TOYOTA NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS)
Media Tour — Notes & Quotes
Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) — January 26, 2015
KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
How strange is the off-season without testing?
“This off-season has been a little bit strange without the on-track NASCAR-type testing that we’re all accustomed to whether it’s Charlotte or going to Vegas or doing a west coast swing-type thing or even going to Daytona for preseason testing. Not being able to be in a car at all is different and the first time we get back in it will be practice for the Shootout here in a few weeks.”
Was the new Chase format a success?
“I think it was certainly a success — the new Chase format was certainly a success for the fans, for NASCAR and maybe not for some particular drivers like myself, but all in all just looking back on the things and taking a grander look at it, I thought it was exciting. I thought it was what the sport needs. It’s going to be ultimately stressful trying to come down to the last race of the year and have your whole season just rely on that final pit stop or that final run to the finish to try to win a championship like that. That’s what pressure is all about and that’s what it boils down to when you have to be able to put it all on the line and make it happen.”
What does Carl Edwards bring to Joe Gibbs Racing?
“Carl (Edwards) brings to the team him being a veteran guy and that is a huge addition versus it being a rookie-type guy that we were making a fourth car for. To have Carl come on board, I think that’s going to be great for our team and to have that veteran-type leadership like Denny (Hamlin) or myself or Matt (Kenseth) has that we’re all able to communicate right off the bat really well. The biggest thing is just the infrastructure and the amount of money that’s left in order to add on the extra engineers and the body guys and the chassis guys and all that stuff just to build more cars and keep up with everything and all the demands that NASCAR makes and requires for four teams, I think that’s all obviously a huge added bonus as well.”
Do you expect the rule changes to benefit your driving style?
“I’d certainly like to think that the rule changes for this year with the aero and the engines changes will benefit my sort of style a little bit more. Why I’m so good in the Xfinity Series, I’m not exactly sure, but I’d like to be able to keep that tradition going in that series and if I can carry it over to the Cup Series with the cars becoming closer together. I look forward to the opportunity and the challenges that present themselves for this year, but also the opportunity for me to work with Adam (Stevens, crew chief) and to bring him up the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series level and to hopefully carry on our same success that we had in Nationwide.”
How differently do you attack this season after watching the new Chase format last season?
“I think you have to attack this year differently than what has happened in years past and based off the information we all learned last year through the Chase and everything that happened. One scenario that I’ve got is that my win at California if Kyle Larson would have pushed the issue a little bit more and he would have won that race it would have knocked us out of the Chase the way things fell and Larson would have been in the Chase. You have to look at it every single week as that could be your shot to get into the Chase and there isn’t necessarily next week. There is, but if you don’t get it or make it happen within the next however many weeks before the Chase starts then essentially you’ve not given yourself the opportunity to make the Chase.”
What advice have you received from other drivers about becoming a father?
“There’s been situations where you’re just casually talking to (Matt) Kenseth or Denny (Hamlin) or whatever about kids and some of the stories that you hear. I’ve also talked with (Jamie) McMurray and (Aric) Almirola so you get to talk to those guys who have had kids and just kind of hear some of their stories and how they did it and what they do. It does give you a new perspective. I have no way to know what to expect with what’s coming, but people tell you all the time what to expect. I think every situation is different. You’re family and your livelihood, how you grew up and how your wife and how they were raised and how they grew up and trying to merge those together into how you want to raise your kid is going to be challenging, but something that Samantha (wife) and I look forward to.”
ADAM STEVENS, crew chief, No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
How has the transition to the Cup side gone?
“Right now, it’s not a lot of fun — I’m not working on cars right now (while at the media event). In general, it’s different. It’s a lot more people to manage and a lot more complicated. There’s about 500 employees at Joe Gibbs Racing and only a small percentage of those are devoted to Xfinity, so as a Xfinity crew chief you don’t get exposed to everything going on (with the Cup program).”
CARL EDWARDS, No. 19 ARRIS Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
What makes you so excited for this season to get started?
“The reason I’m so excited every year to start racing is because when I began racing — like most racers, you don’t even know if you’re going to be able to race that year. It’s still really nice for me to go into the winter and know that we’ve got the Daytona 500 coming up and I’m going to be a part of it. This year is a little bit different. It reminds me of my first year full time in the Cup Series. I feel like I’ve really got to prove myself. I feel a little anxious, a little nervous about it and that’s nice. I haven’t had that feeling for a long time and it’s a motivator. I’d say I’m as focused as I’ve ever been and I am as excited as I’ve ever been. This is a neat opportunity for me.”
What does it feel like to be part of Joe Gibbs Racing?
“It’s still a bit surreal to realize that I’m a part of this and so much work has gone into this fourth team. It’s really neat. It feels like my first chance in the Sprint Cup Series all over again and that’s a great feeling.”
What has been the secret to so many drivers changing teams and having success?
“To make this decision — obviously it’s the toughest decision I’ve made in my life period. I looked around and all these guys were making changes and doing very well. You take Tony Stewart’s change — when he left Joe Gibbs Racing, I thought that was crazy. That didn’t seem like it made any sense, but it spurred great performance. Joey Logano, he made a change and huge performance and at the same time Matt Kenseth came over and filled Joey’s seat and his performance went through the roof. Kevin (Harvick) and Ryan (Newman) this year basically switched teams and they both were one-two. I didn’t understand that until we first made the announcement and I got that feeling I was talking about earlier — that feeling of, ‘Man, I have to go prove myself.’ That little bit of insecurity that every driver walks around with for a long time, I haven’t had the feeling for a while and I’m curious to see if that’s it. Either way, I hope I can do the same thing those guys have done and have a great year.”
Are you the driver to beat this season?
“If I take a look at it as objectively as I can — Darian Grubb is an amazing crew chief, just amazing. The JGR organization statistically and if you’ve been there you know they are just an amazing place. I feel like I have experience and have learned a lot. I feel like I’m in the best form I’ve ever been in as a driver. We should have good opportunities to go perform at a very high level.”
How important is team chemistry?
“I believe that the more we can work together as a group, the better off we will be. I believe that I am in a lot better position to do that now than I was when I first came into the Cup Series. I didn’t really understand the team aspect of the sport very well and like I’ve said before, I was not a great teammate. I was kind of a ‘every man for himself’ driver, but I’ve learned over time and through working with drivers like Matt (Kenseth) and Mark Martin and Jeff Burton, everything he did for me
— Kurt Busch, Greg Biffle, Ricky Stenhouse — all these guys. The last few years especially, I’ve learned the value of what everyone contributes. I’m excited to be part of a four-car team that is this stout. These guys are amazing. Just really excited about that.”
Is it odd to switch to a new team in the middle of a testing ban?
“I had the opportunity to go test for two days at Charlotte in December, which everyone at RFR (Roush Fenway Racing) was great for accommodating that — that was amazing, but it is a little wild. It was possible that we were going to go to Daytona and not have any practice in the car. That was a little scary, but if you look at the Chase format, it allows for some growing pains. You can go 20 races and then hit your stride and still be a championship team. We feel like with this new format there’s not a lot of pressure to start and we can go out and find our way.”
Do you expect Toyota to do things differently technically?
“It seems like the way that they do things technically is quite a bit different — I’m still understanding all of that and all of the reports and the planning and the way that they keep track of everything is different. I still am learning that. As we go, that will be something that I need to get a little bit of time to get used to.”
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Are you eager to work with Dave Rogers?
“I think it’s going to add just a level of excitement. Any time you get new personnel, there’s new ideas. I think he (Dave Rogers, crew chief) uses a lot of what he worked with Kyle (Busch) and had success with and I’ll bring a lot of what me and Darian (Grubb, former crew chief) had success with and hopefully it pairs up to be something very, very good. I’m just as confident this year as I’ve ever been, but Dave is a guy that can definitely take us to the next level.”
How do you feel about the Chase format staying the same for 2015?
“I think it’s a very good thing that they’re (NASCAR) keeping the Chase the exact same. I think it gives fans another year to kind of familiarize themselves with that format and to educate their friends about it. I think it really hit a home run and I knew when they were going to have an elimination-type format that every race of the Chase was going to be important — every single race — and it turned out that way. You were constantly battling to stay out of that bottom four. We faced elimination ourselves. We were outside looking in like once or twice and we were able to keep going. That’s what this all worked out to be and it was a lot of fun and I’m still a race fan and it was fun to see it all play out. I think they really found something that is going to latch on for a long time.”
What will Carl Edwards bring to Joe Gibbs Racing?
“I think one thing it definitely does is brings a lot of resources to our race team. Any time you can bring in a fourth sponsor and driver, you’re bringing in extra revenue and that allows us to hire more people, spend more money on R&D and things like that that are really important for a team’s success. I think you’ve seen that in years past every time that Kyle (Busch) has come onto the team, and I’ve seen it with each Cup driver that’s come in here, it brought a level of talent that’s made everyone else raise the level of their game. There’s tracks that Carl (Edwards) is good at that none of the rest of us three are that good at, so we’ll be picking his brain on those types of race tracks and it’s going to work hand-in-hand, vice versa. I think he’s just going to be that extra element that puts our team in that tier you’re talking about battling for a championship every year.”
What does it say about Joe Gibbs Racing that the team was able to expand to a fourth Camry entry?
“Well one thing about Joe Gibbs Racing, and you hear it year after year, is that sponsorship is sold out. That’s a really, really good thing in our sport and a lot of it is because Joe Gibbs does such a great job talking to these companies and giving them a return on their investment. And I think a lot of it comes from on-track success too — these companies want to be associated with teams that win and Joe Gibbs Racing gives them that platform. Obviously, the relationships that he’s built over these last few years, these companies are staying a long time and that means a lot.”
Is a championship your expectation for 2015?
“It’s constantly our goal and I’ve finished everywhere in the points spectrum that you can in the top-five without being first. So yeah, in my mind it’s a championship or nothing. But you’ve also got to think that if you come up short in the last race after a 10-win season, it’s still been a pretty good year. You always upgrade your goals, but the pinnacle of actually being a Sprint Cup champion is always the highest bar you can possible set and that’s where I set my standards.”
MATT KENSETH, No. 20 Dollar General Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Has it become easier for drivers to switch teams and have success?
“I think it really depends why you switched teams. If you got let go and went somewhere not as good or something like that, but if you’re going and the driver makes the decision that they want to go somewhere else more times than not they obviously feel like it’s going to be an upgrade of they wouldn’t go. I think a lot of it just depends. Certainly with my choice, I felt extremely confident about it, we talked about it and I got to see what was going on over there (at Joe Gibbs Racing) and I felt really good about it. I think it just depends on the situation. I think for a younger driver maybe it’s tough sometimes, but yet you look at Joey (Logano) in his second year and he’s contending for a championship and runs way better than he ran in the car I’m driving. Sometimes I think you just mix it up a little bit and get a different mix of guys, different mix of ideas, a different organization and different things and sometimes it might just fit you better.”
Are there similarities between your move to Joe Gibbs Racing and Carl Edwards now joining the team?
“Probably a little bit different of a situation because we’re starting another team. It’s a little bit different because there’s different things with that, but yeah. He’s a guy who spent his whole career at the same place and he’s making a jump, which is never easy to do when you leave somewhere where you’re comfortable and you’ve been a long time and understand how it works and won races there and things have went well. It’s never easy to do that, so there’s some similarities there.”
How is your confidence entering 2015?
“I’m confident with everything we’ve got going on, but my confidence level isn’t as high as it was in ’13 when we were out there and were so fast. In 2013, we started the year off and had a couple of great off-season tests, went and I felt like dominated the Daytona 500 before blowing up and then we went to Phoenix — don’t know where we qualified — but we were really fast at Phoenix, had a problem in the pits and still finished okay and went and won Vegas, the third race. We really could have won all three of the first races of the year, so our confidence was extremely high. Now we’ve gone over a season without winning, so obviously we’re not as confident about winning as we were when we we’re winning if that makes sense.”
How will the adjustable track bar affect racing at intermediate tracks?
“I don’t know. I have to put some thought into that. Everybody is going to have different opinions until we run. In my mind and this is my first guess, I actually think it will be more difficult to pass because the guy in front has got to be handling worse than the guy behind him to pass him. If you both can adjust your cars and make them better, I don’t know how that will make passing better, but I’m probably not thinking about it right. I need to run it for a while and play with it to see where it goes.”
JASON RATCLIFF, crew chief, No. 20 Dollar General Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
What do you think of the new Camry?
“I’ll just give you a little bit of the way NASCAR does this. They do a really good job taking each manufacturer and going through a process in the wind tunnel taking CAD (computer-aided design) drawings, templates and making sure that for each different manufacturer is within a certain box and the box is pretty tight. Thankfully, Toyota not only brought a really nice looking (car) — the 2015 Camry is just spectacular, it looks awesome — and I think it’s the best looking car on the race track. Of course, I’m a little biased, but I still think it’s the best looking car on the race track. But it wasn’t like they just designed it up on paper and brought it to the teams and said, ‘Here, bolt this on.’ They had to go through some stringent wind tunnel testing with NASCAR, presentations and ‘this is what it is’ and prove it was within these certain limitations to not exceed what NASCAR wanted.”
