NASCAR CUP SERIES
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
DAYTONA 500
TEAM CHEVY MEDIA DAY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 12, 2020
TYLER REDDICK NO. 8 CATERPILLAR CAMARO ZL1 1LE, Daytona 500 Media Day Highlights:
Q. Rookie Cup season for you. You went through this process last year…
TYLER REDDICK: It helps a little bit. The cars are totally different on the racetrack. Even going around the racetrack in qualifying trim, you can kind of feel that. You got more horsepower. It’s easier to mess up leaving pit road. I did a really bad job of that in qualifying. As we saw, when it’s time to go, there’s no restraint on the Cup drivers’ behalf. Everyone just wrecks. You have to watch out for that, try to figure out when that’s going to happen, try to avoid it if at all possible. Like we saw, there were five cars left for the most part at the end of the Clash. 18 drivers, but 18 of the best, and still only five left. I mean, you got to try to survive it. I don’t know what the answer is going to be. Seems like you can be running last, the guy behind you is going to run into the back of you, wreck everybody, too. There’s no secret answer to it. Me and Cole are right in the back, minding our own business, avoid the carnage.
Q. Is it a different mindset this year because it’s one of 36, as opposed to last year where it was one of two or three?
TYLER REDDICK: I mean, yeah, I still think it’s not quite 36. There’s going to be, in my head, probably 25. Here, you know, there’s probably 32, 33 cars that could win this race on Sunday. Week in, week out, it’s more realistically 25 to 30 if they line it up right. I mean, there’s reasons the same guys win all the time: they run good, they execute, do really well. It’s nice and refreshing, but probably frustrating at times having all the other drivers that are really good to kind of go against and race with. Kansas, when you’re running 15th, you’re still racing back there with some really good guys that are putting on good battles with you. That makes the races, even though they’re longer, more enjoyable, gives you something to work for.
Q. What is it like having that big spoiler?
TYLER REDDICK: Well, it seems like in the turbulent air, from what I’ve seen so far, it really affects cars in the line. As you go further and further back in that line, more guys are finding handling issues more than they’ve fought here before. That big spoiler, I’m not going to say what Dale Jr. calls it, but it’s massive. It really upsets and dictates what the car is going to do around a corner. When you start to lose downforce on the front of these cars, they’re not going to handle well in the corners. We saw it in the Clash. I’m sure we’ll see it in the Duel on Sunday. We’ll see what the weather is like. It’s funny, with all this downforce you have, you would think these cars would drive better on a racetrack like this. When these cars are used to having it by themselves, then they lose it, they’re going to drive that much worse when all that air is gobbled up and dirty and not very good, clean air for the cars to stick up to the racetrack.
Q. Austin said you haven’t seen the tandem draft into the Clash, texted him and said, I’ve never done that before. What kind of concerns or questions do you have? That may be something that plays a factor at some point.
TYLER REDDICK: If I’m pushing, I guess I don’t have much to worry about I if I mess up, it’s not me getting in a wreck. If we’re working together, obviously I don’t want to do that. It seems like the 20 didn’t have to hold the brake, I think it was because his car was pretty much wrecked. I think there’s a technique to it. Since they’re allowing drivers to do it again, the guys that have done it quite a few years ago probably remember how they did it. With these cars, probably a little different, but the same technique is kind of there. Never really did a lot of it. I’ve always had to keep in the back of my mind I can hit someone’s rear bumper, but if I get stuck to it, it’s a bad thing, you get penalized. I have to remember that’s kind of out of the picture now. You have to decide when it’s time to do it, when it’s time to pull back. That’s going to be the key, figuring out a time when it’s time it’s worth risking wrecking everything you got, try to tandem, get to the lead. Kind of weigh that all out in your head.
Q. How does a guy like you watch the Clash, knowing you’re coming in trying to figure stuff out?
TYLER REDDICK: I was laughing a lot throughout the whole thing. It was comical.
Q. You were laughing?
TYLER REDDICK: Yeah, I was laughing because I kind of felt bad. I know how good a lot of these drivers are. Just to watch that happen, it was almost like a comedy of sorts watching everyone wreck coming to the green.
Q. Was it entertaining?
TYLER REDDICK: It was very entertaining. I went up there to be serious, learn as much as I could. I couldn’t help but laugh at times. It was funny. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Seems like there were bananas all over the racetrack. Goes to show, with more horsepower, you can’t just mat the gas and accelerate like we used to, like we’ve done our entire lives here with restrictor plates. These guys with these giant spoilers, all this downforce on them, when they don’t have it any more, they don’t drive very good. That’s what we’re seeing.
Q. Two championships in the Xfinity Series. Do you feel like that puts more eyes on you? Does that change anything? Do you feel like it adds anything extra or a whole different ballgame?
TYLER REDDICK: I don’t know. I’m not really thinking about that. I know this is a whole different ballgame, if you will. A lot more competitive drivers. Racing probably in the Xfinity Series, when you come to superspeedways, you’re racing against three or four guys that probably know what they’re doing out there. Now you’re stepping up to realistically probably 25, 30 that are really good at superspeedway racing. Just makes it a lot more challenging to get back to the front. You got to really think out what you’re going to do. Every single time you decide to make a run on somebody, All right, are they going to go with me or stay with the guy that’s right in front of me? That’s just a decision you’re going to have to make. I would assume, being a rookie, how different these cars are from what I’ve driven in the past, they’re probably going to lean towards the guy with experience than me. That’s a process we’ll have to sort out in the 500 miles we have on Sunday, with the Duels on Thursday. Hopefully I can do some things to gain some trust in some of these guys that I want to go to the front when it’s time, try and make those moves when they’re important. As we’ve seen in the Clash, the other races here so far, I don’t know if you really want to be at the front if you’re being that aggressive. You can end your day really quick.
Q. Cole joked about being excited.
TYLER REDDICK: Very excited. I think the three, four of us, I think we’re all going to push each other pretty hard to I guess shorten the learning curve, get to where we want to be faster. Every single race you’re learning. I think these first two months are really important, are going to set the tone how we run all year. But I think we’ll constantly most likely be looking at where the others are at in speed. It’s just kind of cool. We’re all kind of different manufacturers, different teams. But I think the three of us are going to be racing around each other a lot. I think we’re going to be pushing each other to move up. I don’t know where we’ll start running week in, week out at the speedways, mile-and-a-half’s. I can see us pushing along pretty fast.
Q. Does having others from Xfinity make the transition up to Cup a little easier at all?
TYLER REDDICK: I think it does. You don’t have a bar to set yourself up to. If you have the other two, other three, if one runs really good in one weekend, one practice, you’re going to be pissed off, try to figure out how can I get better. It’s just nice because we’ve raced against each other a lot, we know we can beat each other on certain weekends, we’re all very competitive. Just one more reason to run better.
Q. Are you excited to get to Las Vegas and see what the new Camaro drives like? This isn’t going to give you any indication as to the rest of the season, except for the other three tracks?
TYLER REDDICK: Yeah, very. I’m very excited and curious. I mean, it’s not just going to be magically fast. We’re going to get the balance right, figure out where we want to be, propped up, trimmed out, what have you. We got to figure out what that’s going to look like for us. It’s really hard even in practice these days to figure out what you have because so many people show up with so many different things. You just kind of have to wait till Sunday. We’re going to do everything we can when we get to Vegas to go with what we feel like is the best for us in the race.
Q. (Question about Jimmie.)
TYLER REDDICK: Yeah, what I can say about him, any time I’ve ever needed anything or had questions, he’s always been real quick to reply. If I ever had any questions racing related, bikes, whatever, he’s right there to help, give advice. Just speaks to who Jimmie. Everyone here for the most part knows what I’m talking about. He’s a standup guy. If you need help with something, he’s going to help you. That’s really cool.
Q. Do you feel like there is a face of NASCAR at this point or just a bunch of really competitive racers? Who is going to take that spot?
TYLER REDDICK: I don’t know. I mean, Kyle has always been very fast, he’s won a lot of races. He’s won two championships in the last five years now. He’s starting to pull it together on the Playoff side and put those runs together. I really don’t know. There’s a lot of good drivers in the Cup Series obviously. I mean, if anyone steps up to the plate, I think anyone in the top 15 could really take over in that role. But there really hasn’t been any strong just runaway contenders like that, like we’ve seen with Jimmie, in a long time. Everyone kind of goes on runs for maybe a year, then it kind of calms back down, they level out with everybody else. It’s just really hard to say.
Q. You won the last Bristol race in the Xfinity Series in August. How do you think it will translate to this car?
TYLER REDDICK: I don’t know. I mean, what’s cool is we’re going to have less downforce again when we go back to Bristol. Hopefully that kind of reminds me of what Bristol was for me. Can’t hit the fence, that kind of stuff. Have to be smarter. It’s a longer race. I don’t know. A lot better drivers that have put together and run a lot of 500-lap races there, and I’ve never ran one. I don’t know what it’s going to mean. It’s going to be a tough race. It seems like Bristol is always really tough when you’re a rookie. It’s a long race. But the 300-lap races seem to be pretty good. By the time we get to lap 300, I’m mad and wanting more laps unless I’m leading it. That’s only helped me once. Laps usually help me in a place like that where you have to get into a rhythm, start knocking off those laps.
Q. What sort of accomplishment would it take for you to be this rookie year’s best?
TYLER REDDICK: Got to win a race or two. That would be really good. Granted, it seems like a stretch. You should be able to put together one or two good, solid races where no mistakes are made, you put yourself in position. A lot of times throughout these races, you’ll have two or three drivers that are really, really good. They just take themselves out or attrition takes them out of it. You just have to capitalize on that. Hopefully those weekends when you’re a sixth- or seventh-place car, you get a good stop, get to fourth or fifth, a couple drivers have mistakes along the way, take themselves out, you’re sitting third and have a chance at winning. That’s a lot easier said than done, but I think we can do it. We just got to put it together, have a game plan for each and every weekend. Outside of that, I’ve won the championship last year over the other guys competing for this rookie battle. I’d like to win the Rookie of the Year over those guys at the end, or win something else. That would be something else to drive for. With that, if you win races, I think to win Rookie of the Year you have to win a race or two, make the Playoffs.
Q. As if you weren’t busy enough in the off-season, you also did the documentary series. What was that process like?
TYLER REDDICK: It’s been cool. It’s going to be insight to a side of me not a lot of people understand or know. Hopefully they just understand it, I guess. I can be serious at times. I’m hardly ever truly serious unless I’m being asked serious questions and giving serious answers. A different insight. Look to what Austin, Corey’s and my life is like at the shop, how hard we’re working, how we approach the Daytona 500.
Q. What is your first memory of the Daytona 500?
TYLER REDDICK: I’ve watched them for a long time growing up since before I can remember at home. I think my first one here, the year escapes me because the numbers of years have run away from me. The rain-shortened race when Matt Kenseth won, I feel like it was 2009 or something like that, that was the only race I attended as a fan I guess. I attended a couple after I’ve been racing the Xfinity Series. Before I was ever in NASCAR, I remember sitting on the backstretch for that race, watching the rain come in. Getting to see the race on a track that felt so massive at the time. It’s still a big racetrack, but it doesn’t feel as big as it was before. I’ve gotten used to these tracks. That’s my first memory being here, getting rain. In the caring, sitting in line for two and a half hours to get out of here after the rain came, not caring, just because I had such a good time.
Q. What is the best thing and worst thing you can eat before a race?
TYLER REDDICK: Just depends on how it’s prepped that day. I would say I love eating seafood. On top of that, I like eating sashimi. That could either be the best thing or worst thing before you get in the racecar.
Q. Is that what you usually eat?
TYLER REDDICK: I wish. I wish I had the ability to do that. I just keep it simple and light. A little bit of grilled chicken, a wrap or something like that. Maybe a salad. I like to eat, really eat good, during the week so I can get to the race weekend and then try and clean up what I eat so my body isn’t pissed off I ate too much of one thing, don’t have enough of another. I try to keep it simple and small.
Q. In a race like this, how much are you relying on your spotter to help you? It’s a little bit different than Xfinity races when you’ve done it before. How much are you relying on your spotter to guide you?
TYLER REDDICK: The entire time. I mean, you pretty much can see next to nothing out of the back of these cars with the giant rear spoilers they have, the reflections that catch it. There’s a little slot you can see through the spoiler if the sun is not shining on it in the right way. Other than that, you’re completely relying on your spotter. Talladega, in the spring last year, my mirror was loose. I couldn’t see out of it. I pretty much had to rely on my spotter for every little bit of that race. Totally comfortable with him the entire way. If he tells me I’m clear, unclear, I’m not going to think twice about it. I’ll be relying on him as much as ever before. I have the utmost confidence in him. If we make a mistake, we make a mistake. I mean, he normally doesn’t make them. I do the best that I can to listen to him. It’s worked out pretty good for us in the past.
Q. Are the giant spoilers blocking your mirror now?
TYLER REDDICK: Oh, yeah, a lot of it. Maybe it’s because I’m short and I sit low in the racecar. I pretty much can’t see anything out of it.
Q. Is it true you fly with the Thunderbirds this week?
TYLER REDDICK: I think we leave here to go into that at 1:00 or something like that.
Q. How did that come up?
TYLER REDDICK: Came up through Chip. I just happened to walk by him, ran into him, bumped into him. Would you and Cole want to go do Thunderbirds in Daytona? Who says no to that? I said, Absolutely, you bet I’ll do it. I’m really looking forward to that.
Q. Have you ever done something like that?
TYLER REDDICK: No. I didn’t know how long it was going to be, anything like that. I thought it was only going to be, like, five minutes. You do a few runs this way, that way. I didn’t know what it all entailed. I was blown away, beyond excited when I heard I’m probably going to be in the air for like an hour. I was really, really happy to hear that. I’m looking forward to it.
Q. Is that something in the Cup Series you’re looking forward to? Maybe it’s a tradition not taken for granted, but it’s not so common.
TYLER REDDICK: See who?
Q. Like the fly-over.
TYLER REDDICK: Oh, yeah. It is really cool when I stick around for a race on Sunday, some of these races, Daytona, there’s been some others, Homestead, getting to see the fly-overs. The atmosphere in the Xfinity Series is really cool. It’s like doubles, sometimes three times as many people. Pit road is a mess. So much going on. It’s just a really cool sight to take in.
Q. Doing that later today?
TYLER REDDICK: Yeah, today.
Q. Scared at all?
TYLER REDDICK: No, no. I don’t even care if I get sick, whatever. I don’t care. I won’t be getting sick because I’m scared, I’ll probably be getting sick because I’m having too much fun.
Q. Any pre-race traditions, superstitions?
TYLER REDDICK: Not really. I came from dirt racing, so you’re just thrashing everything last minute to get to the racetrack and go run. Not really any of any kind honestly. I just show up, make sure I’m hydrated, don’t do anything too volatile the night before. That’s about it. Keep it simple.
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