NASCAR CUP SERIES
COOK OUT SOUTHERN 500
DARLINGTON RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY PLAYOFFS MEDIA DAY
SEPTEMBER 2, 2020
KURT BUSCH, NO.1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – ROTATION TRANSCRIPT:
“Yes, of course we want to win; but we want to advance through all the rounds to give ourselves a shot at the championship. So, consistency has been good for us this year. We just need to continue to do that and execute as a team to get through each of these rounds.”
COMING INTO THE PLAYOFFS, YOU AND (BROTHER) KYLE (BUSCH) HAVE BEEN SORT OF NECK-AND-NECK IN POINTS THIS WHOLE SEASON. HAVE YOU GUYS TALKED ABOUT THIS PLAYOFF RUN SORT OF BEING LIKE A RE-SET FOR YOU AND KYLE, TOO? HOW ARE YOU LOOKING AT THESE NEXT 10 RACES?
“I’m looking at it one race at a time. We put ourselves in this position to be Playoff-eligible and to have a shot at the championship. And so we know this is an opportunity to do something great. So, just one week at a time. I love Darlington. It’s one of my favorite race tracks, with Richmond and Bristol, two short tracks in this first round, we can’t get too far ahead of ourselves but if we execute as a team, we’ve got a great shot at all this. I know my little brother, though. He’s putting a little extra stress on himself because he wants to win a race and continue his streak of winning seasons. And so, he’s thrown a little extra pressure on himself that way. And so maybe that’ll be a distraction for him.”
THIS IS YOUR 14th TIME IN THE PLAYOFFS. YOU’VE BEEN THROUGH ALL THE DIFFERENT FORMATS WITH DIFFERENT TEAMS. WHAT IS THE MOST VALUABLE THING YOU’VE LEARNED THROUGH ALL THAT TIME THAT YOU FEEL WILL BENEFIT YOU THE MOST IN THIS PLAYOFF?
“I still think it comes down to consistency, and to know how to execute through each of the stages in the races, through each of the rounds. That consistency that we built on this year, with the Ganassi team, that’s our strength. And that’s what we have to use when we go through these different races and different rounds. And so, just staying calm and cool and collected around our consistency, is probably our biggest thing that I’ve taken through all these years.”
WITH BRISTOL BEING A CUTOFF RACE, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TO THE FINISH OF THE RACE AT BRISTOL?
“It’s going to be big. It’s going to be exciting. It’s going to be a cool challenge to have that as a cutoff race. The biggest thing is that like Darlington and Richmond, anytime a yellow comes out, mostly likely you’re going to be pitting for tires. At Bristol you can stay out and change the sequence. And so that’s where the variable of that pit strategy call is going to be a huge difference-maker. So if we make it simple we just win at Darlington and that way we don’t have to stress that round.”
YOU KEEP MENTIONING CONSISTENCY. YOU’VE GOT FOUR TOP 5’S AND 14 TOP 10’S THIS YEAR. HOW WOULD YOU ASSESS WHERE THE NO. 1 TEAM IS GOING INTO THE PLAYOFFS?
“I think we’re in a good spot, you know. We’re in that underdog-type position that also, with the tracks that are coming up with Darlington and Richmond and Bristol, those are all my favorites. And the team has run really well at those tracks. And so we just have to go execute as a team and not get too far ahead of ourselves and just execute. That’s really what we’ve got to do these first few races to get to the next round.”
CAN YOU DESCRIBE WHAT YOU’RE ABOUT TO EXPLAIN OVER THE NEXT 10 WEEKS? YOU’VE DONE THIS MANY TIMES. BUT WHAT IS THE EMOTIONAL ROLLER-COASTER AND TRYING TO REMAIN CALM AND COOL GOING TO BE LIKE?
“It’s a Playoff mindset. It’s a Playoff atmosphere. And you can’t get too far ahead of yourself. Each and every week it’s just that laser focus on what it takes to execute and to put ourselves in good position at Darlington. Once Darlington is over, then its laser focus on Richmond. And again, just that Playoff mindset and going and attacking it peacefully and strategically because 10 weeks is a long run, but you’ve got to stay on it.”
DO YOU GUYS FEEL LIKE YOU’RE MISSING IT MORE SO BECAUSE CHEVROLET IS AT A DISADVANTAGE RIGHT NOW OR DO YOU THINK IT’S GANASSI RACING?
“I feel like we’ve done a good job as a group at Chevrolet to work together on superspeedway racing as well as tire data and strategic pit sequences and strategies. I really think Chevy has done a good job in connecting everybody. Yes, the Fords seem to be a little bit more powerful at like the 1.5-miles with their horsepower that they have. The Toyotas, they seem like they are downforce is a bit more than what we have right now. But hey, it’s what we have. It’s right now and it’s 2020 and I’m looking at our strengths with consistency is what we have to go through. It’s what we have to take with us as we go through each of these rounds.”
YOU ARE ONE OF TWO DRIVERS IN THIS PLAYOFF BRACKET THAT RAN WITHOUT A PLAYOFF SYSTEM. THE OTHER IS KEVIN HARVICK. HOW MUCH HAVE THE PLAYOFFS MEANT TO YOU, AND HOW MUCH AS IT MEANT TO NASCAR AS A WHOLE AND HOW IT’S CHANGED THE SPORT OVER THE YEARS IN THIS, OUR 17th YEAR OF THE POST-SEASON?
“What I think it’s done is it gave it a strong comparison to other sports. There’s that Playoff atmosphere. There’s that championship race, where four guys are eligible to win the championship and it’s an even playing ground. When it was a long marathon process of going through all 36 races, that was a different sequence. That was maybe not as intense when it got down to the final rounds. And so, with these 10 weeks, the Playoff atmosphere is there, and it relates well to other sports. And that’s where it draws in more fans that might not have been NASCAR fans before.”
WHAT IS IT ABOUT DARLINGTON THAT WORKS SO WELL FOR YOU AND DOES THAT GIVE YOU AN ADVANTAGE GOING INTO THE WEEKEND?
“I really enjoy running at Darlington and the way you have to race the race track and somewhat ignore the other cars out there while you’re racing. It’s that old school mentality at this great race track. Stay patient and find the right set-up changes to adapt to the track’s changing conditions. And so, it’s one of those crown jewel races, too. The Southern 500 kicks-off our Playoffs. I love the atmosphere right now and so we’re going after it strong.”
WHAT WOULD IT MEAN TO WIN AT DARLINGTON?
“It would mean the world to me. A track that I really enjoy running, I feel like I’m competitive every time I go there. But I haven’t won. So, it’s one of those challenges of you love it but you hate it, but at Darlington you have to respect the race track. And you have to do your job as a driver to communicate to the crew on what changes we need to adjust to. The pit crew has a large responsibility at Darlington just because of the abrasive surface and how much the tires wear out. So, it’s that whole team effort. But, for me, I definitely want this crown jewel race. I want to put this trophy up on the mantle right alongside my Daytona win and alongside a 600 win.”
THERE ARE DISCUSSIONS ABOUT WHO IS GOING TO BE IN THE NO. 42 CAR NEXT YEAR. HAVE YOU OFFERED YOUR INPUT AND WHAT YOU’D LIKE TO SEE AS A TEAMMATE IN THAT CAR NEXT YEAR?
“Yeah, I’ve given my input to Chip Ganassi and to our management. I think it’s important to find the right combination of a driver that can add to the program right away, but also will have years ahead of him or her, on what they can bring to the program. It’s all about that team work effort right now. It seems like every year that I come back to race, there’s more and more that you have to rely on through different departments. And so, a driver what comes into our program is going to have to be able to adapt to all those departments and sequences. And so we’ll see how things play out. I don’t know where Chip is right now, but I know we have about 10 weeks ahead of us with a Playoff run and that’s my focus on the No. 1 car.”
FOR THE 2021 SCHEDULE AND BEYOND, THERE’S BEEN A LOT OF TALK ABOUT MAYBE SHORTENING RACES AND BEING MORE SELECTIVE AS TO WHICH RACES ARE 500-MILE RACES. RIGHT NOW, THERE ARE 10 RACES ON THE SCHEDULE THAT ARE EITHER 500 MILES OR 500 LAPS. DO YOU THINK THAT 500-MILE MARK SHOULD BE RESERVED FOR SPECIAL RACES LIKE DARLINGTON AND DAYTONA AND THE COKE 600 AT CHARLOTTE? WHERE DO YOU THINK THE SPORT IS GOING AS FAR AS THAT IS CONCERNED?
“I think you’re headed down the right path. I mean if I had a magic wand and could wave it over our schedule and adjust race lengths, yes, I think that the Daytona 500 is 500 miles, right? The Coke 600, leave that one. Darlington, it should be a 500-miler. And then maybe one more and that’s it. Just maybe have four races on the schedule that would be of that length, and that makes those races that much more of a marque-type win. And then the other races can be 400 or 300’s.”
WITH THE POINTS BEING AS TIGHT AS THEY ARE, HOW IMPORTANT IS IT THAT DARLINGTON, RICHMOND, AND BRISTOL ARE THE FIRST THREE TRACKS FOR YOU AND YOUR TEAM AND YOUR CONFIDENCE LEVEL TO CONTINUE IN THE ROUNDS?
“Yeah, I feel like, at this point, it’s a reset. Everybody is basically even in points. Yes, there’s a top-five. I would say that (Kevin) Harvick and (Denny) Hamlin and (Joey) Logano and (Brad) Keselowski and Chase (Elliott) are a little bit further ahead. But if we have one good stage, we can jump up to eighth in points before the halfway break at Darlington. So, points are basically even right now. It’s a matter of just staying calm and cool and being patient and finding the right points through the different stages and through these first three races.”
AS YOUR BROTHER, KYLE, FAMOUSLY SAID, ‘IT’S 2020’. BUT COULD YOU HAVE IMAGINED A SCENARIO WHERE BOTH OF YOU WOULD BE WINLESS ENTERING THIS YEAR’S PLAYOFFS? HOW MUCH HAVE YOU TALKED AND/OR JOKED ABOUT WHO IS GOING TO GET THE FIRST WIN OF 2020 BETWEEN THE TWO OF YOU?
“I never would have guessed. I felt like the way our season started, was strong and consistent; and then we had a shot to win the first race back, after our delay, at Darlington. And then, it just seemed like these opportunities here or there just like slipped through our fingers and we didn’t execute to get those wins. And so, my little brother, same thing. I feel like his luck has been challenged in many different ways and it just hasn’t unfolded for him to get those wins. But hey, we’re both championship eligible. We’re in the Playoffs and here’s the reset. So, here we go.”
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