Toyota Racing – Noah Gragson & Brett Moffitt
NASCAR NCWTS Series (NCWTS)
Las Vegas Motor Speedway – March 1, 2018
Kyle Busch Motorsports driver Noah Gragson and Hattori Racing’s Brett Moffitt were made available to the media at Las Vegas Motor Speedway:
Talk about your moment from last week and racing at home this weekend.
NOAH GRAGSON, No. 18 Safelite Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports
“I am excited. I was preparing for a lunch down the street at Fremont Street with a couple of these guys (media). I had some fried rice. I’ve been excited. I got here Tuesday night. I’ve been hanging out and playing some iRacing in my room. I’ve hung out with some friends and have did some stuff with the (Las Vegas Motor) Speedway last night. I was at the Vegas sports pep rally downtown and have just been hanging kinda being a tourist. It has been a lot of fun being with my friends and family. It has been a good time.”
Talk about your win at Atlanta and what that meant to you.
BRETT MOFFITT, No. 16 AISIN Group Toyota Tundra, Hattori Racing
“It was obviously really important to get off on a good start there at Atlanta (Motor Speedway). We had a really strong Tundra all night. Were we the best truck? Probably not. But were we good enough to be there at the end? We were. We still have some areas we need to improve upon to get better. We just need more speed in our trucks and they’ve been working really hard at that. So Scott (Zipadelli, crew chief) and the guys have come here with a different package, but the same truck and we’ll try to be a bit faster this week.”
Is this this a list opportunity to try and get something for you and has your perspective changed at all?
BRETT MOFFITT
“I take every opportunity no matter what series it is and I am grateful for it. To be back in winning equipment is what’s important to me. I got so burnt out running 20th on back in the Cup Series that you’re just collecting a paycheck at that point. Which is sometimes what you have to do. I would go race for free if we’re racing for wins. It’s the passion of competition. When you’re not upfront it’s not fun and this opportunity, I am grateful for it. To be back and competing for wins with these guys upfront just brings the fun back to racing. Looking forward to the rest of the year.”
You will have a lot of family and friends here tomorrow, what would you be satisfied with leaving here?
NOAH GRAGSON
“Last year I got a lot of pit road practice done in the race. I got caught speeding two times on the entry. I got my practice done prematurely to this weekend from last year’s race. We led laps. I am just excited to get back on the racetrack. I got my parents, my grandparents, all my friends coming out here. We have a lot of people from Safelite and Switch coming out, too. It’s a good homecoming to get back to my home racetrack. Growing up racing at the Bullring just outsides Turns 1 and 2, I have always dreamed of getting over to just make laps in rental car or a pace car just something that would be the coolest opportunity ever. And now I have the coolest opportunity ever to race in the Truck Series. I am really excited to get to race in my Safelite Auto Glass Toyota Tundra.”
Do you feel better you’re in a better position this season and how much different do you feel from a year ago?
NOAH GRAGSON
“It’s all confidence. Just going to the racetrack with the mindset that I am a lot better than all these guys and essentially I am going to kick their ass on the racetrack. It hasn’t showed yet. He (Brett Moffitt) won last week. I am more personally confident in myself and my preparation throughout the week. And in studying film and working with my crew chief Rudy Fugle. I know we have fast Toyota Tundra’s at Kyle Busch Motorsports. It’s just that confidence of knowing what to do when I get put in a position and I have to capitalize on it now.”
What was it like getting that first victory and does this help on the sponsorship front for 2018?
BRETT MOFFITT
“I sure hope so. It was obviously a very short week and we had to turn the truck around to come here. We didn’t have a lot of time to soak it in. But the guys were back at work Sunday getting ready to come out here to Las Vegas. I know Shige (Hattori, team owner) was extremely happy and a lot of our partners in Japan were extremely happy. And that means a lot going forward. It’s definitely going to help the cause as far as moving sponsorship down the road and trying to fill the schedule out.”
Does simulator racing help give you that edge?
BRETT MOFFITT
“The simulators we get to use, we are spoiled. Noah and I have been the TRD (Toyota Racing Development) one a lot. That is very beneficial because the crew chiefs can actually make some adjustments and change the platforms. They can do anything they want and we can get good feedback. The simulators at home, they are fun and that’s about it.”
