Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Wednesday, February 12, 2020
DAYTONA 500 MEDIA DAY
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK, No. 38 Ford Mustang
DO YOU THINK GROWING UP IN THE SPORT WILL HELP YOU IN YOUR ROOKIE YEAR? “Yeah, I think so. I think growing up around it and be a part of it, you have seen the good, bad and ugly. You learn how to handle yourself and not handle yourself in certain situations. Being able to have a radio and listen to the crew guys from the standpoint of the crew chief talking to the engineers to my dad talking on the radio with the spotters and how they communicate, I think that has helped me as a driver. Growing up around it and experience the Daytona 500 as a kid following his dad and watching his hero is pretty special to be able to be down here driving in my first Daytona 500 as well.”
WHEN YOU STRAP IN ON SUNDAY, WILL YOU TAKE A COUPLE OF MINUTES TO SOAK ALL THAT IN? “I wouldn’t say that I have had a huge chance to soak everything in. That is one thing that I have been told, to just take some time for myself and enjoy the moment. You only get one first start in this thing so being able to enjoy it. Some of the other drivers I have talked to regret not enjoying that and taking some time for themselves. Before I strap in I will take a couple of seconds to think about it and that this is it, we are here. This is really cool. Then we will go out there and maximize our opportunity and try to accomplish what we are here to accomplish.”
WHAT WAS YOUR DAD’S REACTION WHEN YOU GOT THE CALL FROM FRONT ROW? “He was pretty excited. He pushed me to be better always. But that is a dad mentality, a boss mentality and advisor mentality. He has been every role for me trying to push me to be better. It is really neat to have him here. Being able to grow up and be at every Daytona 500 that he has been a part of and now for him to be a dad cheering on his son and the roles reversed is pretty neat.”
DOES BEING IN THE SEAT WITH THIS TEAM FOR THOSE HANDFUL OF RACES LAST YEAR HELP YOU GOING INTO THIS FULL TIME THIS YEAR? “I definitely think that the baseline of knowing what to expect. The short track package is out the window from what I drove last year. Us as a team we want to strive to make our cars better and be able to communicate with my crew chief, Seth Barber and the engineers and figure out what changes we need to make in the off-season to make our team and cars better is something that we strive for. Being able to have that communications already kicked off, I definitely think it helps compared to coming into a brand new team. There are still some new faces on the team and one up in the spotter stand as well. Just trying to communicate as best we can and make the most out of it.”
WHAT DID YOU NOTICE WAS THE DIFFERENCE IN TALENT LEVEL AND KNOWLEDGE IN THE CUP SERIES FROM WHAT YOU WERE USED TO IN THE XFINITY SERIES? “I think every series has talent. When you come to the Cup Series, there is a reason these guys are here on Sunday doing what they do and racing against and that is why they have had such long careers. They are the best in the business. To take everything they are doing and try to learn and experience and when you come to the Cup Series it is a whole different level. It is a big jump for sure. Being able to kind of take everything you can out of that and just make the most of it, that is the biggest thing for myself, being able to be here with the Cup guys and now I am a Cup guy. Just learning from them and make every opportunity count.”
IT WAS JUST THREE RACES BUT WERE THERE ANY MOMENTS LAST YEAR THAT YOU SAW SOMETHING ON THE TRACK THAT OPENED YOUR EYES? “Probably the coolest thing is having data on the Cup cars compared to Xfinity and Trucks. You can compare when you think you are driving in the corner deep and maybe you aren’t or if you are overdriving it in the corners. I had to rely on that pretty big for not having any experience in the Cup car to jumping in and trying to learn at three different race tracks and where I could be better, what I should focus on. What are the trends of steering input and how guys are setting up their cars for the long run. There are so many variables to making a car go fast. Being able to get here and not make any mistakes is the big thing. From the time you show up when practice starts to the time the checkered flag falls you can’t make any mistakes. In the Xfinity and Truck Series’ you don’t want to but if you were able to make a mistake then you were able to rebound from it. These guys, they don’t make mistakes. Sometimes they do, I shouldn’t say they don’t. Sometimes they do and sometimes they have clean weekends. It shows when they don’t make any mistakes.”
WHAT ADVICE DID YOUR DAD GIVE YOU GOING INTO THIS RACE? “Take it all in. Enjoy the moment. Have fun while doing it. That is the biggest thing. YOu don’t want to come here and try to set the world on fire and wreck trying to do so. So be there at the end of the race and have a shot. It is anyone’s race here at Daytona, that is for sure. Being able to maximize our performance and being able to have him down here as a dad and enjoying the moment with me will be very special.”
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT YOUR ROOKIE OF THE YEAR POSSIBILITIES? “It is going to be a tough battle. It is going to come down to the very end. I think being able to race against Cole (Custer), Tyler (Reddick) and Christopher Bell is something we have done through the Truck Series, Xfinity Series and now the Cup Series. We all came in at different times in those other series’ but to be in the same class in the Cup Series is pretty special. We all want to beat each other. With the situations we were all dealt we are in different positions with different teams but you know the goal going in and try to maximize your races and opportunities.”
“I feel like I have a good relationship with all of them. We have all had run-ins in the past. I feel like we have all had our times where we have been mad at each other but at the same time I think I would say we are all friends here at the track. Some of us hang out with each other once in awhile. Probably the coolest thing, and I kind of regret going now, but being able to be at Christopher Bell’s first asphalt late model test. I shook down the car for him and I wish I would have raced that car that weekend because that thing was fast.”
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE YOUTH MOVEMENT IN NASCAR? “I definitely think there is a next generation of drivers coming in. I think you see some of the older generation of drivers getting ready to hang up their helmets. One of the greats in our sport, Jimmie Johnson, this is his last year. To be a part of that new generation coming in and with Cup experience I think will help us in the future. We want to make a name for ourselves and we have done so in the Truck and Xfinity Series. To start that learning curve now in the Cup Series and get to race around these guys and pick their brains and have a good relationship with them will only make me better as a driver.”
