MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
PRE-SEASON MEDIA AVAILABILITY
CHARLOTTE MEDIA TOUR
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
JANUARY 24, 2017
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 24 NAPA AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Charlotte Media tour and discussed a new sponsor for 2017, improvements in his second full season of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series competition, the series’ new championship format and other topics. Full transcript:
YOU’VE ADDED A SPONSOR THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE HERE ARE FAMILIAR WITH IN HOOTERS. TELL US ABOUT THAT RELATIONSHIP:
“I had a lot of fun with it, and they’re a fun group of people. Not just the brand but the people they have to work with behind the scenes were easy and great to work with. I got to stare – I didn’t get to eat – at a lot of chicken wings yesterday, which was tough but probably a good thing. I need to get back in the gym. But it was a lot of fun and I’m glad to have them on board. Their history with Alan Kulwicki is long, and he and my dad obviously had a great championship battle in 1992. That’s obviously kind of ironic to see that but very good. I know my dad had a lot of respect for Alan and what he did. Both my parents did. I think it’s pretty neat to carry the Hooters colors this year, so I’m looking forward to that. It’s definitely something different and something to be excited about.”
IF YOU HAVEN’T BEEN ASKED YET, YOU’LL BE ASKED A MILLION TIMES ABOUT A SOPHOMORE JINX. DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU’LL BE ABLE TO CARRY OVER MOMENTUM FROM LAST YEAR, OR ARE YOU STARTING FROM SCRATCH, REBUILD AND TRY TO GET BACK TO THAT POINT TO WHERE YOU WERE RUNNING AS WELL AS YOU WERE BEFORE?
“You hope you can continue forward and not look at it as Year Two or look at it from that perspective. You have to go about it as a new season as boring as an answer as that it is. You have to see the challenges as they come. One thing I’m excited about, which I haven’t had in the last few years, is having the same crew chief two years in a row. I haven’t had that. I really enjoyed working with Alan (Gustafson) last year. I think he’s one of the best. Everyone says that about their crew chiefs, but I’m pretty confident saying that. He does a great job and is underrated in what he does and how hard he works in trying to make a race team go. For us it’s about starting another year, improving in areas that we wanted to get better in and also improve some of the areas we succeeded in and try to keep it as simple as that.”
DO YOU FEEL ANY EXTRA PRESSURE? YOU SEEM TO BE THE YOUNG GUY THAT THE OLD-SCHOOL FANS GRAVITATE TO.
“I really don’t feel extra pressure from that standpoint. I want to be me and try to keep things as straightforward as I can. I try not to be a very complicated person and try to keep things as simple as possible. I certainly appreciate the support we’ve had. It was incredible to see some of that last year. Darlington stands out in my mind. We went there and saw a bunch of new 24 gear which goes a long way. It doesn’t go unnoticed and it means a lot. I certainly appreciate that support, but you want people to support you for who you are and no other reason. I hope that’s the way it is for me. I’m trying to be myself.”
YOU AND ERIK JONES HAVE RACED EACH OTHER SPORADICALLY OVER THE YEARS BUT NEVER FULL-TIME UNTIL THIS YEAR. I’VE SEEN SOME RACES WHERE YOU TWO OF YOU WERE INVOLVED THAT IT SEEMS LIKE THERE IS A RIVALRY. IS THERE ONE BETWEEN YOU AND ERIK?
“Not that I know of. I’ve never had a problem with Erik or anything from that side. I think he’s a great race car driver and has done a really good job over the years with Late Model racing. I’ve raced him a handful of times – not a ton. When we went up north to race a good bit around the Michigan area, he was always up there, and I think toward the end when he started racing for Kyle (Busch) he started venturing south and ran a lot of races in the southeast. He does a great job and will do a good job this year. He’s in a good car with a good team and he certainly has proven over the years that he has what it takes to succeed. I don’t see that changing.”
YOU DID A RECENT INTERVIEW WHERE YOU SAID THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT SURPRISED YOU AT THE CUP LEVEL WAS ALL THE TIME YOU SPEND AT THE TRACK FROM WHEN YOU SHOW UP. YOU WOULD DO SO MANY DIFFERENT ADJUSTMENTS THAT YOU END UP OUT IN LEFT FIELD. COULD YOU TALK A LITTLE ABOUT HOW THAT WAS, HOW IT SURPRISED YOU AND WHAT YOU WILL DO TO COMBAT THAT THIS YEAR?
“I don’t know that it’s necessarily surprising. It can be easy to do if you’re not careful. That extra day at the race track – racing Saturday and having Sundays off – to being there Friday, Saturdayand Sunday makes a bigger difference than you’d think. There is so much practice time throughout the week. You practice Friday then qualify on Friday night. You have time to think about it Friday night and then practice on Saturday. Then you have time to think about it Saturday and then you race. Sometimes you have to step back and realize that the setup, your car and your mentality coming into the race weekend… nine times out of 10 you have the most confidence in that when you get there. It’s easy to steer away from that and steer yourself off track. Just being mindful of what you came with and try not to get yourself too messed up is key. From a setup perspective or finding something new from a driving side, it’s easy to do when you have that much track time on a weekend. You can certainly mess yourself up if you’re not too careful.”
FOR A KID WHO GREW UP ON SIMULATORS AND VIDEO GAMES, DO YOU THINK CHANGING THE FORMAT WILL HELP ATTRACT A YOUNGER AUDIENCE, WHOSE ATTENTION SPAN MAY NOT BE AS LENGTHY AS THE TRADITIONAL, MORE MATURE RACE FAN?
“Like I said earlier, I’m about keeping things simple. The way I see it is if I go to watch something, I watch it because I find it entertaining. So if that’s going to make it more entertaining then that’s great. It doesn’t matter what audience you’re going for. If the racing is more entertaining, then it’s going to attract more people. I certainly think this format has the ability to do that. It’s going to add some strategy plays throughout the race. I think it’s probably unfair for us to think that it’s going to change how we race. We’re all trying hard as it is. But I think it’s going to add another level of strategy in certain things – whether you want to win a segment or position yourself for the next round. As we go through a race, you were going to see cautions as the day went on. If you’re leading the race, why not be rewarded for it? It’s two cautions that award points and I don’t see it being a lot more than that. I think it’s fine and I think it will add another level of strategy and maybe some more plays on pit road.”
YOU SAID IN A PREVIOUS ANSWER YOU NOTICED AN INCREASE IN FANS WEARING YOUR 24 GEAR LAST YEAR. HOW AWARE OF THE SHIFT IN FANS WEARING JEFF GORDON 24 GEAR TOWARD YOURS AT THE END OF THE SEASON?
“It’s hard to keep up unless you go and stare at people in the grandstands. I don’t know why it was in Darlington but we were driving out of the track after the race and we were sitting in traffic while they were letting people cross. I happened to see a big group of people. That’s why it stood out in my mind. As the year went on, I guess you did see a little more of the newer 24 stuff, which I thought was cool. But I’m perfectly cool with seeing Jeff Gordon gear too. Jeff’s been good to me and has a great fan base who still enjoy going to the races. New or old 24 gear, I’m happy with it.”
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