and were able to get our way up there, so I feel like our big deal right now is the way we execute our races and I think that’s been our strong point. We’ve had fast race cars, don’t get me wrong, but at the same time I think the way we execute the race and make sure we’re there at the end has been our strong suit so far and we’ve just got to keep doing that. We have to keep digging down deep when the odds are against us and try to make the most of it.”
SOME FAVORITES TO WIN THE TITLE ARE IN A POINTS HOLE. DO YOU LOOK AT THAT AND THINK IT MIGHT HELP YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING IT AT THE END? “It does. I’ve been saying this whole Chase so far that everyone that is in it right now is a contender for a reason. Everyone is someone you have to really think about is someone that can really win this championship, but obviously you look at the guys who have been fast throughout the whole year and you see them kind of in the bottom three right now, that’s pretty surprising. I’m sure they’re all gonna have good runs this weekend and will rise to the occasion, but this is probably gonna be a round that knocks somebody out that can win this championship or had a really good shot at it. We’re fortunate enough that it’s not gonna be us this time, but as Roger likes to say, ‘You can’t trip over your own press clippings.’ I keep working really hard and stay ahead of it, but if you think of the 48 or one of those guys getting knocked out that by stats are the best guys out there that have a shot at winning this championship it does help your shot a lot.”
DO YOU ALLOW YOURSELF TO THINK ABOUT HOMESTEAD YET? “I haven’t thought about it at all. I know you say everyone likes to think that way, but that’s how I really do think. I am a race by race person and I think just the way this Chase goes you have to think that way because that’s gonna change your strategy up on how you race these races also. Right now we’re thinking about Charlotte. We’re thinking about our Martinsville test we’ve got coming up this week. I think that’s gonna be a key point for us. These next two are all about just keeping the momentum going — keep the ball rolling like we’ve got, keep everybody motivated, keep our team going and have a good test up here at Martinsville and hit those Martinsville, Texas and Phoenix races as hard as we can – get nice, solid finishes at the worst and if we get a win then you’re in really good shape because at that point you can’t finish worse than fourth. If you were able to win Martinsville I think that’s a huge advantage going into Homestead because you have quite a few weeks to be thinking about that race and not so much the other ones, but at this point of the Chase you’re still thinking about the upcoming races before Homestead.”
DO YOU FEEL ANY DIFFERENT ABOUT HANDLING THE SPOTLIGHT? “I think I’m doing OK. When it’s a positive spotlight it’s a lot easier is what I’ve learned. It makes life a lot better. I’ve been OK with that and I’m enjoying it. I think one of the coolest things about winning last week is the fact that we’re the point leader now. That’s never happened for me, so seeing your truck parked in the first spot and having that first garage stall obviously doesn’t mean a whole bunch at this point, but it is something special. It’s kind of cool because I’ve never done it before, I’ve never had the points lead so that just means a lot to me and I think it does this whole Shell/Pennzoil team. I’ve been able to handle all the press but when it’s positive it’s a lot easier for me,”
DOES WINNING LAST WEEK GIVE YOU MORE CONFIDENCE YOU CAN DO IT HERE THIS WEEKEND TOO? “As far as tires last week, obviously the setup and how the driver drives the car goes into it a lot. I’m not saying we didn’t have issues with our tires. Looking back at it we had some close calls, but they were OK. I don’t think it makes us feel more confident about anything because obviously the more performance you get out of your car the more at-risk you’re putting yourself with tires. That performance window is so small that the more aggressive you are with that stuff the higher the risk is for something to happen. We all know that. That’s a gamble we all know we’re taking and the risk we know we’re taking, but for that speed you’ve got to do that. Goodyear gives us the information we need to have to make those decisions and it’s up to us to make the smartest decision after that.”
JOEY LOGANO CONTINUED — DALE JR. TURNS 40 THIS WEEK. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT CONSIDERING HOW YOUNG YOU ARE? “I’ve got a long ways to go. I said earlier this year that I’m finally starting to see the benefits of starting as young as I did. I remember sitting right here for my 18th birthday and they had a cake in the car and they had my car out front. That was gonna be my first race in Dover the next week and it was a whole big deal. Now I’m sitting here at 24. That was a while ago, but I’m just now starting to see the benefits of starting that young and the fact that I’m starting to reach my peak. I’m getting closer to where I feel I need to be to go out there and being only 24 years old – there’s the advantage, that I can hopefully do this longer and at my peek than most that started a little later. That’s all working out good for me. It’s crazy for me to think that I can possibly have another 20 years to my career – maybe even more. That’s a lot to me. When you’re only 24, 20 years sounds like a lot so I’m excited about it. I’m looking forward to that opportunity and watch how the NASCAR sport changes and hopefully I can be a player and help on how we develop this sport. That’s a role that’s important to me and I feel like I want to be able to take on is a younger demographic and trying to pull that type of fan in. I feel like that’s a position I should take on as a driver and help our sport grow.”
WHAT HAVE YOU PROVEN THIS YEAR? “Hopefully I’ve proven that I should be here. To me, that’s an interesting question. That’s different to everybody. Being proven could be winning a championship, it could be winning multiple races in a season, it could be getting top 10s. I think it all just depends on who it is. To me, I don’t think I’m ever where I want to be and that’s just me personally. I’m never good enough and I think that is something that’s gotten me to this point as a driver and as a person. Obviously, you’ve got to take that within reason because you can beat yourself up too hard or else you won’t have any confidence to do anything. At the same time you also have to know you’re never perfect and never where you need to be. If you ever feel like you’re there, it’s only gonna be a couple weeks until someone passes you, so you’ve always got to be looking ahead and I think that’s the attitude that I’ve had my whole life and I don’t think I’m ever gonna be proven to myself exactly where I want to be, but I’m enjoying the fact of being in the point lead for the first time and seeing some of the results of the hard work that you’ve put in over the last few years — to see that. That part is really nice, but I guess I’m never where I want to be.”
WHAT ARE YOU HOPING TO WORK ON AT YOUR MARTINSVILLE TEST? “Better than a top 15. We were able to go up there and have a solid finish. We led some laps there in the spring and knowing it’s gonna be one of the most important races as far as getting us to Homestead and racing for a championship. We need to focus on that. It’s the same thing you always fight with at Martinsville, you’re obviously trying to brake, turn and then hook up 850 horsepower off that corner. It’s not an easy thing to do so that’s why we’re going to work on it and make sure we understand what the parts and pieces we have are doing to the car and what it’s going to do over a long run. And seeing some things when you get there you can get kind of fooled into certain things. You see some short run speed and then after 50 laps it’s the worst thing you ever put in your car, so I think just understanding what does what and obviously having speed on both the short run and the long run and kind of going from there. It’s a tough place for sure and I think that’s why we’re gonna use a test up there. We’re not where we need to be at that race track yet. I see Jimmie walking in here now and he’s the man there, so we’ve got to be able to catch him.”
HAS IT FELT LIKE A LONG TIME TO GET TO THIS POINT BECAUSE YOU HAVE BEEN TALKED ABOUT BY OTHER DRIVERS FOR A WHILE NOW? “Yeah, it does but I’ve enjoyed the whole roll of it – the part that has taken me so long to get to where I’m at now – but without the experience I’ve had I wouldn’t be the person that I am now. I love that I got to go through all that because I can enjoy it even more now. I feel like I’m lucky I got to go through that to understand what it means to be sitting where I’m at right now and how bad you really want it. I think it’s something I needed personally as a person and as a driver it’s very rewarding. I make sure I enjoy the moment, but I also make sure I keep doing what I’ve been doing to get here, too.”
