Toyota Daytona Driver Quotes
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS)
Daytona Media Day – February 22, 2017
Toyota driver Noah Gragson was made available to the media at NASCAR Daytona Media Day:
Noah Gragson, No. 18 Switch Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports
Are you looking forward to your 2017 race season?
“I’m looking forward to the season, getting started with Kyle Busch Motorsports. I’m really excited to get the ball rolling here at Daytona in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. It’s been a dream of mine to race here, and hopefully we can come home in victory lane. My guys at Kyle Busch Motorsports have given me a fast Switch Toyota Tundra, and I think we’re going to be pretty good this weekend. We’ve done a lot of preparation in the off‑season, and my crew chief Marcus Richmond, he’s been working really hard. We’ve bonded really well throughout the off‑season. I think it’s going to be a really good year, and hopefully we can come home with a championship.”
What is your experience with restrictor plate racing?
“So this is my first race here at Daytona and on a restrictor plate track in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, so I have no idea what to expect at all. I have been watching videos and talking to Brandon McReynolds, Corey LaJoie, Cole Custer, guys like that, as well as Kyle Busch and my crew chief Marcus Richmond, so those guys I’ve really been leaning on lately to help me with some advice and give me some tips and tricks around these superspeedway tracks with the restrictor plates, so I don’t know what’s going to happen. I know there’s going to be a big one. There’s going to be a lot of wrecks, so hopefully we can just stay out of all of it. With the new points formatting and the race formats with the playoff points and the segments and all that, it’s going to change how the races are run, and I think you have to be on your game 100 laps, 110 percent. It’s going to be a long, challenging race, and can’t let my guard down, but I’m looking forward to it.”
What does it mean to have a team owner like Kyle Busch who is so successful to mentor you through your first race here?
“It’s awesome racing for Kyle Busch in the Camping World Truck Series. I went into the shop ‑‑ when I started racing a few years ago in legend cars, I was running the Summer Shootout in legend cars at Charlotte Motor Speedway. I’m in Las Vegas, so we were back there for about a month, and we actually got to tour Kyle Busch Motorsports four or five years ago, and to walk back in there and see all the trophies and everything that I remembered touring it the first time, it’s been a dream come true. I remember thinking to myself when we toured it the first time, if I could just drive for Kyle Busch or get to even run a late model for him, that would be a dream come true, and to be racing for him full‑time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, it’s indescribable. I’m just thankful for the opportunity. I’m thankful for Switch to come on board. I’m ready to get the ball rolling.”
Looking ahead to when you do race at Las Vegas, what’ll it mean to go home and race there?
“It’s going to be huge racing in Las Vegas later on in the year. It’s going to be a Chase race, so that’ll be big. Hopefully we’ll be leading in the Chase point format and all that and competing for the championship. But more importantly, I’ll be racing in front of my hometown and all my friends, family, all my fans. I’ve grown up racing there in the past at the Bullring in Las Vegas. There’s a three‑eighths mile track that I started racing my Bandolero legend car late model at, so to come back there and perform on the big track now, it’s going to be a big eye opener, and I’m really looking forward to it because I’ve always dreamt of running at that big track there, and to get my first laps in front of my hometown crowd, it’s going to be indescribable.”
