CHASE FOR THE NASCAR SPRINT CUP
ROUND 5 OF 10
HOLLYWOOD CASINO 400
KANSAS SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
OCTOBER 14, 2016
DOUG DUCHARDT, GENERAL MANAGER, HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS, met with members of the media at Kansas Speedway to clarify the relationship with Hendrick Motorsports and Stewart-Haas Racing:
ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AND STEWART-HAAS RACING:
“This morning Jimmie (Johnson) made a comment in the media center about Hendrick Motorsports relationship with Stewart-Haas Racing and how that worked in the past. I just want to clarify something that Jimmie said. That is simply that the relationship from a data standpoint was a two-way relationship. They received our information, we received their information. That is the way it had worked from the time I have been at Hendrick Motorsports. That is basically it. We received information from Stewart-Haas when we worked with them. Obviously, when they made their announcement to Ford that changed things. But the bottom line is that as partners we exchanged data between each other.”
SO WHEN JIMMIE (JOHNSON) SAID THAT ‘WE CAN’T GET THEIR INFORMATION’ HE WAS JUST REFERRING TO THIS YEAR?
“I don’t want to speak for him. I have told Jimmie what I was going to come and explain here, but yeah for sure this year they haven’t gotten our and we haven’t gotten theirs. That got shut off I think before Daytona actually. That has been straightforward between Stewart-Haas and us and Zippy (Greg Zipadelli) and I worked through that. That was, from my standpoint, very straightforward.”
PRIOR TO THIS YEAR IT WAS MORE OF A TWO-WAY?
“Absolutely that was two-way.”
FROM A PARTS STANDPOINT HOW HAS THAT CONTINUED?
“Anything that Stewart-Haas has asked us to build for them this year we have built and we have built it to their specifications.”
IT’S NOT LIKE THEY ARE GOING INTO THE CHASE SAYING THEY CAN GET CARS OR PARTS FROM HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS?
“No, we continue to build cars and components for them as they go through the Chase.”
STRICTLY INFORMATION THAT HAS BEEN CUT OFF?
“That is correct. From a technical relationship standpoint the information got cut off, but we build their engines, we build their chassis’ to their specifications. They get certain chassis components from us that we have supplied over the years rear-end housing, lower control arms, truck arms things like that. They continue to receive those to their specifications from our shop.”
YOU DON’T TWEAK ANYTHING, WHATEVER THEY WANT IS WHAT THEY GET?
“Whatever they ask, yes.”
BUT THEY DON’T GIVE ANYTHING BACK TO YOU GUYS?
“No, we have our own capabilities so we just do that for ourselves then.”
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