MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
SOUTH POINT 400
LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY MEDIA PLAYOFF DAY
SEPTEMBER 12, 2019
KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 CLOVER CAMARO ZL1 ROTATION HIGHLIGHTS:
REGARDING THE RACE THIS WEEKEND IN LAS VEGAS
“Yeah, just to go there and have a good race and get some Stage points. We are typically good at Vegas, so I like it being the first race of the Playoffs because you will get set with the rhythm and momentum that you need to have the confidence to go on to the next two races.”
REGARDING HAVING KURT BUSCH AS TEAMMATE THIS YEAR
“Yeah, its been good. I like having Kurt around because he is a past champion, and I can learn a lot off of him. I also feel like he is so competitive that he makes everyone step their game up from myself, to the mechanics to everybody in the organization. So, its good to have somebody like that.”
INAUDIBLE
“Yeah, I mean Harvick has won three races now since they were all dominating. Kurt has won a race and I feel like I have been competitive enough to win a race and have outrun a lot of those guys. To me the gap has closed but they have just been doing a good job of executing properly to win the races. But yeah, I feel like the gap has closed and I don’t feel like there was really much of a gap when they were winning. They were just winning.”
IS IT GOOD FOR GANASSI TO HAVE BOTH CARS IN THE PLAYOFFS?
“For sure, obviously. I think this is the first year that we have had both cars in the Playoffs at Chip Ganassi Racing. It is good for our team, but also gives you an extra shot and for the team an extra shot to go win a championship. Its good to be in the Playoffs and to have a teammate with you also.”
DO YOU AND KURT HAVE MOMENTUM RIGHT NOW AND CAN IT PROPEL YOU?
“Yeah, for sure. Momentum is huge in any sport, but especially in racing. We have been really fast lately, run up front, and had some good races these last couple of months. At Indy, I crashed, but I felt like I had the fastest car there. Even though we crashed, I was happy and optimistic about our chances now leading into the Playoffs. I am just excited to get out there now and hope our cars will be as good these next 10 races as they have been these last few.”
ANY PRESSURE IN NOT GETTING A WIN THIS YEAR AND HOW IT MIGHT AFFECT THE PRESSURE OF THE PLAYOFFS?
“Honestly, when you get in the Playoffs, your main focus is just finishing and getting good Stage points and things like that are important. Obviously winning is great, but you still need to be up front and getting those points to make it into the next round. The Playoffs aren’t all about winning. You know, (Ryan) Newman has made it into the final four by not winning a race. You still have to be consistent for sure.”
DO YOU THINK THIS IS YOUR BEST CHANCE TO WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP IN ALL THE YEARS YOU HAVE BEEN IN THE PLAYOFFS?
“Well, in 2017 we went into the Playoffs with four wins and a lot of Stage points and Playoff points and I felt like we had a good opportunity then. But we had a ton of bad luck in that Playoff year. But this year I feel like our cars are equal or better than where we were at this point in 2017. And I felt like we had a shot to contend for it then. So, I think this is as good of a shot, even though I don’t have as many Playoff points as I had that year. But we have a good opportunity.”
Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.
About Chevrolet
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