MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
PRE-SEASON MEDIA AVAILABILITY
CHARLOTTE MEDIA TOUR
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JANUARY 23, 2018
AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 47 KROGER CAMARO ZL1 met with members of the media at the Charlotte Media Tour and discussed his outlook for 2018, having a teammate in Chris Buescher, running the Rolex 24, and more. Full Transcript:
(NO MICROPHONE) QUESTION REGARDING BUBBA WALLACE
“If those four or five races that Bubba ran last year are any sign of what he’s going to do, I think he’s going to be really strong. Obviously they’re making a switch to Chevrolet and the RCR alliance but I felt like Bubba probably exceeded a lot of people’s expectations. He was smart on the race track. He finished every lap. He ran strong. In Kentucky he was really fast. I don’t see, with more races, why that’s going to be different.”
WHAT AREAS DO YOU WANT TO IMPROVE THIS YEAR?
“We got behind on the aero side of it last year and it was hard to catch up. But that’s what Tad and Jodi (Geschickter) and (crew chief) Ernie Cope have really focused on is to go out there and just give us everything that we need. The Hendrick Motorsports alliance, for sure, is going to be a huge help in the sim-side (simulated) of it with what they’re doing. We’ve been to the wind tunnel a lot this off-season, which is way more than we ever have. With what Kroger has done to step-up for our whole organization for myself and Chris (Buescher ). We’ve got a lot of great partners but to have Kroger on every race; I might be wrong, but I might be the only team that has that, right? The point being, they’ve been huge to kind of unite us as one team right now and make both of our race cars a lot faster. You want to be cautiously optimistic with what everything that’s been done in the off-season, I think we’re going to be a lot stronger.”
(NO MICROPHONE) QUESTION REGARDING THE CHARLOTTE ROAD COURSE
“The roval is going to be definitely a unique challenge. I’m looking forward to it. It’s different. I think the infield is going to be slick. We’re going to be beating and banging on each other. The oval side of it, with the chicane, will be interesting to see how that plays out. But, more than anything, at least it’s something different for the playoffs and I think that’s something that NASCAR needed and it’s going to be a challenge. It’s going to be a lot of fun. And we’re going to be there racing anyway, so hopefully we’re just a part of the playoffs doing it.
“I did the first test and they didn’t have any of the chicanes there. I saw that they moved (turns) 7 and 8, so I think there’s another test in July. When we get there, we’ll worry about it.”
WHAT’S IT LIKE TO GETTING USED TO HAVING A TEAMMATE AGAIN? HAS IT REALLY ADDED SOMETHING?
“Yeah, I think it was added so late, the second car, so I don’t know if that put us behind, but it was definitely tough to start the season. I couldn’t have asked for a better teammate with Chris. He’s got so much talent. I’ve learned a lot from him. But more importantly, he was just easy to work with. And we are able to bounce ideas off each other and feed info to figure out where we needed to get better. Having a full year under our belt, I think that’s something that’s going to allow us to really make both of these teams work together and be one big team and go out there. You always want to be faster than your teammate, for sure. But where we were running last year was not that good for either of us. So, that’s the great thing about just working with him that there’s no secrets. There’s no nothing. We can just keep talking and as the season went on, I really built a great relationship with him. Like I said, I couldn’t ask for a better teammate to have to go out there and make it stronger.”
(NO MICROPHONE) QUESTION REGARDING THE ROLEX 24
“We’re leaving for Rolex right after this. It’s going to be different. I’ve always run the Prototype class and Shank’s (Michael Shank Racing) first year last year with the GTD class and the Acura NSX’s. They’ve really built a lot of speed. They won two races last year so the car’s got a lot of speed in it. But it’s a different way of racing, you know? Being a Prototype, you’re the aggressor. You’re the one making the moves. With the GT cars there’s a challenge to allowing cars to get around you and not losing a lot of time and that’s where the best GT drivers are so good at it. I got only about 30 laps probably at the Roar. ABS (system) brakes is way different than anything I’ve ever driven. It took me a while to learn. And I can’t say I’ve really got a full understanding of it yet but I love that race. I love working with Mike Shank and that whole team. It’s a little bit like ours you know. I hadn’t seen them guys in two years and there’s a lot of different people there, kind of like our race team now. Anytime you can go run well and possibly win the race, it’s just a big confidence boost going into Speedweeks.”
(NO MICROPHONE)
“At some point, I’m sure I’m going to have to give this up. I would love to. I love what IMSA is doing. There’s going to be 20 brand new Prototypes, there’s 21 or 22 cars in the Prototype class, which is bigger than any other Prototype class in the world. The GT class and our class, there’s 21 or 22 cars as well. It’s such a competitive field; I think the top 15 at the test were separated by 7 or 8 tenths. What they’re doing is great. There’s so many different manufacturers in there now. And I would love to do it, for sure.”
AT THE FINAL FOUR MEDIA DAY LAST YEAR, TWO OF THE FOUR DRIVERS DESCRIBED THE SEASON AS LONG. WITH YOUR BACKGROUND, WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE LENGTH OF THE NASCAR SEASON?
“Oh, it’s long. Don’t you think it’s long, too? You guys (media) have to do this with us every weekend. I came from a schedule that only had 15 races, which was too short. I think there’s a happy medium in there somewhere. We also know that there’s a lot that goes into just saying oh, we’re taking away races or we’re doing this. So, it is what it is. I can’t control it. The summer months are for sure a stretch. You’ve got to really grind through that. But it’s part of it. I have no say in the schedule, so you just deal with it.”
(NO MICROPHONE) QUESTION ABOUT SCOTT PRUETT’S RETIREMENT
“What Scott Pruett has done for the sport of just auto racing, not NASCAR or IMSA or anything like that; it’s what he’s done in general for the world of racing has been pretty special. He’s done it all. He’s raced everything (including) IndyCar, he’s run sports cars, he’s run NASCAR, and he’s been fast in everything that he’s done. More importantly, he’s always been such a great promoter of the sport and great to go talk to if you needed to ask questions. A hard competitor. To see him go out on his own terms and to go our with the biggest race in their sport, I think we’d all like to be able to do that.”
YOU’VE BEEN AROUND FEMALE DRIVERS. WHAT HAS TO HAPPEN FOR A WOMAN DRIVER TO REALLY SUCCEED IN NASCAR? CAN WE GET TO THAT POINT SOMETIME SOON?
“It’s a challenge for everybody, though. You look at where we’re at right now; it’s hard for young drivers to find sponsorship and things like that. I think that’s really what it’s based off of is funding and going out there and performing when you have the funding and making sure that you’re recognized for what it is. But it’s hard for me to say that because I’m not in that position. That’s a different way to go about it and say oh, I know what it’s like. You can’t. But it’s just a tough thing right now in our sport with sponsorship. You’ve just got to have that behind you.”
HAS DANICA PATRICK CHANGED THE GAME FOR WOMEN MUCH?
“I think she did. She brought a lot of new eyes. You look at the races, there are a lot of young girls at the race track only because she was there. I think it helped for young girls to go out and look at what NASCAR racing was all about that a girl could go out there and do it. And so it for sure helped. But, it still needs to come a long way, I’m sure.”
HOW CHALLENGING IS IT GOING TO BE FOR DANICA PATRICK AT THE INDY 500 THIS YEAR?
“She’s so good at the 500. She gets in those things and it comes back naturally.”
DO YOU THINK IT’S HARD TO TAKE THAT MANY YEARS OFF AND GET BACK IN ONE OF THOSE CARS AND COMPETE?
“It is. But you get enough laps. She gets in a competitive car and she’s always been so good around there in an IndyCar, so she’ll be fine.”
(NO MICROPHONE)
“I’m not going to lie. I saw Sebastien Bourdais and Scott Dixon take a ride and that made me think about it. I’ve already lost one really close best friend in it. And it’s racing. You always know there’s a risk out there. But, already losing one friend and then watching that last year I was like, oh, IMSA is looking good (laughter)”
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