Ford Notes and Quotes
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)
Ford 400 Advance (Homestead-Miami Speedway; Homestead, FL)
NASCAR Championship Media Day
Thursday, November 15, 2018
NASCAR held its annual Championship 4 Media Day Thursday in Miami. Below are transcripts from the day that included Ford drivers Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano.
Joey, I’ll start with you. You’re sitting next to the so‑called big three, but in Phoenix you said you were the championship favorite. So what makes you so confident heading into Sunday?
JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford Fusion: “Like you said, it’s the big three and me, you’re right. I think, honestly, you have to have that confidence. I’m sure everyone here has the same amount of confidence and feeling that they are the favorites for whatever reason it may be. I’m sure it’s all probably different. For us, I feel like, you know, we’ve been able to overcome a lot this season and build a lot of momentum, have an amazing playoff up to this point, scoring a lot of points, leading a lot of laps, especially the last few weeks, not only on short tracks, but Kansas we had a great running with the pole. Miami is a little bit different, but it is another fast racetrack similar to that. So I feel like our team’s in a great spot. Our pit stops have been amazing lately. The confidence is in not only myself as a driver, but in our whole race team all the way through all of Team Penske. So we’re ready to get to Sunday and see what happens.”
Kevin, your team has faced some adversity the last couple weeks, but you really showed a just never give up attitude last week in Phoenix to get your spot here in the Championship 4. How did that performance maybe give you more confidence in Sunday’s race regardless of any obstacles?
KEVIN HARVICK, No. 4 Jimmy John’s Ford Fusion: “Well, I don’t think that’s anything really new for our team. As you look at the past five years, we’ve obviously dealt with a lot of things, whether they’re ups, downs, in between, good things, bad things. You know, we’ve been fortunate to be together for a while now, and I’ve dealt with high pressure situations and understand what it takes to win a championship and to have done that, and hopefully we can put it all together this week. So it’s been a great year, and it’s been a great five years with a group of people that I just enjoy racing with.”
What has support been like from family this past week for you guys?
JOEY LOGANO CONTINUED: “They’re all down here. It’s definitely ‑‑ you know, it’s cool to see the support not only from your family, but your friends and your team. Everybody rallies behind you. You get text messages all weekend long when you’re in this because this is ‑‑ this is our Super Bowl. This is your shot to win a championship. Everyone wants to be there to celebrate with you and support you and try to help you do the best you possibly can. So it’s an interesting weekend for that reason, but we’ve had ‑‑ I know at least for me, I’ve had a lot of support, and we’ve booked up a lot of hotel rooms down here in Miami trying to put everybody somewhere to go to sleep.”
KEVIN HARVICK CONTINUED: “Yeah, it’s definitely a much different week as far as people around, and whether it’s family, sponsors, people, whoever it is, there’s always a lot more of them, and you know that coming into this week. For me personally, my immediate family is ‑‑ they aren’t coming in until Saturday. Keelan’s got a basketball game, so we’ve got bigger priorities at home than worrying about this. So they’ll come down a little later.”
Ford Notes and Quotes
Joey, I went back and looked at some of the headlines and some of the stories along the way. As you were coming along, some people said you could be the spoiler of the big three. Now that you’re here and you’re going up against these guys, what thoughts do you have on being that spoiler?
JOEY LOGANO CONTINUED: “It sure is the plan, right? All season long, the big three have been talked about so much this year earlier in the season. They’ve won so many races and so many stages and led so many laps. Honestly, I guess maybe it was 15, 20 weeks ago, we weren’t in the championship caliber that we needed to be to be able to compete with them. Now, I will say since that time we are. I feel like we do have what it takes to compete with them and give them a run for their money. Like I said, it’s the big three and me. I might be the underdog on the stats standpoint, but we sure don’t feel like we are.”
Kevin, it does seem to be the same guys from the same organizations each year. Is the sport shifting in that direction?
KEVIN HARVICK CONTINUED: “I think you could probably send a lot of the top drivers to different teams and different positions, and I think you’re going to see the cream rise to the top. I mean, Kyle was champion in ’15. I was ’14. Martin, I think you were in there in ’14 in a Chevrolet. So we’ve changed manufacturers twice. He’s changed manufacturers. So it’s really about getting a group of people. Whether I was at my organization or at his organization, I think you could take those groups of people and put them in different spots and really be successful. So it’s just a matter ‑‑ to me, it’s more about the people than it is anything. I think, obviously, we all have resources in the situations that we’re in, but my team is built ‑‑ was built around building the No. 4 team and came up together, and we’ve been through a lot of situations together. Cole and Martin have been together. Kyle and his crew chief and Joey and his crew chief have been together. I think there’s something to be said for stability, and then having an organization that has those resources, you need those, but you also have to have good people. So it’s interesting to see how that works out. But I definitely wouldn’t call it Formula One style by any means.”
In each iteration of this elimination format, the eventual champion has had to win at Miami, and three of you know what that feels like. With this Championship 4, do you guys feel like again it’s going to be a necessity to win on Sunday?
KEVIN HARVICK CONTINUED: “All depends on if Kyle Larson’s car will go in the first ten laps.”
JOEY LOGANO CONTINUED: “It would be odd if you saw these cars and teams run 10th, 11th, and 12th all day or 13th. It’s not going to happen. Everyone is bringing the best of the best. These are the best teams of the season. The pit crews are on it. The teams have been massaging these cars and getting everything they can out of it. It’s the best of the best. We should be out there racing for the win. Not to say other teams won’t be. They’ll be there for sure, but it would take a weird occasion for something different to happen.”
Joey, if you win Sunday, are you now in that conversation of the best driver this generation?
JOEY LOGANO CONTINUED: “Honestly, does it put you in the same realm? I guess it could. Championships, it seems like, in sports is what stacks you up against the greatest, and we’ve been in the position ‑‑ this will be our third time racing for a championship, and we haven’t made it happen yet. We definitely, I think, the more championships you have, the more you rank, I think, in our sport and in all sports.”
