NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
FEDERATED AUTO PARTS 400
RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
SEPTEMBER 11, 2015
RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 31 CATERPILLAR CHEVROLET SS met with media and discussed about his approach to the Richmond race this weekend, understanding the Chase format, strategies surrounding the approach to the Chase, what he would like to see in the 2016 race package, the consistency of his team, and more. Full Transcript:
LAST YEAR YOU WERE NOT ONLY ABLE TO MAKE THE CHASE, BUT MADE IT ALL THE WAY TO THE FINAL FOUR AT HOMESTEAD; CAN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR APPROACH AT RICHMOND THIS WEEKEND?
“I feel like for the first time in the last six or eight weeks we were able to open up a little bit, so to spread and not have to kind of watch our backs. There is no guarantee for us to be in the Chase at this point, but it’s the best-case scenario I’ve had in probably the last four or five years. We’ve been in a situation in the past few weeks, like I said, that we can’t take a little bit of extra risk like short pitting or getting one less lug nut and things like that. That kind of changes a little bit for us, which should hopefully ‘up’ our performance and make for a better Richmond race for our team.”
WHAT ARE THE CHANCES OF YOU TAKING THE TEMPLATE FROM LAST YEAR AND ROARING THROUGH THE CHASE AND BEING IN THE FINAL FOUR AGAIN?
“One in 16 (laughs). No, I said last year, and I think everybody was so much focused on the wins that the math was still there. Percentage-wise, you were going to be in the top 12 in the first bracket because there’s only a chance for three winners. There was no guarantee that one guy didn’t win all three races. So, there’s still always a level of consistency up until the last race.”
LAST YEAR, THE CHASE FORMAT WAS NEW TO EVERYBODY. DO YOU THINK THERE WILL BE ANY CHANGES IN STRATEGY THIS YEAR?
“I think the potential is there. The ultimate strategy is always to win as it always has been in our sport. I think that the way the brackets work, you win and you’re in. And at the last race, it came down to winning, which there is no guarantee for that in the championship round this year. You might be able to finish fifth and still win the championship. So who knows when it comes to that? But strategy-wise, you do what you have to do to try to win the race because that’s your guaranteed lock. But the fallback, Plan B, is keep yourself in a consistent mode because that might help you.”
THIS SEASON HASN’T MAYBE BEEN THE MOST EXPLOSIVE IN THE SENSE OF DRIVER CONFLICT, OR AT LEAST PUBLICLY. DO YOU THINK THAT WILL BUILD? IS IT GOING TO BE A SIMILAR TEMPLATE TO POTENTIALLY LAST YEAR OR DO YOU JUST LOOK AT EACH YEAR AS BEING DIFFERENT? WHY HAS IT BEEN CALMER?
“Yeah, I think two things. I think after last year’s Chase, everybody had to calm down a little bit in the off-season. It’s probably been a little tamer this first 25 races, just kind of watching, people giving and taking and not being quite as aggressive. I saw a little bit more of that at Darlington than I thought I was going to see. I thought it was going to be more give and take because it was Darlington and there were quite a few guys that typically when you’d get underneath somebody, they’d let you go. And that didn’t happen last week. So, I think it’s building; especially going into the Chase. But I think the Chase itself is what really lit that fire. There was a lot of fuel in the air last year, and that Chase lit that fire. I think there is potential for that to happen again.
“I think once the competition level steps-up, when you have to win or have to move up five spots to get your five points on that third race of the Chase, I think it will definitely light.”
IF THE FIELD HOLDS AS IT IS RIGHT NOW, THERE WILL BE TWO DRIVERS MAKING THE CHASE FOR THE FIRST TIME, AND SIX NEW CREW CHIEFS. HOW MUCH OF AN ADVANTAGE IS IT HAVING GONE THROUGH THIS BEFORE? HOW MUCH OF A CHALLENGE IS IT FOR NEW GUYS?
“I think emotionally the advantage is there. Other than that, it’s just another race or just another series of races. The emotional side of it I think is probably the biggest part of having a successful Chase just with respect to the guys last year that once they became heated under the collar, you could see it and how it affected them. Some guys good; some guys bad. So that emotional experience I think, is big in our sport especially.”
HOW MANY YEARS DO YOU THINK YOU WOULD NEED TO GO THROUGH THIS CHASE FORMAT BEFORE YOU REALLY UNDERSTAND TRENDS AND HOW TO WORK THE WHOLE THING?
“I don’t know that you can science that out and say that I understand it and this is how we are going to win it. Because the competition level is so tough and you are at the mercy of – like last week we caught a piece of debris on the left-rear tire and blew a tire going into Turn 3. You can’t control that. That changes the entire complexion of your race. That is all it takes to think that you know what you are doing and have to change your plan. The experience is good, don’t get me wrong, it makes you a little bit more versatile and makes you a little bit understanding. But, in the end there are so many variables out there that there is no program that runs them all.”
A LOT OF TALK ABOUT THE 2016 PACKAGE. ARE YOU IN FAVOR OF ONE FORM OR ANOTHER GOING HEAD TO NEXT YEAR?
“I’m in favor of one, but they have quit talking to me about it. I will let it ride.”
WHICH ONE ARE YOU IN FAVOR OF?
“I like the low downforce package. What we had at Darlington I thought was good racing. That has always been my personal favorite was low downforce, softer tires. The impact of the first car or the lead car is less than on everybody else. It’s exponential as it goes through the field. I think that kind of puts us back to where our sport was its best racing wise in my opinion. There are only so many things that you can manipulate when it comes to the air on racecars and tire grip and things like that.”
WHAT DOES IT SAY ABOUT RCR THAT YOU ARE BACK AGAIN AND THAT YOU HAVE ALSO GOT A TEAMMATE WITH YOU POTENTIALLY IN THIS YEAR’S CHASE?
“Well we are not guaranteed back, but we are in a good spot. I think that as an organization RCR and ECR at the same time have done a really good job to give us better cars, better pieces. We all know that we went through a pretty big hiccup this season and we have been able to rebound through that. In the end we have been a very consistent team. We haven’t led a lot of laps, which is something we have to work on for the Chase. Have to put ourselves in a better position to be able to be able to capitalize and turn a top-five effort into a win. We’ve been in the top five more so this season, but just need to be a little bit more on top of things when it comes to leading laps and poles and track position, things like that.”
DOES IT DO YOU ANY GOOD TO KNOW WHERE PEOPLE ARE WHO ARE ON THE BUBBLE TOMORROW NIGHT? WILL YOU WORRY ABOUT WHERE ANYBODY ELSE IS?
“It’s good to know what is going on. It’s good to know if Kyle Larson, Kasey Kahne and Aric Almirola are running 1-2-3 with five (laps) to go then I kind of got a good idea. At the same time you are only in control of what you are in control of. That sounds so cliché, but at the same time you like to know what is going on around you. It might calm your nerves, but it doesn’t change anything. In the end you still have to do your job. We have been pretty good at doing that here the last few weeks in order to capitalize on other people’s failures by maintaining our position if nothing else and gaining some points on them.”
YOU MENTIONED THAT NASCAR HAS QUIT TALKING TO YOU ABOUT THE 2016 PACKAGE. I WAS WONDERING IF YOU WERE JOKING OR IF THEY LITERALLY HAVE QUIT TALKING TO YOU ABOUT IT? HAVE THEY QUIT TALKING TO OTHER PEOPLE ABOUT IT? WHY HAVE THEY QUIT TALKING TO YOU?
“That’s a good question (laughs). I think the major reason behind it is the way the group was set-up and the way they defined their group of people that they talk to. I was not in it. That was based off points and manufacturers and whatever else. That is something I guess I just either luckily missed or unluckily missed, I’m not sure of which side I want to be on.”
Connect with Team Chevy on social media. Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TeamChevy, follow us on Twitter@TeamChevy, and add +TeamChevy into your Google+ circles.
Team Chevy racing photos are available at:
About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 115 countries and selling around 4.8 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.
