MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
AUTO CLUB 400
AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 24, 2017
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 24 NAPA CHEVROLET SS met with media and discussed the West Coast swing, the importance of points earned in stage racing, always trying to improve, and more. Full Transcript:
HOW HAVE YOU ENJOYED NASCAR GOES WEST?
“Yeah, it’s been fun. We’ve really enjoyed our time. I’ve always enjoyed this West Coast swing. I think it’s a great time of year to do this and get away fro the weather at home and get out here to this nice weather that we’ve seen the past three weeks. Hopefully that continues throughout the weekend. We spent a lot of time in Colorado between Phoenix and this weekend with Alan (Gustafson) and a couple of the guys. It was a fun week. I’m happy to be here and I’m looking forward to getting going.”
THIS TRACK IS SO DIFFERENT. AND YOU’RE SO CLOSE TO WINNING. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT WHEN RACING AT AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY?
“This is such a cool place to come. It’s definitely a race track that lends a lot of options from the drivers’ perspective. The surface is in its prime with the way it is and the famous seams at this track that everybody always talks about. It was very racy last year. There were a lot of different lanes and a lot of grip that you could find in random various places. So, I hope that’s the place again this season. But, it’s such a fun place. I’ve really enjoyed coming here the past three years. It’s one of those places that you only come once a year but I think it’s good because you make the most of it that one time and less is more. I’m going to have a lot of fun with it this weekend. Hopefully we can have our car dialed in and try to have a good run on Sunday.”
YOU HAVE A LOT OF DATA FROM COMING HERE BEFORE. CAN YOU LOOK AT THAT DATA FROM PREVIOUS YEARS AND SET THE CAR UP LIKE THAT?
“Yeah, you can. You can look back at some of the things. You’re always going to carry trends from year to year from a set-up perspective; but you’re never going to be the exact same, no matter what or no matter how good you were a year ago. If you’re not progressing or trying to get better, you’re not going to be any better. So, a lot of times you can fall into a bit of a trap when you run good somewhere and then you come back with the same thing thinking oh, that was so good. Even just a coupe of months ago, like you look at some of the races that we go to in the mid-summer months that are only three or four weeks apart such as the Pocono races or the Michigan races. If you’re not changing things or trying to get better between those two races, you’re not going to run as good. And that’s just a fact. So, this place is the same way. And having a year in between, obviously a lot has changed since last year (like) a lot of rules changes and NASCAR has cracked down on some of the things that a lot of guys were doing over the off-season. They took some of that stuff away and you’ve got to find new ways to try to go fast.”
REGARDING STAGE RACING AND STRATEGY WITH YOUR CREW CHIEF, SO FAR THROUGH FOUR RACES ARE YOU SEEING THAT STRATEGY PLAY OUT THE WAY YOU THOUGHT IT WOULD? HAS IT BEEN DIFFERENT FOR YOU?
“I think it’s added a cool element to the races and the big thing is that it lends an opportunity to get some points to go toward the championship and I think that’s the most important thing. That’s the biggest thing we talked about over the off-season. There are a lot of points to be gained by winning those stages throughout the season that can give you a huge advantage once the end of the season comes, and the last 10 start. I think that’s the biggest thing with the stage races. I’m glad we have a stage win, last week in Phoenix, this early in the year is awesome. I know that’s just a point. But a point can go a long way. Hopefully we can get some more of those stage wins and that can add up pretty quickly. There are a lot of stages to be had throughout the season. Everybody is focusing on those. Everybody is always trying very hard, so I don’t think it’s going to change the racing per se. It might change some strategy. But we’re all trying as hard as we can, so I don’t think it’s fair to think it’s going to magically make us try harder. I think we’re already trying pretty hard.”
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS GOING TO MARTINSVILLE NEXT WEEK?
“It’s no secret that that place has been a struggle for me. I’m looking forward to getting back. I do feel like I’ve made some gains personally; and I do think that myself and Alan and our team have worked in a better direction for me at Martinsville. Jeff (Gordon) was so good there. And we tried to really show up in the spring race last year, just like Jeff raced in the fall. I tried to talk to him and do things exactly like I listen and like I thought I could pick up from him, but it just didn’t work out that way. So, I think for me, we have some different techniques and for whatever reason, I haven’t been able to copy what he does at that race track. I wish I could because he has obviously won a lot there. That was the reasoning in running the Truck race last fall was to try to get some more experience. I plan on running the Truck race again next weekend with GMS Racing, so I’m looking forward to getting some more time and hopefully that’ll help for Sunday. I’m just trying to make small gains at places I struggle. For whatever reason, I just haven’t figured it out. So, I’m excited to go give it another shot.”
RECENTLY, WITH YOU AND KYLE LARSON AND RYAN BLANEY, YOUNGER DRIVERS, YOU GUYS HAVE ALREADY STARTED OFF THIS SEASON CHALLENGING FOR THE WIN AND MAKING A HUGE STATEMENT IN TERMS OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP. THERE HAS BEEN NO EASING INTO IT THIS YEAR. COULD YOU TALK ABOUT HOW IT FEELS FOR YOU AS A YOUNG DRIVER WHO SEEMS TO BE STEPPING ON IT FROM THE GET-GO THIS YEAR?
“I think it’s really cool to see. I’ve enjoyed racing with both of those of those guys throughout the season. I can’t speak for them. But for me, I’ve just tried to take what I learned last year and improve on that and do some things better. I think the big thing is we all really have fast cars to drive right now, and that sure does make it a lot easier to run up front and contend and be there each week. I think from our organization at Hendrick; and I think Ganassi is the same way and Penski has been very strong to start the season with Brad’s (Keselowski) win at Atlanta and Kyle Busch running well every week. Just having fast cars makes it a lot easier. We’re all trying hard to improve. Our team did a good job, for sure, throughout the off-season trying to find new things and new items to try to go fast, and I think that’s the biggest thing that allows us to have good runs is just having good cars to drive.”
DOES IT HELP TO BE UP IN THE TOP OF THE POINT STANDINGS VERSUS JUST HAVING A GREAT RUN EVERY SO OFTEN?
“Yeah, it’s awesome. Obviously it’s really early in the season, so it’s hard to read into that a whole lot. The regular season points are just not as important as they once were. And those championship points that you can earn throughout the season with a stage win or a race win are going to be far more important than were you stack-up on a weekly/regular season points basis. I would much rather be toward the top of that than towards the bottom. I think if we can continue to have strong runs; and hopefully we can stay there and pick-up some positions and try to stay there as long as possible. Most importantly try to get into the playoffs at the end of the year and be strong when that rolls around. Hopefully we can do that. That’s the most important thing.”
DALE EARNHARDT JR. WAS TWEETING EARLIER THAT YOUR CONFIDENCE IS UP AND HE BETS YOU CAN WIN FOUR RACES THIS YEAR. WHAT DO YOU SAY TO THAT?
“I hope Dale is right. That’s all I know. That’s awesome. I appreciate the kind words, for sure. I think we’ve learned a lot throughout the season last year as a group. And as an organization we’ve fired-off well this year. It’s not perfect, but it’s good. And I think we have room to improve. But, I hope Dale is right. That’s all I have to say about that.”
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