NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
IRWIN TOOLS NIGHT RACE
BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
AUGUST 21, 2015
AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 47 BUSH’S GRILLIN’ BEANS CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Bristol Motor Speedway and discussed Bush’s Beans renewing their sponsorship with JTG Daugherty Racing, his thoughts on getting in the Chase this weekend at Bristol and many other topics. Full Transcript:
TELL US ABOUT THE NEWS HAPPENING AT JTG DAUGHERTY RACING:
“Yeah, for us, especially Tad and Jodi Geschickter and Brad Daugherty, Tad has worked really hard to keep building our sponsors. Obviously, earlier this year we announced Kroger and I’m just here to announce Bush’s Beans is coming back for a multi-year deal. They have been with the company for over a decade. It’s one of the best sponsors that we have, especially when it comes to being family oriented. They have been a family oriented company for almost 107 years now. To be able to announce another multi-year deal with them and especially in this day and age of sponsorship and continually trying to find sponsors, to have such great partners like we do. To have them be pumped up about our race team and come back for more years and hopefully a lot of great years to come it’s great for us.”
THREE RACES TO GO UNTIL THE CHASE FOR THE SPRINT CUP, TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT EXPECTATIONS THIS WEEKEND AND BEING HERE AT BRISTOL:
“This is a tough place. I’ve had some really good runs here. The spring race we were inside the top 10 with about eight (laps) to go and I got wrecked. I think we can come here and give ourselves a chance to run well. I look at Richmond as another place that we ran well at and maybe have a chance to steal one. Darlington is a place that you never know what can happen there, so it’s just all about trying to get better. We’ve had a tough year for sure. We have had a lot of bad luck. But, all it takes is one race to change everything around. That is what we are going to try to do.”
CONSIDERING YOUR SITUATION IF YOU ARE IN THE TOP EIGHT OR 10 WITH 10-20 LAPS TO GO HERE DO YOU TAKE MORE CHANCES TO TRY TO GET THAT WIN?
“In the position we are in, obviously, if the opportunity is there to go steal one or at least give yourself a shot to go win it we are going to do that for sure. But, you’ve got to look at every situation and look at what you can really gain and what you can lose. I feel like no matter what happens we are out there trying to get better, get as high in points as we can and just build some momentum going into next year. I’m sure a lot of people can say this, but the ups and downs that we have had this year, it seems like when we have run well something has happened. When you are running badly you wish something would happen and it doesn’t. It’s just the way it is. It gives us a chance to try new stuff, try some new set-ups. Michigan last week we tried a different direction and it didn’t work, but we learned a lot. Definitely these next three races I think it lends itself at all three different track where if there is something strange you can do to get up front with a certain number of laps left you are going to try.”
WHEN YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT TRYING SOMETHINGS OR MAKING THEM HAPPEN HOW MUCH WHEN YOU GET TO A PLACE LIKE BRISTOL AND PEOPLE ARE DESPERATE COULD YOU GO THAT MUCH FARTHER?
“We have seen it many years here. Just in general at the short tracks there are more opportunities to take risks, there is also opportunities to pay people back if they need to be paid back and stuff like that. We have seen it, especially now with running around the top it depends on where you start. If you start on the outside or inside you dictate your pit stops by where you might come out, maybe staying out to restart to get on the outside line. That is what is really unique about Bristol right now you’ve just got to go out there and look at every situation and look at a lot of it where you are going to start and who may stay out with you. Just stuff like that. We will see it Saturday night. People are going to be desperate and they are going to be taking chances and they are probably going to be driving harder. I think you are going to see a mix of guys say like a Kevin Harvick or obviously Kyle (Busch) is inside the top 30, he doesn’t want to lose that, but a guy that is really fast around here they are just going for the win no matter what, because it is just bonus points to them. I see guys like a Paul Menard or Ryan Newman those guys kind of right on the edge that maybe trying to play it safe and then guys like Kasey Kahne, Clint (Bowyer), all of us on back that need to probably win a race to get in. It will be a fun night.”
DO THE SMALL, ROUND, CEMENT TRACKS PLAY INTO YOUR HAND LIKE HERE AND DOVER?
“I mean I think I just have a better feel of what I want in practice around a place like this or those types of places. It’s like that for every driver. You just have the tracks that you really enjoy and you’ve really got, more than anything, a better feel of to go out there and say this is what I want to feel in practice and I’m not going to get off of that until I feel it. Say like a place like Texas or something where we haven’t been as good at, at times. It’s tough to try to figure out what that feel is. You are always searching, kind of like we did last week. We hadn’t been very good at Michigan. I thought it was a better feel in practice. It turned out in the race it wasn’t as good. That is stuff right now that even though we are trying to win races we are also trying to learn and figure out what that feel is. The shorter tracks and obviously the road courses is a place that I’ve always enjoyed and I feel like for me I know what the car needs to feel like to go out there and contend and be up front.”
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