NASCAR CUP SERIES
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2020
FOOD CITY 300 – NASCAR ZOOM MEDIA AVAILABILITY
RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang — WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE IN TAKING TO TO THE NEXT LEVEL OF WINNING AT BRISTOL? YOU HAVE RUN WELL THERE AND HAD A GREAT BIT OF SUCCESS, HOW DO YOU GET TO THE NEXT LEVEL TO GET TO THE NEXT ROUND? “It is a place we have run pretty good at before it is just a matter of kind of figuring out what we need to do later in the race to adapt to the track changing. Bristol is pretty big on that. I thought we were really good there in the spring but got a foot too high and spun out and then got wiped out. The All-Star race I thought we were pretty good but we had a different strategy than some guys and stayed out and had some old tires and that didn’t work out. There are other times we have led a lot of laps and just haven’t finished it out. I think the biggest thing is just adapting to the track as the race gets further along and we get to that lap 350-400 mark and just try to adapt to the race track and what it is going to do. I think that is something that Todd (Gordon) and I have talked about a lot this week and rewatched races and have been kind of going through them. I think that is the biggest thing. I wouldn’t say it is a must-win for us because I think there is a situation where we could point our way in, but things would have to go our way. We just have to go out there and try to win the race and run the best we can. That is all we can do.”
WHAT IS THE CHALLENGE THAT YOU HAD FROM THAT LAP 350 POINT ON THAT YOU FEEL LIKE YOU GUYS NEED TO WORK ON? “Just adapting to the track. Usually, when you get to the third stage later in the race, you will have one long green flag run in there at least and you will hear guys talk about over-rubbering the top where it will get really black up top and kind of cake the rubber up there and your car really reacts differently. That is something that I am trying to get better at. When you have that really long green flag run, figuring out what we need to do because you know it is coming. That is probably the biggest thing I meant by that.”
ARE YOU SURPRISED TO FIND YOURSELF IN THIS POSITION? “I definitely don’t like being in this position. Am I surprised? No, I am not like, ‘man, I am surprised we are in this position.’ There are things we could have done better as a whole group to make sure we weren’t in this position. It started at Darlington with having to start at the back and all those penalties kind of stacked up and it just kind of put us behind the eight-ball. We didn’t go do our job at Richmond. I wouldn’t say I am surprised and disappointed is a big word too. I am not disappointed in anything but it is a bummer that we are in this position. It has been a rough two races and the Roud of 16 is a round that you can’t really screw up and we have managed to have a couple of screw ups and find ourselves in this spot. Not surprising, just kind of bummed out. Our whole focus on this group is this weekend. We have one more race to try to get in here and it is a track that we have plenty of capability to do it at.”
DO YOU BELIEVE YOU ARE A BETTER TEAM THAN THIS AND WOULD LIKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO AND SHOW IT? “For sure. This whole group, this team, we are not a 16th place in points team. We showed it all year. We have had speed, it is just a matter of closing it out. We are way better than that and hopefully we can show it this weekend.”
WHAT IS YOUR MENTALITY THIS WEEKEND? ANXIOUS? NERVOUS? “We are just going to go racing. That is the biggest thing. I mean, okay, you can get a little frustrated right after — I was frustrated for 20 minutes right after Darlington and 20 minutes right after Richmond but after those 20 minutes you have to put it in the past and talk about what we could have done to improve that but we have to focus on the next race. There is no dwelling on the past, especially in these playoff races. You have to focus on the next one, especially when you have a bad day. I am excited to get going. I love going to Bristol and I am excited to just be able to race and have a shot at it and go try to do our best. I would love to say it is another race weekend but it is our season, pretty much. You have to treat it like a race weekend like every other time and go out there and try to win the race, but I caution those in front of me that I am not going to be behind them for very long if we are faster than them. I feel like that is what everyone has to realize and that is just the position we are in.”
IS THIS JUST ANOTHER RACE OR ARE YOU EXTRA DETERMINED? HAS THE KILL-SWITCH BEEN TURNED UP A LITTLE OR JUST TREATING THIS AS ANOTHER RACE WEEKEND? “I feel like if all of a sudden for one race you are extra determined, then why aren’t you that way the whole season? Everyone is always motivated and determined to win races. When the playoffs start, I don’t think the determination goes up but I think the aggression level goes up and there is no give, it is all take. I feel like if you are not in a winning mindset throughout the whole year other than this situation, I try to be in this mindset from the first part of the season to now, even with the situation we are in. You are always dedicated and motivated but in our position, we are going to be pretty aggressive. That is what we have to be. everyone else has to realize that. There are a couple of guys that are a few points above or below the cut line that might try to be a little bit safer than what me or Matty D has to be because we have to get a bunch of points and finish good and win the race. I wouldn’t say I am more determined because the dedication has always been there.”
LOOKING AHEAD TO TALLADEGA, WHY HAVE YOU GUYS BEEN ABLE TO HAVE SUCH SUCCESS THERE AND CAN YOU LOOK BACK TO THE JUNE RACE THERE WITH HOW IT BEGAN WITH THE SUPPORT OF BUBBA AND THEN THE WIND FINISH? “Yeah, I think the Penske speedway program has been good for a long time, a handful of years, and that says a lot. The changing rules packages that keeps coming on the speedways is a big testament to all the guys and girls here at the race shop for all the work they do. Just being in the right place at the right time at the last two Talladega races and winning them by a combined two-feet. You are going to be on the good side of those and the bad side of those and I have been on both sides of them. It is a testament to fast cars and executing on all sides, not only my sides but my spotter at the end of these races and being very aware of what is around us and making the right moves that pay off. You are going to make moves that don’t pay off for you too but you have those. That is just part of speedway racing. The thing before the race with Darrell, it was cool to see. In those times when things were popping up, I thought that everyone coming together and showing support for him was really good. That is something I will never forget. And he was the first guy I saw after I won that race. He came out there to pit road.”
HOW FRUSTRATING IS IT TO KNOW YOU ARE KIND OF IN THIS POSITION BECAUSE OF THE EXECUTION OF THE TEAM? THE CHALLENGES DURING THE PANDEMIC AND GETTING THE CARS READY AND THE INSPECTION PROCESS. THINGS THAT ARE OUT OF YOUR CONTROL THAT KIND OF SET YOU BACK: “Those things happen. We are all a team and we are all in this together. Mistakes are made by everybody. It doesn’t matter if it is the pit crew that makes a mistake. I make mistakes all the time. You don’t want to point anybody out. I can’t really be frustrated by those things. You have to understand that people do make mistakes and we are all human. It is just a shame that it happened at the time that it happened. Yeah, what Travis (Geisler) was saying is that it is tough now with people having separate shifts at the race shops and no practice. We have been dealing with that all year with no practice. It isn’t all on them. I have done things that I could have done a lot better too. We are all a team and I don’t point fingers at anybody. We are all in this together and if one of us makes a mistake it is on the team. If I go hit the wall, everyone understands. I don’t really call anybody out. It is just an unfortunate thing that sometimes happens in racing.”
TODD GORDON SAID EARLIER THIS WEEK YOU WEREN’T IN A DO-OR-DIE SITUATION. BUT WHERE YOU ARE IN POINTS IT SEEMS LIKE YOU NEED THAT WIN AND STAY IN THE TOP-FIVE. HOW MUCH PRESSURE DO YOU FEEL LIKE IS ON YOU? “Todd and I talked. It is not an absolute must-win situation. It isn’t like we are 40-points out. I think you can run top-three in a couple of stages. It depends obviously on where the other drivers are in those stages and how they are running. If you can run top-three at the finish of the race you might have a shot depending on where everyone else is at and how many stage points they get and where they finish. The pressure side, I hate that question, I am going to be honest with you. I hate hearing that word because I don’t really think of it ever. We are all under pressure a little bit constantly proving yourself. I don’t really feel added pressure. It is an opportunity to go out there and perform and show yourself and your group that you belong here and belong to move on to the next round. I always see the opportunity here and proving how strong of a group this is. A little adversity never hurt anybody.”
YOUR TEAMMATES WERE ASKED IF THEY HAD ADVICE FOR YOU AT BRISTOL AND KESELOWSKI SAID TO JUST GO WIN THE DAMN RACE. JOEY’S ANSWER WAS LONGER. HAVE THEY GIVEN YOU MUCH ADVICE? “Yeah, it is two different philosophies for sure. I would have thought Brad would be the more philosophical one. Those guys have been great. I know we have had our struggles in the past and you are always going to have some of that. It is racing. Those guys have been really good to me. I texted Brad a little bit this week and he texted me Sunday or Monday and just had a little conversation. Those guys are people I lean on. Brad is obviously someone that gave me a big opportunity in the sport so hearing words of advice from him, I am more of a short and sweet kind of guy. That advice is simple enough from Brad. I can learn a lot from those guys and I feel like they have been helpful teammates throughout the years. I think we all work really well together.”
CLINT BOWYER SAID, ‘I JUST HAVE TO GO RACE MY ASS OFF’ AND KESELOWSKI SAID, ‘JUST GO WIN THE DAMN RACE.’ IT SOUNDS EASY, BUT YOU JUST HAVE TO GO DO WHAT YOU DO, RIGHT? “Anything sounds easier than it actually is, in anything. We could all say just win the race and move on, that is really easy to do but obviously it is the hardest thing to do. It is going to be tough. There are a lot of great cars in front of us that run really good at Bristol but our group runs really good at Bristol too. We just have to step it up and go win the damn thing, or come close to it.”
THERE HAVE BEEN TIMES THIS SEASON WHERE THINGS HAVE HAPPENED TO YOU AND YOUR TEAM THAT YOU COULD CHALK UP TO REALLY BAD LUCK. DRIVERS HAVE DIFFERENT MENTALITIES ABOUT IF THEY ARE SUPERSTITIOUS. DO YOU BELIEVE IN LUCK? “I don’t know. I don’t really believe in good luck, bad luck. Everyone has it. I don’t think anyone has more good luck or bad luck than anyone else. You are going to have good times and bad times and there are things that happened to us that you can say are bad luck but they are just part of life and part of racing. Hopefully you have more good days than bad but that is tough to have. I am not really superstitious or anything like that. Just go out there and do your job and if something happens that is out of your control the best you can do it just do your job to the fullest of your ability and if you are good enough then you are going to run well. Bad things happen. That is just part of it. I am not really superstitious at all or any of that stuff. It happens to everybody.”
