MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
PENNZOIL 400 PRESENTED BY JIFFY LUBE
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 28, 2019
KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 STAR NURSERY CAMARO ZL1, met with members of the media last weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway to preview this weekend’s Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Full Transcript:
HOW CAN A GOOD FINISH AND A GOOD WEEKEND IN ATLANTA CAN PROPEL YOU TO A GOOD FINISH AT LAS VEGAS?
“So, for us it was nice to have speed right away with the No. 1 Monster Energy Chevy here at Atlanta the surface chews up the tires a bit quicker than what we will see in Las Vegas and so for the 1.5-mile package there is going to be still some more work to sort out once we get into tomorrow’s race sessions. But, right now looking forward to qualifying tonight. I spent a lot of time on the simulator for Atlanta and for Las Vegas going back and forth double checking mainly because they might look the same, but the surface definitely does a lot of different things to the car and so we will have to figure out more the tire wear side here and then probably look to more of a fuel mileage situation in Vegas.”
TALK ABOUT THE NEW CAR, THE NEW TEAM, THE EXCITEMENT FOR THE SEASON AND OVERALL GOALS FOR THIS YEAR?
“Yeah, I feel like I’ve got a competitive team to win races with, go out for poles and to be a teammate with a guy like Kyle Larson, that is going to be a nice hat for me to wear being a mentor or somebody that can help him find a little bit more speed in the car and help him mature and materialize into the racer and champion that I believe all of us thinks he can be.”
WHAT WOULD IT MEAN TO GET A VICTORY AT ATLANTA?
“Each and every week you want to have a shot at it and Ganassi and Chevrolet, everybody knows we’ve got to push hard and we can’t expect anything to happen just off of good vibes or good feelings, we have to go and apply all of the knowledge we can to the set-up of the car with the speed from the engine, the aerodynamics, pit crew is way more important now this year going into the way we are going to have these races where you are just going to have to call audibles and change around your pit sequence and the guys have to be ready to be able to adjust to that. Again, there are just so many moving parts that you’ve got to try to simplify it as best you can.”
ON HIS TIME SPENT WITH THE LAS VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS:
“That was insane to be there behind the ice or behind the glass and I’m right there on the ice commentating in the second period. Unbelievable the speed of the players and the intensity and how hard they go after things. The line changes, the way those guys are going after each other in the faceoffs, the contact, I never really have experienced up close and personal like that before. What a professional group of guys put on a good show.”
DID YOU EVER IMAGINE THE SUCCESS A PROFESSIONAL HOCKEY TEAM WOULD HAVE IN VEGAS?
“Yeah that has been incredible to watch the Stanley Cup Finals in the first year for the Las Vegas Golden Knights and everything that is going on in the city of Las Vegas with the sports world. The Raiders will be there in a couple of years. I think the AAA baseball team is building a new stadium, the way you see all the different… UFC, Rodeo, Boxing, and then I think even on Vegas weekend, next week is a Rugby tournament. You are just always finding sports games and something going on there and then like with the PAC 12 and college basketball, I think they do their tournament there. Bigger, better things are happening and that new stadium will be beyond belief for what sporting events will be hosted there.”
HOW IMPORTANT WOULD IT BE FOR YOU TO GET A VICTORY AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY?
“I would love to win there. I have always put too much pressure on myself at Vegas. Now with the second date in the Playoffs that helps with the routine and getting that track to feel like all the others when we are out on the tour. So, I’m hoping so. In 2005, I did finish third, the two guys in front of me were illegal afterwards, so with the new rules, I would have won it. So, maybe we will just be in position again, be right there.”
DOES SEEING THE SUCCESS OF TOM BRADY AT 41 YEARS OLD, NOW THAT YOU ARE 40, MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE SOME MORE LONGEVITY?
“Yeah, I’m not or as sharp or as quick and might not react in thousandths of a second anymore, but maybe my tenths of a second of reaction time are enough to hang with all these young guys. I feel like I’ve got a few more good years left of being competitive, having fun, but ultimately, just want to be up front and with a great sponsor like Monster Energy, they are a great brand to represent and age is just a number.”
HOW MUCH WILL WEATHER BE A FACTOR ON SUNDAY?
“Yeah, Vegas has the two largest extremes on their dates. The one in March, which the weather looks good so far, looks like 60 and sunny and that is ideal for the month of March and helps draw in ticket sales week of. And then the Vegas race in September, I think it was 99 degrees when we started the race and this next year, they are going to push back the start date to be more of an evening race and I think that helps with putting people in the grandstands and not having to use so much sunscreen in the summer months. Vegas is definitely a good challenge with the weather.”
WHEN YOU GET THOSE EXTREME CHANGES IN TEMPERATURE HOW MUCH DOES IT EFFECT THE TIRES, ETC.?
“Yeah, the September race was much tougher with it being hotter, the tires don’t grab the asphalt as good. You’ve got to try to start on lower pressures so they don’t build up so high and that changes the way the car drives early in the run versus later in the run. Whereas in March, we are going to see a bit more wide-open. We are going to see that especially with this rules package and you are going to see the draft come into play pretty heavy at the 1.5-miles this year. So, Vegas and Atlanta these next two weeks will be a good challenge.”
IT SEEMS LIKE WE ARE SEEING AN INFLUX OF YOUNG DRIVERS COMING OUT OF LAS VEGAS?
“Yeah, it’s amazing to see that motivation and that push come out of a bunch of young drivers and the way that their families are getting them out to the race track at an early age. Kyle (Busch) and I had a great, wonderful opportunity from our father and our mom. They never really pushed it to be full-time racing, it was always meant to be a hobby, but when we went to the track it was serious business and I’m really thankful to have had the chance to have broken through, made it to the big’s and created a trend there in Vegas for some of those fathers that want to get their sons and daughters into the cars.”
HOW DO YOU APPROACH THIS NEXT WEEK DIFFERENTLY AND NOT PUT SO MUCH PRESSURE ON YOURSELF COMING TO VEGAS?
“Just go with the flow a little bit better. Just stick with the team, learn all the little in’s and outs of the new rules package, try to figure out the draft quicker than the others at the 1.5-miles and apply what it takes to have the right strategy to either pit for tires or to stay out. Also, a little bit of lady luck. That is something that has been missing in my time out there.”
HOW DIFFERENT WILL THE RACE LOOK AT LAS VEGAS VERSUS ATLANTA?
“The biggest thing right now, we have only had one practice session, but we are talking about drafting next week in qualifying. So, we might unload on Friday in drafting sessions just to see how the cars handle and that is where you are going to have to have more teamwork and collaboration for a program like us with only two cars. We’ve got to call up the other Chevrolet’s and see what their plan of attack is. That is really my first thought of it. Today, we will probably see single car. You might see a couple of guys go in the first round to see if they can’t crack the top 24, but I think from like 4th to 18th was only a tenth of a second in practice. The cars, everybody, has got basically the same piece now.”
IS DRAFTING A RESULT OF THE DRAG DUCTS?
“It’s the asphalt here (in Atlanta) it chews up the tires so you can’t quite hold it wide-open if you don’t have the air pushing down on the car.”
YOU SEEM TO HAVE MORE OF A CONNECTION WITH LAS VEGAS THAN YOUR BROTHER. DID YOU SPEND MORE TIME IN VEGAS?
“Just older, wiser, more appreciative, no I’m kidding. It just seems like things happen easily, whether it’s sporting events, media hits, even like the Maverick Helicopter guy asked me to come out and do a charity event with him to help sell more chopper rides and that goes to a lot of different VIP’s up and down the strip. So, for me, I spent 22 years there and then moved out. I guess that is the right timing to get out of there before you can get into too much trouble at the casinos and then for Kyle, he was out racing in the Truck Series at age 16. Moved to Ohio to race ASA at age 17, so I guess he has just been out on the road longer per say than the time he spent in Vegas.”
WHEN YOU GO TO VEGAS WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO FINDING OUT?
“I can’t remember if on the roulette wheel number 1 is red or black (laughs). I’m kidding. On race weekends I bring the motorhome out there and focus in just like every normal Friday, Saturday, Sunday and with this new package with the air ducts in the front, how aggressive is the draft going to be and how are we going to make the passes to work our way up towards the front.”
YOU WILL FIGURE THAT OUT IN PRACTICE?
“Yeah, there are still so many unknowns. In the simulator they can’t throw 40 cars out there and you go and chase around dirty air. That is how big the dirty air is going to be this weekend here at Atlanta and Vegas.”
YOU ARE KNOWN TO BE SUCH A TECHNICAL GUY. THE CAMARO HAD ITS STRUGGLES LAST YEAR. I KNOW YOU HAVEN’T BEEN BACK IN A CHEVY LONG, BUT DO YOU THINK YOU WILL BE ABLE TO ASSIST AND GET THAT CAR IN THE PLACE IT NEEDS TO BE?
“I can definitely point out where I might have seen some strengths or weaknesses, but things have happened already. I think it was a good trend to watch the Hendrick guys in the Playoffs last September/October and the way that they were changing the direction. I saw right away some numbers and it just showed that the Chevy’s were off on front downforce and with this whole new rule package that changed it a lot already. But, yes, that will be the trend. It always seems tougher to get the balance shift right when you build a new car and then when a rules package gets thrown in, a lot of things move around.”
HOW IS IT THAT YOU ARE ONE OF THE FEW DRIVERS THAT STILL KNOWS ABOUT CARS?
“When I got asked the question of what is your favorite era in NASCAR racing, I always said the 80’s, that is when the driver would get out and start wrenching on the car. You would see guys like Rusty Wallace or Mark Martin, Bobby Allison, not afraid to get their hands dirty and for me, in the early 2000’s jumping out of the car and jumping right in there with the guys ‘they were like, hey we are professionals, we know where this needs to be nut and bolted and safety wired and we are going to take care of this work.’ But, like a trend a few years ago, I asked Ray Evernham, how he helped Jeff Gordon in the latter part of his career and it was as simple as ‘we just tell Jeff to tell us what the car is doing wrong or right. He doesn’t really need to know the suspension and the numbers on things.’
“So, I have done that as well. You’ve got to look around to the wise people in this garage and for me, I still give that detailed feedback and what I believe is the right thing with the set-up, but at the same time, like today you’ve just got to go and wing it. I held it wide-open my first lap around the race track, which I have never gone to a race track and held it wide-open before other than my first trip to Talladega. So, sometimes it’s just that feel you have from the car and just let it rip and then there are the other times where you try to dissect it and analyze it and go about it that way.”
YOU HAVE TO TRY NOT TO DO THAT? BECAUSE I REMEMBER TIMES WHERE YOU WOULD BE IN THE HAULER LOOKING AT STICKY NOTES ON TIRES AND YOU WOULD HAVE NOTES ALL OVER THE PLACE.
“I just look back at all the numbers that I can find. Whether it’s suspension travel, temperature of the tires, the camber, wear on certain things, just got to keep track of all of it a little bit and that just helps me digest the car when I’m out there driving.”
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