MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
BANK OF AMERICAN ROVAL 400
CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY ROVAL
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
SEPTEMBER 28, 2018
JTG Daugherty Racing announced today a new driver to their two-car lineup, signing 27-year-old Ryan Preece in a multi-year contract. Preece will join JTG Daugherty Racing for his first full-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season starting in the 2019 DAYTONA 500 at Daytona International Speedway driving the No. 47 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. The announcement featured Tad Geschickter, JTG Daugherty Racing Co-Owner, Ernie Cope, Competition Director, and Ryan Preece. Full Transcript:
TAD GESCHICKTER: “Thanks for your interest. I’m here on behalf of Ernie Cope, and Jodi Geschickter, and our partners Brad Daugherty and Gordon Smith to say we’re very pleased to announce that Ryan Preece has become a part of the JTG Daugherty family to drive for us beginning at Daytona in 2019. I’m really excited to see what we can do together.”
RYAN PREECE: “Obviously, a lot of you guys (media) have been asking me over the past few weeks, and I respect that you respected the fact that I wanted it to come out when it was going to come out. I’m really thankful for the opportunity for being able to race for Tad and Jodi and Brad and those guys, it’s just a dream come true. A lot of you know the path that I’ve gone down and the sleepless nights that I’ve gone through to chase after trophies and win races. To finally get to this level, and earn it, it’s really a short-tracker’s dream to finally get here and to race for such people with class. It’s a family owned team and that’s something that I’ve always been a part of with different Modified teams.
“If you’ve been following my Twitter I’ve been throwing up some posts of pictures that, yeah, they’ve been wins, but they’ve been people. There’re people in the background that have helped get me to the point where I am now. So, like I said, I’m very excited for this opportunity. I’m excited to work with Ernie (Cope) and everybody there. I’m just really pumped. Hopefully we can start out strong and compete for wins.”
MODERATOR: “Ernie, what are your thoughts on your new wheel man here?”
ERNIE COPE: “Oh, I’m excited. I started watching him at the end of the year, there at Homestead. He drove hard there. And we got into the springtime here and watched that Bristol race and watched him go after it and I was like, man, that guy is something. And then they talked about his story. I was like, that guy is right up my alley. I started looking into his background. He builds and drives and works on his own equipment and that’s the mold I’m looking for. I want someone that’s a race car driver who has done it his whole life. Every time I’ve called him, he’s in the shop. He is always underneath that race car or going to the shop. That’s all he does is race.”
MODERATOR: “Let’s open this up for questions.”
HOW MUCH HAS EVERYTHING YOU’VE BEEN THROUGH IN MODIFIEDS AND SHORT TRACK EXPERIENCE TO YOUR YEAR IN XFINITY PREPARED YOU FOR WHAT YOU’RE ABOUT TO EMBARK ON?
RYAN PREECE: “Guys like Reggie Ruggiero, Mike Stefanik, Ted Christopher, Keith Rocco, many names up in the Northeast that won’t give you an inch. You’ve got to learn to race with the best of them and those guys, week in and week out, make you figure out a way to make it happen. That’s the same for my racing career. It’s kind of the way I was brought up. There is never ‘I can’t’. It’s ‘make it happen’, no matter what you’ve got to do. I feel like I’m really prepared. Obviously, there are going to be some things I’m going to be learning and I’ll be leaning on many guys to make that learning curve as short as possible. But, it’s like I told Chris Gabehart and Steve De Souza at JGR when I went over there, I’m not going to be the weak link. I’m going to work very hard week-in and week-out, just like these guys do. And we’re going to work really hard next year to get where we all want to be.”
YOU’VE MADE IT A PASSION TO CONTINUE TO BE IN YOUR MODIFIED AND IN SHORT RACE RACES AS MUCH AS YOU CAN OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS. WILL THAT CHANGE? WITH THE FOCUS FOR 38 WEEKS BEING ON THAT CUP CAR, ARE YOU GOING TO FIND SOME TIME?
RYAN PREECE: “I think I already got some approval to go run some Modified races, but there won’t be any interference. I imagine I might do double-duty at Loudon. That New Hampshire weekend is a big weekend for me. But, there’s a mid-week show that doesn’t conflict with any obligations that I have with these guys or for me being in the shop, where I feel like is going to be pretty important. I’ll try to make some races work.”
IT’S WELL DOCUMENTED THAT YOU WENT ALL-IN ON YOURSELF AND BETTING ON YOURSELF TO GET THIS OPPORTUNITY ULTIMATELY. DO YOU THINK THIS IS THE START OF SOMETHING THAT COULD BE A TREND THAT OTHER PEOPLE CAN FOLLOW? OR, IS THIS GOING TO BE AN ISOLATED CASE?
RYAN PREECE: “I’d love for people to get opportunities. I’m not really sure. I can’t speak for other people. I just knew that I had tried everything to get the opportunity that I needed, and it just wasn’t happening. And it wasn’t because of not being able to win. I’ve won a minimum of 17 races for the past four years, or whatever it may be. There have been plenty of wins. It’s just I haven’t gotten that opportunity, and I really want to thank these guys again, because this a true opportunity. It’s really nice being wanted, you know what I mean? And now, it’s my turn to give back and do the best job that I can, which I feel I will. And, we’re going to have some fun.”
IT SOUNDS LIKE THAT WAS AGREED TO A FEW WEEKS AGO. DID YOU THINK ABOUT STILL LOOKING OR WHAT MADE THIS THE RIGHT FIT FOR YOU?
RYAN PREECE: “So, last year, when I was going to JGR and running those couple of races, I read Joe’s (Gibbs) book about his journey of being a head coach and kind of how whenever he forced something to happen, it never panned out. I could relate to that because in my career, whenever I’ve tried to force something to happen, it really just doesn’t happen. For instance, when I left JD Motorsports, not really having a ride of anything and then Carl (Edwards) retired it just opened up. And then, when everything was starting to happen I was approached and really, I went to the shop and I checked it all out and I was like, man, I’m impressed. This is something that has a lot of potential and you know when all the right pieces of the puzzle get put together I really feel that we are going to be contenders eventually week-in and week-out. So, to be honest with you I leave it up to fate. This is the road I’m supposed to go down.”
CAN YOU SAY YET, ARE YOU GOING TO HENDRICK ENGINES NEXT YEAR AND IS YOUR NO. 37 CAR SET FOR NEXT YEAR?
TAD GESCHICKTER: “Yes, Chris Buescher will continue to drive for JTG Daugherty Racing next year and we are proud to have all of our partners coming back onboard and a few new ones for next year. We will have Hendrick motors next year. This is the last year of our ECR motor agreement. I’ve got to just mention that if you all get a chance to come and look at the infrastructure that Ernie Cope has built around our race shop in two years and the way we are going about our business, we are really serious and have invested heavily to have the right tools, the right talent and people. There are people in our engineering department that are used to winning. I think it really needs to be called out. I think Ryan (Preece) probably came through as a courtesy to come look at our place and he is enough of a racer to look at what is in place to say, wow, this thing is ready to go to the next level. If you get a chance to come through and walk through we would welcome you just to show you how we are going about our business and I think it’s in the right way.”
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO TELL THAT SHORT TRACK RACER?
RYAN PREECE: “That if you are going to fall down that hole of ‘money, money, money’ you will never make it. You know I’m not saying it’s easy, it’s not. There were a lot of nights I didn’t know what was going to happen. I didn’t know what my future was going to be. I didn’t know if I could even make it to this level. I was going to try though. I was going to try like hell. Really, my advice is do what you think is right. Don’t let somebody tell you that you can’t do it. I had somebody tell me a few years back that basically you have to wait in line and that there are people paying or whatever and I just looked at that and I said you know what, I’m going to use that as my way of finding a way to prove them wrong. I wanted to do it for me, but it was also to prove to people like we are out here. There are guys that are really dedicated that really just work hard. I keep up with Speed51, Motorsport.com and looking at all these late model guys or modified guys that are working really hard to get noticed. The biggest thing is, people do notice. You just need the right person to notice. Luckily, I’ve got Tad and Jodi (Geschickter) in my corner and everybody in that shop and Ernie (Cope) and Brad (Daugherty) and Gordy and I’m just really thankful for this opportunity because coming from a guy who was running three times a week at my local short track to coming here to NASCAR’s highest level it’s a dream come true. This is the highest point of our sport, so to be out here next year competing for Rookie of the Year and I have a lot of things to look forward to.”
A CONSTANT THEME OF YOUR CAREER HAS BEEN YOUR DESIRE TO WIN. ONCE YOU GET TO THE HIGHEST LEVEL IT’S A DIFFERENT DYNAMIC BECAUSE RUNNING 15TH IN CUP IS A REALLY GOOD LIFE. HOW MUCH ARE YOU STILL DRIVEN TO WIN?
RYAN PREECE: “So, like Tad (Geschickter) said about coming to the shop and seeing what Ernie has helped build over the few years I was super impressed. I know what it takes to win. I know what it takes in people and infrastructure. What they are willing to do there are just so many different things, so when I went to that shop and just saw as a courtesy I was like man, this is impressive. There is a lot to work with here, we can win. We can as long as we put the pieces of the puzzle together and make it all work together, we can get there. I’m not looking at it as hey if we finish 15th it’s a great day. We are going to constantly work harder. I mean there are going to be goals along the way to get to that point, but I make decisions based on what I feel we can do and I feel like we can achieve that goal and get there.”
TALK ABOUT MAKING THIS PROGRAM BETTER AND WHAT DO YOU SEE IN RYAN THAT MAKES YOU FEEL LIKE HE CAN BE A DIFFERENCE MAKER MOVING FORWARD?
ERNIE COPE: “To me that he is a winner. I started this not looking at what he was doing in NASCAR. When we started looking him up I was like, I have looked over the last three years of what he has done and what he’s about. I have checked him out pretty thoroughly and he is a hardcore racer. Same deal when he came by like I said more of a courtesy we called him and wanted to know if he would be interested in doing it and like I said, it was more of a courtesy I don’t think he was sold on it. After spending an hour with him, when he left, Tad and I both looked at each other and said that is our guy. It wasn’t long after that and he was like you know what I’ve got an interest in doing this, so it all came together. I definitely feel he is a winner. He is going to force, he is motivated, and he just will not accept losing he will figure it out.”
TAD GESCHICKTER: “For me, I’m a Northeast modified fan. My very first driver 25 years ago, Jodi and mine was Jeff Fuller. So, I think that is some of the best racing there is out there, some of the toughest competitors. It is so much in the driver’s hands, so obviously, watching his career there, I first noticed him when he was in the Xfinity Series with Johnny Davis and what he was able to do with that equipment, take that team to the next level. To me, part of the driver description is being able to tell you what we need to work on. With his hands-on experience and the way, he has built his cars through his career, etc., that is what sold me. I will say this, 25 years next year we have been racing. No one remembers this, but our very first driver we signed was Tony Stewart when he was 20 and our sponsorship fell through in December and he went and won the triple crown in IRL (Indy Racing League) the next two years. Robert Pressley our great driver broke his shoulder and Chevy came to us and said, we have this young 20-year-old named Jimmie Johnson and we would like for you to take a chance on him. He went out and led races for us right away and couldn’t sell the sponsors on taking a chance on a rookie. We had a chance to hire Ryan Newman along the way. I’ve made all the wrong decisions you could, so I’m not as dumb as I look. When Ryan (Preece) came through and said, he had an interest it was a no-brainer just to say we are not going to make that mistake again. I put him in that level of game changer, I really do.”
HOW WILL THIS TRANSITION BE GOING INTO JTG’S FAMILY AND DO WE SEE YOU COMING AND RUNNING SOMETHING AT ALL BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR?
RYAN PREECE: “Right now I want to finish out the season in Xfinity. I want to do what I’ve agreed to do there. I’m thankful for the opportunity that I have had with Joe Gibbs Racing and I’ve got to thank Chris Peel and JR Jones with Rheem and Ruud for ultimately giving me the opportunity to get out there and win Bristol and let these guys see me again and really help me get to this point. So, you know, as far as the transition, everybody over there is really happy for me. I took some of my guys out on the team last night and let them know before this came out officially. So, everybody is really happy for me, which is cool.”
IF RYAN HAD NOT BET ON HIMSELF IN THAT JOE GIBBS RACING CAR WOULD YOU HAVE LOOKED AT HIM AND CONSIDERED HIM FOR THE NO. 47 CAMARO ZL1?
TAD GESCHICKTER: “That is a good question. I think to answer it honestly, I think, you have to win at the level you are at before you look at the next level. So, obviously, the fact that he has been able to win in Xfinity against the best of the best, obviously, that put him higher up on the list, but certainly, his accomplishments in his career and the way we researched things he was definitely on the radar anyway, so I don’t know how to answer that other than to say that it didn’t hurt.”
WHAT IS THE BIGGEST HURDLE YOU WILL HAVE TO CLIMB IN 2019?
RYAN PREECE: “Well, I think really it’s just going to be racing a different group of drivers, elite drivers, to be honest with you being on the same track you’ve got your ‘Big Three’ (Martin) Truex, Jr., (Kevin) Harvick, and Kyle Busch. They have gotten to where they are because they are really good. You are going to be racing against a lot of really good drivers, but I’m not afraid of that. I’m looking forward to getting out there with them and getting to that point of where you gain respect by racing them and racing them right. But, we are going to race hard. We are going to have some fun and hurdle wise, I really couldn’t tell you right now to be honest with you. I don’t plan on having many problems, but I’m going to look forward to going out there and racing week-in and week-out and just learning every time I’m out there.”
WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES FOR YOU GUYS BECAUSE NEXT YEAR YOU GO INTO THIS WITH A MUCH YOUNGER LINE-UP?
TAD GESCHICKTER: “I am. I think our engineering group led by Dave Charpentier is so talented. They are like a dog with a bone when you give them a problem to solve. I think what we are asking Chris (Buescher) and Ryan is do not be shy. If you feel like there is a challenge with our equipment something we really need to be focused on we are going to go after it and we are small enough that we can make those changes quickly. Some of these big organizations where you’ve got a whole protocol on how you’ve got to go through creating a change could take months where I think in our case we are nimble enough it can take weeks. I believe we still have some development work to do on our equipment. Having said that, I really think Chris and Ryan will feel liberated to say hey, that left-front just isn’t working right, what are we missing here? We are going to go figure it out.”
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