MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
PRE-SEASON MEDIA AVAILABILITY
CHARLOTTE MEDIA TOUR
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
JANUARY 25, 2017
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 FARMERS INSURANCE CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at the annual Charlotte Media Tour and discussed his outlook for the season, what he experienced as a rookie in the Cup Series and many other topics. Full Transcript:
“Good to be here. Media Tour, looking forward to today. There is a lot to be talked about, a lot going on in the sport and with our team, Hendrick Motorsports. It’s been a nice couple of weeks with Mr. H and everybody that got inducted into the Hall of Fame. That was a really need couple of days. We had some great times listening to the stories and things at the Hall and then we had a nice party Saturday night for Mr. H. We had a blast. Hendrick Motorsports and a lot of the people from Hendrick Automotive Group (HAG) it was a big party and a really good time all thanking Mr. H and congratulating him on his success and everything that he has done for so many of us.”
HOW IDENTICAL ARE ALL YOUR FOUR CARS? CAN YOU SET-UP IDENTICAL YOUR CAR LIKE THE DRIVER WHO IS LEADING THE TIME SHEETS IN QUALIFYING?
“That is a pretty complicated question because there is a lot that goes into that. Especially last year, everybody was kind of in different areas and things. I feel like Hendrick Motorsports is in a great direction and we made a lot of those gains the last 12-14 races of the season. We have even gone further for this season. I would say, looking ahead, to answer some of that question, a lot of the things are going to be very similar on all the cars as the future goes. I think we are headed in a great direction with that.”
DO YOU FEEL A HIGHER LEVEL OF OPTIMISM COMING IN TO THIS YEAR BECAUSE OF HOW YOU GUYS RAN TOWARD THE END OF THE YEAR? OR DO YOU FEEL PRESSURE BECAUSE YOU MISSED THE CHASE THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS?
“I think it is more optimism and just feeling good about where we went last year. Where we started consistent 18th to 20th was not anything that we wanted and after the last 12 to 14 races we were eighth to 10th, so that jump, that consistency that we showed throughout the whole season for the speed of the car I thought was good. We are working hard to make another jump because eighth to 10th isn’t where we want to be either. Definitely, a lot of progress from where we were the first half of the season to where we ended; we can only build on that. We know where we made those gains as a company and as a team because we made them in both areas and we will just get better from there.”
DO YOU THINK YOU WILL CONTINUE TO BE INVOLVED WITH SPRINT CAR RACING WITH YOUR TEAMS? OR JUST FOCUS ON NASCAR?
“Well I think my love for racing in general, I love racing, I love the sport, all different types of racing, but sprint cars is something that I have a long background in and have really enjoyed learning. It is kind of how I learned how to race was in dirt cars and sprint cars were a huge part of that. To have those teams, Brad Sweet and Daryn Pittman to me that is some of the most fun I have each year is when I can actually go to the race track, support those guys, stand in the corner, grandstands wherever it may be and watch kind of their every move. To me that is a lot of fun. I enjoy having those teams. We have the employees that we have, the drivers that we have and hopefully we can keep those going for a long time because it’s something that means a lot to me.”
DOES YOUR SUCCESS AS A SPRINT CAR DRIVER PUT PRESSURE ON YOUR CURRENT SPRINT CAR DRIVERS?
“I don’t think a whole lot. I think they know what I expect, but they have all the things that they expect of themselves. They put that time in. They put the work in. They are two of the best drivers you are going to find in sprint cars anywhere. I’m glad that they race for me. Each year they are trying to be the best that they can. I respect them a lot. That series, that traveling, it’s a long season that those teams go through and they do a great job with it. My respect is high for them.”
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT WHY YOU FEEL MORE OPTIMISTIC GOING INTO THIS YEAR?
“I think first off anytime any of us have a month or two off and we all know we are starting at zero here in a couple of weeks, everybody feels good about it and is excited to get the season started. For me though, a lot of it has to do with the way we finished last year, the progress of the company and the progress of our team. What Jimmie Johnson did; what Chase Elliott did; those things to me were key and they were highlights. Our No. 5 team did the same, we made a lot of gains and we were much stronger the last 12 races of the season. Since Monday after Homestead I have been with Keith (Rodden, crew chief), I’ve been with our engineers and all of us as a team, from the pit crew side to the road guys, the guys building the cars, we have been a team and we have been working to progress in those same areas that we made the gains in. We have had a couple of months to do that, so I feel like that is a lot of hard work. Everybody is working hard, but for us we are going in the right direction and it is going to show this year and I’m looking forward to that.”
WHAT WERE THE STRONG EMOTIONS YOU WERE FEELING, WHAT WERE THE THOUGHTS THAT WERE ON YOUR MIND WHEN YOU ENTERED THE CUP SERIES AS A ROOKIE? WHO WERE YOU LEANING ON GOING INTO THIS VERY BIG PART OF YOUR LIFE?
“It was all really new to me and really fresh and exciting. I had Bill Elliott and Ray Evernham to really lean on and work with. Tommy Baldwin was my crew chief he was super open and communicated a lot. That was really nice early on to have people like that, just lots of information, lots of things to pull from. I had ran one full year Busch Series and was hoping that I could figure out a Cup car, but really didn’t know because I didn’t get to run any races prior. So, we did some testing, felt great testing and were really looking forward to the season. We were good right from the start and I was really happy with that.”
IS THERE SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE GOAL YOU WANT TO MEET THIS YEAR?
“Yeah, I think winning would be great and that is definitely where we want to be. I think that is where everybody wants to be. You have to win in this sport. You have to run up front. You have to lead laps if you want to be part of the playoffs you need to do all that and then you need to do it in the playoffs as well if you want to win a championship. To me, consistently running in the top 10, if we do that as a team week-in, week-out we are going to have our fair share of shots to win, whether it’s a stage or the final stage; I’m looking forward to that. Just looking forward to performance and having much faster cars and doing a better job behind the wheel in basically every aspect.”
HAS HAVING A BABY MADE YOU REFLECT ON THINGS OUTSIDE OF RACING?
“Well, he just turned 15 months, so he is growing and changing so quickly. He is a complete blast. I definitely look at things a little bit differently. When it comes to racing, I don’t look at it a whole lot differently, because I’ve always had such a passion for driving, learning about the cars, being part of the team side of things and working hard to be the best that I can be. That hasn’t changed a whole lot. I really want to be in Victory Lane with him. That is one thing I do think about, but other than that I think it’s away from the track how it’s kind of changed my life and how I look at day-to-day and kind of tonight when I’m done with all of this how much fun I will have tonight. There are a lot of things he has changed, but racing not so much.”
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